Healthy Sloppy Joe’s Recipe
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Looking for a healthy, 30-minute meal? These healthy sloppy joe’s get a meal on the table fast!
Sloppy Joe’s are the ultimate kid’s meal. But that doesn’t mean adults won’t enjoy them too. On the contrary, they are a classic American family meal. But they aren’t always the healthiest option. So today, I’ll show you how to make them healthy while still retaining all that delicious flavor. They are easy to make and a snap to clean up.
Why You’ll Love These Healthy Sloppy Joe’s
These are fantastic for make-ahead meal prep. Simply follow the freezing directions below, and then double the recipe so you have sandwiches in the coming months with a simple defrost in the microwave. (Or 24 hours in the fridge). They are hearty, delicious, and super filling. Plus, you can feel good about what you’re eating!
Why These Sloppy Joe’s Are Healthier
- It’s made from scratch (not canned), so it has less sodium than the stuff from the store.
- It uses lean, ground turkey instead of beef.
- It calls for ketchup that is much healthier than the average bottle at the store, so you won’t have all that hidden, unwanted sugar.
What To Serve With Healthy Sloppy Joe’s
The best sides for these delicious sandwiches are as follows:
- Sweet potato fries
- Homemade french fries
- Carrots or any of your favorite veggies, raw or cooked.
- A green salad
- A bowl of soup
What Buns To Use For Healthy Sloppy Joe’s
The best or healthiest bun to use will always be a whole-grain bun. I highly recommend the Alvarado Street Bakery brand (not paid to promote them) if you have some in your area. If you need a gluten-free bun, feel free to use that instead.
Pro Recipe Tips
If your sauce is too thin, stir in a few tablespoons of tomato paste (no sugar added). If it’s too thick, add a bit more tomato sauce or even a splash of water. Make sure to taste at the end and adjust any spices as needed.
What You’ll Need To Make Healthy Sloppy Joe’s
Oil – Any oil you prefer to use.
Ground turkey – This can be as lean as you prefer. If you just cannot stomach the idea of sloppy joe’s made with turkey, ground beef will work if you use a very lean ground beef. It’s not as healthy as turkey, but it’ll do in a pinch. You can also use ground chicken if you like.
Green bell pepper – You can use other colors if you don’t care for green peppers.
Red bell pepper – Chop the peppers small for the best overall texture.
Red Onions – Chopp them small. Yellow onions will work in a pinch.
Garlic powder – Or garlic granules. Just don’t use garlic salt. You can use 5-6 cloves garlic instead if you prefer the fresh stuff. I recommend sautéing it for one minute before adding the meat to the skillet.
Onion powder – Or onion granules.
Canned tomato sauce – No sugar added.
Ketchup – The OrganicVille brand and Primal Kitchen brand are clean (not paid to promote them) or you can make your own. Look for any brand with no added sugar or natural sugar, such as honey.
Grated Cheese – Some folks like grated cheese on their sloppy joe’s. I’m dairy-free, so I have never used it. But if you like it, feel free to use your favorite in moderation to keep the fat content in check.
How To Make Healthy Sloppy Joe’s
Prep all the ingredients as indicated.
Put the oil in a large skillet and warm it.
Add the turkey meat, peppers, onions, and spices, and cook over medium-high heat. Stir frequently to scramble the meat and ensure even cooking.
Once the meat is nearly cooked through, reduce the heat to a simmer.
Add the tomato sauce and ketchup. Cook at a simmer and stir until well blended and cooked through. (About 5-10 more minutes)
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Scoop about half a cup of filling onto a bun and enjoy!
Storing Healthy Sloppy Joe’s
Store the sloppy joe filling separately from the bread. Store it in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Freezing Healthy Sloppy Joe’s
Pack in a freezer-safe, airtight container and store it in the freezer for up to 4 months. Do not freeze with the bread.
Reheating Healthy Sloppy Joe’s
From Frozen – Thaw for a full 24 hours in the fridge first.
From Fridge – Reheat in the microwave for 1-3 minutes or reheat in a pot on the stovetop over low to medium heat.
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Healthy Turkey Sloppy Joe’s Recipe
Equipment
- 1 Large Skillet
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp. oil
- 1½ lbs. ground turkey
- 2 cups green bell pepper (chopped small)
- 2 cups red bell pepper (chopped small)
- 1 cup red onion (chopped small)
- 1 tbsp. onion powder
- 1 tbsp. garlic powder
- 15 oz. canned tomato sauce (no sugar added)
- ½ cup clean ketchup (the OrganicVille brand is clean or make your own – see link above)
Instructions
- Prep all the ingredients as indicated.
