A classic childhood memory for some households: Sloppy Joe’s. This recipe for quick and healthy sloppy joe’s can’t be easier, or more tasty. Ready in about 15 minutes, this will become your family’s go-to weeknight meal, guaranteed. The sloppy joe filling is a delicious balance of sweet and savory; slightly smoky, and just delicious. Pile the filling high on a fluffy bun for the ultimate comfort food, and serve it alongside some veggies for a well-rounded meal. This meal is one the whole family can enjoy, made with wholesome ingredients.
All about these Quick and Healthy Sloppy Joe’s
Traditionally, a sloppy joe is a sandwich served on a hamburger bun, filled with a mixture of ground meat seasoned with spices and tomatoes. The recipe, like many other classic American recipes, varies from region to region and from household to household. The name also varies from region to region, but one thing remains consistent: this is easy comfort food at its finest!
This recipe for sloppy joe’s is a combination of sweet and savory. The flavor is smoky and hearty, but it has notes of sweetness from the brown sugar and ketchup used in the sauce. It tastes similar to a Swedish meatball, and it is delicious!
So what makes this recipe “healthy” anyway?
This recipe uses beef, ketchup, and even brown sugar… so what exactly do I mean when I call it “healthy?” Some recipes swap out ground turkey or chicken for beef, but here, I use the real deal.
The only swaps that lighten this recipe up are the use of olive oil spray in place of the traditional butter or oil, and the use of 96/4 extra lean ground beef instead of a more fatty cut. Otherwise, everything else in this recipe is the real deal: real ketchup, real brown sugar. All the spices. All the flavor.
To me, eating healthier isn’t about eliminating food groups, but about using real ingredients, but tweaking the measurements to suit your needs. This recipe only uses 1 tablespoon of brown sugar, and in my opinion, it is plenty to sweeten the entire dish. When I tell you this dish is packed with flavor, I mean it! Of course, you can make your own substitutions to adjust the macros or to fit your lifestyle, like reduced sugar ketchup, brown sugar replacement, etc.
What you’ll need to make quick and healthy sloppy joe’s
- onion
- 96/4 extra lean ground beef
- You can find this cut of beef in Trader Joe’s or Aldi, and I also find the Laura’s Lean Ground Beef brand at Target.
- garlic cloves
- onion powder
- paprika
- garlic powder
- ground mustard
- chili powder
- tomato paste
- ketchup
- Worcestershire sauce
- water
- buns for serving
How to make quick and healthy sloppy joe’s
To make this recipe, you will only need 15 minutes! This is the quickest and easiest recipe you will ever make. It comes together so quickly, but develops so much flavor, you won’t believe it. To make this recipe, simply start out by chopping the onion and mincing the garlic. Spray olive oil spray in the frying pan, and preheat it over medium heat.
Add the onion to the pan, and cook it for about 5 minutes for it to become tender and start to caramelize. Next, add the ground beef to the pan, and break it apart with a wooden spoon. Add the onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, ground mustard, and chili powder to the beef. Continue cooking the beef for about 5 minutes or until its no longer pink.
Next, add the minced garlic and tomato paste to the pan, and stir to combine. Add the ketchup, water, brown sugar, and Worcestershire to a small bowl and whisk to combine. Add the sauce to the pan, and stir to combine. Let the mixture simmer for about 5-10 minutes or until it thickens to your desired consistency.
Serve on top of a fluffy bun for the ultimate bite!
Quick and Healthy Sloppy Joe's
Equipment
- shallow Dutch oven, cast iron pan, or frying pan
Ingredients
- olive oil spray
- 1 onion, medium/large, chopped
- 1 lb 96/4 extra lean ground beef
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp ground mustard
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 3/4 cup water
- buns for serving (not included in macros)
Instructions
- Preheat the pan over medium heat, and add olive oil spray.
- Chop the onion and add it to the pan.
- Cook the onion for 5 minutes or until tender and it starts to caramelize.
- Add the beef to the pan, and break it apart with a wooden spoon.
- Add the garlic powder, onion powder, ground mustard, paprika, and chili powder.
- Cook the beef with the spices for about 5 minutes or until it is no longer pink.
- Add the minced garlic to the pan, followed by the tomato paste.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, ketchup, worcestershire sauce, and water.
- Add this sauce to the pan with the beef, and simmer for about 5-10 minutes or until it reaches your desired consistency. Taste for seasoning.
