Turkey and Pinto Beans Sloppy Joes
Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground turkey preferably dark meat
- 1-2 Tablespoons cold-pressed unrefined extra-virgin olive oil
- ¾ cup diced onion
- ½ green bell pepper diced or sweet bell pepper
- 3 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 1 ½ cups cooked pinto beans or 1 15-ounce can drained and rinsed (click here to learn how to cook beans from scratch)
- 1 18- ounce jar crushed tomatoes or tomato puree I like Jovial organic tomatoes in glass jars.
- 2 Tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 4 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce look for vegan or gluten-free versions if you need
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon mustard powder
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
- accompaniments: toasted hamburger buns or cooked grains such as brown rice millet or quinoa
Instructions
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add turkey and brown, breaking up the meat into small crumbles until just cooked through. Drain and reserve in a separate bowl.
- In the same skillet, warm the olive oil over medium heat and sauté the onions, pepper and garlic until onion is tender and translucent.
- Add turkey back to the skillet and add remaining ingredients. Stir to combine and simmer over medium-low heat for 15 minutes. Taste for seasoning and add more salt and pepper if needed.
Notes
You can also make a vegetarian version by subbing 1 pound of crumbled tempeh for the turkey and using a vegan worcestershire sauce. Just saute the tempeh where you would saute the meat in Step 1. Tempeh is not as moist as meat though, so you may need to add a few tablespoons of water or vegetable stock with the tomatoes. My family likes the sloppy joes on toasted hamburger buns with sliced dill pickles.
You can also make this more spicy with a little cayenne or hot sauce.