Snobby Joes
January 17, 2009 at 7:43 am 37 comments
I’m not sure how I have lived so long without these…they are definitely a keeper! Another goodie from Isa Chandra…these “snobby joes” are certain to please both vegetarians and meat-eaters alike. We ate them on buns with organic ketchup (way better tasting than regular!), mustard, and pickles. If you wanted to omit the bread, you could serve them in lettuce wraps. These were SO TASTY. Wow.
I tweaked the original recipe a bit…up the chili powder if you like it spicier!
Ingredients
1 cup uncooked lentils
4 cups water
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced small
1 green pepper, diced small (optional)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 – 1 Tablespoons chili powder (orig. recipe called for 3!)
1 1/2 teaspoons oregano
1 teaspoon salt
8 oz can tomato sauce
1/4 cup tomato paste
3 tablespoons maple syrup
1-2 tablespoons yellow mustard (wet mustard)
4 to 6 kaiser rolls or sesame buns
Directions
Put the lentils in a small sauce pot and pour in 4 cups water. Cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling, lower heat and simmer for about 20 minutes, until lentils are soft. Drain and set aside.
About 10 minutes before the lentils are done boiling, preheat a medium soup pot over medium heat. Saute the onion and pepper in the oil for about 7 minutes, until softened. Add the garlic and saute a minute more.
Add the cooked lentils, the chili powder, oregano and salt and mix. Add the tomato sauce and tomato paste. Cook for about 10 minutes. Add the maple syrup and mustard and heat through.
Turn the heat off and let sit for about 10 minutes, so that the flavors can meld, or go ahead and eat immediately if you can’t wait. I like to serve these open faced, with a scoop of snobby joe on each slice of the bun. 
Entry filed under: Entree, Sandwich, Uncategorized.
37 Comments Add your own
Leave a comment
Trackback this post | Subscribe to the comments via RSS Feed
Happy Foody 
1.
Nicole | January 17, 2009 at 1:30 pm
I still have got to try out this recipe! It sounds amazing.
2.
Denise | January 17, 2009 at 3:11 pm
We love the Snobby Joes here! They are by far the best sloppy joe alternative I’ve found! I love that they are soy free and use the super-healthy lentils! (which my kids say they hate, but they love these!)
3.
Mandy | January 17, 2009 at 4:42 pm
Oh, those sound good! I’ve actually never had lentils before, but bought a bag because I know they are good for you. I’m going to try these tonight.
4.
TheOrganicSister | January 18, 2009 at 5:23 am
Awesome! I’ve been looking for ways to use my lentils without eating something boring. Thanks for sharing!
5.
jessica | January 18, 2009 at 6:57 am
i have been so moody when it comes to food lately… i think this recipe will do the trick though! woohoo! (it reminds me of a chili recipe that i have made in the past that i always liked)
i totally appreciate the idea to use lentils in place of soy, too
6.
benzismama | January 18, 2009 at 12:18 pm
I can’t wait to try these out, but I’m wondering, If you were going to substitute the maple syrup with something, what would you suggest? Do you think agave nectar would work? Or honey?
7.
livelightly | January 18, 2009 at 1:45 pm
benzismama…yes, I would probably substitute agave instead of honey simply because honey has a pretty strong flavor. Agave is a little more mild, without the distinctive flavor. The maple syrup is really yummy in this particular recipe though! 🙂
8.
Josie | January 19, 2009 at 7:01 am
How well would you say this would freeze? I’m at home until the end of the week and am thinking of making this here (where a majority of the ingredients are located) to take back with me to school…
9.
livelightly | January 19, 2009 at 7:06 am
Josie…I think it would freeze really well. It’s already “mushy”, so freezing can’t hurt it too much. Go for it!
10.
flo @ yielded heart | January 19, 2009 at 3:19 pm
yes, this is definitely a favorite here:) my 4-yr old calls it “snobby doo.”
11.
Jen N. | January 20, 2009 at 4:25 am
I completely agree about organic ketchup. My husband thinks I am nuts, but Trader Joe’s Organic Ketchup is me and my kids favorite, for sure! We also tried an agave ketchup from the co-op, and it was even better than our normal fave (but waaaaayy pricier). The snobby joe’s look yummeee!
12.
Megan | January 20, 2009 at 5:10 pm
This was my first ever attempt at eating a vegan meal (or vegetarian at that!)- and I really liked it! I’m trying to learn how to ease into it all.
I know youre doing a Q&A on your other blog, but had a few ‘foody’ related questions.
1. Any good Vegan blogs you’d recommend? I’m looking for some to get updates on good recipes (like yours!) 🙂
2. I’ve caught your ‘story’ here and there – but how did you FIRST transition into no meat/no dairy – I’m in the very first ‘baby’ stages and not sure exactly how to do it (even practical things like what do I do with allt he meat/cheese/dairy in my fridge now, do I now be wasteful and use it up first and slowly transition to being meat/dairy free?)
13.
TheOrganicSister | January 21, 2009 at 2:56 am
Okay, so I made this tonight – omitted the maple syrup and mustrad (we are out) and they turned out great! We ended up with about 8 “joes” all together. I really enjoyed them.
My picky son wouldn’t touch them but said he’d try the leftovers for lunch. DH said they were “okay” – he prefers the sloppy version but liked these.
Thanks again!
14.
livelightly | January 21, 2009 at 3:13 am
Megan…I honestly don’t read a lot of vegan blogs, but I love Dreena Burton’s cookbooks and this is her recipe blog:
http://viveleveganrecipes.blogspot.com/
A lot of people like The Vegan Lunchbox too:
http://veganlunchbox.blogspot.com/
I first became a vegetarian about 4.5 years ago…pretty much cold turkey (or cold tofu?…ha). The book that really helped me was Sarah Kramer’s “How It All Vegan”. VegNews is a great magazine too. http://www.vegnews.com/web/home.do
As far as what to do with your meat/cheese, etc…I gave mine away to friends and family. If you don’t have that option…just use it up and start fresh when it’s gone.
