Chipotle Mushroom Sloppy Joes
Spicy Chipotle Mushroom Sloppy Joes for the win! This is the ultimate comfort food makeover. I've turned traditional Joes into a healthy and Meatless Monday dinner recipe. Your whole family will LOVE these! Vegetarian + vegan + gluten-free.

In honor of what I thought was International Beer Day, I present you with Chipotle Mushroom Sloppy Joes! Note: it's not beer day today, that was 2 weeks and a half ago. Who's really counting anyway?
Remember when I shared that recipe for Healthier Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Ice Cream and declared I am basically a 5-year-old living in a grown-up's body? If you didn't believe me then, these messes on buns should seal the deal. I mean, what kind of adult eats sloppy joe's? Clearly winning at this adulting thing. #NeverGrowningUp
If being a kid means I get to chow down on Chipotle Mushroom Sloppy Joes, I'll take it any day. You guys, these things are so good!

You guys prob know by now that I'm not a vegan. BUT … that doesn't mean I don't like digging into a meatless meal. I mean, I was vegetarian for 14 years. That must count for something.
I've said it before, I think meat-eaters are the best judges of vegan food. If I serve a meat-free meal to someone who normally eats meat, and they like it, I know it's a winner. Replacing the richness and depth of flavor that meat gives a meal is not an easy task. Most of the time, it's near impossible.

With this recipe, I've used a few tricks to create a deeply flavored sauce ā Is sauce the right word here? I think mess would be better here, but I'll leave it.
Mushrooms and walnuts. These two are the base of these Chipotle Mushroom Sloppy Joes and both are flavor-packed alternatives to traditional protein. As a big bonus, walnuts are a great source of protein.
Caramelized onions. Deeply caramelizing the onions gives them a ton of sweet flavor that totally makes the joes.
Caramelized tomato paste. Same deal as the onions. Giving the tomato paste a few minutes to caramelize in the pan enhances its flavor.
Beer. It's not just for drinking. Using the combination of caramelized tomato paste and beer (rather than tomato sauce) is a huge flavor booster.
Worcestershire sauce. That weird sauce with the confusing to pronounce name has all sorts of umami. Use vegan or regular, your choice.
Chipotle peppers. These smoky spicy peppers have a naturally deep, almost meaty, flavor
Two things not to miss on these joes …
The Slaw. The super easy to make slaw adds the perfect amount of crunch factor that makes the joes. I've kept the slaw super simple as getting fancy with a dressing isn't necessary here. Veggies + a drizzle of oil = slaw. Simple and exactly what the joes want.
The Chipotle Aioli. I love this part. It adds another layer of richness and a tiny bit of creaminess that totally works.


Spicy Chipotle Mushroom Sloppy Joes
If you love this recipe as much as we do, let us know with a 5-star rating!
Ingredients
Chipotle Mushroom Sloppy Joes
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 2 medium onions, minced
- 1 lb. crimini or button mushrooms, minced
- 3 cloves garlic
- ½ cup tomato paste, or 1 – 5.5-ounce can
- 1 bottle light beer – preferably a lager
- 1 cup chopped walnuts
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce, vegan, if needed
- 2 tablespoons chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, see notes
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 4 hamburger buns, gluten-free, if needed
The Slaw
- 2 cups shredded purple cabbage
- 1 medium carrot, grated
- ¼ cup thinly sliced red onion
- A handful of chopped cilantro
- Oil, to drizzle
Chipotle Aioli
- ¼ cup real mayonnaise, vegan, if needed
- 1 tablespoon chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
- Juice from ¼ lime
- A pinch of sea salt
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until they are well browned, about 10 minutes. Add the mushrooms and increase the heat to high. Let the mushrooms cook until most of the liquid has been evaporated. (This happens much faster on high heat. About 10 minutes.) Once the pan is mostly dry, reduce the heat to medium, add the garlic, and cook until the mushrooms have browned, about 5 minutes more.1 tablespoon oil, 2 medium onions, 1 lb. crimini or button mushrooms, 3 cloves garlic
- While the mushrooms are cooking, prepare the veggies for the slaw and drizzle them with the oil. Also, mix the chipotle aioli ingredients together in a small bowl.2 cups shredded purple cabbage, 1 medium carrot, ¼ cup thinly sliced red onion, A handful of chopped cilantro, Oil, ¼ cup real mayonnaise, 1 tablespoon chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, Juice from ¼ lime, A pinch of sea salt
- Move the mushrooms to the side of the pan and add the tomato paste. Let it caramelize, stirring frequently, for about 3 minutes. Pour in the beer and scrape any stuck on bits off the bottom of the pan.½ cup tomato paste, 1 bottle light beer – preferably a lager
- Add the walnuts, Worcestershire sauce, chipotle peppers, chili powder, and sea salt to the pan. Adjust the sea salt to taste.1 cup chopped walnuts, 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce, 2 tablespoons chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, 2 teaspoons chili powder, 1 teaspoon sea salt
- Serve the Chipotle Mushroom Sloppy Joes on the buns and topped with some slaw and chipotle aioli.4 hamburger buns
Just delicious – thank you!
Are the garlic cloves left whole or minced before going into the pan?
Minced! š
This was sooo yummy! It is very hearty as well, which is nice for folks who find a lot of plant-based foods “not filling”
Love the idea of mushrooms and walnuts for a sloppy joe filling! I made a few tweaks but the premise here is great. For those wishing to avoid beer, I ended up adding water in this step then stirred in a tablespoon each of Tamari and red miso at the end to enrich the flavor.
Great call on the tamari and miso!
HI ! Great recipe ! Thanks a lot ! š
For a 100% gluten free menu I saw on your comments that we can use white wine instead of beer, but can we skip the Worcestershire sauce (bc there is malt vinegar Inside so its not gluten free) or is it tasteless without it ? Can we sub the Worcestershire sauce by Something else ?
Last question: do you think we can add cheese on this recipe (wut kind) ?
Thanks in advance ! š
I buy Lea & Perrins, which is gluten-free! http://www.leaperrins.com/Products/The%20Original%20Worcestershire%20Sauce
Cheese is never a bad idea. I bet feta mixed in would be delicious. Or even melting some jack or cheddar over top would be great, too. š
If you are gluten intolerant, what can you sub for the beer?
There are some gluten-free beers out there. Just make sure you don’t use anything too hoppy or bitter. White wine or even stock would work, too. š
i used apple cider vinegar and a bit of water in place of the beer. it was very good. question- can this be frozen?
I haven’t tried freezing it so I’m not sure. If you give it a try can you pop back to let us know if it freezes well?
Love making sloppy Joeās; always freeze half. Great after freezing!
Add crimini mushrooms, walnuts and grated carrots ir make a salad on the side with that flavor to give a savory contrast. Yum.
These Joes look so good, I want one, and I’m not even hungry at the moment. I love the aioli addition.
Ha ha making someone hungry when they’re not is the best compliment! Love it!
Made these last nite and loved them! Even tradtional Joe loving husband thought they were great! Making copies of the recipe for friends! Always find great recipes here!!! Yummy thank yous!
I’m so happy they were a hit! Hooray!!
Well, normally I would completely pass by a vegetarian recipe but I couldn’t on this one! These look so good! This is my first visit to your blog…it looks delicious and beautiful!
That’s the best compliment ever! Thank you so much!!