Almost Meatless Sloppy Joes

The recipe is a very good starting point for a reduced meat sloppy joe.  However I found both the texture and seasonings not quite right making the finished dish neither chili nor sloppy joe like.  So I made the following adjustments to get the recipe closer to a traditional sloppy joe in taste and texture. Chopped the grated carrots so that the pieces were closer to texture to the ground beef (Took all of 30 seconds to do and well worth the effort.), added 1/4 tsp Colman's dried mustard, a couple of shakes of Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce, and maple syrup to taste.  End result tasted like a traditional sloppy joe with an excellent texture. I can recommend using pickled jalapenos as a garnish for those who don't like to eat raw onions.

This was very easy to make and my husband and I liked it a lot.  I will definitely make this again.  I served it without the raw onion garnish, on grilled whole wheat hot dog buns, which made it even healthier.  It tastes a lot like chili, and less like a traditional sloppy joe.  Our son didn't like it, because of the spice, whereas he likes sloppy joes normally.

Mark Bittman is a genius. So, this is so much better than I expected - I was just hoping to use up some leftover sirloin. I got a little crazy and tossed in some diced red bell pepper in with the shredded carrots because I had some leftovers, and figured it would be a good way to sneak in another veggie. I don't think I would *actually* make sloppy joe's of any sort for a true special occasion, but still - this was really tasty and quite easy. I'll definitely make it again, and would recommend it to folks with kids, for sure. (except they may want to tone down the spice and skip the red onion garnish - I loved it, though). Oh, and I used fire-roasted crushed tomatoes, too. And I added wickles as a garnish, too.

So good!!! I made this tonight and can't wait to eat leftovers tomorrow. I added a bit more meat and onions but was faithful to the rest of the recipe. I garnished with red onion slices and some shredded Monterey jack cheese. I will definitely be making this again. Very comforting and satisfying. YUM!

I've made this before, but augmented it tonight with a chopped up portobello that I added with the onions and the beef. Excellent move, highly recommended.

I doubled the meat and onion and tomato. Fantastic. Added mozzarella cheese and dipped crackers. So going to make this again!

Great taste, great texture and so easy to make. Into the regular rotation this goes!

Great, easy recipe. I added some salsa and bbq sauce to make it my own, and I'll defnintely make it again. My boyfriend doesn't eat many vegetables so this is a great way to sneak some in.

My hubby really liked this, but I thought it was just okay. There are a couple of things I might tweak when I make it next time (if the hubby likes something this healthy, gotta make it again!). I used diced tomatoes instead of crushed and I will take the time to look for crushed next time - too much texture with the diced. I might add some tomato paste, just to up the tomato flavor, but I might not need to if using crushed tomatoes - will have to experiment. With the carrots, I might experiment with adding pureed carrots instead of grated, again for the texture, and also so that my toddler can't pick out the carrot pieces!

This is definitely going in the recipe file! It was fast, easy, and flavorful. Like others, I used pinto beans in place of the kidney beans and found it to be a great substitute. I'm thinking of serving this for a party on slider buns -- excellent!

This recipe is DELICOUS and was so easy to make!! I had halved the entire recipe and it's amazing how far 3 oz of lean ground meat goes! Whole Foods had run out of their ground sirloin, so I opted for the 95% lean ground beef. Near the end of the cook time, I added in a few extra spoonfuls of the liquid from the can of crushed tomatoes. My boyfriend LOVED this recipe. We had it on whole wheat buns. I do Weight Watchers and each serving of the sloppy joe sandwich (with bread included) was only 6 points! I served with 8 oz beans sauteed with a few thinly sliced cloves of garlic for 10 minutes with a 1/2 Tbsp of light whipped butter and a quarter teaspoon olive oil along with some kosher salt and peppper to taste and then after it was done, 2.5 tsp grated parmesan. Best green beans EVER!!! We split an Amy's frozen shepherds pie too. Filling dinner!

My son and I really enjoy this, we use about 1/2 the amount of ground red pepper, and have used celery instead of carrots in a pinch, and the flavor is great! Such a big flavor payoff for the amount of work. Splurge on a really good can of crushed tomatoes for the best results.

I made this recipe for company last week and my husband said "These are the best sloppy joes I have ever had". Even my brother-in-law who hates any and all vegetables raved about dinner. I followed the recipe to the T and will certainly make again. I look forward to trying this with ground turkey but more seasoning will be needed for that.

Made this last night for me and my meat crazed hubby. We both really liked it. Since the crushed tomatoes play such an important role be sure not to go cheap. Buy high quality - such as Miur Glen or San Marazano. This is a great light take on the otherwise meat heavy no veggie sloppy joes our parents used to make. I served with CL sweet corn muffins and steamed green beans. Yum.

Cheap and easy recipe. Leftovers are great over rice or polenta.

I wasn't blown away by this recipe, but it was okay. I thought it was a little too sweet, so I probably would omit the brown sugar. I ate it at first in a bun, but then I brought the leftovers to work and ate it like chili. It was easy and cheap, so I probably will make again.

I'm making this for the third time in a week after taking a minibreak, coming home, and discovering my roommates had finished my second batch. It's THAT good. I like it best with an extra teaspoon of cayenne pepper.

Thought we'd love this recipe, but instead we all described it as "not offensive" and nothing to got out of the way for. No objections to the nearly meatlessness or to the beans; however, the sauce was tomato-y to the point of tasting more like spaghetti sauce.

We loved these. I omitted the red pepper so they wouldn't be too spicy for my 5 year old. To add some zing without the heat I added about 1 Tbsp of red wine vinegar. I highly recommend this recipe.

Great fast recipe. The little bit of meat really is enough to give it beefy flavor and texture. I am sure it would work with other kinds of beans too--I'm going to try black next time! I had the leftovers on toasted whole grain bread and I have to say that was better than the soft whole wheat bun. I actually liked that the crunchier texture of the bread stood up to the soft filling. I'm really looking forward to more of Bittman's recipes!

Loved this recipe and would make it again. Quick and easy to make.

Great recipe: easy for a rushed weeknight meal and very flavorful. I will keep this in my repertoire.

These were really good. You can't tell that half of the "meat" is really beans. I will make this again.

This was terrific! Even my husband (who usually balks at vegetables in anything) loved it. It was quick and delicious -- just perfect for a busy weeknight. Note, I used pinto beans because we were out of kidney beans. This is definitely going in our regular menu rotation. I'm so glad Bittman is writing a column for CL now!

I was intrigued by Bittman's philosophy when designing this recipe. I am happy to say that it was delicious! My entire family enjoyed it. The only thing I added was a bit of worchestshire sauce.

This recipe was quick and so delicious! It is a perfect recipe for a fast weeknight meal. We left out the carrots and added a little more meat, and the overall flavors were superb. My husband usually steers clear of sloppy joes, but this one has now become a household favorite!

My family is trying to cut back on the amount of meat we eat and this was a great way to do that. It was still familiar enough for everyone to eat it, had great flavor (and texture), and was easy to make. I'll definitely make this one again.