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.
Recipe Card
Instant Pot Vegan Lentil Sloppy Joes
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup (59.15 ml) broth , or use 1 tsp oil to saute
- 1/2 (0.5) onion chopped
- 3 cloves of garlic chopped
- 1/2 (0.5) bell pepper chopped
- 1/2 cup (50.5 g) chopped celery
- 1/2 cup (64 g) chopped carrots
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) smoked paprika
- 1/4 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
- 1/4 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
- 3/4 cup (135 g) dried green lentils , picked for stones and washed if needed
- 1 1/4 cup (295.74 ml) water or broth
- 1/2 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
Nutrition
Michele Cullen
Can you use a canned lentils?
Vegan Richa Support
yes!
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.
Vegan Richa Support
Glad that you enjoyed them.
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 🙂
Vegan Richa Support
perfect! enjoy the book 📚 =)
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.
Vegan Richa Support
wow!
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.
Vegan Richa Support
wow! double recipe – excellent
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! 🙂
Vegan Richa Support
yum 🥑🥑🥑v
Tanja Tudhope
Hi. I’m wondering about this recipe if you use french beluga lentils?
Richa
Yes
Jackie
This recipe is awesome! I was looking for a lentil recipe that my husband would eat too. This was perfect
Nicole
Delicious! This will be a dish I make often.
Vegan Richa Support
awesome!!
Nicole
I’ve already made it for the third time in a couple of weeks!
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 ~~
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
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?
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
Sonya
My husband and i loved this recipe! Thank you!!!
Vegan Richa Support
I’m so glad you both enjoyed this!
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.
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
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!
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!
Richa
awesome!
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.
Richa
Thanks!
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.
Richa
awesome!
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!
Richa
Thanks Darlene!
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.
Richa
yay!
Deb
I would like to make this recipe in a crock pot. Do you have any advice for me?
Richa
probably cook the times you would for green lentils. 4-5 hour high or 8 hours low
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!
Richa
awesome! thanks
Meridith
Thank you for suggesting serving over potatoes – I made this yesterday and can’t wait to have it for dinner this evening!
Richa
awesome! thanks!
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!
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.
Richa
Pressure cook for 10-11 mins on manaul/pressure cook
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
Vegan Richa Support
for the brown lentils, yes raw & Pressure cook for 10-11 mins on manaul/pressure cook
Rachel
I don’t have instant pot. How can I make this recipe?
Richa
See Saucepan instructions right below the recipes under Notes:
SS
Can I use red lentils instead? If so what would the cool time be in the instant pot?
Thanks!
Richa
3 minutes
Maura Parolini
Ricetta favolosa! Fabulous recipe! 🙂
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!
Richa
thanks!