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Healthier Sloppy Joes

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Healthier Sloppy Joes are packed not only with meat, but also with nourishing veggies. Carrots, celery, onions, and peppers come together with beef and sausage in a deliciously tangy sauce.

a plate with a half eaten sloppy joe. sloppy joe filling has fallen onto the plate.

Here’s something you might not know about me: I’m not a huge meat eater, and I HATE hamburger. So you might think it’s weird when I say that Healthier Sloppy Joes is one of my very favorite recipes. There are 3 reasons I think this is the case:

  1. It is packed with tasty veggies! I always love dishes that are colorful, so adding in orange carrots, green celery, yellow onions, and red peppers automatically makes it more appealing in my book. But looks aside, adding in all these veggies gives these sloppies so much more flavor. Not to mention to added health benefit. Raise your hand if you’re a parent that likes sneaking healthy food into their children’s mouths.

  2. It has hamburger AND SAUSAGE! Like I said, I’m not a huge fan of hamburger but sausage, mmm, sign me up. All those delicious seasoning found in sausage really enlivens the taste of this recipe.

  3. It makes a ton and is freezer friendly! This recipe will feed a crowd! When I make this meal, I can easily feed my family of 5 for dinner, as well as have enough for leftovers the next day. Plus, there is still enough to freeze for another dinner down the road. It’s a perfect meal to pull out of the freezer on a summer night when you just don’t feel like cooking. Or serve it at your next party, it will feed everyone.
a close up of healthier sloppy joe filling. meat, as well as carrots, onions, peppers and celery slices can be seen.

Tips for Making Healthier Sloppy Joes

  • If you’re trying to hide the veggies in this recipe, make sure to cut them up in to small pieces. You can even shred the carrot to make it blend in more. No one in my family minds the veggies, so I leave them big.
  • Chili sauce is my favorite, but you could easily substitute ketchup if that’s what you have on hand. If the recipe doesn’t seem saucy enough, I usually squirt in some extra ketchup until it reaches the consistency I want it to be.
  • To freeze, place desired amount in a freezer friendly container or ziplock bag. It will maintain it’s best quality for 3 months in the freezer, however, it will still be safe to eat for months after that. Let it defrost in the fridge for 24 hours before serving, or microwave on a low defrost setting.

    Sloppy Joe meat can be reheated on a pot on the stove, simmered on low. I’ve also put it in my instant pot before and just turned it on warm for several hours.
  • If you want to make this meal even healthier, you could serve it on top of a baked potato instead of a hamburger bun.
  • Sloppy Joes can be really hard for kids to eat. When my kids were little, they’d just eat the filling with a spoon instead of trying to wrestle with it in a sandwich bun.
  • This recipe is best when garnished with dill pickles, and if you’re feeling wild, potato chips right on the sandwich!
A plate with an open faced sloppy joe, as well as strawberries and corn on the cob.
a plate with a half eaten sloppy joe. sloppy joe filling has fallen onto the plate.

Healthier Sloppy Joes

Healthier Sloppy Joes are packed not only with meat, but also with nourishing veggies. Carrots, celery, onions, and peppers come together with beef and sausage in a deliciously tangy sauce.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 12 people
Calories: 232kcal
Print

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 2 stalks celery, diced
  • 2 carrots, diced
  • 1 small green pepper, diced
  • 1 small red pepper, diced
  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 1 pound pork sausage roll, regular flavor
  • 1 can tomato sauce
  • 3/4 cup Heinz chili sauce
  • 1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tbsp mustard, yellow or dijon
  • 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • hamburger buns
  • butter
  • dill pickles

Instructions

  • In a large frying pan, brown sausage and hamburger together until no longer pink. Drain excess fat and set aside. Preheat oven to broil.
  • In a large pot, heat olive oil and saute all the veggies together until soft, about 5-7 minutes. Add in the cooked sausage and meat. Stir in all the remaining ingredients. Simmer for about 20 minutes to blend the flavors.
  • While sloppy joes are simmering, butter the hamburger buns and broil in the oven until they are golden and slightly toasted. Watch closely because they can burn quickly.
  • Serve sloppy joes on toasted buns with pickles.
Please give this recipe a rating!Or leave me a comment to let me know what you think

Notes

Nutrition facts are for sloppy joe filling only, and does not include the hamburger bun or any garnishes.  

Nutrition

Calories: 232kcal | Carbohydrates: 5.4g | Protein: 18.9g | Fat: 14.9g | Saturated Fat: 4.6g | Cholesterol: 64mg | Sodium: 823mg | Potassium: 328mg | Fiber: 1.2g | Sugar: 2.9g | Calcium: 27mg | Iron: 8mg

recipe adapted from Ultimate Sloppy Joes

Filed Under: Beef, Freezer Friendly, Main Dish, Recipes, Sandwiches

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  1. Cathesr says

    at

    Looks and sounds delish! Pinned to try later 🙂

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