These vegan Sloppy Joes use plant-based Beyond Beef cooked in a sweet and tangy sauce topped with a vegan coleslaw. Ladle the Sloppy Joe sauce over a warm bun for easy weeknight dinners the whole family will love. Or cook up a batch for a game day crowd!
The sauce takes about 45 minutes to make from start to finish, so cook it ahead if you're too rushed during the week.
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We all have childhood favorite meals. All we need is a mention of the dish in conversation with a friend, or a wisp of its aroma. Suddenly we're whisked back to our childhood, legs swinging under the table, love and security wrapped around us like a soft blanket. This vegetarian hamburger helper is a dish like that for me, although I was older when hamburger helper came along. And Sloppy Joes.
I didn't have Sloppy Joe's at home, full confession. Don't laugh, but I had them in my school cafeteria. Sloppy Joe day was my favorite day, and I would have gone back for seconds if I could have.
So I had to make vegan Sloppy Joes when I changed my diet to a vegetarian.
🤷♀️ What are Sloppy Joes?
Traditional Sloppy Joes are an American classic. Hamburger buns are filled with a thick meaty tomato sauce that's a little sweet from ketchup and brown sugar, savory from mustard, and tangy from apple cider vinegar.
Vegetarian or vegan Sloppy Joes swap out the ground beef (or sirloin) for either brown lentils, green lentils, or as in this recipe, for a plant-based meat substitute such as Beyond Beef. Check this post out if you want to make lentil sloppy joes!
As a note, I've also seen vegan Sloppy Joes with red lentils, although the texture will be different.
❤️ Why you'll love this recipe
- Reminder of a great childhood favorite.
- Great make-ahead dinner! Cook the sauce up to one week ahead, and keep in the refrigerator in an airtight container, and warm it up when you're ready to serve it.
- Freezer-friendly. You can freeze it up to 6 months in a freezer-safe container.
- The entire family will love it.
- Perfect game day eats, or for any casual party.
🧅 Main Ingredients + Notes
The secret to faster and easier meals often lies in the ingredients. For example, store-bought items and ingredients you make ahead and store in the refrigerator (or freezer) can turn a 60-minute recipe into a 30-minutes meal or less.
You might be thinking this is a lot of ingredients, but none of them are unusual and you may have them all on hand. Most important, there's very little prepping involved!
For specific quantities and directions for this vegan Sloppy Joe recipe, go to the Recipe Card at the bottom of this post.
- Vegan ground beef - I use Beyond Meat, but any unseasoned plant-based meat substitute will work fine.
- Red bell pepper - the traditional version uses green bell peppers, so use whichever you prefer.
- Yellow onion - white onion or red onion work fine in this recipe if that's what you have on hand.
- Fresh garlic
- Tomato paste - this deepens the savory umami flavor of the dish, which is important when you eliminate the meat.
- Ketchup
- Brown sugar - if you don't have any in your pantry, you can make your own brown sugar very easily.
- Yellow mustard - if you only have Dijon mustard, use that instead.
- Dried spices and herbs - I use chili powder, oregano, kosher salt, and ground black pepper.
- Vegan Worcestershire Sauce - Annie's makes a great one I can recommend.
- Vegan cole slaw (optional topping)
- Hamburger buns - or dinner rolls for sliders
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links to products and foods I use in my kitchen. This means that at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. To view my entire storefront of recommended kitchen tools and equipment, check out my shop on Amazon.
🔪 Recommended Equipment
Having the right equipment for recipes makes prepping soooo much easier. If you want more fuss-free prepping and cooking, check out my updated list of favorite kitchen tools and equipment.
📝 Instructions Overview
Detailed instructions for making this vegan Sloppy Joes recipe are in the recipe card below, but here's an overview. There are only 4 steps to making this recipe.
Step 1
Cook the ground Beyond Beef. Brown it in a large skillet with a little extra virgin olive oil. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Step 2
Sauté. Sauté the onion, bell pepper and garlic until softened. Use the same skillet you used for cooking the Beyond Beef.
Step 3
Stir. Stir in the tomato sauce until the veggies are coated, and cook for a minute. Add everything else and stir together. Stir in the Beyond Beef.
Step 4
Simmer. Simmer for 20 minutes to meld the flavors and cook down the sauce a bit.
Step 5
Serve. Ladle over warmed dinner rolls as pictured, hamburger buns, or serve as a lettuce wrap.
⏰ Tips to Simplify and Save Time
- While the Beyond Beef cooks, dice the pepper and onion, and measure all of the remaining ingredients. There's nothing more frustrating than not being able to open a new bottle of ketchup when you've got a bubbling pan waiting.
