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    Home » Entrees

    Vegan Sloppy Joes

    Published: Jul 24, 2021 Updated: Jul 24, 2021 by Alison Andrews This post may contain affiliate links

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    Vegan Sloppy Joes

    These vegan Sloppy Joes are packed with the most amazing homemade vegan mince and make a simple, hearty, satisfying and delicious comfort food meal.

    Vegan Sloppy Joe topped with sliced avocado and fresh basil leaves.

    These vegan Sloppy Joes are so tasty. Messy, but tasty! 

    Ever since we made our vegan bolognese (and now our vegan mince) we’ve been using it in all sorts of things with just a few changes each time. Making some Sloppy Joes was on the agenda the moment we mastered a really good homemade vegan mince. 

    Every time we make the vegan bolognese for a new purpose, like when it was used in our vegan lasagna recipe and now used in this recipe, we change the recipe ever so slightly to more perfectly fit whatever it’s being used for. 

    This one adds some red pepper and celery chopped up really finely for the most perfect sauce for a Sloppy Joe.

    And topped with some sliced avocado and a sprinkle of black pepper and some fresh basil, in a hamburger bun of course, the flavors and textures are just perfect. 

    It’s also really quick and easy so makes a perfect weeknight meal.

    Vegan Sloppy Joe with homemade vegan mince and topped with sliced avocado and fresh basil leaves.

    How To Make Vegan Sloppy Joes

    You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.

    • Start off by pressing your tofu. This is ideal if you use a tofu press, which is a magic little machine for pressing tofu and a great investment if you eat tofu regularly. 
    • Alternatively, if you don’t have a tofu press, you can place the block of tofu onto a plate, with another plate on top of it and then place something heavy on top, like a heavy pot. 
    • Let it press for around 20 minutes, and then drain the water off. 

    Top Tips: Strictly speaking you don’t ‘have to’ press your tofu in this recipe. You use a firm block of tofu already, but pressing it helps to keep the veggie mince from being too saucy. And since you have to prepare the other veggies anyway, you might as well press the tofu while you do that.

    Tofu pressing in a tofu press.
    • While the tofu is pressing, add walnuts to the food processor and process into crumbles. Add to a mixing bowl.
    Two photo collage showing walnuts added to a food processor and processed into crumbles.
    • Add sliced mushrooms to the food processor and process until finely chopped. Add it to the mixing bowl with the walnuts.
    Two photo collage showing cremini mushrooms added to food processor and processed until finely chopped.
    • Chop your other veggies for the bolognese, like onion, red pepper and celery. 
    • By this time your tofu should be ready to go, and just mash it with a fork and then add the mashed tofu to the mixing bowl.
    • Add cooked lentils to the mixing bowl.
    • Mix it all together.
    Two photo collage showing walnuts, mushrooms, lentils and tofu added to mixing bowl and mixed together.
    • Add chopped onion and crushed garlic to a pot with olive oil and sauté until the onions are softened. 
    • Add paprika, cumin, cayenne pepper, oregano and dried basil along with chopped red pepper and celery and sauté to soften the veggies slightly and toast the spices. 
    • Now add in the walnut, mushroom, lentil and tofu mix along with soy sauce, marinara sauce and tomato paste and mix in.
    Two photo collage showing sautéed veggies in a pot and then mince mix, tomato paste and chopped tomato added to it.
    • Let it cook until you have a mince consistency. 
    Two photo collage showing vegan mince cooking and then cooked.
    • Add coconut sugar (for flavor balance), black pepper and salt to taste. 
    Vegan sloppy joe mince in a pot with a wooden spoon.
    • Serve on fresh or toasted hamburger buns with some sliced avocado, black pepper and fresh basil. 
    Vegan Sloppy Joe topped with sliced avocado and fresh basil.

    Chef’s Tips

    Sloppy Joe Mince. The ideal consistency for your Sloppy Joe mince is more dry than a bolognese. So you want to let it cook off a bit so that it’s a nice sloppy mince consistency, but not so saucy that it’ll just slide off your bun. 

    Toasted buns are great for this, but so are fresh buns (as long as they’re really fresh), so whatever is your preference. Personally I like it both ways, toasted or fresh. If you’re toasting your buns, then put them in the oven under the grill while you’re making the mince so that when it’s ready your buns are perfectly toasted. 

