Vegetarians can eat sloppy joes, too. Jan Sternfeld now eats no meat, but she loved her mother’s sloppy joes when she was growing up. So now she makes them the same way, substituting vegetarian crumbles for the ground beef. Of course, if you’re a carnivore, there is nothing to keep you from substituting ground beef right back in this recipe.
Vegetarian Sloppy Joes
1 (12-ounce) bag vegetarian crumbles, see
cook’s note
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
½ green pepper, cut into small slivers
1 can tomato soup
2-3 tablespoons water
½ cup hot dog relish or hamburger relish, but not
Sweet or dill relish
Sliced green olives for garnish, optional
Cook’s note: This product comes frozen, so thaw it while preparing the other ingredients.
Heat olive oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add onions and green pepper. Sauté for 4-5 minutes, until onions soften. Add the vegetable crumbles and tomato soup. Swirl the 2 or 3 tablespoons of water around in the can, add to mixture, and blend well. Stir in relish.
Bring to a simmer, lower heat, and simmer until peppers are soft, about 5-10 minutes. Season with salt, to taste. Serve in buns or over bread of choice. Sprinkle optional sliced green olives over top.
— Jan Sternfeld
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