I grew up loving Sloppy Joes. I was never a huge meat-eater, but there was something about the old Sloppy Joes that I could not get enough of. (And make ’em extra sloppy!) Looking back, it wasn’t the meat that made the Joe something special. It was that flavor. Straight-from-the-can Manwich flavor. When I started being more conscious about what I put in my body, obviously Manwiches were out. In trying to create a meatless version of the Sloppy Joe, I turned to Veganomicon’s Snobby Joes. Veganomicon is a fantastic cookbook that has not let me down on many occasions. I have made the lentil-based Snobby Joes several times, and they are okay, but Tim doesn’t love them. And to tell you the truth, they don’t really capture that Manwich flavor I yearn for. So I decided to switch it up a bit and try my hand at recreating the flavor from my childhood without the meat and without the canned product that has an ingredient list that looks like this:
Tomato Puree (Water, Tomato Paste), High Fructose Corn Syrup, Distilled Vinegar, Corn Syrup, Less than 2% of: Salt, Sugar, Dehydrated Onions, Dehydrated Red and Green Bell Peppers, Chile Pepper, Tomato Fiber, Spices, Guar Gum, Xanthan Gum, Dehydrated Garlic, Carob Bean Gum, Natural Flavors.
Instead of lentils, I used pearled barley as the meat substitute as I thought the bulkier grain would lend a better texture to the dish. It was better. For the sauce I had to rely on a really fancy ingredient to get the flavor I was looking for: ketchup. 🙂 I was sure to use organic ketchup because regular ketchup has high fructose corn syrup and organic does not. (Such an easy switch if you haven’t made it yet!) The result is something that certainly isn’t exactly like a traditional sloppy joe in texture, but the flavor was right on. Tim loved these sandwiches. He isn’t easy to please and he told me multiple times that these were great. These are quick, easy, and totally kid-friendly. I squished the bun together a little to make it smaller for Meghan and she gobbled it up. I served these with a side of broccoli that I steamed and then sauteed for a few minutes in a little extra-virgin olive oil with salt, pepper, and toasted almond slices. Adding a little crunch is key to get Tim eating his veggies. Notice I say Tim and not Meghan. Meghan eats her vegetables more enthusiastically than Tim most of the time!
Print
Vegan Sloppy Joes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Description
A vegan alternative to a family favorite
Ingredients
- 1 cup pearled barley
- 3 cups water
- ~1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup chopped green pepper
- 1/4 cup chopped onion
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon prepared yellow mustard
- 3/4 cup organic ketchup
- 1 tablespoon agave nectar*
- sea salt
- freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- In medium saucepan, bring the barley and water to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer about 20 minutes.
- It a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and green pepper and saute until soft, about 5-8 minutes.
Add the ketchup, mustard, garlic powder, and agave nectar.
- Stir until the onions and peppers are evenly coated. If your barley still has some liquid, drain it. Add the barley to the pan, reduce the heat a little, and simmer another 15 minutes. Taste and add salt and pepper to your liking.
- Serve on hamburger buns.
Notes
*you can substitute pure maple syrup or honey for the agave nectar
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Category: main meal
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 92
- Sugar: 8.5g
- Sodium: 211mg
- Fat: 2.5g
- Carbohydrates: 17.5g
- Protein: 1g
Clearly, the healthiest choice for a bun would be a multi-grain variety. Sometimes, however, I do crave certain things, regardless of what I said in this post. One of those things is the delicious white flour hamburger buns from our local grocery store, Dorothy Lane Market. Unless you have had them, you simply cannot understand. They are that good. So last night we ate these on the DLM white flour buns. Tonight for leftovers we had them on multi-grain buns. Hey, I believe most things in moderation will not kill us. 🙂
I love this recipe! I’m about to make it for the second time. My husband said he loved the sauce, and he doesn’t do sauces!
Okay I just tried this recipe tonight, with lentils instead of barley because that’s all I had, and it was so perfect! Such a flashback to being 8 years old and getting that orange stain on the hamburger bun… my boyfriend and I decided that this was definitely our new lazy midweek dinner, thanks!
Pearled barley! Great idea. I love the veganomicon recipe with lentils, but I may have to try this.