    Make it gluten-free. The Sloppy Joe mince is gluten-free if you use a gluten-free soy sauce, so if you have a good option for gluten-free buns then this meal can be gluten-free.

    Serving. This meal is ideal to serve as is, but if you want to serve something on the side, then some baked potato fries, a delicious green salad or vegan coleslaw on the side would be great too. 

    Vegan Sloppy Joe with sliced avocado and fresh basil.

    Storing and Freezing

    Leftover Sloppy Joe mince lasts 4-5 days in the fridge so you can happily keep this meal going for a few days.

    The mince can also be frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw it overnight in the fridge and then reheat in the microwave or on the stove on medium heat.

    Vegan Sloppy Joes topped with sliced avocado and fresh basil.

    More Delicious Vegan Recipes

    1. Vegan Black Bean Burgers
    2. Vegan Burger
    3. Tofu Burger
    4. Vegan Shepherds Pie
    5. Vegan Meatloaf
    6. Vegan Chili
    Holding a vegan Sloppy Joe in both hands, ready to take a bite.

    Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!

    Vegan sloppy joes topped with avocado slices and fresh basil.

    Vegan Sloppy Joes

    These vegan Sloppy Joes are packed with the most amazing homemade vegan mince and make a simple, hearty, satisfying and delicious comfort food meal.
    5 from 6 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Entree, Savory
    Cuisine: American, Vegan
    Diet: Vegan
    Prep Time: 20 minutes
    Cook Time: 20 minutes
    Total Time: 40 minutes
    Servings: 8
    Calories: 409kcal
    Author: Alison Andrews

    Ingredients

    • 8 ounces Extra Firm Tofu (226g) Pressed
    • 1 cup Walnuts (100g)
    • 2 ½ cups Cremini Mushrooms (240g) Sliced
    • 15 ounce Can Brown Lentils Drained, or 1 and ½ cups Cooked Lentils
    • 2 Tbsp Olive Oil
    • 1 Medium Onion White, Yellow or Brown, Finely Chopped
    • 1 Tbsp Crushed Garlic
    • 1 tsp Paprika
    • 1 tsp Cumin
    • ½ tsp Cayenne Pepper
    • 1 tsp Oregano
    • 1 tsp Dried Basil
    • 2 Medium Stalks Celery Finely Chopped
    • 1 Medium Red Bell Pepper Finely Chopped
    • 1 Tbsp Dark Soy Sauce
    • 1 cup Marinara Sauce (240ml)
    • ½ cup Tomato Paste (130g)
    • 1 Tbsp Coconut Sugar
    • ¼ tsp Ground Black Pepper
    • Salt To taste

    For Serving:

    • 8 Hamburger Buns
    • Sliced Avocado
    • Ground Black Pepper
    • Fresh Basil Leaves
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions

    • Put your tofu on to press, ideally using a tofu press, or by placing it on a plate with another plate on top of it, and then placing something heavy on top like a heavy pot. Leave it to press for around 20 minutes while you prepare your other ingredients.
    • Add the walnuts to the food processor and process into crumbles. Place the walnut crumbs into a mixing bowl.
    • Add sliced mushrooms to the food processor and process until finely chopped. Add into the mixing bowl with the crushed walnuts.
    • Add the lentils to the mixing bowl.
    • When the tofu is finished pressing mash it with a fork and then add it to the mixing bowl with the walnuts, mushrooms and lentils. Mix it all up together.
    • Add the chopped onions and crushed garlic to a pot with the olive oil and sauté until the onions are softened.
    • Add the paprika, cumin, cayenne pepper, oregano and dried basil along with the chopped celery and red pepper and sauté to soften the veggies slightly and toast the spices.
    • Now add the walnut, mushroom, lentil and tofu mix along with the soy sauce, marinara sauce and tomato paste and fry until you have a mince consistency.
    • Add coconut sugar (for flavor balance), black pepper and salt to taste.
    • Serve on fresh or toasted hamburger buns with some sliced avocado, black pepper and fresh basil.

    Video

    Notes

    1. Mushrooms. Cremini mushrooms are also called baby bella’s or portobellini mushrooms. They are great for flavor in this recipe but you could also use white button mushrooms. 
    2. Lentils. If you don’t have canned lentils, you can use any cooked lentils, the amount to use (equivalent to a can of drained lentils) would be 1 and ½ cups cooked lentils. 
    3. Marinara sauce. You can use any marinara sauce that you like.
    4. Nutritional information includes the hamburger bun but excludes avocado.
    5. This recipe was first published in April 2019. It has been updated with extra tips but the recipe itself is unchanged. 