You’ll do great!
TheOrganicSister…good to know! Although those 2 flavors are my favorite in the whole recipe!! 🙂 I think they make it much more palatable…kind of the sweet and sour effect.
15.
Kat | January 24, 2009 at 5:24 am
What kind of lentils do you use? green? orange? mix? I cannot WAIT to try these, thank you!!!
16.
livelightly | January 24, 2009 at 5:26 am
Kat…I believe I used brown lentils this time and they were great!
17.
Dawn | January 25, 2009 at 2:35 am
I just cooked these for dinner tonight and they were so delicious! Thanks for the recipe. 😉
18.
Jenny | May 23, 2012 at 10:00 pm
I’d still love to feed my pet with home made food.One reason is they are feinelg healthy and other is I got fixed income and would like some recipes to try for my dogs. I suspect it would be more cost effective to stay on dog food, however these dogs are older strays who love people food.Thanks for your recipes.
19.
jessica | January 26, 2009 at 12:22 am
i made these and they taste even better after it has sat for a day or two (if you can stand to let it sit that long!) i could have used a bit more spice in mine, but everything else was great… the mustard did a lot more for the dish than i thought it would… i will be making these again very very soon 🙂
20.
puetzfamily | January 29, 2009 at 3:03 am
I made these tonight and we loved the flavor! I’ve never cooked with lentils so one question – are they supposed to be mushy or did I overcook them? I didn’t time how long I let them simmer…
21.
livelightly | January 29, 2009 at 5:04 am
putetzfamily: I think it kind of depends on the dish, but lentils are definitely on the mushy side 🙂 I purposely let mine get more mushy for this dish because I like them that way. I’m very anti-crunch. 🙂 I’m always paranoid they aren’t going to get cooked enough, so I tend to overcook them probably….which equals mush.
22.
Hallie | January 30, 2009 at 3:11 am
We’ve had these several times in our household as well; as a matter of fact we had them last week (I’m reading this post late)! I like that it uses yummy healthy lentils instead of frozen veggie crumbles.
23.
Tara | January 31, 2009 at 12:21 am
Thanks for the recipes! We are lentil freaks so we will definitely be trying this one. Also, I totally agree about the organic ketchup. It is a gajillion times more delicious that plain ol’ ketchup.
24.
Michelle | May 21, 2009 at 2:52 am
Just made these tonight, everyone in the family loved them!
Even the picky 9yo couldn’t get enough(:
25.
Dana | June 16, 2009 at 3:56 am
I used black eyed peas, since I had a few cups pre-cooked in the fridge, and the joes turned out great!
26.
Movember « Frugal 'n' Fit: The pursuit of wealth and health! | November 1, 2010 at 11:38 am
[…] snobby joe mix on three small slices of rye […]
27. Reflections on Two Weeks of Vegetarianism | Cycles and Hertz | November 1, 2010 at 8:29 pm
[…] Snobby Joes. Highly recommended! […]
28.
“Success” would be a strong word « 365 Days of Cooking | November 2, 2010 at 8:03 pm
[…] I later found out—to come up with another option, so we ordered pizza. (We were going to eat Snobby Joes, which are great. I was glad to find that recipe, because The PPK seemed to have dropped theirs. […]
29. Lentil Joe’s | Dani Spies | November 10, 2010 at 6:03 pm
[…] It’s one of those “out-of-sight, out-of-mind” kind of things. I didn’t see them so I didn’t think about them UNTIL I saw this recipe. […]
30. 28 Day Challenge: Vegan Status Update | Minneapolis | WholeFoodsMarket.com | January 17, 2011 at 3:53 pm
[…] I made an awesome vegan sloppy joe recipe I found here https://happyfoody.com/2009/01/17/snobby-joes/” […]
31. No photo « Trail Mix and more | April 10, 2011 at 7:23 pm
[…] “Snobby Joes” the Bf loved sloppy joes growing up, so I just googled vegetarian sloppy joes and settled on this recipe […]
32.
Vennesa | September 15, 2011 at 6:14 pm
I have never liked Sloppy Joes, but there are delicious! Thanks for posting. This is now one of my favorite dinners!
33.
Vennesa | September 15, 2011 at 6:14 pm
always proofread! “These” are delicious. 🙂
34.
SalmaCeta | January 5, 2012 at 7:02 am
I am a college student and I extremely need an article developed for course. Want to look at a company on-line Buy Essay Online. Has any person tried out a writing solution for a university assignment? These providers maintain to create authentic papers that will not be flagged by teachers. What do you tend to suggest?
35.
Kate | February 26, 2012 at 12:40 am
Fantastic recipe! I made these tonight and even my carnivorous boyfriend loved them! He turns up his nose at anything vegetarian, so I’m glad to find a meal that we can both enjoy 🙂
36.
veterinary license new york | March 7, 2014 at 11:50 pm
This website was… how do you say it? Relevant!! Finally I have found something that
helped me. Many thanks!
37.
SEVEN QUICK TAKES: LENTEN MEATLESS MEALS -- no pasta, no seafood - Catholic Sistas | April 8, 2014 at 3:54 pm
[…] #1) LENTIL Sloppy Joes (AKA: “Snobby Joes”) I got this recipe from a fellow “Sista.” My beef eaters at home like these more than traditional ground beef sloppy joes. https://happyfoody.com/2009/01/17/snobby-joes/ […]