It’s been one of those seasons when learning to use the crockpot has come in quite handy! It is so nice to be able to get dinner prepared while you have a little more energy in the morning, if you know what I mean? I have been adapting some of my favorite winter meals for the crockpot and wanted to share with you my variation to Sloppy Lentils. It is actually way easier to prepare this in the crockpot actually! Just throw all the ingredients in and let it go! This is a easy, frugal, and nutritious meal that we love. I have actually simplified the original recipe a bit as well. For the original recipe, visit here. It’s recipes like this that make eating whole foods on a budget possible!
2 cups water (the original recipe uses 3 cups, so notice the change for crockpot preparation!)
1 cup brown lentils, rinsed
salt to taste (optional)
1 cup chopped onion
15 oz can diced tomatoes (drained), tomato sauce or 2 cups fresh tomatoes, chopped
1 (6 oz) can tomato paste, optional (as needed to thicken – especially if using tomato sauce)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup ketchup
1 teaspoon mustard powder
1 tablespoon chili powder
3 tablespoons rapadura, molasses, or honey
1 Tbsp white vinegar
salt and ground black pepper to taste
4 hamburger buns, split
cheddar cheese, grated (to top your lentils when serving)
Combine all your ingredients in the crockpot (besides the buns and cheese!). Turn on low and cook for approximately 5 hours, until lentils are tender and the mixture has thickened and absorbed most of the liquids. Serve on open faced hamburger buns and top with melted cheese, as desired.
Want to join me for a nutritious crock pot meals carnival? It would be a great way to pass around meals such as this that make meal preparation a little easier for busy moms! I’d love to hear your thoughts!
I read all of the comments before making this, and made a few little changes. I did soak the lentils with water and lemon juice but only for bout 20 mins while I put the other ingredients together. For the tomato sauce and paste I just used a 10 oz can of tomato soup, I only used a Tbsp of ketchup, I did not use as much chili powder, I used 1 Tbsp brown sugar in place of the honey, and I added a 1/2 Tbsp cocoa. I cooked it on low for 4 hours then on high for 2 1/2 hours. It came out wonderfully and thickened up perfectly.
I am wondering if soaking the lentils in lemon juice for six hours first, then drained and rinsed would be okay or if they would get too mushy. I just learned that lentils should be soaked in an acidic liquid to get rid of the phytic acid.
Are the lentils canned or dried? I noticed the post about the lentils not softening? Is this an issue or any suggestions?
These were great! My kids loved them…we made an addition of shredded zukes and shredded carrots. It was so good!
Your recipe has been a staple at our house for a long time! A lot of times we make a Mexican version by adding corn, olives, anything I can think of, and serving it over corn bread. We also put it on buns a lot as well as sloppy lentils. Thanks!!!
I am so disappointed in how this dish did not work out. I had it in the crockpot on high for about 6 hours, then transferred it to a pot on the stove and have had it boiling for about 3 hours, and the lentils are still hard. I’ve read that cooking legumes with acid (tomatoes, vinegar), can keep them from softening. I may attempt this recipe again, but I will definitely pre-cook the lentils.
i made this tonight and it was really good. too much chili powder for me but other than that really, really good.
is it necessary to drain the diced tomatoes?
No, not at all.
Hi, Lindsay!
I’ve been lurking around your blog for a few years. Thank you for all the wonderful encouragement! I haven’t tried this recipe yet, but it sounds great! I did want to let you know that I bought a slow-cooker last year after my old one finally broke, but not before doing a LOT of research online. What I found out could solve some reviewer’s problems with cooking time not being long enough/ soupy texture. Around 1998, the slow cooker industry began making all new crock-pots heat to a much higher temperature than the older models, due to some kind of legislation, and in order to prevent food-borne illnesses. In my old cooker (made before 1998), I cooked everything for around 12 hours, and all came out perfectly tender and yummy! I got a new slow cooker, and it definitely will burn things in 5-6 hours! So I started looking on Craigslist and garage sales for an old one. Actually, my friend finally found one for free and passed it on to me. So for meats, I use the old one, and for the new hotter version, I cook my beans (which don’t tend to burn, and I don’t leave them in there overnight).
Pretty soon I’m going to see if my husband can make me a homemade contraption called a Crock-O-Stat, found here: http://www.delcollo.us/icp/crockostat.html so I can dial down the electricity on my hot Crock Pot. I hope this helps some readers! They just don’t make the slow cookers the way they used to.
Thanks again for your blog- I enjoy it soooo much!
Hi!
How much tomato sauce should I use/what size can should I buy?
Thanks, Lindsay!
