Healthy Sloppy Joes

4.73 from 55 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.

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Prep Time10

Cook Time5

Total Time5 10

Servings: servings

Author: Molly Thompson

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.

Recipe Equipment

4-quart slow cooker Note 1 Stovetop version

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

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