- The entire Sloppy Joe sauce can be made ahead, and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
- While the Sloppy Joe filling simmers, make the Vegan Coleslaw if you plan to serve it on the sliders.
- Use a Sloppy Joe Season Mix, sold in 1.4 ounce packets to replace the red bell pepper, garlic, ketchup, brown sugar, yellow mustard, herbs and spices, and Worcestershire sauce. This is a huge simplification, obviously, and you won't end up with the same recipe that's here. But you can use the below recipe as your base recipe for this approach.
💡Ideas for Possible Variations
- As mentioned above, you can use green lentils, brown lentils or even red lentils in place of the Beyond Beef to make a vegan Sloppy Joe sauce. No other changes are needed.
- Add some minced Serrano pepper for a kick of heat.
- Serve as an open-face sandwich and top with either vegan cole slaw or potato salad.
- Ladle over cornbread.
- Keep it simple and top with pickles instead of cole slaw.
- Serve in cabbage or lettuce leaves as a lettuce wrap.
- Another slaw that goes great with these Sloppy Joes is this vegan Kale Apple Slaw.
🍽 Side Dish Ideas
- Use the vegan coleslaw as a side dish.
- Potato salad
- Air fryer potatoes
- Sweet potato fries
- Shoestring potatoes
📇 More Recipes with Beyond Meat and Impossible Beef
- Tamale Pie (Vegetarian)
- Spaghetti Squash Pasta with "Meaty" Sauce
- Beyond Beef Meat Balls (That Don't Fall Apart)
- Simple Vegan Chili
- Meatball Casserole (Vegetarian!)
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Vegan Sloppy Joe Sliders
Equipment
- Chef's knife
- small bowl
Ingredients
Vegan Sloppy Joe Sauce
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 pound Beyond Beef
- 1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
- 1 yellow onion, finely chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- ¾ cup ketchup
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar, packed
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- ¾ teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon Annie's Worcestershire sauce (vegan)
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt, or ½ teaspoon table salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 12 dinner rolls
Vegan Coleslaw
- ½ cup vegan mayonnaise, store-bought
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon celery salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 bag coleslaw mix
Instructions
Sloppy Joe Sauce
- Warm the olive oil in large skillet over medium heat, and add the Beyond Beef to the skillet. Break the beef up into small pieces using a wooden spoon, and cook for 10 minutes without moving the pieces around. This will brown the 'beef' better than constantly moving it around the skilletTurn the pieces over, and continue to cook for another few minutes until cooked. Remove the 'beef' from the skillet, and set aside.
- Add the bell pepper and onion to the skillet. If the skillet is completely dry, add a little olive oil. Sauté until slightly softened, about 5 - 7 minutes. Add the garlic, and sauté for another minute.
- Stir in the tomato paste until it's completely mixed into the veggies.
- Add the ketchup, ½ cup water, brown sugar, mustard, chili powder, oregano, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. Stir until well-combined and add the 'beef' back in.
- Reduce the heat and cook on a low simmer for 20 minutes. Add additional water if the Sloppy Joe sauce is too thick. Pro tip: Finish with a dash of hot sauce, if desired.
- Spoon over warmed rolls and top with Vegan Coleslaw.
Vegan Coleslaw (Optional)
- Combine the mayonnaise, sugar, vinegar, salt, celery salt and pepper in a small bowl. Spill the coleslaw mix into a medium bowl, and add enough mayonnaise mixture to your own taste. Toss well.
Liz
Oooh, I love this slider version of sloppy joes, plus how you made them healthier!! Perfect for game day!
The Wimpy Vegetarian
Thanks so much! They are indeed!!
Karen
This looks wonderful. The only fake meat I've tried is jack fruit in tacos and "soyrizo" in soup. They were pretty good actually. Love me some Hawaiian rolls!
The Wimpy Vegetarian
I've tried jack fruit, and it was ok - a little fibrous - but it was good. And I'm a big fan of Beyond Beef!
Laura@motherwouldknow
With vegans in my family now, having "regular" food that is also vegan helps me to realize that I don't have to give up childhood (and other) favorites to accommodate them. Can't wait to try this recipe once I can invite them over. Sigh.
The Wimpy Vegetarian
I hope you like it! Beyond Beef has been a game-changer for me in making dishes like this!
Jane
What a great way to make Sloppy Joes healthier Susan! I haven't tried Beyond Beef yet, but bet it would be incredible in this recipe!!
The Wimpy Vegetarian
Thanks so much!!
Barb | Creative Culinary
I have been cutting beef and pork from my diet and mostly doing bean substitutes; wondering if I could even use my favorite tri-color beans in lieu of the Beyond Meat? I remember Sloppy Joes as a childhood favorite, it's time I made it an adult one too!
