I love vegetarian food, but one of the hardest things about becoming a vegetarian as an adult is that by the time I reached my 20’s, my tastes were pretty much set, and it was hard to give up the foods I’ve loved all my life.
Then, I realized that with a little creativity, I could fake most of my omnivore favorites! If you read my blog on a regular basis, you’ve probably noticed that I’ve devised a fair amount of veggie versions of meat based dishes. (“meatballs”, general tso’s tofu, “cheesesteak” sandwiches, etc.)
Another one of my made over favorites is sloppy joes!
Vegetarian Sloppy Joes Recipe
1 can tomato puree (28 oz.)
1 T soy sauce
1 1/2 T yellow mustard
1 T sugar
2 t chili powder
1 1/2 cups TVP
1 1/4 cup water
olive oil
buns
I usually serve this in toasted whole wheat burger buns with pickles.
The recipe makes a decent sized batch (think Manwich), how many sandwiches will depend on the size of your buns and how full you make them. Standard size buns are easier to handle than the bigger sandwich size buns.
In addition to being less expensive than sloppy joes made with ground turkey or beef, these are lower in calories and almost fat free, which frees up a calorie and fat gram deficit that might be better spent on say, french fries, ice cream, or a cocktail ;)
Miss Liz says
I LOVE this idea! I was a vegetarian for over a year. I married a meat and potatoes kind of man and that had to go out the window or i’d be making two meals each night LOL. I’m definately going to try this recipe!
Sage says
Hi Miss Liz,
I married one of those, too, but I was able to convert him :)
Thanks for reading and leaving a note! I hope you enjoy the recipe.
~ Sage
Darla: Retro Ways says
This looks yummy, I have never heard of tvp but now I will be on the lookout for it! ♥