Truth time: I love Manwich. Are you all full of judgment over that? You shouldn’t be, it’s delicious. Buuuuuut, let’s not talk about how the second ingredient is sugar. And the 4th. And the 6th. True, there is added sugar in my homemade version. True, there’s even two kinds of sugar. But they’re a bit more natural and better fit into the realm of things I like to eat. Not saying I don’t like eating sugar, I just normally prefer to keep sugar in cookies and not in my dinner.
Plus, look at the ingredients list. There’s fresh veggies (not weirdo dehydrated ones — why dehydrate something before you add it to a sauce and can it?) and some spice. I start with tomato paste and tomato sauce as the base ingredients. If you’re not into buying canned, you can make these yourself (I often make and can tomato sauce). I normally opt for a tomato paste that has tomatoes as the only ingredient and tomato sauce that contains just tomato, salt, and a couple of spices. Simple, easy, delicious.
What do you do with sloppy joe sauce once you have it? Uhhh, make sloppy joes. Duh! The Manwich website has a variety of suggestions of what you can do with it if you want to get creative — 1 1/2 c of this sauce = 1 can of theirs. I mixed it with 2 c of prepared soy crumbles and heated it on the stove until hot, but you could use cooked lentils, crumbled tempeh or tofu, chopped up veggies (sautéed carrots and mushrooms!), or even *real* meat if you’re into that. This recipe makes a little over 3 c, so it’s like having two cans of sauce. Perfect if you’re feeding people with multiple diets in one house. If you only need one can worth, you can store the rest in the fridge (I used mine about a week later and it was still perfect) or in the freezer.
Interestingly enough, this even has 30 fewer calories per serving than the canned variety! Win 🙂
Tagged with: Copy Cat • Corn Free • Dairy Free • Egg Free • Gluten Free • Naturally Sweet • Nut Free • Sauce • Sloppy Joe • Soy Free • Vegan • Vegetarian
I haven’t had a sloppy joe since I was a kid! (Finding veggie versions are pretty rare!) I’m totally going to try this though. I’m sure my husband would love it!
This recipe is ingenious, Kelly! I wonder if I swapped the traditional “Manwich” out with this at a football get-together if some fellas would notice…hmm sneaky sneaky. Regardless, this recipe looks so delicious and nutritious! I agree that I’d rather have a sugary dessert than dinner! Thinking of how sweet many processed foods are now reminds me of Buddy the Elf’s idea of a food pyramid: candy, candy canes, candy corns and syrup.
The taste is seriously identical! It’s amazing 🙂
Haha I can’t say I’ve ever had Manwich (that I remember) but I love the sound of your sloppy joe sauce! i definitely see some in our future. Haven’t had one in FOREVER.
Whaaa? Did you have a childhood full of homemade goodness and no crazy from-a-can sauces? I have some pretty found memories of eating Manwich as a kid!
I can’t remember the last time I had a sloppy joe, but now that I’m looking at these I can’t think of a single reason why I don’t eat them all the time! I love making homemade versions of storebought things like this that always have strange ingredients in them. Homemade is always so much better! I’m gonna have to make some of these mamwiches soon 🙂
Awesome idea, Kelly! It is nice to see ingredients that are REAL! This would be perfect with temph or lentils 🙂