The Best Vegan ‘Pulled Pork’ Sandwich!

This was so delicious. I didn’t grow up eating pulled pork and maybe had it just a handful of times my whole life, but this vegan version probably tops all of those times (though I’m biased now being a plant eater). Thank you so much for making and sharing!

I made this for my family tonight. Great consistency, great flavour. My older daughters and wife liked it as much as the meaty pulled pork I had also made.

This was delicious. Even better the second and third day for lunch. We ate it on brioche buns w slaw the first day, but as a Texas girl who grew up looking forward to BBQ baked potatoes at the Houston rodeo every year, I had to put it over potatoes. Topped w sour cream, green onions, grated cheddar & some hot sauce. SO good. Will make again & again!

This recipe is great! I think the bbq sauce I used (sweet baby rays original) was too sweet – next time I’ll get something a little smokier. But the flavor and texture are awesome 😋

This was so good! I was a little skeptical because it sounds “odd” but I knew everything Dana touches turns to gold so we tried it and it is a hit! Flavors were spot on but I don’t feel like the texture was pulled pork-esque. Perhaps that’s because I used red lentils instead of green though cause that’s what I had on hand. Also I served with a pineapple coleslaw which just made this perfect!

Love this recipe! Simple and delicious. I like to add a purple cabbage slaw made with a little salt, lime juice, a dash of ACV, and cilantro. Makes for the perfect topping!

My meat eating hubs smoked a brisket this week and the smell of his bbq sammiches thereafter were bringing me to my knees – thank Heavens I found your recipe! Man did it hit the spot, so so good! Pretty much followed to a T, albeit tossing in half a chopped red pepper just cuz’ it was there, fresh garlic (kept the powdered in as well), a dash of liquid smoke, twice the smoked paprika, and teaspoon dry mustard. Paired with his Sweet Baby Ray’s, my craving was Toast! Served it up old school on soft, thick white bread with extra sauce, homemade pickled onions/pickles, and pickled red cabbage. Best. Fix. EVER. Thank youuuu!!

I made the recipe exactly as written and it was delicious! The only change I will make in the future is to omit the sugar. This is just personal preference and I often leave sugar out of recipes..The next day I added chili and leftover lamb broth. It was even better with a hint of lamb fat in it. I will make this again – many, many times!

Love this vegan BBQ! Relatively easy, I’ve even made the lentils a day ahead of time before to save time. Used Organicville BBQ sauce each time. We have put them on nachos with violife cheddar cheese (& beans & veggies of course!) and it is delicious!!

Delicious! My husband said it was a keeper. I made my own bbq sauce as we are not fond of additives in shop bought things and blended all the mixture. On homemade buns it was fabulous! Thank you.

WONDERFUL! I didn’t see anything labeled “green” lentils, so I bought regular lentils. Toasted King’s Hawaiian hamburger buns under the broiler, and topped the mixture with cole slaw. Even my meat-eating husband was impressed;) Thank you!

This was so DELICIOUS. Your lentil sloppy joes are always a big hit here and in a constant rotation in cooler weather. I wanted to give these a try to change things up but was a little nervous the family wouldn’t like them as much. But once again, this was a delicious and easy and hearty family dinner.
I didn’t make any real changes but did omit the garlic powder because I didn’t have any left. I don’t think it would make or break this recipe.

Thank you for sharing the recipe. It meets all of my BBQ sandwhich cravings without the meat :+). I used, for the first time, Woodstock Organic Original Sauce. The combination of the sauce, lentils, and other ingredients made the best BBQ sandwhich I’ve had since becoming a vegetarian 9 years ago. The 4 serving index is very generous; I’m happy that there are leftovers.

Omg!!!! How does this taste so much like a pulled pork . I’ve tried a couple of pulled pork recipes ( not yours) was about to give up. Wow, Im so happy! The flavors!!!!!!!’ Thank you so much! I would give it 10 stars if I could!

This recipe is delicious! Made this tonight for my family. We are not vegan but do limit meat intake. I don’t think I will ever make pulled pork again! This recipe is too good to go back to that!

