Published: by Richa 57 Comments
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Instant Pot Vegan Lentil Sloppy Joes! 1 Pot, 30 min, freezer friendly tangy flavorful sloppy lentils. Serve in sandwiches with slaw or over tater tots or baked potato. Vegan Glutenfree Soyfree Nutfree Oilfree Recipe Jump to Recipe
Lentil Sloppy Joes are a quick meal filled with protein and tons of flavor. They pair well with various condiments. Serve these with some pickled onion, slaw or other toppings. Serve them in wraps or sandwiches or over baked potato, baked fries or potato salad. Make a bowl with some veggies, dip and toasted bread!
Lentils come in various colors and have different cook times. They also vary in flavor. I use green lentils for these vegan sloppy joes as they are more hardy and don’t get mushy easily. They are cooked with onion,pepper, carrots, celery, seasonings such as taco, chili or bbq, and tomato. The result is this hearty flavorful saucy sloppy joes. You can vary the flavor with other herbs and blends, add more or less tomato to preference. Lets make these! As always, saucepan option is in the notes.
More Lentil Recipes to try
- Lentil Bolognese
- Keema Lentils
- Sprouted Lentil Avocado Toast
- Lentil Mushroom Stew with mashed potatoes
- Lentil Soup
- Lentil Wellington
Step by Step Photos
Notes on Vegan Lentil Sloppy Joes
- These sloppy lentils are freezer friendly and meal prep friendly. Refrigerate for upto 4 days and freeze for upto a month.
- Serve these in various formats with various accompaniments such as onion, jalapeno, coleslaw, creamy toppings. In sandwiches or wraps, or over baked potatoes or fries!
- If using brown lentils, pressure cook for 10 mins
Burn Errors: Some Instant Pots can tend to give you burn errors for thick and tomato based dishes. Try the following for a successful result.
- Make sure to mix everything really well to pick up any stuck bits before closing the lid.
- Some tomato sauces can be too thick, use a mix of fresh or diced tomatoes and tomato sauce.
- Add a bit more broth if you generally do run into burn errors in your pot.
- Let the veggie + tomato mixture cool for 5 mins before closing the lid. Some pots heat a bit more saute and that tends to increase the chances of ingredients scorching at the bottom under pressure.
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5 from 25 votes
Instant Pot Vegan Lentil Sloppy Joes
Instant Pot Vegan Lentil Sloppy Joes! 1 Pot, 30 min, freezer friendly tangy flavorful sloppy lentils. Serve in sandwiches with slaw or over tater tots or baked potato. Vegan Glutenfree Soyfree Nutfree Recipe
Prep Time5 minutes mins
Cook Time25 minutes mins
Total Time30 minutes mins
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American, Gluten-free, Vegan
Servings: 4
Calories: 172kcal
Author: Vegan Richa
Ingredients
- ¼ cup (59.15 ml) broth , or use 1 tsp oil to saute
- ½ (0.5) onion chopped
- 3 cloves of garlic chopped
- ½ (0.5) bell pepper chopped
- ½ cup (50.5 g) chopped celery
- ½ cup (64 g) chopped carrots
- ½ tsp (0.5 tsp) smoked paprika
- ¼ tsp (0.25 tsp) black pepper
- 1 tbsp chili powder blend or taco seasoning or bbq seasoning
- 1 cup (245 g) finely chopped tomato or tomato sauce
- ¼ cup (65.5 g) tomato paste
- 1-2 tsp vegan Worcestershire sauce optional, (or use soy sauce/tamari, or coconut aminos for soyfree),
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- ¾ cup (135 g) dried green lentils , picked for stones and washed if needed
- 1 ¼ cup (295.74 ml) water or broth
- ½ tsp (0.5 tsp) salt
- 1 tsp sugar
Instructions
Add 2 tbsp broth in the Instant Pot on saute. Add the onion, garlic, pepper, celery, carrots and a good pinch of salt. Cook for 3 mins. Deglaze with more broth mid-way. (See saucepan instructions in Notes below).
Add the spices, tomato, tomato paste, vegan Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice and mix in. Add salt, sugar, lentils, broth, and mix in. Mix well to pick up any stuck bits
Close the lid and pressure cook at bean/chili setting for 22 mins or at manual/pressure cook for 16 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally. Taste and adjust salt, flavor. (The sauce keeps thickening on cooling even if it looks slightly liquidy when opened. If you used extra broth, wait for a few mins to see if its thickening enough and then you might have to saute for a few mins to reduce. )
Serve in buns or bread with coleslaw or onion or crunchy greens. or in wraps or over baked potato.