Notes
Nutrition
You might also enjoy these quick and easy beef-based healthy recipes:
Lightened-Up Chili with Cornbread Topping
Easy Healthy One Pan Mongolian Beef
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We have sloppy joes on our menu tonight! Though I do make them with ground turkey and a bit milder without paprika or chili powder but other than that I think our recipes are pretty similar.
Delicious! This recipe is so flavorful and came together so quickly – perfect for a week night meal. The ingredients are all things I always have on hand, so it was super convenient as well. Will definitely make these again!
Made these for dinner tonight. Fabulous I added some corn and shredded zucchini that just needed to be used up.
Loved this recipe!! So easy and had everything on hand! It was a big portion and so so good!!
Made this for dinner last night and it was a hit!!!
This recipe was a big hit at our house and it was quick and easy to make! I left out the chili pepper. Definitely will be on repeat in our house!
This quick cooking dish is amazingly simple but with huge flavors. Definitely a go-to for me
So delicious- I literally licked my plate. Definitely will be making again!
Soooooo good!!!!! Husband and kid approved, so easy to make! Perfect quick weeknight/sports/activity dinner!
Left out the brown sugar, and the bun. Made it into a casserole with tater tots and some cheese ontop. It was so delicious! Way better than the canned sloppy joe mix
Made this tonight!! And WOW!!!!! Absolutely delicious!!! It was a huge hit with the family. Thank you for another great recipe!!!
So much flavor, so quick and easy and it will be on repeat for us! Steph is on the menu multiple times a week in this house—my husband knows her by name now and whenever we eat something delicious he asks, “Is this a Steph recipe?” and of course it always is!
So easy and very good!!! Very easy quick meal during the week!!!
I made this tonight, and it was so good!!!! My picky teenager loved it too! Can’t wait to have leftovers tomorrow.
Great quick dinner! Breakfast and dinner from your recipes! Love them❤️
So delicious & flavorful! My husband and I loved these sloppy joes!
This was a super quick, delicious and easy recipe that will definitely be going into my weeknight meal rotation on a regular basis! Added pickles to our sandwiches and it was so good!
These are delicious! All three of my boys ages 3,6, and 8 loved them. I chose to eat it on light bread to save some points: My husband also loved it. Thank you for a quick, delicious, healthy meal!
This was delicious. I added riced cauliflower to bulk it up a little bit. My family love it. Will defiantly be making this again.
These are AMAZING! Going into the dinner rotation for sure!
I made this the other night and WOW was it good. I’ll never use the can stuff again. Actually my husband has already requested I make it again soon.
I really enjoyed this recipe! A little on the sweet side so next time I’ll add a bit of Siracha maybe. But I’ll definitely make again. Thanks Steph
Honestly I love me a good old manwich and was hesitant to try this but OMG never buying the can again- these are easy and definitely will be a regular on the menu
These were delicious!! My husband raved and I’ll definitely be making these again!
This was delicious and so easy. Much more tasty and healthier than the canned stuff. I added a couple drops of liquid smoke for a smokey flavor.
Delicious, my family loved it and this will be a new go to!
Made this last night and it was a hit! I made a few changes to the ingredients though. I used Monkfruit instead of the brown sugar and I used sugar free ketchup. This was super quick to whip up and will be in my dinner rotation for sure! I love that your recipes don’t lack in flavor. Thanks for another amazing recipe!
These were delicious! Wanted something different for burger night and the kids really liked them too. Loved the bit of brown sugar in them.
Amazing recipe tastes amazing 😻 thank you 🙏🏾
Very flavorful!! Just a tad too sweet for my taste, but I would eat again with less brown sugar!
This is an easy and delicious recipe! My husband and son had no idea we weren’t eating Manwich!
Love this recipe! We were a Manwich house and when looking to eat on the healthier side, we tried out this recipe. Let me say, we will never go back! So flavorful and delicious!
Delicious! So great!
Made today during my lunch break for dinner tonight, it’s swim right from work then rush home for dinner. Came together super easy everyone in the house enjoyed. Highly recommend
Very delicious!! I used no sugar added ketchup because that’s what I had on hand and it was still sweet and flavorful!
My picky toddler who only eats nutella, grapes and the occasional burger drowned in ketchup LOVED this. Thank you so much.
I followed the recipe exactly as written. It was delicious! I loved that I already had all the ingredients on hand. Will definitely make another batch this week.
Another recipe that is absolute perfection from Steph! This is definitely on the meal rotation in our household!
So great.