Crazy-Easy Sloppy Joes – 5 Ingredient Vegan Cookbook Review
Like it or not, the world seems to be getting faster, and we’re all more busy, and most of us don’t have a huge amount of time to dedicate in our kitchens. Meals that can be made quickly and simply, without much fuss or bother are part of the inspiration behind Nava Atlas’s new book, 5-Ingredient Vegan. The book contains 175 recipes that are designed to be quick, easy, and flavorful, all while using 5 ingredients or less. Her crazy-easy sloppy joes are a great example of that- they use pre-made salsa and veggie burgers, which bring a lot of extra flavors to the 5-ingredient party. The whole cooking process probably only took about 15 minutes, and they’re fun and customizable to suit your tastes. When quick and simple (but still flavorful and delicious) are priorities, try out a batch of these crazy-easy vegan sloppy joes. It’ll be added to your list of family favorites in no time!
About 5-Ingredient Vegan
This book is for anyone who wants to create quick and convenient food at home, and doesn’t want to dedicate too much time towards getting meals done. Vegans, vegetarians, and omnivores alike can benefit from the simple and versatile recipes, no matter if you’re a cook that follows the recipes to a T, or one who improvises with whatever ingredients you have around.
5-Ingredient Vegan is written by Nava Altas, a vegan and vegetarian cookbook author who has been promoting delicious vegan and vegetarian cooking since long before plant-based cuisine became fashionable. Nava has written many bestselling cookbooks, although this latest one is the first to grace the shelves in 5 years. You can learn more about the author on her site, The Vegan Atlas.
The Recipes
5-Ingredient Vegan is divided into 9 chapters, each of which focuses on different sorts of simple, easy recipes.
- Appetizers & Snacks Keep your appetizers and snacks simple and impactful, with quick and tasty recipes such as Olive and Dried Tomato Tapenade, Scallion Pancakes, and Polenta Fries.
- Soups I love a good soup, but I probably wouldn’t have attempted a 5 ingredient soup, but it can be done! Try delicious optiosn like Coconut Sweet Potato Bisque and Indian-Spiced Cauliflower & Red Bean Soup.
- Salads Happy Trails Kale and Apple Salad, Pinto Bean and Avocado Salad and Asian-Flavored Slaw are examples of the bright and fresh recipes in this chapter.
- Tofu, Tempeh & Seitan Before the beyond and impossible, this trio is the original vegan and vegetarian meat substitute. These foods are basically ready to eat, so it just takes a little added flavor to make dinner happen – Peanut Satay Tofu Triangles are a great example of the recipes in this part of the book.
- Pasta & Noodles Pasta and noodles are up there in my favorite foods- I love using them to plan a meal. 5-Ingredient Vegan includes recipes like Spinach Pesto Pasta and Pasta with Creamy Alfredo Sauce.
- Grains & Beans Anyone trying to eat more healthy foods know that beans and (whole) grains is where it’s at- so this chapter includes flavor-packed options like Salsa Verde Bean Burritos and Polenta with Black Beans and Spinach.
- Vegetables Front & Center While the rumors of vegans surviving solely on carrots and kale aren’t exactly accurate, we do like our veggies! Try out Curried Green Smashed Potatoes to see just how exciting 5 ingredients and vegetables can be!
- Wraps & Sandwiches In a wrap or between bread, this section contains recipes like Crazy-Easy Sloppy Joes (recipe below) and “Tofuna” Sandwich Spread.
- Fruits & Sweets These recipes tend to be delicious, fruit-based sweet treats like Two-Ingredient Date “Caramel” Sauce, Banana-Chocolate Mousse Pie, and Chocolate Granola Clusters.
Looking for a Quick Dinner? Try one of these other recipes!
- Quick Vegan Creamy Pasta with Kale
- Hearty Bean Dinner Salad with Sun Dried Tomato Dressing
- Fresh Tomato Soup with Crispy Garlic Toasts
- Arugula Topped Mushroom Flatbreads
- Air-Fried Eggplant in Spicy Garlic Sauce with Jicama
Making Crazy-Easy Sloppy Joes
These vegan sloppy joes really are crazy easy. I cooked them up in about 15 minutes, while listening to a podcast and creating a second recipe I was photographing that day. The reason this recipe can be made with just 5 ingredients is it takes advantage of pre-made foods- something the 5-Ingredeint Vegan is very good at. To make this dish, start by crumbling up your veggie burgers. Make sure to defrost them ahead of time if they’re frozen. The burgers are cooked in a little oil, along with some chili powder and the salsa. It’s served on top of English muffins or burger buns, along with some fresh chopped scallions.
Keeping it Fresh- Vegan Sloppy Joes Two Ways
When I first flipped through this recipe for sloppy joes, I was struck by how versatile it was, and how different it could taste depending on the ingredients you started with. The main ingredient in the dish are vegan burgers, which could be the meat-mimicking Beyond Burgers, a classic black bean burger, mushroom-packed burgers, broccoli and edamame-based burgers, tofu burgers- the possibilities are endless. The second main ingredient is a jar of premade salsa- again, spicy, mild, green, red, mango, corn, pico de gallo- the list is endless. Not to mention your choices in English muffin or burger bun! I decided with my vegan sloppy joes to tell a tale of two burgers.
The first version, I use Hilary’s Southwest Adzuki Bean Burger,and combined it with a salsa verde, and switched out the chili powder for a green chili powder I had on hand. For the second, I used a spicy, smoky red salsa, red chili powder, and Beyond Burgers. I had trouble finding vegan English muffins in the store I was in, so I served both of them on a burger bun. And they were both delicious, but totally different! The first Southwest version really absorbed the salsa, and created a soft texture where the sauce and burger joined together seamlessly with bright, fresh flavors. The second version was different- in this case, the burger was floating in the sauce, but the flavors of both of them wove in and out of each other to create a hearty, smoky dish.
The experience just makes me want to try different options, until I find the combination of salsa and burger I like best. Anyone have any good suggestions?
Crazy-Easy Sloppy Joes
There are 101 great ways to use vegan burgers — other than as burgers. Many burger crumbles and meat imitators are based on soy protein isolate, but if you wish to avoid it, vegan burgers offer a wider range of ingredients including quinoa, beans, kale, pea protein, and more. In these ridiculously easy sloppy joes, vegan burgers and a jar of salsa give you lots of flavor with little effort. My favorite to use in these is Amy’s® California Burger. In all, this is an emergency dinner that tastes like anything but. All you need to complete a meal is fresh corn on the cob or baked sweet potatoes and a simple salad or slaw.
Ingredients
- 1 package (4-pack) vegan burgers, your favorite variety
- Olive or safflower oil
- 16-ounce jar salsa (any chunky variety)
- 2 teaspoons chili powder, more or less to taste
- 1 package whole-grain English muffins or burger buns
- 2 to 3 scallions, thinly sliced
Instructions
- Crumble up the veggie burgers. Heat a little oil in a skillet and add the crumbled burgers and the salsa. Add the chili powder and cook over medium heat until the mixture is piping hot and starting to brown, about 8 minutes.
- If using English muffin, split one per person and toast the halves. If using burger buns, split them, but no need to toast unless you prefer to.
- For each serving, arrange two halves of English muffin or burger bun on individual plates. Ladle some sloppy joe filling on each, and garnish with a sprinkling of sliced scallion.
Notes
Reprinted with permission from 5-Ingredient Vegan © 2019 by Nava Atlas, Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. Photo by Hannah Kaminsky.
Like this Post? Pin it!
1 thought on “Crazy-Easy Sloppy Joes – 5 Ingredient Vegan Cookbook Review”