These sloppy lentils are freezer friendly and meal prep friendly. Refrigerate for upto 4 days and freeze for upto a month.
Notes
Saucepan: Rinse the lentils and combine with 2 cups of water in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat slightly to medium low, partially cover, and cook for 20 to 25 mins or until al dente. Drain any excess liquid.
Follow steps 1 and 2 over medium heat in a saucepan. Add only a ¼ cup broth. Add the cooked lentils and mix well. Reduce heat to medium low, cover and cook for 6 to 7 mins to thicken and develop flavor. Taste and adjust.
Flavor variations:
Add ½ tsp mustard
Add smoked paprika
Add ¼ cup bbq sauce
Nutrition is for 1 Serve of lentils. Bread not included
Nutrition
Nutrition Facts
Instant Pot Vegan Lentil Sloppy Joes
Amount Per Serving
Calories 172Calories from Fat 1
% Daily Value*
Fat 0.1g0%
Sodium 434mg19%
Potassium 760mg22%
Carbohydrates 32g11%
Fiber 13g54%
Sugar 7g8%
Protein 10g20%
Vitamin A 4485IU90%
Vitamin C 33.2mg40%
Calcium 53mg5%
Iron 3.6mg20%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Did you make this recipe?Please do leave a comment and rating below.. Tag me on Instagram @veganricha
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More Vegan Instant Pot / Pressure Cooker Recipes
- Punjabi Chole (North Indian Chickpea Curry) Instant pot. stovetop option.
- No Onion No Garlic Diwali Menu (Dal makhani, Tofu Tikka Masala, peanut potatoes, Turmeric cashew rice )
- Kashmiri Mushrooms (Instant pot mushrooms in Sun-dried tomato sauce)
- Kala Chana Ghugni (Indian Brown Chickpea curry)
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️If you Love the Recipe, Please consider rating it using stars in comments! It helps readers and helps more people find the recipe online! I love hearing from you all! ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Reader Interactions
Comments
Lilly
So so good! Hands down the best sloppy joes I have ever had. I love that it’s made in the instant pot because it is quick and nutrients are not lost like in other methods.
I doubled all of the veg because we love veg. Other than that, I tossed in a handful of red pepper flakes so it has all the elements: sweet, heat, salt, & acid. I used EVOO to sauté the veg instead of broth. My favorite go to recipe from now on.Reply
Vegan Richa Support
So happy you liked it!
Michele Cullen
Can you use a canned lentils?
Reply
Vegan Richa Support
yes!
Reply
Laura
These came out great! I added a healthy squirt of yellow mustard and a splash of apple cider vinegar at the end, which gave it the right amount of acidity I was looking for.Reply
Vegan Richa Support
Glad that you enjoyed them.
Reply
Kelly
Yet another one of your recipes that was a big hit! I used brown lentils since that’s what I had on hand and used the suggestion to cook for 10 minutes instead. I also added 1/4 cup of bbq sauce at the end and served on a bulkie roll with lettuce and onion. Yum! Can’t wait for my copy of the new vegan instant pot cookbook 🙂
Reply
Vegan Richa Support
perfect! enjoy the book 📚 =)
Reply
Anna
This is truly amazing! Me and my husband love the taste and texture. I serve it over home-baked soda bread with vegan mozzarella cheese on top. I nearly swallowed my tongue). Great vegan version of sloopy Joe.Reply
Vegan Richa Support
wow!
Reply
Deb Spear
We loved this recipe. It is great in bread or as a salad topping. Very taco salad like. I made a double recipe and four adults ate it over three days. I highly recommend it. Very easy in the instant pot.Reply
Vegan Richa Support
wow! double recipe – excellent
Reply
Laura J
This is officially my new favorite sloppy joe recipe. So easy and delicious. One batch is great for 2 people but I wanted more (since I had to share) so I just doubled the recipe and there is just enough room in my instant pot. I eat it plain or add avocado and fresh onion, and have tried it over brown rice too. Thank you for this amazing recipe! 🙂Reply
Vegan Richa Support
yum 🥑🥑🥑v
Reply
Tanja Tudhope
Hi. I’m wondering about this recipe if you use french beluga lentils?
Reply
Richa
Yes
Reply
Jackie
This recipe is awesome! I was looking for a lentil recipe that my husband would eat too. This was perfectReply
Nicole
Delicious! This will be a dish I make often.Reply
Vegan Richa Support
awesome!!
