Lighter Classic Sloppy Joes

These lighter, healthier Sloppy Joes have all the rich, savory, full-bodied flavor you're craving! (Super-easy recipe | no cans, no mixes)

Jump to:

• What's the Story Behind this Recipe?
• How We Made Sloppy Joes Healthier
• Ingredients
• How to Make this Recipe
• Storage
• Creative Ways to Serve Sloppy Joes
• More Easy Budget Meals
• Lighter Classic Sloppy Joes

What's the Story Behind this Recipe?

We had some amazing lunch ladies at my elementary school when I was growing up. They baked us fresh bread nearly every day, and served up what I have come to learn was some of the finest school food offered in the Portland Public School District at the time.

Sloppy Joe Day was always a good day in our lunchroom! (Almost as good as Pizza Day!) I remember passing through the lunch line, watching as the Sloppy Joe lady plunked a big ice cream scoop full of thick, meaty sauce onto the bottom half of a freshly baked burger bun, where it sat like a little brown igloo until she smooshed it into a patty shape with the other half of the bun. 

Once at your table, you would hold your Sloppy Joe in both hands, fingers on top, thumbs down. The trick was to keep it level as you bit down, in the hopes that at least some of the filling would stay inside the bun as you did. I nearly always finished mine with a fork though, as most of my Joe inevitably ended up plopping out on my lunch tray. 

The thing that made those lunch-lady cafeteria Sloppy Joes so good was they were made from scratch, like in our classic Sloppy Joe recipe. No cans, no mixes.

How We Made Sloppy Joes Healthier

In order to bring classic Sloppy Joes into the new millennia with lighter, healthier ingredients, we had to make a couple of changes to the basic recipe.

Mostly obviously, we substituted ground chicken for the traditional ground beef. (You can also use ground turkey.) Ground chicken, however, presents another problem, because it is essentially the tofu of live proteins; in that it is utterly tasteless all by itself. For a more positive spin, think of it as a blank canvas, just waiting for you to paint it up with your culinary magic. 

To recreate the rich, savory, beefy flavor that is the calling card of any respectable Sloppy Joe, we enhanced the mix with a splash of Worcestershire sauce and a little cocoa powder. We also added a handful of grated carrots for depth and sweetness, a squirt of Sriracha for a touch of heat, and a carefully chosen blend of savory herbs and spices.

Finally, because we prefer our Sloppy Joes to have some body, we added a little ground oatmeal. If you’ve never used the oatmeal trick to thicken a meat sauce before, it may sound weird; but it works like a charm. (You won't taste the oatmeal.)

Ingredients

• Ground chicken: This recipe was tested using ground chicken and ground turkey. Of course, you can also go traditional and use lean ground beef.
• Oats: Use chopped or coarsely ground old-fashioned or quick oats for this recipe. (Do not use oat flour for this: it is too finely ground.)
• Ketchup: Any ketchup will work, but we always use Portland Ketchup for its rich depth of flavor.
  • Substitutions: You can sub in chili sauce for the ketchup. If you use chili sauce instead, we recommend using Heinz brand for the best results. In this case, omit the Sriracha and the brown sugar. We suggest using a 50/50 mixture of chili sauce and ketchup at most.

How to Make this Recipe

On the Stovetop

In a small bowl, mix together ketchup, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, cocoa powder, salt, Sriracha, basil, oregano, fennel seeds, and paprika. Set aside.

Melt butter in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat. Increase heat to medium-high and add chopped onions and celery. Stir intermittently until the onions just begin to brown.

Add ½ cup water and ground meat to skillet with the onions and celery. Break meat apart and cook until no pink remains and water has evaporated.

Add the grated carrots and the contents of small bowl to skillet mixture

Stir to combine thoroughly. Reduce heat to Low, cover skillet, and simmer 5 - 10 minutes. If mixture is too thick, you can add up to a cup of water before simmering.

While the mixture is simmering, run the oats through a food mill or pulse them in small blender for a few seconds. Be careful though - you don't want to turn it into oat flour; you just want to break the oats up a little.

After the mixture has simmered, thicken it by adding 2 - 4 tablespoons of the prepared oats.

Assemble Sloppy Joes immediately before serving.

In a Slow Cooker

Melt butter in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat. Increase heat to medium-high and add chopped onions and celery. Stir intermittently until the onions just begin to brown.

Add ½ cup water and ground meat to skillet with the onions and celery. Break the meat apart and cook until no pink remains and water has evaporated.

Transfer to a slow cooker. Add all the remaining Sloppy Joe mix ingredients except the oatmeal. Cook in slow cooker on LOW for 1-2 hours.

Stir in chopped oatmeal and cook until thickened; about 5 minutes.

Storage

One of the best things about classic Sloppy Joes is that you can make the sauce for them well ahead of time (as in days ahead!) and simply heat it up when you’re ready to eat.

You can also freeze the prepared sauce for up to three months.

Creative Ways to Serve Sloppy Joes

Never underestimate the versatility of the humble Sloppy Joe. Sure, it's great on a a homemade burger bun, but there's so much potential for branching out. Here are just a few ideas: 

• Sloppy Huevos Rancheros
• Sloppy Breakfast Tacos
• Sloppy Lasagna
• Sloppy Pasta
• Sloppy on a Shingle
• Sloppy Baked Potato
• Sloppy Rice
• Sloppy Avocado 

More Easy Budget Meals

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