Holy ravioli!! This tastes soooo close to the real thing. I tried it before processing half in the food processor, and it was good but that extra step made it incredible—I was so surprised by the texture. I made your vegan coleslaw too. I have a feeling this is one vegan meal my husband won’t complain I’m starving him with. THANK YOU!! :)

It’s a winner. This recipe surprised me. Definitely making this again. We are 6 months into vegan and loving it. However, lately we are missing that summer BBQ taste. This easy sandwhich satisfied that. Had it with grilled chili-lime corn and a salad with home-made vegan ranch. I didn’t want to clean the food processor so I just mashed about half the lentils instead of processing them. We used Trader Joe’s Kansas City style BBQ sauce. A great quality sturdy bun that toasts well is important here. In all, quite yummy!

This is SOOOO good! Even the kids approved.

This recipe was amazing! Completely satisfied my craving for actual pulled pork. The whole family loved it!

We enjoyed this meal, though I used half the sugar and regular paprika, which the actual recipe calls for. I didn’t see till later that earlier in the post, it calls for smoked paprika. I also omitted the water since the recipe didn’t say when to add it. Next time I will try it with no added sugar and will use smoked paprika, and I think that will be even better. Thanks for sharing your recipe!!

AMAZING! Was quick and easy to make, fantastic flavor(as usual for your recipes) thanks!

We made this last night and the whole family loved it! Kids and husband approved:)
I used Trader Joes organic BBQ sauce and date paste in lieu of sugar. I topped with a simple coleslaw. My husband does not care for jackfruit and I have been looking for a substitute when making vegan “pulled pork” sandwiches. I am thrilled to find yet another way to incorporate lentils into our diet! Thank you so much!

This is really good! I prefer a cohesive texture, too, and I wish I’d gone ahead and stick-blended all of the lentils.. The texture had lots of body and heft, but the random lentils detracted (for me). Yum. Just yum.

As a plant-based person living in the South, barbecue is one of those things that’s so hard to get right. This recipe is fantastic. My parents, both Atlanta-born meat eaters, love it. We use Sweet Baby Ray’s barbecue sauce.

Delicious!

Started to make this- had everything prepped- then I realized had no paprika! Used a splash of chili powder & chipotle powder for smokiness…. turned out amazing. Awesome recipe. Carrots add a nice little crunch. Didn’t have shredded carrots…. used a peeler to shred carrot pieces and so good!

Oh, this was so fantastic… Need to actually find BBQ sauce for the next time, used ketchup as a substitute
The lentils took much longer to cook, but might have to find some different ones..

We just made this tonight and it was so delicious!! It definitely tasted like a pulled pork sandwich, but it was more sloppy joe like, because it wouldn’t stay in the sandwich. I ate half of it with a spoon!

We tried to make a BBQ sauce, and it failed, so we luckily had some Sweet Baby Rays leftover and that was perfect. Being from NC though, I will have to have my dads famous sauce next time, to really see how it compares. Either way, this is a definite keeper!

We love this recipe! It’s in our monthly rotation! It’s hard to find low sugar bbq sauce so we usually don’t add the extra sugar in the recipe. I did the sandwich open faced on gluten free toast! My husband accidentally added the cabbage to the cooked lentils but it’s still just as delicious! Thank you!

Another great recipe! We mix up the BBQ sauce and it’s always good. We also leave out the sugar or just do half and it’s still turns out tasty. My favorite is to make it open face on toasted sourdough with vegan cheese.

Delicious and easy to make. Thanks for the recipe!

Made this tonight and it was delicious!

This is amazingly delicious and super easy to make. I used a can of lentils as I didn’t have dry on hand, which made it even easier, faster and just as tasty. Instead of having it on buns I served it with crackers, same as you would with a dip….everyone loved it!

I made this tonight and it was a smashing success! Thanks!

I made the sloppy joes tonight and they were a hit! The serving pan was almost empty. I used red and green lentils because that what I had on hand. So delicious, savory, and satisfying. The texture was terrific.

I love this recipe and have made it multiple times. I’ve also made you sloppy joe mix with lentils and loved it, but this is my fave! I use a whole onion, because why not? I love onion flavor. I also just use a manual potato masher instead of having to do all the dishes involved with a food processor. This is good throughout the week as a sandwich or a warm salad, even plain!

Loved this recipe! I only had red lentils on hand which made the whole dish more mushy than I would have liked. I let the mixture sit in the pan on low heat to try and harden it a bit, which worked, but it was still quite runny – so stick to green lentils if you can! The flavours were still incredible though, so I wasn’t too fussed.