A 15 oz can will do just like if you used diced tomatoes. The quantity is the same.
Would it work to use a light broth instead of water? Thanks!
Sure thing!
This was so great! We just made it last night. My husband, who hates lentils, loved it. I didn’t have enough ketchup, so I used a big can of tomato paste and ketchup spices and more vinegar. I used less sweetener, and added a cup of shredded zucchini that I had in the freezer.
Just a note to anyone who wants to try this recipe. We’ve made it twice and in our crockpot it takes at least 8 hours on HIGH to cook the lentils. I do soak them in advance, which if anything should speed the cooking time. So you might want to start it first thing in the morning and cook on high until it’s done, then you can just keep it warm til dinner time (if it happens to be finished before that time.) Great flavor!
I’m making these right now and the kitchen smells delicious!!!
I made these yesterday. They were quite liquidy so we served it over leftover rice, sprinkled with cheddar and they were great! I’d definitely make these again; perhaps adding more lentils to see if this thickens it up.
Great flavor.
I think I should put this on my future recipe list.
This recipe is a great one! I substituted a cup of salsa for the tomatoes and served over soaked brown rice. Yummy!
I tried this yesterday and it was yummy. Are you sure the measurement (1 tbsp) for chili powder is correct? I used only a tsp and it was still really spicy…
From your picture, it looks like you used brown lentils. Red lentils dissolve completely into mush/soupify. So I’m confused how this recipe can use either brown or red lentils…the results would be totally different, texture-wise. Green lentils are like brown lentils, I think.
I have not tried red lentils, only brown…I thought they were similar. Anyway, I changed the recipe to brown as I have used and had success with.
This may seem silly… but I’ve never cooked lentils before. I read your blog daily and the Sloppy Lentil Recipe looked so good! So I’m trying it… but was curious how much does it make? Will it fill up the crockpot? Or can I double it so that we can freeze and have another day?
It makes about 6-8 servings. It makes enough for two meals for our family. Yes, you can definitely double it and freeze it as desired. Your crockpot should be able to handle a double batch if you have an average sized one.
Thank you!! We had them last night and they were fabulous!! I wasn’t sure whether or not to add the juice from the can of tomatoes in addition to the 2 cups of water, so I did and it ended up being kind of soupy. So I threw in 1 cup of rice and cooked it another 4 hours on low… and it turned out perfectly! We served it up in tortillas and it was an instant hit with my family… will definately be having this again! Do you have any other lentil recipes that are not spicy? Just curious…
Lindsay-
Why do you use white vinegar in the recipe instead of ACV? I’ve read that distilled white vinegar robs your body of minerals. Just wondering why you choose that over ACV?
You could go either way. Vinegar is the main ingredient in worchestershire sauce, so I replaced it as such. I have never heard of it robbing your body of minerals. Go ahead and try the ACV!
so…does yours really set up as much as it looks like in the picture? because I made this today in the crockpot…and after five hours, even turning it up to high for the last hour, it was SOUP. we ended up taking the liquid out and making it super thick with cornstarch on the stove, then adding it back in…and still we had to eat it open-faced. which was fine–and the flavor was yummy–but I just wonder why it was so different than it looks in your picture?
Yes, my lentils always thicken as they cook. You may have added too much liquids. Did you follow the adjusted recipe in my crockpot version? For the crockpot you want to cut back on the liquids by 1 cup, as described here.
yep, I definitely only used 2 cups of water instead of the 3 in the original recipe.
I am not sure what to say. Try it again? It always seems to work for me and the other reviewers here. Did you soak the lentils at all in advance?
nope, didn’t soak…I didn’t plan far enough ahead, and then noticed you saying in a comment somewhere that you hadn’t been on top of it (and didn’t even include that step in this version of the recipe). why, do you think that would have helped?
they may just not have cooked long enough–maybe my crockpot runs at a lower temp or something–I wouldn’t haev minded if the lentils were softer, either. but as soupy as it was, I can’t imagine it would EVER have set up to look like yours. I’m anxious to try again (though we’ve still got leftovers in the fridge for now!) and either do it on the stove, or tweak the crockpot version.
No, I haven’t soaked the last few times..I just was thinking if you had that it might be absorbing too much liquids in the soaking process. Anyway, I think it must be the lentils you used or your crockpot. My crockpot is almost too hot and cooks in a short time. You probably didn’t cook them long enough. Did you use brown lentils? I have discovered that the other varieties definitely do not work as well.
they were brown–or at least sort of light brown. I’ve never noticed my crockpot taking longer to cook things before, but that must be it, I guess. thanks for troubleshooting
Okay, I blew it! I am the problem. It is only supposed to be a 15 oz can of diced tomatoes, not a 28 oz can! AHH! I just looked over the recipe and realized my error. Sorry about that! I also added that you can use the tomato paste to thicken as needed. That should solve your problem!
