Healthy Sloppy Joes

4.73 from 51 votes

These homemade healthy sloppy joes feature a rich, sweet, and savory sauce, hidden veggies, and protein-packed ground beef. Throw everything into the slow cooker and come home to a family-friendly meal everyone will look forward to. Scoop them inside a sweet potato or serve them on top of your favorite hamburger buns.

Prep Time10

Cook Time5

Total Time5 10

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: American

Diet: Diabetic, Gluten Free

Keyword: chicken dinner, paleo, sloppy joes, slow cooker meal, whole30

Servings: servings

Author: Molly Thompson

Equipment

4-quart slow cooker Note 1 Stovetop version

Ingredients

Healthy Sloppy Joes

1 tablespoon olive oil or avocado oil
1 medium yellow onion diced
2 cloves minced garlic or 1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 lb ground beef we used 93% lean
1 red or green bell pepper diced
1 cup tomato sauce
¼ cup tomato paste
3 tablespoons maple syrup (Note 2)
1/2 teaspoon EACH: chili powder and onion powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon coconut aminos or Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon brown or yellow mustard
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar
4 Hamburger buns or roasted sweet potatoes

Sweet Potatoes (Optional)

4 medium sweet potatoes
1 tablespoon coconut oil
Pinch of salt

Instructions

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the diced onions and cook until soft and translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute, until fragrant.
Place ground meat into the pan and brown until no pink remains, about 5 minutes. Carefully drain the fat from the pan and transfer the beef and onions to in a 4-quart slow cooker. See Note 1 for stove top instructions.
Add the remaining ingredients to the slow cooker and stir well to combine, until the tomato paste is evenly distributed. It should be thick with a deep red color. Cook on low heat for 6-7 hours or high for 3-4 hours.
Serve warm with whole wheat buns or inside roasted sweet potatoes.
If serving them in a sweet potato, start making them an hour before you're ready to serve. Preheat your oven to 400°F and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Coat the outside of the sweet potatoes with coconut oil then sprinkle with sea salt. Poke a few holes in the potatoes with a fork to release steam then bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour or until the outside is crisp and the inside is soft. Serve sloppy joes inside sweet potatoes.

Video

Notes

Note 1. Stovetop Healthy Sloppy Joes. Follow the directions to cook the onion and ground beef in a deep saucepan. Stir in the rest of the ingredients until the tomato paste is well distributed. Increase the heat to medium-high then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, for 15-20 minutes, until the sauce reduces slightly.

Note 2. Maple Syrup. We like this as a refined sugar-free option, but you can also use brown sugar or coconut sugar. You can also omit the maple syrup for a whole30 option.

Storage: store leftover sloppy joes in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and warm up on the stove or reheat individual servings in the microwave.

*Nutrition facts include the paleo version with maple syrup. The whole30 version, it's 330 calories and 12.3 carbs.

Nutrition