Slow Cooker Turkey & Lentil Sloppy Joes – easy slow cooker sloppy joe sandwiches made with ground turkey and lentils. A healthy take on sloppy joe’s that the whole family will love!
How was your weekend? Mine was so wonderful! My husband is such a sweetheart. He told me on Friday night that my day off started Saturday at 10am. He had scheduled me to go to a salon to get my nails done, a spray tan and anything else I wanted. Meanwhile, he dealt with the boys and drove them to their games and things. I felt sort of bad that he had to deal with everything but then I didn’t. 🙂 I totally enjoyed it!
Then he took me out to dinner and a movie, which was so much fun. It was really nice to get a break from the rigorous weekend schedule. I feel like Saturdays are way busier than any day of the week (although Tuesdays seems to be really bad for me).
Sometimes I want to just want to crawl into a hole and hide away from the pure craziness that it is to have kids. Being a mom is hard work. It’s nice to have Mother’s Day so the husbands and kids will appreciate all us hard-working moms do. It’s a tough job, but I wouldn’t want to be doing anything else. I love my boys so much and am grateful to be their mom.
Speaking of boys, mine love Sloppy Joes. I saw a recipe for lentil Sloppy Joes on Pinterest and thought that was such a great idea. So I brainstormed a bit and decided that I wanted to create a recipe that was easy, healthy and had lots of protein so I thought, why not mix together a lentil and turkey Sloppy Joe and cook it right in the crock pot? This is the outcome!
These are really delicious and nutritious. Plus anything cooked in the crock pot is my favorite! My boys loved these. They ate their sandwiches with a slice of cheese on top and I actually enjoyed the lentils in a bowl minus the bun. I put a little salsa on top of mine and they were so yummy (and gluten-free!).
Lentils have tons of fiber, protein and vitamins. They’re a great way to fill you up quicker without adding in extra calories. Combine the lean ground turkey, and you have a super healthy clean-eating dinner that the whole family will love!
Slow Cooker Turkey & Lentil Sloppy Joe's
Ingredients
- 2 cups green lentils
- 4 cups water
- 1 green bell pepper diced
- 1 onion diced
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 lb. lean ground turkey cooked and drained
- 1 15-oz can tomato sauce
- 1 Tbsp. worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp. chili powder
- 1/4 tsp. pepper more to taste, if needed
- 1/2 tsp. salt more to taste, if needed
- 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
- buns or rolls for serving
Instructions
- In a large crock pot, combine lentils, water, green pepper, onion and garlic. Cover and cook on high for 3 hours or until tender.
- Brown ground turkey and drain. When lentils are tender, add in cooked ground turkey, tomato sauce, worcestershire, chili powder, salt, pepper and garlic powder.
- Cover and cook for 3-4 hours on high or until liquid is absorbed, and lentils and turkey are tender and flavorful.
- Serve on buns or rolls with a piece of cheese on top, if desired. Or enjoy sans buns in a bowl for a gluten free dinner. Either way they're delicious! Enjoy!
These look great, Jen! I love how you added lentils to your sloppy joe’s, and slow cooker recipes are the best! And, I totally agree with you- this mom thing can be so hard during the crazy times, but it is totally the best job ever. 🙂
Ummm do you loan your hubs out? I just need him to give mine an itinerary for me!! That’s AMAZING! What a guy 🙂 Of course if you make yummy meals like this to impress him with he better do something amazing for you!
I’m so glad you had a great Mother’s Day! These look amazing, Jen – especially the healthy part. I don’t think I’ve seen healthy sloppy joes! And those buns look incredible – where did you get them? Pinned!
I literally want to take a bite of my screen! AHH! These look delicious! I love several things here: slow cooker, yes! Lentils, yes! Ground turkey, yes! The sauce is not from a can, yes!! Easy, filling, and super healthy dinner … I am so happy!! I can’t wait to make this – looks amazing!
Pretty pics, too!
Wow, this looks delicious. I love this idea. Pinning!
Sounds like you had one FABULOUS Mother’s Day, Jen! I totally hear you about wanting to escape the craziness of motherhood…it’s amazing what a big difference a little break can make! Glad you got one!!!
Great photos! How did you manage to make a sloppy joe look so gorgeous? 😉
Sloppy Joe’s sound really nice. Thank you.
Would this freeze well? It was delicious, but more than my family can eat =]
Do you cook the lentils first before the crockpot?
thanks!!
Hi Sarah! The first step in the directions explains that you need to cook them in water for 3 hours before putting them in the crock pot. I hope that helps!
This was so delicious on a cold rainy Saturday. Didn’t read the instructions, and started too late in the day to cook exclusively in crock pot. I worked around this by cooking lentils,peppers, and onion on stove top for 30 mins, and then finished in the crock pot for 3 hours. Awesome! And like 2 more dinner’s worth of leftovers!
YES! I loved that you improvised and made it work! It does make a lot (I love leftovers) and is so delish! Glad you enjoyed!
Hi, I made these the other night and my family loved them! I did make the minor changes of throwing in some leftover chopped celery from the back of the fridge (because you can never have too many vegetables) and adding a pinch of cayenne (because we LOVE spice!). Even our picky eaters cleaned their plates, I’ll be adding this to my regular rotation.
YAY!!! So happy you liked it! Thank you for taking the time to comment!