I only used a 15-oz can. That’s what the original recipe said, and I must not have noticed that you had changed it to 28-oz for the crockpot version (I had printed off the original and then jotted down notes for the crockpot modifications). I will definitely try the tomato paste next time, though. Had leftovers for lunch today and I do really like the flavor–I’m excited about having found an enjoyable, cheap vegetarian meal to add into our diet!
Crock pot Carnival? – YES Please!
This might be a stupid question but when you say you soak the lentils in water with an acid medium, what acid medium do you use? I’ve just started on this journey to more natural eating and living and am trying to learn the basics.
Thanks love your blog.
I use apple cider vinegar, white vinegar, or lemon juice…whatever I have on hand.
Just found your blog, I was at the mom’s group you spoke to last week. Thanks so much for your helpful info!
interesting–I had just printed off the original to try this week. how come there’s no tomato paste, W-shire sauce or bbq sauce in this version?
Mainly to simplify the recipe. I rarely have tomato paste on hand and found that the tomato sauce or diced tomato works perfectly fine. I eliminated the W-shire sauce because it’s main ingredient is vinegar and W-shire sauce usually has corn syrup or MSG. I have been eliminating it from all my recipes and have found vinegar works great in replacement. As far as the BBQ sauce goes, that is another take it or leave it ingredient. Really didn’t do too much either way, so I simplified it and it turns out just as good.
A dash of balsamic vinegar might work especially well as a worchestershire sauce replacement since they have the same sort of tang.
I can’t wait to make these! They look so easy. Lentils are one of the things that me (a vegetarian), and my husband (a carnivore) can both enjoy thoroughly.
PS… I LOVE your blog! I love everything you write about, thanks for being an encouragement and an inspiration!
I just had some sloppy lentils on toast with some cheese. It is very tasty. I will definitely be making these often.
Sounds good! I’ve been lookin for inspiration as to what I should do with the 3 lbs. of red lentils I purchased. I really think you should write a cookbook–my family loves your recipes, our favorites being the chicken enchiladas and the french bread.
You’re so cute! Writing a book is one of my goals for the future.
Just waiting for the right season.
I wrote this on one of my menu plans; look forward to trying it.
Perfect timing! I was just trying to figure out dinner for tomorrow since we’re busy tonight and I haven’t defrosted any meat. I have all the ingredients for this so I can check one to-do off my list today. Thanks!
This looks similar to a thick lentil soup we enjoy. A crock pot carnival sounds good. I am still learning to use this tool.
Oh YUM!! I’m gonna have to put this on Delicious so I can remember to give it a try!!
My family loves lentils so I will definitely be giving these a try. I will go set my lentils soaking right away. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks Lindsay. I will try this out. My daughter hates meat! She has not liked sloppy joe’s I have made in the past. Maybe this will be a winner for her and it’s so much healthier. Count me in on the Crock Pot Carnival. Lately I have been using a pressure cooker a lot and have been trying to convert crock pot recipes into pressure cooker recipes. Do you use one? If not I highly recommend it. You can cook beans in 10 minutes, brown rice in 15 and a roast in 1/2 hour to 45 min! I think the food cooked in pressure cookers tastes very similar to crock pot meals, moist and flavor infused.
I made your pizza recipe last night. We loved it! Thank you.
I bought a pressure cooker 21/2 yrs ago… and have yet to use it. It’s a little intimidating lol. I guess I don’t know where to start. And I have “visions” of the pressure building up so much it blows the top off!
Kate I was intimidated at first too. After the first time I was hooked. PC’s aren’t like they used to be. They have all sorts of safety features now. My lid can not blow off. If pressure is built up then then a pop up top will release the pressure like a tea kettle.
Try it! I think you will love it. I use mine several times a week. I will never be without one. It is quick fast food, and healthy if you make it.
My first time I made a whole chicken in 1/2 hour. I just put in a chicken, some water and rosemary. It was delicious and it made a wonderful broth. Check out missvickie.com. She has everything you could possibly need to know about pressure cooking. Good luck.
Really, really, really excited about the idea of a crock carnival!
I would love to do a crockpot carnival. I need some more healthy crockpot recipes.
I’d definately but beef in this since my family (father in law) is a beef farmer. We have beef almost everyday. My husband wants to get a farm of his own. He is interesting in intensive rotational grazing. (Daily or so moving cows to new pasture). I’m trying to be supportive but not pushy so that we can get home grown grass fed beef. (Since i’m not allowed to buy beef). If there are any farmers/ farm wives out there with good information to share I’d relish the chance to get my eyes on it.
