A 'Sloppy Lenny' Is The Sloppy Joe's Meatless Best Friend

When it comes to finding new vegetarian dinner ideas, simpler is often better. Between grocery shopping, cooking, and cleaning up, there isn't a lot of time left for an elaborate entree made from scratch, even though there's so much that can be done with plant-based ingredients. If you're looking for something quick that's not takeout, consider a hearty sandwich like the Sloppy Lenny. It's a vegetarian take on a classic Sloppy Joe, using red lentils in place of ground beef for the protein (the 'Lenny' part of its name refers to the lentils). With just a couple of extra ingredients, and some burger buns, you can have dinner on the table in 40 minutes flat.

Although there are a some misconceptions about cooking with beans and lentils, and the amount of effort it might take, rest assured Sloppy Lennys are easy to prepare. The most common myths are that you have to soak legumes overnight, and that they take a long time to cook. But, that's not the case if you use canned versions, which are pre-soaked. When it comes to a Sloppy Lenny, you don't even need canned ingredients since red lentils cook up almost as quickly as pasta when you make them from scratch. Beyond just the sandwich, red lentils can take the place of ground beef in a lot of recipes, so you can always have a healthy meat alternative at the ready.

To make a batch of Sloppy Lennys for Meatless Mondays or any night of the week, all you need are a few simple ingredients, including red lentils, a yellow onion, a couple of pickled peppers (like peppadew or cherry), plus a few tablespoons of pickle brine, ketchup, brown sugar, Dijon mustard, soy sauce, chili powder, olive or avocado oil, burger buns, salt, and pepper. Many of these ingredients you might already have stocked in your refrigerator and pantry, but if not, they're all relatively inexpensive, which makes the Sloppy Lenny a real inflation-busting meal.

The most prominent part of making Sloppy Lennys is cooking the lentils. However, they're easy to prepare and generally cook in around 15 minutes (depending on how soft or crunchy you like them). Typically, all you need to do is rinse the lentils in a strainer, put them in a pot, and cover with at least a few inches of water. Bob's Red Mill packaging recommends 3 cups of water for every 1 cup of lentils. Add a teaspoon or so of salt to the water, and then bring the lentils to a boil. Once boiling, turn the heat down and simmer the lentils until they are fully cooked through.

The best part about making Sloppy Lennys is that you can everything in one pot. First, chop up your onion and sweat the vegetable in a heavy-bottomed skillet or Dutch oven lined with ¼-cup olive oil for a few minutes, until the pieces start to look a bit translucent. Next, add 1 tablespoon of chili powder, 2-3 pickled peppers, and a dash of brine, and give it all a stir. Then, add 1 cup of dried lentils, water (follow the package instructions for the right ratio, but typically about 3 cups), a ½-cup of ketchup, 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, 2 tablespoons of Dijon mustard, 1 tablespoon of brown sugar, plus salt and black pepper to taste. 

Cook everything over low heat until the mix starts to look like a stew and the lentils are soft. Once you've got it cooked down to a proper consistency, you can serve it on burger buns — toasting optional — and top with extra pickled peppers, fried onions, or crushed corn chips for some crunch. If you're not into bread and buns, you can also serve your mixture like a stew over rice or pasta, or just eat by the spoonful.

If you don't eat all your Sloppy Lenny mix in one night, it stores well in the refrigerator for three to four days and makes great meal prep for lunches, too.