I also made my own BBQ sauce by heating together tomato sauce, brown sugar, soy sauce, mustard, chilli flakes and apple cider vinegar. It made the meal taste even more homemade, which I loved!

Dang. That’s legit. Changes I made:

– Half Carolina Mustard Based BBQ Sauce / Half Spicy Texas Style BBQ Sauce
– More garlic
– Extra Hot Slap Ya Mama Cajun Seasoning.

It’s really good.

Loved it. Would try caramelizing the onions next time. Also curious if i can adapt to the instant pot!

I made this recipe for a company BBQ lunch. Pulled pork was on the menu and I made this version for the non-pork eaters. I set the servings for 20 people. I loved that I just had to type in the number of people and the quantities were adjust. It was easy and plentiful. It was a hit with everyone.

I made this for the first time for my daughter’s graduation party. It was hit. The omni people seemed to enjoy it (or at least I didn’t see much of it left on plates or thrown in the trash). Us vegans though- it was great. The texture is perfect. Will definitely make again.

I made these and they were delicious. I forgot to put half through the food processor and they were still great. I think I’ll be making these regularly. Thanks!!

So good!! With some being plant-based and others not, this was an easy and delicious recipe to serve at our family BBQ, everyone had ‘something’ on a bun. I like the idea from another reviewer of using canned lentils which would make this already quick recipe even faster. I’ve already had several requests to share the link to this recipe. Thanks for making eating plant-based easy and delicious!

I made these for 4th of July and it worked really well. I didn’t have coconut sugar on hand so used brown sugar. I also somehow missed the food processor step at the end which led me to carmelize the mixture a bit more in the skillet. (I’ll read more closely next time). Even so, everyone went for seconds. I also served sliced serrano chiles as a topper which went over very well. I would be curious about substituting a date for the sugar? At any rate will make again. Thank you so much!

These are great! I followed the recipe using a bag of shredded carrots. I put the whole recipe through the food processor. We call them Sloppy Jills!

I made this for my family Sunday’s dinner. All 10 guests loved it! I’m happy I ran it through the food processor to incorporate the lentils and carrots. I served it on Hawaiian roll sliders and gluten free buns!

So delicious! I made this exactly according to the recipe and it was extremly satisfying and super simple to pull together (even with a toddler and newborn requiring the majority of my attention throughout the process). I wouldn’t change a thing. I’ve been making the lentil sloppy joes like once a week for years and I think these lentils might even be better.

Since I was short on time, I used pre-steamed lentils from Trader Joe’s instead of cooking my own (they are brown lentils, not green) I followed the recipe after that and the mixture tasted great! Carrots add great texture and overall it tasted like delicious BBQ beans. Definitely better than jackfruit for the protein content.

Made this for dinner soooo good you never disappoint Thank you

Amazing!! This will definitely be included in my meal prep rotation! I realized I was out of carrots, but sweet potatoes work well. Thank you!!!

So good!
I’m not vegan, so I add a little bit of chicken bullion to my lentils when cooking and didn’t add any sugar (bbq and carrots are sweet enough). Will top these with some vinegar based slaw.

Super easy recipe! Did not change a thing. Super delicious!! Thank you for this.
I couldn’t believe the flavors in this thing. Smokey, barbequey, and taste just like the real deal.

Very good! I served over a rice / quinoa mix.

First of all, let me say I am very reluctantly trying vegan recipes. A family member needed an abrupt change to her diet. Made this exactly as written. OMG! This is so unbelievably good! I’m still getting used to different textures, but this has more than enough flavor to make up for that.

Thank you for sharing this recipe! Some nights I make a dueling dinner, omnivore and vegetarian versions of the same thing. Tonight your recipe won (I didn’t purée any filling. Instead I cooked the lentils several minutes longer.)

I found out that my onion was bad while I was making this, but even without the onion this still turned out really delicious! And my bbq sauce was already sweet so it was fine with the sugar omitted.

UM yes! At first, I put this in a tortilla and ate it. Then, when I had friends over for the Chief’s game I went ahead and blended it, spread it on a tortilla, and made pinwheels. Now I’m eating it on a bed of lettuce with Avocado.

I made this and my husband and I loved it! He likes meat and yet said this is one of his new favorite dinners! Also serves well with hot sauce and pickles.

