I went through a phase in high school where I was constantly asking my beautiful mama to make me sloppy joes for dinner. Mom, forgive me but those things were gooooodd.
Of course, back then we loved Manwich. Extra sloppy, extra sweet. But then one day while whisking around Trader Joe’s like a crazy woman on a mission with a small red cart, I stopped to ask myself (and you): why buy an extra can of Mr. Sweet Manwich when you most likely already have all the ingredients you need for a homemade sloppy joe sauce?
Oh sorry excuse me, I meant to write THE BEST SLOPPY JOES EVER.
Yes, that’s right, today I’m teaching you how to make a healthy sloppy joe recipe with a legit homemade sloppy joe sauce. Uhhh huhhh honey. We gettin’ sloppy. Okay enough with that. I’m writing this on the plane with a few glasses of terrible plane wine in me. Always a good time.
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What makes this sloppy joe recipe healthier?
So why are these a lil better for you? Well first off, they’re a bit leaner thanks to lean ground turkey instead of ground beef, but they also are significantly lower in sugar thanks to a homemade sauce made with ketchup and BBQ sauce and no additional sugar added. Did you know Manwich sauce has high fructose corn syrup, sugar, AND xantham gum to give it that iconic sweetness? Well, we’re skipping all of that with a sauce that’s perfectly sweet and spicy (no gums allowed).
Ingredients in the best healthy sloppy joes
As I mentioned, we’re lightening these babies up with lean meat and a lick-the-bowl good sloppy joe sauce that’s much lighter in sugar (but not flavor). Here’s everything you’ll need:
- Olive oil: you’ll need a bit of olive oil to cook down the veggies and meat for the sauce.
- Produce: we’re sauteing a white onion, red bell pepper, and some garlic for the sauce.
- Ground turkey or chicken: I love using ground turkey or ground chicken for the perfect source of lean protein. 94% lean is best.
- For the sauce: that homemade sloppy joe sauce is made from ketchup, low sugar BBQ sauce, Worcestershire sauce, red wine vinegar, yellow mustard, and salt & pepper. Feel free to add a little cayenne pepper if you like spice.
- For serving: do them up however you like! I like to serve these turkey sloppy joes on whole grain hamburger buns with a little shredded pepper jack cheese and jalapeño slices. Yes, you can always use gluten free hamburger buns if you’d like.
How to make sloppy joes in the slow cooker
This recipe is written for a stovetop version, which takes just 30 minutes to throw together, but you can absolutely make the sloppy joes in your slow cooker for a hands-off approach! Here’s how to do it:
- Add the turkey to a skillet with olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and break up the meat as much as you can. I like to use this meat masher. Cook for about 5 minutes.
- Add your browned turkey to your slow cooker with the rest of the ingredients (reduce the water by 1/4 cup) and mix them together well.
- Cook the sloppy joes on high for 2-3 hours or on low for 6 hours.
- Give them a stir and serve them up with your fav toppings!
Our fav ways to serve these sloppy joes
As I mentioned, you can double or even triple the recipe to serve more people! It’s great for game day and for feeding a bunch of kiddos. Here are some more fun ways to serve it up:
- Throw it in Mac and cheese
- Serve it with my favorite cornbread or cornbread waffles
- Eat it by the spoonful or scoop it with chips, or make sloppy joe nachos!
- Or as I prefer, load it up with pepper jack cheese and a few pickled jalapeños
Any way you enjoy this recipe it’s going to be a winner.
More kid-friendly dinners to try
Get all of my kid-friendly dinner recipes here!
Good Mood Food Episode 2
I hope you love these healthy sloppy joes! If you make them be sure to leave a comment and a rating so I know how you liked them. Enjoy, xo!
The
Ambitious Kitchen
Cookbook
125 Ridiculously Good For You, Sometimes Indulgent, and Absolutely Never Boring Recipes for Every Meal of the Day
30 Minute Healthy Turkey Sloppy Joes with Homemade Sauce
Delicious chicken or turkey sloppy joes with an easy homemade sauce and made with simple, wholesome ingredients. This healthy turkey sloppy joe recipe can easily be doubled or tripled for a crowd, and can even be made in your slow cooker! The perfect weeknight dinner that kiddos and adults love.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small white onion, diced
- 1 red bell pepper or green bell pepper, finely diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 pound 94% lean ground turkey or chicken
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- ½ cup ketchup (I use Trader Joe’s Organic Ketchup)
- ¼ cup your favorite BBQ sauce (I used Stubb’s Spicy BBQ sauce, but a sweet one is great too!)
- 1 ½ teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 ½ teaspoons red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon yellow mustard
- ½ cup filtered water
- Optional: ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper, if you like spice
- For serving:
- 4 hamburger buns of choice
- 2-4 ounces shredded pepper jack cheese (about 1/2-1 cup)
- Optional: Jalapeno slices
Instructions
-
In a large skillet, add olive oil and place over medium heat. Add in the garlic, white onion and bell pepper; saute for 5 minutes or until onion is translucent. Move mixture to the sides of the pan
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Add ground turkey to the skillet and season with salt and pepper; break up the meat and cooking until no longer pink, 5 to 7 minutes.
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Once turkey is cooked, add the onion/bell pepper mixture back in. Then add in ketchup, bbq sauce, worcestershire sauce, vinegar, mustard and water. If you like a little heat, add in cayenne pepper.
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Stir well to combine and bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to low and cook for 10 minutes longer until sauce thickens. If sauce looks too thick, add in a tablespoon of water.
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Next add cheese on top of meat mixture, cover with a lid and let the cheese melt for 2 minutes (or until melted). Transfer meat onto hamburger buns and top with jalapeno slices. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
To make it gluten free: Make sure all ingredients you use are GF and also be sure to use gluten free buns.
To make it dairy free: Leave cheese off, or use a dairy free cheese option.
Nutrition
Serving: 1sloppy joeCalories: 422calCarbohydrates: 36.6gProtein: 31.7gFat: 16.3gSaturated Fat: 5.7gFiber: 4.1gSugar: 9.8g
Recipe by Monique Volz of Ambitious Kitchen // Photography by: Sarah Fennel
This post was originally published on June 22nd, 2017, and republished on April 20th, 2024.
