Vegan Tex-Mex Lentil Tempeh Sloppy Joes w/ Homemade Guacamole
Difficulty: 2/5 (5 being hardest)
Spice Level: 2/3 (3 being spiciest)
Prep & Cook Time: 40 minutes
Servings: 4-6 sandwiches
The Challenge: Sloppy Joes
Vegan Sloppy Joes. OMG! Vegan Tex-Mex Sloppy Joes with Guacamole. OMGGGGGGG!
We're taking the sloppy joe, veganizing it, and turning it up fifteen notches. Cowabunga. Sloppy joes are probably the least elegant food that exists. Typically, it is made with a simple combination of onions, some ground beef or pork, and some ketchup. It was like the poster child for 90s food. Get as much processed food into one dish as possible!
Today, we want to rebuild this dish from scratch. We start with a base of red lentils + tempeh, mix that with shallots and garlic and charred poblano. We then mix in a sauce of organic ketchup (c'mon we can't change everything) as well as heirloom tomatoes, and a wicked delicious Tex-Mex spice blend. All in all, we get a fab base for our sloppy joe.
We slap that onto an onion roll with crushed tortilla chips, red cabbage, and a delicious chunky homemade guacamole for absolute magic in your mouth!! Stack it between an onion roll and voila...TEXMEX SLOPPY JOE.
Let's get into it!
Ingredients:
Vegan Tex-Mex Sloppy Joes
- 8 oz tempeh, diced into cubes
- 1 cup red lentils (or green) + 2 cups vegetable broth
- 1 large shallot, finely diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- Spices: 1 tsp ground mustard, 1 tsp chili powder, 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp coriander, pinch of salt + pepper
- 2 medium heirloom tomatoes, roughly chopped
- 1/2 cup ketchup (up to 3/4 cup depending on taste preference)
- 2 tbl tomato paste
- 1 tbl Worcestershire sauce
- 3 tbl adobo sauce from canned chipotles in adobo sauce
- 1 medium poblano pepper
Guacamole
- 2 medium avocados
- 1 lime, juiced
- 1/4 tsp salt
- handful of fresh cilantro
- 1/4 cup chopped bell pepper (orange or yellow preferred)
- 1 cob of corn, dekerneled
- 1/4 cup chopped carrot
Other
- 1/2 cup chopped red cabbage
- 1/2 cup crushed tortilla chips
- 4 onion rolls (sub with desired bun)
Equipment You'll Need:
Cutting Board . Sharp Cutting Knife . Measuring Cups . Measuring Spoons . Castiron Pan or Large Frying Pan . Food Processor . Fork + Spoon
Before You Cook:
- Add lentils + broth to a medium pot and bring to boil, reduce to medium-low heat and simmer for 15 minutes
- Wash + chop fresh ingredients
1. While the lentils cook, add tempeh to food processor and blend until tempeh becomes like oversized rice granules.
2. Add 1.5 tbl of olive oil with shallots + garlic to castiron pan over medium heat for 4-5 minutes.
3. If onions + garlic finish before lentils, take them off heat. Once lentils are done, add lentils, blended tempeh and all the spices for sloppy joes to the pan. Mix well and cook for 2-3 minutes over medium heat, stirring frequently.
4. While that is cooking, place a poblano ion the stove top or on a dry pan over the stop top and char each side for 60-90 seconds.
5. Add the rest of the sloppy joe ingredients to the pan and turn the heat to medium low. Once the poblano is charred, pull off the stove and dice carefully (its hot!). Mix that into the mixture. Turn the heat to low and let it simmer while we finish the recipe.
6. While the mixture simmers, add all the guac ingredeints to a small bowl and mix well with a spoon and fork. Keep it chunkier.
7. To finish, I toast up my onion rolls, add the layer of tort chips, a healthy layer of the sloppy joe, and then cabbage and guac. Cheers, enjoy!
