Vegan Cheeseburger Lentil Sloppy Joes (Print Version)

Savory lentils and vegan cheese sauce layered on toasted sourdough for a bold, hearty dish.

# What You'll Need:

→ Lentil Sloppy Joe Base

01 - 1 tablespoon olive oil
02 - 1 medium yellow onion, finely diced
03 - 1 green bell pepper, finely diced
04 - 2 garlic cloves, minced
05 - 1½ cups cooked brown or green lentils
06 - 1 cup canned crushed tomatoes
07 - 2 tablespoons tomato paste
08 - 1 tablespoon vegan Worcestershire sauce
09 - 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
10 - 2 tablespoons ketchup
11 - 1 tablespoon maple syrup
12 - 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
13 - 1 teaspoon chili powder
14 - ½ teaspoon ground cumin
15 - Salt and black pepper to taste

→ Vegan Cheese Sauce

16 - ½ cup raw cashews, soaked in hot water for 20 minutes and drained
17 - 1 cup unsweetened plant-based milk
18 - 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
19 - 1 tablespoon lemon juice
20 - 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
21 - ½ teaspoon garlic powder
22 - ½ teaspoon onion powder
23 - ½ teaspoon turmeric
24 - 1 teaspoon salt
25 - 1 teaspoon cornstarch or arrowroot powder (optional)

→ Assembly

26 - 4 large slices sourdough bread
27 - Vegan butter or olive oil for toasting
28 - 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
29 - 1 dill pickle, thinly sliced
30 - Chopped fresh parsley or chives (optional)

# How To Make It:

01 - Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add diced onion and bell pepper; sauté for 4–5 minutes until softened. Add minced garlic and cook for 1 minute. Stir in cooked lentils, crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, vegan Worcestershire sauce, mustard, ketchup, maple syrup, smoked paprika, chili powder, cumin, salt, and pepper. Simmer uncovered for 10–15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thickened and flavors meld. Adjust seasoning to taste.
02 - In a blender, combine soaked cashews, plant-based milk, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, garlic powder, onion powder, turmeric, salt, and cornstarch if using. Blend until completely smooth. Pour mixture into a small saucepan and heat over medium heat, whisking constantly, until thickened and melty, approximately 3–5 minutes. Add additional plant milk if sauce is too thick.
03 - Brush both sides of each sourdough slice with vegan butter or olive oil. Toast in a skillet over medium heat or under a broiler until golden and crisp on both sides.
04 - Place each toasted sourdough slice on a serving plate. Spoon a generous portion of the lentil sloppy joe mixture over each slice. Drizzle with warm vegan cheese sauce. Top with sliced red onion, pickles, and fresh herbs if desired. Serve immediately.

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • It tastes like comfort food, not a compromise—the lentil base is genuinely savory and satisfying, not a sad imitation.
  • The vegan cheese sauce is so creamy and tangy it'll make you forget there's no dairy involved.
  • You can have this on the table in under an hour, and it actually impresses people who aren't even vegan.
02 -
  • If your lentils are too mushy before they even hit the pan, they'll fall apart during simmering and turn into mush instead of maintaining that satisfying bite—cook them separately and slightly underdone if you're starting from scratch.
  • The cheese sauce will thicken more as it cools, so if it seems a tiny bit too runny when you pull it off the heat, it'll be perfect by the time you pour it; overcompensating and making it too thick is the real mistake.
03 -
  • Don't skip the apple cider vinegar in the cheese sauce—it sounds like a small thing, but that acid is what makes it taste tangy and alive instead of flat and one-dimensional.
  • If you're toasting the bread in a broiler instead of a skillet, watch it obsessively because the line between golden and burnt is measured in seconds, not minutes.
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