I will try and participate. Last night for the first time I made my mom’s Pinto Beans in the crock pot…a true southern and frugal meal. Should be served with southern cole slaw, home grown pickled beats, and cornbread (not the sweet kind). We had this a few times a month when I was a kid and only now do I appreciate my mom’s cooking.
Tonight we are having the leftover beans in taco soup that I will double and freeze. I could have easily done this in crock too…but I wanted to do a huge amount. I have been trying some of the crock pot recipes from A Year of Slow Cooking which is a wonderful blog. http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/
Mary
I’ll have to give your version of sloppy lentils a try. I have a recipe but haven’t used it for many years b/c none of us wanted to eat the leftovers! I would love a crock pot carnival and have some favorites to contribute if you do it!
A crock pot carnival sounds wonderful… especially this time of year! I love using my crock pot and am ready for some new ideas and inspiration!
Loved this idea. I am always looking for easy recipes with the crockpot. I recently made some chicken cooked in the crockpot for several hours, and it was delicious. My husband loved it and I didn’t have to worry about supper at the end of the day! I would love the crockpot carnival!
I just want to tell you that I really appreciate all of you posts. I look forward to your website everyday. You are an encouragement to me. I cook similar to you, and have the same heart towards my husband and children. Thank you for your website!
My husband usually refuses to eat a meal without meat. But I’m going to take a chance this weekend and make this and just not tell him what it is. At the end of the meal when he leans back, satisfied and full, I’ll tell him it was only lentils, no meat! He loves sloppy joes but I never make them anymore, that was more of a meal we ate when we first got married and lived off of $40/week for groceries, ah! We’ve come along way since then, but this recipe calls for sloppy joe (lentil) reunion. Can’t wait!
Thanks for all of your great recipes!!
PLEASE do a crock pot carnival! I would love more crock-pot inspiration!
What a great idea- I just made this last night and will definately be trying it in the crock pot next time!!! Thanks for putting up the adaptation!
Looks good Lindsay, not sure if my family will go for it
I have loved your blog and have been reading it for over a year even though I don’t comment a lot. I am trying to find some help and thought you might could point me in the right direction.
I’ve been adopting the nourishing traditions style of eating for about 3-4 years. Sometimes we do really well and others not. I have 4 daughters ages 6,5,3 and 2 months. During my last pregnancy and after birth, healthy eating was at the very bottom of my priorities. I tried, but it was a miracle just to get food on the table! (we bought a house and moved just two weeks before birth!!)
Our health had gone down a bit, but there just wasn’t much I could do about it. Unfortunately, my children have developed tastes for sugar and junk. My three year old can be very picky- I can almost never get her to eat breakfast at all. I really want to get back to what we were doing, but my biggest challenge is breakfast (two go to school and it’s hard to get up early and cook if the baby was up during the night) and lunches- both for school and at home. I have slowly been able to get back into some other things- this is what I do now: make kefir, soak beans and grains, make stock weekly, buy whatever organic I can, we use good fats, good meat when I can find it and afford it, and I’m starting to get back to just raw honey and sucanat with only a little regular sugar for backup if I need it for some reason. I buy raw milk when I can make it to the dairy and make yogurt and kefir with it. I have a kombucha scoby brewing and some new whole grains sitting in my pantry. I killed my sourdough starter and have been buying the best bread I can find in the store. I am getting back to baking bread again, and it is 100% whole wheat, but not soaked. Even then I’m not able to be totally consistent.
So, pre-packaged foods are expensive, unhealthy, yet very helpful for a sleep deprived mommy. Plus I can’t always depend on my 5 and 6 year olds to bring back containers
and disposable things work well in that area.
I have a crockpot, but am terrible at using it! I don’t always remember to start it early enough and sometimes things just don’t turn out well. I could keep rambling, but I’ll stop. To recap here, I need some ideas for breakfasts and lunches for children who have become more accustomed to the SAD diet but need healthier alternatives. Sarah, the three year old, doesn’t do regular breakfast,she usually eats bananas, applesauce, yogurt, cheese, peanut butter or breakfast meats. And milk. Lots of milk. And dry cereal that is sweet. (like, uh, Lucky charms, GASP!!!)
Thank you so much!!
Jessica
Any thoughts?