Reply
Nicole
I’ve already made it for the third time in a couple of weeks!Reply
Andrea Tersigni
Oh my!! As suggested, I added mustard, a nice spicy dijon. It added another layer of flavor to your already delicious combination. Thanks for sneaking in added veggies. Carrots and celery are not extras I would think of including in Sloppy Joe’s. I have your cookbooks and enjoy your site. Many many thanks!!! PS: this recipe is perfect to eat by itself with no starch or toppings ~~Reply
Vegan Richa Support
thank you so much. wow, that’s great. I’m so happy that you found my site and are enjoying my books!! dijon is an amazing ingredient
Reply
Alex
The “1 tbsp chili powder blend or taco seasoning or bbq seasoning” you call for… what’s “chili powder blend”? Is that just what’s labelled “chili powder” in the store?
Reply
Richa
Depends on your country and the store. Chili powder in the us is a blend of chili, cumin, oregano etc. Indian stores label pure chili powder (ground cayenne) as chili powder. Using 1 tbsp pure cayenne will be disastrous. Hence I mention that it should be a blend
Reply
Sonya
My husband and i loved this recipe! Thank you!!!Reply
Vegan Richa Support
I’m so glad you both enjoyed this!
Reply
Karen
Cook time is not 25 minutes. If using the instapot add time to get to pressure + cooking + time for natural release. Please amend the recipe time to be more honest. Otherwise dish was good.
Reply
Richa
Thanks I’ve been adding it to the newer recipes, earlier the widget didn’t have the option for customizable times other than prep and cook. Eventually the older recipes will be updated as well
Reply
SJ
My 9 y/o son has a very sensitive palate for heat and thought this was too spicy but still liked it, so I will halve the black pepper next time and just add some extra to my portion. Otherwise this is a hit!Reply
Hannah
This was great! Thanks for the recipe 🙂 I used red lentils instead of green, so I pressure cooked for 5 minutes only. Will make again!Reply
Richa
awesome!
Reply
Tyler
This is an almost weekly recipe in our household it is so good! I love that it’s packed with veggies and it’s so easy for busy weeknights or days I just don’t feel like cooking.Reply
Richa
Thanks!
Reply
Sheri
My teenage daughter, a vegetarian who hates vegetables, loved it!I cooked the lentils for 15 minutes and allowed natural release. I like the lentils to be a little softer for this recipes.
Reply
Richa
awesome!
Reply
Darlene
Made this last night for our dinner; was delicious, hearty & so full of flavors! I made a double batch & leftovers went into freezer 🙂I love the fact that you vary your recipes, by that I mean you will include sweet treats, main dish meals & on…always something to look forward to in visiting your site!
Reply
Richa
Thanks Darlene!
Reply
TERRI Dutch
I made this over the weekend. My husband says it’s a keeper 🙂 SO good. We thought we’d have left overs but we ate it all. I will be making it again for sure.Reply
Richa
yay!
Reply
Deb
I would like to make this recipe in a crock pot. Do you have any advice for me?
Reply
Richa
probably cook the times you would for green lentils. 4-5 hour high or 8 hours low
Reply
Punam
I made this a few days ago. I followed the directions exactly as its written and it came out perfect. I used a mini Instapot. Thank you!
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Richa
awesome! thanks
Reply
Meridith
Thank you for suggesting serving over potatoes – I made this yesterday and can’t wait to have it for dinner this evening!Reply
Richa
awesome! thanks!
Reply
Steph
Easy to make, plus so tasty.
It made enough for me to freeze some for a quick meal for one.
I did the stovetop version and used only 1 teaspoon of Mexican spice mix as I prefer a milder meal. Delicious!Reply
Susan Sparkes
Hi Richa – how would brown lentils affect the cooking time? I have these already as I use them for the upside down Lentil Shepherd’s Pie recipe on Sundays.
Reply
Richa
Pressure cook for 10-11 mins on manaul/pressure cook
Reply
Tam
Hi can I confirm do I cook brown lentils first then add and cook the whole lot again or if using brown lentils cook the whole thing from raw 10 to 11 mims
Reply
Vegan Richa Support
for the brown lentils, yes raw & Pressure cook for 10-11 mins on manaul/pressure cook
Reply
Rachel
I don’t have instant pot. How can I make this recipe?
Reply
Richa
See Saucepan instructions right below the recipes under Notes:
Reply
SS
Can I use red lentils instead? If so what would the cool time be in the instant pot?
Thanks!
Reply
Richa
3 minutes
Reply
Maura Parolini
Ricetta favolosa! Fabulous recipe! 🙂Reply
Nancy
I can’t wait to try this! So basic and comforting. Sloppy Joes were a childhood fave. Haven’t had them in years and definitely not since going vegan. My mouth is literally watering just thinking about that first bite. Thanks Richa!
Reply
Richa
thanks!
Reply
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