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1Serve | Calories: 409kcal | Carbohydrates: 50.4g | Protein: 16.7g | Fat: 16.5g | Sodium: 670mg | Fiber: 6.4g | Sugar: 12.7g
    DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE? Rate it & leave your feedback in the comments section below, or tag @lovingitvegan on Instagram and hashtag #lovingitvegan
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    About the Author

    Hi I'm Alison Andrews, I'm the voice and cook behind Loving It Vegan. I love making delicious vegan food and creating vegan versions of all your old favorites, so that you’ll never feel like you’re missing out. Find out more about me here.

    Loving It Vegan is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. This site may contain some of these links to Amazon.com. If you make a purchase through one of those links, Loving It Vegan will receive a small commission from the purchase at no additional cost to you.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Eva says

      August 15, 2021 at 3:56 am

      Hi! Alison. Thank you for the recipe. How can I replace the marinara sauce?

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        August 16, 2021 at 11:19 am

        Hi Eva, you could use crushed tomatoes instead. 🙂

        Reply
    2. Rania says

      July 26, 2021 at 4:33 am

      Hi Alison, the recipe looks good, but my daughter has severe allergies to bell peppers in all colours, can’t smell it or consume it. Is there any other vegetables I can use instead of red pepper? Thank you in advance.

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        July 26, 2021 at 1:29 pm

        Hi Rania, you can just leave out the bell peppers in this recipe. 🙂

        Reply
    3. Sue says

      July 24, 2021 at 7:21 pm

      Am I cooking 1 1/2 dry, or is that the amount after cooking ?
      Thank you

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        July 26, 2021 at 1:35 pm

        The lentils? That is the amount after cooking. We used canned, so it was just one drained can of lentils.

        Reply
    4. Edie says

      November 27, 2020 at 7:08 pm

      Can’t wait to try this on my husband but I’m allergic to walnuts. Could I use cashews instead?

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        November 30, 2020 at 2:23 pm

        Hi Edie, I don’t think cashews would be a good fit in this instance. Maybe pecans?

        Reply
    5. Chris says

      June 21, 2020 at 2:08 am

      So easy. So good. So thankful I found this page.5 stars

      Reply
    6. Nesh says

      April 18, 2020 at 10:50 am

      What can be used in place of tofu?

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        April 18, 2020 at 11:15 am

        You could try increasing the other ingredients and leaving it out but I’m not sure how well it will turn out.

        Reply
      • CeaCea says

        January 30, 2022 at 10:28 pm

        Nesh, chickpeas aka garbanzo beans make a great sub 4 tofu as they’re white beans as well.

        Reply
    7. Kit says

      October 22, 2019 at 5:50 pm

      Could you use red lentils or will it make a difference?

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        October 23, 2019 at 11:12 am

        Hi Kat, I don’t think it would make a difference so it should be fine. 🙂

        Reply
    8. Angela says

      July 29, 2019 at 8:07 pm

      Great recipe! ????5 stars

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        July 30, 2019 at 11:22 am

        Thanks Angela! xo

        Reply
    9. D says

      July 19, 2019 at 4:48 pm

      These look amazing – I can’t wait to try them! Question, can you make the filling in advance and freeze it?
      Thank you!

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        July 20, 2019 at 10:26 am

        Hi there, yes I think this should be totally fine to freeze! All the best! 🙂

        Reply
    10. Jenna says

      May 16, 2019 at 12:29 am

      Oh my! This is so delicious! Everything I have made so far from your site has been awesome!5 stars

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        May 16, 2019 at 8:44 am

        Awesome! So glad to hear that. Thanks so much for the great review Jenna. 🙂

        Reply
    11. Michelle says

      April 29, 2019 at 12:57 pm

      AMAZING, AMAZING, AMAZING!!!!!5 stars

      Reply
    12. Jackie says

      April 25, 2019 at 2:08 pm

      The.BEST.vegan.mince.EVER!5 stars

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        April 26, 2019 at 9:29 am

        Awesome! Thanks Jackie. 🙂

        Reply

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