Breakfasts at our home include: french toast (once a week), oatmeal (3 times a week), whole grain pancakes with eggs on Saturday, and green smoothies and hard boiled eggs the other days of the week. All my recipes are in my recipe list. I would recommend you just start gradually weeding out the more junky items and replacing them. Our breakfasts are pretty simple. I soak the oatmeal and pancakes in advance, so it only takes a matter of a few minutes to assemble in the morning. Smoothies are easy to assemble as well. It sounds like your daughter Sarah is eating good nutrition food. I would not worry too much about “traditional” breakfast foods as long as she is getting a good assortment of real food. Protein is the most important to start the day off right. Even if you could just get them to start eating eggs every morning or regularly, that would be a very healthy protein rich breakfast. It sounds like the only thing you need to eliminate would be the breakfast cereals. Again, I encourage you not to stress over it. Do the best that you can! I don’t have much to offer for lunch suggestions, as we eat mainly leftovers for lunch at our house. Maybe meat, cheeses and crackers, fruit, or yogurt with fruit. Sandwiches. Or maybe you could send them with a green smoothie for lunch. I hope that helps!
Lindsay has a great recipe for soaked granola that my kids love. Maybe you could start by making it extra sweet and then gradually reducing the amount of sweetener.
I also find that I can pull the same trick with smoothies (introduce them sweet enough for the kids to like them and them gradually reduce the sweetener). I’ve even been able to slip some spinach into blueberry smoothies as well as kombucha.
With pancakes and muffins I try to make extra to have on hand through out the week.
If the crock pot doesn’t work well for you try cooking doubled volumes of a favorite recipe and freezing the second half for next week.
For brown bag lunches, I still use plastic bags (I know, I know). As you said, children are unreliable at bringing back the containers.
Thank you! We loved your original recipe but this will be sooo much easier!
Looks wonderful
I will have to try it soon.
~Erin~
This looks like great – we are crockpot addicts around here! My family has discovered that we prefer sloppy lentils over rice (rather than on a bun.) So if you have a rice cooker, the rice can also be started in the a.m. I just soak my rice right in the cooker before turning it on to cook. Then it keeps it warm for up to 12 hrs.
Hi Lindsay,
My husband is a meat-eating man. I have cut down drastically on the beef we eat (we use about 1/2 – 1 pound a month), and when we do buy beef, it’s grass fed and local.
I love this meal idea, but I’m a little scared that my husband won’t like it. He’s catching onto my bean-sneaking ways!
Is this a good transition meal from beef to beans for those us of beef eaters out there?
Amanda
Do you soak the lentils first?
If I am on top of it, yes I will soak the lentils first in water with an acid medium and then cook as describe…but lately, no, I have not been on top of it!
Hi Lindsay,
So do you not soak the lentils for the day before if making the sloppy lentils in the crockpot? Thanks!
Funny that you should ask…as another reader just did as well. I try to soak if I am on top of it.
I would soak as described in the original recipe.
This dish is fabulous, Lindsay! It’s the best sloppy joe mixture I’ve made (or probably eaten). It has the perfect balance of sweet, tang, and tomato. Plus, since I like that it’s vegetarian and frugal to boot!
I soaked my lentils for about 24 hours, drained them, and then followed your recipe, except I forgot to add the 1/2 cup ketchup. I used apple cider vinegar and just under 2 cups (about 15 oz) of Muir Glen pasta sauce. In the crockpot, it looked *really* liquidy and I was a bit nervous that the lentils would not be able to soak it up since they were already “full size,” having soaked for so long. But I cooked on low overnight (about 10pm-7:30am) and they didn’t burn at all (this is good to know for working cooks too, like me). At that point I switched to high for an hour and then stirred in the tomato paste. As it cooled in the fridge, it thickened somewhat, but was not as thick as your’s in the photo. I served on brown rice tortillas with fontina and sharp cheddar cheeses that I put in the George Foreman to melt the cheese like a panini. My husband and I thank you so much for another fabulous gluten-free meal!
Thank you for this recipe. I’ve become a crock pot addict and I loooove lentils. We’ll be trying this recipe right away.
These look great. I have been working with the crock pot *a lot* in this season of life. I am even thinking of writing an e-cookbook with crock pot recipes.
Thank you for this. I’ve been looking for a new recipe that uses lentils. I would love to contribute to a crockpot carnival. I have a few recipes that are healthy and frugal that we eat pretty regularly.
We love sloppy lentils! I sometimes add a little ground beef or turkey to this. Thanks for the tip about the crockpot. It’s one of those things I *KNEW* but forgot, if you know what I mean!
Oh I think this might be dinner tonight! It sounds great! With baby #2 on the way this winter, I know I’ll be using my crockpot much more frequently–I’d love to participate in a crockpot recipe carnival!