The Wimpy Vegetarian
They would probably work fine, or lentils too. It's a journey, cutting out beef and pork. But over time you find substitutes you like just as well, and sometimes even more!
Ansh Dhar
My In laws will be arriving soon and they are vegetarians. This would be a great dish to put on menu rotation for them. wonderful recipe!
The Wimpy Vegetarian
I hope you like it!! Please let me know how it goes for everyone!!
Matt
Made it for dinner last night and it was crazy delicious and a big hit. I only had Gardein in the freezer so used that. (I'm always mixing between Gardein and Beyond Meat. Both are excellent.) I didn't leave the meat to cook for the whole 10 minutes on one side because it was really starting to stick and get dark. It also didn't need more time. I added quite a bit more water throughout the cooking process and added more of all of the other items, e.g. dijon, ketchup, oregano... btw, Worstershire isn't vegan but it's easy to make a vegan homemade version.
We toasted the buns, baked up some waffle fries, had dill pickles on the side and piled on the coleslaw which was really amazing.
This recipe is definitely staying in the comfort food rotation!
The Wimpy Vegetarian
Thanks so very much for the feedback! And I'm thrilled that you liked it so much!! The dill pickles and the waffle fries are a GREAT addition 🙂
Christian
Just a head's up - most Worcestershire sauces have anchovies, and several I've found also have beef stock in them. I would remove this for a true vegan dish.
The Wimpy Vegetarian
Oh my gosh, you're absolutely correct. I should have specifically identified Annie's Worcestershire sauce! It's labelled vegan. Thanks so much for drawing my attention to it!
Josh
Hi! King’s Hawaiian sweet rolls (the ones you tagged) aren’t vegan! I love beyond meat sloppy Joe’s though!! I’m making them tonight and just wanted to look up other recipes and I’m going to add in red bell peppers like yours!
The Wimpy Vegetarian
I didn't realize that about the King's Hawaiian Sweet Rolls!! Thank you SO much for letting me know!!
Griselle
Good flavor but really salty.
The Wimpy Vegetarian
The salt amount is always adjustable to your own taste. Also, not all kosher salt is equal. For example Morton's kosher salt is saltier than the one I use, which is linked in the recipe. And table salt is much saltier. What affects the saltiness is the shape and size of the salt. The finer the salt, the more salt gets packed into a teaspoon of salt, for example. Coarse salt, like kosher salt, layers in a measuring spoon with lots of air spaces. Therefore, you're actually using less salt with kosher salt, and therefore it's not as salty. I hope that makes sense!
Katji Kelly McCusker
My main complaint has NOTHING to do with any of your recipes or your choices of ingredients, but I do want to make mention about the manufacturers, and the fact that why do they replicate substitute meat products for vegans and vegetarians? Does everybody believe that vegetarians are really yearning for a burger? Do they really want to reach for raw ground beef and form it into a patty, thinking about the dead animal they are not going to eat, or the antibiotics and chemicals? It is all moot because it is amanufactured product. However, if vegans and vegetarians are in need of a burger like item then manufacturers are feeding (sorry) into their hands. I get grossed out with any item that resembles any animal type product, color or otherwise. Rant over.
cj
some of us do. i’ve been vegetarian for 34 years and i still miss certain foods. i appreciate all the plant based products on the market now.
The Wimpy Vegetarian
I do too, CJ. I will always miss burgers, and if an Impossible Burger gives me that satisfaction, then I go for it. And it's been a bridge of sorts for me and my husband. He gets much more excited about a dinner with a plant based meat substitute, than with beans. So it's made my life much easier too.
Tully Zander
This looks really tasty Susan! It’s easy to make, too! Will definitely give this a try. I am bookmarking this delicious Vegan Sloppy Joe Sliders for dinner! My family is going to love this! So excited!
The Wimpy Vegetarian
I'm so happy this one is calling to you! It's a favorite of readers here, and of my own family (including the meat-lovers!)
Kathleen
As a meat eater, we had a friend staying who is vegan, so I found this recipe! She loved it! And I must say, the rest of the family was pleasantly surprised too!
The Wimpy Vegetarian
Wonderful! Thanks so much for letting me know!! Veggie on!
laura L mckeever
This was really easy and came out great! I made the coleslaw as a topper too ( a little sweet for my tastes but otherwise also very good and easy). I am saving the recipe for a future Meatless Monday meal-- big hit at my house.
The Wimpy Vegetarian
Yay!! That makes me so happy. Thanks for letting me know. It's great to have a list of recipes that work for your family for Meatless Mondays 🙂