Easy Sloppy Joes

1 medium onion finely chopped
1/2 medium green bell pepper finely chopped
1 pound can pinto or black beans drained and rinsed
1 cup thick salt free tomato sauce or pureed tomatoes or tomato paste
1 tbs low salt soy sauce
1 tsp honey or brown rice syrup or other sweetner
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp dried basil

water saute the onion and green pepper till soft and most of the water is evaporated.

add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a gentle simmer. Use a potato masher or fork to coarsely mash the beans. Simmer over medium to low heat loosely covered for 5-7 minutes to blend all the flavors stirring occasionally and add water if needed to attain the right consistency.

I serve this over baked potatoes but traditionally you serve it on a whole wheat roll to make a sandwich.


To make a great sloppy joe, the trick is to make it thick as possible so drain the liquid off the beans, use very little water to water saute and let it evaporate and use tomato paste. By keeping the water content low and mashing the beans coarsely you'll have a sloppy joe that will hold itself together on the bread. Of course it's named Sloppy, so you can expect some mess but it's all so tasty.