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one hamburger bun filled with thick reddish-brown sloppy joe sauce containing fine cooked beef crumbles and small brown lentils on a plain plate, with no cheese, pickles, fries or garnish
Rachel Kim

Freezer Beef and Lentil Sloppy Joe Meat

Lentils give this sloppy joe meat a thicker texture without turning it into a fully meatless sandwich. Cook them separately until tender, then let the beef sauce bring the two parts together. The mixture should sit on a bun in a soft mound. Reduce it before freezing rather than trying to fix a watery filling while a toasted bun waits on the plate. Keep the bread in its own bag so each dinner portion can be reheated on its own.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Servings: 6
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 1 lb 90% lean ground beef
  • 1/2 cup dry brown lentils rinsed
  • 2 cups water for lentils
  • 1 small yellow onion finely diced
  • 1/2 cup finely diced green bell pepper
  • 1 cup tomato sauce
  • 1/3 cup ketchup
  • 1 tbsp packed brown sugar
  • 1 tbsp prepared yellow mustard
  • 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 3/4 tsp fine salt
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • 6 hamburger buns
  • 1/4 cup water reserved for reheating

Method
 

  1. Bring lentils and 2 cups water to a boil in a small saucepan, reduce heat and simmer for 25 to 30 minutes until tender. Drain any excess water.
  2. Brown beef, onion and bell pepper in a skillet over medium-high heat for 8 to 10 minutes, breaking up the meat and cooking it to 160°F. Drain excess fat.
  3. Stir in cooked lentils, tomato sauce, ketchup, brown sugar, mustard, vinegar, Worcestershire, salt and pepper. Simmer for 10 minutes until the filling forms a soft mound on a spoon.
  4. Freeze after cooking: divide filling among 6 shallow containers, refrigerate within 2 hours and chill fully. Seal, label and freeze for up to 2 months, keeping buns separate.
  5. Thaw filling overnight in the refrigerator. Reheat in a covered skillet over medium-low heat for 8 to 12 minutes, adding reserved water as needed, until it reaches 165°F.
  6. Toast buns lightly in a dry skillet and fill each with one portion of the hot beef-lentil mixture.