- Put the oil in a large skillet and warm it.
- Add the turkey meat, peppers, onions, and spices, and cook over medium-high heat. Stir frequently to scramble the meat and ensure even cooking.
- Once everything is cooked through, reduce the heat to a simmer.
- Add the tomato sauce and ketchup. Cook at a simmer and stir until well blended and cooked through. (About 5-10 more minutes)
- Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Scoop about half a cup of filling onto a bun and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Recipe from the Gracious Pantry archives, originally posted on 5/27/11.
My all time favorite summertime food is strawberry shortcake. Any chance that can be cleaned up? 🙂
My summer favorites include running and spending weekends outside. Summer is also the time for my husband’s family annual vacation at the Lake. I love going, I really enjoy cooking so its a great time to cook for a huge group of people. My niece and nephew are lactose intolerant, so this year I’m going to make the Orangesicle Banana Ice Cream for them since they can not partake in the Ice Cream night on vacation.
One of my absolute favorite summertime activities is berry picking! It gets a little hot during blueberry season, but I just LOVE the whole experience!
I love the smell of the earth after in rains in the late afternoon, especially when the sun pokes itself out just in time for the sunset. Wait, wait I’m not done and then…the fireflies start their show. “Summerdusk” in Sweet Home AL. I absolutely love it. There is no place like home.
ps I tweeted the contest and thanks for all your recipes. Gracious Pantry is one of my favorite twitter feeds contest or no contest.
My favorite summer time meal is brats and corn on the cob. Since changing up my diet a bit, I generally go for turkey brats, but they have been difficult to find since moving to the East coast.
I know, not exactly clean, but what can I say? I’m a good little Wisconsin girl.
My favorite summer memory was last May. Found out after 4 yrs of trying to get pregnant I had reached my goal. Better yet my mom was here visiting when I found out! 🙂
My husband loves the canned Sloppy Joe mix but I hate it taste wise plus it is not clean. Thank you for this alturnative.
I have liked you on facebook.
Summer for me… is memories; running through the sprinkler while my dad grilled burgers for all us (5) kids, my mom sitting on the patio watching us and dad while our black lab ran and barked along side of us. Our neighbor calling one of us over to hand a basket of fresh picked sweet corn over the fence, and one of the neighborhood kids coming by to make sure we were all “in” for the epic-long nightly “kick the can” game…and the discussions on whose backyard we would play it in! Packing our pool bags everyday(don’t forget your swim cap, towel and your pin on badge) and meeting up with bunches of our neighborhood friends to walk, in our Dr Scholl’s sandals, through the woods to “the pool” (CC) together, where even more of our friends waited! How I miss the simple, hot, long days of summers past!
What are your summer favorites? Hikes in the Colorado mtns, swimming, the creek!
BBQ’s with friends.
What gets the fun started for you? We start our summer out when the snocone machine gets cleaned up and out. ****I need clean marachino cherries….and clean snocone syrup recipe.
What is your favorite summer-time food? Watermelon
What’s your favorite summer-time memory?
The pool with my friends.
Summers spent at my parents cabin on the Mississippi, days filled with jet skiing, grilling out, and spending quality time together around our camp fire……………
PS What buns do you use? those look delish!
my favorite summer time activity is going on long bike rides; my fave foods are grilled fish and veggies; looking for more flourless recipes, trying to stay away from flour and sugar as much as possible. your sloppy jo recipe looks amazing.
My favorite summer time memory would probably have to be going to lake Powell with my family.
And the sloppy Joe recipe looks great!
Hello, (PEGGY) I don’t know if you get Clean Eating Magazine but they have a few good clean eating versions for brats and hotdogs…..It’s the one in super markets (now)
I love warm weather, sun, swimming, the beach and getting to spend more time with the kids! My favorite summertime food is ice cream, especially when my inlaws make homemade for their streets 4th of July block party. My favorite summertime memories are swimming all day long in my parents pool as a kid and going to the beach with a big bunch of family in the summer.
“liked” you on Facebook
One of my favorite memories is camping with my family. Now it’s fun to take my own boys back to those campsites and make new memories.
Just tweeted about this!
My favorite summertime food is … watermelon. Or ice cream. But watermelon is healthier 🙂
Shared on FB!