A recipe for quick and easy homemade vegan sloppy Joes. Healthy and delicious!

Sloppy Joes is a dish that brings me back to childhood. I remember so many potlucks and picnics with a large crockpot filled with the fixings for Sloppy Joes.

While I have fond memories of those picnics, I don’t really miss the greasy sandwiches we called “sloppy joes”. In my adult life I’ve worked to bring back the sweet tomatoey flavor of sloppy joes with a bit less grease and a bunch of healthy ingredients. The end result is delicious and so comforting!

What is Tempeh?

Tempeh is a soy-based product made by fermenting cooked soybeans and forming the mixture into a firm, dense cake. It holds its shape better than tofu when cooked, which makes it perfect in these vegan sloppy joes along with many other vegan or vegetarian meals. Sometimes tempeh is combined with other grains like rice or barley. Any of those versions will work well in this recipe.

Tempeh is high in protein, cholesterol-free, and also low fat. You can generally find it near the tofu in your grocery store. I personally don’t really like eating tempeh on its own, but it takes on other flavors well, so is delicious in this tomato-based sauce.

How to Make Vegan Sloppy Joes

This post contains affiliate links. See my disclosure policy.

Start out by prepping your ingredients. Dice an onion. Cut the tempeh into tiny pieces. You can either crumble it by hand or mince it up with a knife – I find that using a knife is faster for me. Mince the garlic. Cut a large zucchini into thin slices and then mince to break into even smaller pieces. In a small bowl combine the chili powder, cayenne, vegan Worcestershire sauce, and soy sauce.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the vegetable oil and the onion and cook for about 4 minutes until the onion is softened. Add the tempeh crumbles and cook for another 3 minutes. Then add the zucchini and garlic and saute for another minute.

Add the brown sugar to the skillet and mix until well combined. Cook for another minute. Then add the rest of the ingredients: the small bowl of spices and seasonings you already measured out plus the tomato sauce and tomato paste.

Cook for about 5 to 7 minutes until the mixture is warmed through and bubbling. Serve on vegan hamburger buns.

Looking for some more delicious vegan recipes? Try this Tofu with Peanut Sauce, Curry Seitan with Pineapple Rice, or Spaghetti Squash Spaghetti. If you tried this recipe for Vegan Sloppy Joes, leave me a comment and a review below and let me know how it turned out for you!

Print Recipe

5 from 3 votes