9.09.2012

Lentil "Pulled Pork"

So last week my "running out of groceries cuz I just got back from Atlanta and the best weekend of my life" situation led to a rather excellent discovery food wise. I say "discovery" because I'm not sure what follows qualifies exactly as a recipe...it's just too easy!

But as the story goes, before I'd left for the long weekend, I'd bought a pack of lentils thinking - oh, these are so lovely and protein-packed I simply must find something to do with them! (Inner me is sometimes British) I'd also had the great luck of getting a 1$ bottle of chipotle BBQ sauce from Earthfare (seriously, if you have an EF near you...go! Sign up! The deals are amazing!) And, finally, I had some Ezekiel bread I'd taken with me on my trip for on-the-go almond butter and jelly sandwiches. Yum!

So, what's a girl to do with no time to go shopping and a need to fuel up before rehearsal?

She creates a lentil BBQ sandwich!

...which ends up tasting like pulled pork. I kid you not. It even had the same mouth feel. But it's a lot healthier ;)

Okay, here's what you'll need.

Lentil "Pulled Pork" Sandwich
(makes approx. 2 servings)


  • A cup of cooked lentils
  • Your favorite BBQ sauce (as mentioned, I used EarthFare's chipotle BBQ), to taste
  • Honey or agave (optional)
  • Bread (sliced, a bun, garlic toast, or simply eat it straight!)



The Process:

Place your cooked lentils in a bowl. If they're not warm fresh from being cooked, now might be a good time to give 'em a little zap in the microwave. Take a fork and mash them up well - not all lentils have to be broken up, but you want a mushy, "pulled" texture that will go well between two slices of bread :)

Then, add your BBQ sauce. You can add as much or as little as you like - I kinda eyeballed it myself, but I'll guess I added maybe half a cup.

Next, taste it. For me it was a little too much spice kick - I was trying to clear out a cold, but I didn't want my tongue on fire! - so I added just a little spoonful of honey to offset it. And it was done!

I slapped a couple large spoonfuls between two pieces of toasted bread and bit in...perfect! And if you just try a forkful or a spoonful with your eyes closed, you could almost swear it was traditional BBQ. Or maybe that's just me. Let me know what you think if you end up trying this!


Have a wonderful week guys! I'm gonna go start my Sunday off right with a homemade chai tea latte and baked oatmeal...mmm...