I added about a tablespoon of peanut butter, which seemed to add to both the texture and the taste! Also some extra cumin and allspice, and I used Stub’s Barbeque Sauce (the best!). It was great on bakery hamburger buns with coleslaw. So good! And I’m not even a vegetarian….

I’ve made this for my Xmas party of vegans, vegetarians and meat eaters last year and everyone loved it!
I just wanted to comment about the great addition of being able to customize serving amounts and how long and how to store leftovers.
Since I have one stove and 30 guests, I have to prepare many dishes ahead, and knowing which dishes will taste just as good reheated the next day is invaluable in choosing my menu.
Thanks for your fantastic site, talent, And sharing these amazing recipes.

This is a repeat favorite in our house! My meat-eating husband can’t get enough, it is a great vegan alternative to the classic pulled pork sandwich!

Honestly this was so perfectly done. Great texture and flavor. I was really wowed by how well this turned out. Plus my husband loved it! Will make again. I also did the half batch in food processor and it made it more of a meaty consistency rather than too beany!

This was delicious, but we made one small addition; we added a a generous pour of bourbon a few minutes before serving! It really enhanced the smoky flavour and gave it an extra kick!

Just made this for dinner but left out the sugar because of the very sweet BBQ sauce – it was an absolute winner! Really basic ingredients and straightforward cooking method so a delight to make (and eat)!

SOOOOOOO GOOOD!!! My boyfriend swore it was beef, that’s how good it was! (texture wasn’t 100% pork, but with a roll, cabbage on top, and a spot of guacamole, it was hard to tell since the flavor was spot on) I am making again this week, but tripling the recipe so we have leftovers this time. Thank you for such a great dish!

Smells amazing! Tastes amazing! My husband thought I was making actual pulled pork lol Held together great in a bun. I did find there was a bit of crunch to mine, I think it’s the carrots since I used canned beans. I probably didn’t cook it long enough. I’ll know better for next time :)

Excellent recipe! Thank you!

I made this today and it looked like green pea mush, not pulled pork. :( Not sure what went wrong but very unappetizing looking IMO.

This turned out really good and wasn’t that hard which is a big plus for me.

I did make a couple subs. One thing is I used a tiny big of red lentils, didn’t have quite enough green to fill a cup, so topped off with red. Seemed to be fine and was mostly green anyway.

This one probably change it a bit more, but I realized after I started cooking we were out of paprika, so improvised my own spices instead of the same amount. Chilli powder, Chipotle pepper, and Ancho pepper. Accidentally put a bit too much Chipotle, forgot how far it goes/how hot for second, but turned out good anyway. Definitely spicy, but my husband loved it. Would probably make it the same way again even once we restock the paprika. Though I am interested in what the original tastes like still.

Also skipped the sugar. Our barbecue tends to be pretty sweet anyway, so figured it wouldn’t need it based on comments and found that to be true. It was plenty sweet (and I do like sweet) still.

Thanks for the great idea!

Delicious and has a great texture! I am not a fan of jackfruit versions of “pulled pork,” but I love this one with the lentils and carrots.

Very good. No bun for me. I baked a sweet potato and loaded the BBQ mix on top with slaw and avocado on the side. Yum!

This was sooo good! I made exactly as is with the exception of just a tad less brown sugar. I also doubled the recipe. LOVE. This really satisfies the BBQ meat flavor. I also made my own vegan coleslaw and added to the topping. This is a keeper.

OKAY MY DUDES.

ANOTHER A++ FROM MINIMALIST BAKER!
Its killer, its omnivore impressive, its f**ken delicious, and so cheap! A CAN OF LENTILS? 2 CARROTS?
Holy I am so impressed, I even broiled in the oven for some crispy bits, didnt even pulse in a blender just “smashed” with a fork a lil bit. You will not be sorry! DO IT NOW! HAVE THE HEALTHY PULLED PORK! This vegan is a happy camper.

I have made this multiple times and I just love it. Thank you for the recipe!

I made this last night and it was yummy! I made it exactly as called for and very much enjoyed it! As others noted, I felt that it was a bit too sweet though. Next time I will probably half the amount of sugar, and use a spicier BBQ sauce (mine was on the sweeter side), I also will add fresh garlic as I am partial to garlic!
I also used the food processor for half the lentil mixture, and next time will process the whole mixture, not just half for more of a cohesive texture!

This will definitely be a keeper at our house!