lentil sloppy joes

In our effort to be more consistent in planning meals for the week, I asked Nic yesterday what he would like to see on this week's list of eats.

"Burgers!" He exclaimed.

"Great - I just found a great recipe for a potato white bean basil burger!" I retorted.

"Sloppy Joes!" He added.

"Perfect! I've been meaning to write down a recipe for my lentil sloppy joes." I replied.

Poor Nic, pretty sure I could throw back a vegan version of whatever meal he requests.

We've had these lentil sloppy joes before and love them. They take a while to cook, only because I choose to cook the lentils in the tomato sauce - I am certain you could speed up the process if you cooked the lentils in stock or water first.

One Pot Lentil Sloppy Joes
Adapted from Peas & Thank You



In the mix::

• 2 small zucchinis (367 grams)
• 1 large yellow squash (319 grams)
• 2 roasted red peppers (skin removed)
• 1 t olive oil
• 1 yellow onion (186 grams)
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 1/2 t red pepper flakes
• 1.5 cups lentils
• 2 cups water
• 2 cups tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup BBQ sauce
• 1 T chili powder
• 2 t oregano
• 1/4 cup tomato paste
• 1.5 T worcestershire sauce
• 1 T white wine vinegar

Slice the zucchini and yellow squash length wise and brush with olive oil. Grill over medium high heat for 3-4 minutes per side. Once they have cooled enough to handle, dice into smallish pieces. Set aside. (You could skip grilling these and just dice them raw).

Throw the whole red peppers onto the grill and char until skin blackens. Set aside until cool. Remove skin and de-seed. Slice into bit sized pieces. (Again, you could skip and just dice the raw bell pepper).

In a large pot, saute onion and garlic in a little water (or oil) until onion begins to soften, about 4 minutes. Add red pepper flakes, lentils, water, tomato sauce, bbq sauce chili powder and oregano. Simmer until lentils begin to soften, about 30-45 minutes.

Once lentils have softened, add zucchini, squash, roasted red peppers, tomato paste, white wine vinegar and worcestershire sauce. Cook another 20 minutes until veggies are cooked through and softened. (Throw in your raw veggies here if you didn't grill them).

Season with salt and pepper.

Serve on some chewy delicious bread or on homemade honey oatmeal flax thin buns.

This recipe makes 9.5 cups. Thankfully it freezes well!