Delicious Sloppy Joe Sandwiches

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of DataRank and KC Masterpiece. All ideas and opinions are mine.

Winning an award, bringing home a great report card, first day of school, last day of school – if there was cause to celebrate, my Mom always marked the occasion with a special meal. And she always picked a family favorite!  One that I especially liked was her homemade Sloppy Joe sandwiches.

Delicious Sloppy Joe Sandwiches

Be sure to scroll down for a printable recipe card!

As soon as I was old enough, it was one of the first dishes I learned how to prepare. It was a simple recipe – one of those ones that wasn’t written down. You just did it from memory and taste!

Time passed and I had a daughter of my own. Sloppy Joes quickly became one of her favorite meals too! In fact, she loved them so much that we nicknamed them “Sloppy Sammys” (her name is Samantha).

Every Halloween we used pickles and olives and other items to turn them into “Sloppy Goblins”. It was a super quick and easy meal – perfect for a busy night of trick-or-treating.

Mom’s Sloppy Joes had a homemade barbecue sauce in it that is very much on the sweet side and just a bit tangy.

I adapted her recipe to add a little bit of spice to it by using KC Masterpiece Hickory Brown Sugar Barbecue Sauce. It retains a bit of that sweetness and tang we like while kicking the flavor up a notch.

Then, I added some extra nutrients to the recipe by throwing some veggies in the mix. Still kid friendly but definitely mom approved too!

I like to put in some onion, peppers (yellow sweet peppers this time but red or green bell peppers are good too), and some diced carrots. This recipe is a great way to use up leftover vegetables you have in your fridge: celery, mushrooms, corn, zucchini, and even peas are good additions.

Pro tip: If those visible veggies won’t work for your picky eater, try pureeing some and adding it to your Sloppy Joe mixture. Carrots, squash, and sweet potato work really well for this. There are also companies like Pampered Chef who make vegetable powdered protein (like their pea protein powder) that you could add instead.

Ingredients:

1 lb. of ground beef (or use ground chicken or turkey instead)

1/3 of a large onion, chopped

1/2 cup diced yellow pepper

1/2 cup of diced carrots

About 9 oz. of BBQ sauce (1/2 the 18 oz. size bottle)

Notes: Not only do the veggies add some added nutrients to this recipe, but they also help extend the beef and make the recipe go further.

Serving suggestions: Serve the meat and vegetable mixture on burger buns (I just love those Hawaiian sweet buns), those skinny flatbread type buns (for a healthier version), or even stuffed inside pita pockets or flour tortilla wraps.

Throw on some shredded lettuce and/or grated cheese if you’d like!

Instructions:

Simply sauté the vegetables in a bit of olive oil until softened (skip this step if using already cooked leftovers and add them in later with the KC Masterpiece Barbecue Sauce).

Add in your ground meat – I’m using extra lean ground beef but ground turkey or bison are also excellent selections.

Pro tip: use a potato masher to break up the ground beef in the pan.  So much easier than any other method I’ve ever tried! 

Once the meat is browned, be sure to drain off any excess fat!  Then, stir in some of the KC Masterpiece Barbecue Sauce (try all the different flavors to find your favorite!) and let that simmer for about 10 minutes.  

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Delicious and Incredibly Easy Sloppy Joe Sandwiches

These Sloppy Joe sandwiches are a quick and easy recipe perfect for a busy night. They are a great way to use up leftover vegetables too!

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Keyword ground meat, sandwich

Prep Time 8 minutes

Cook Time 12 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Servings 5

Calories 331 kcal

Ingredients

• 1 lb. of ground beef or use ground chicken or turkey instead
• 1/3 of a large onion chopped
• 1/2 cup diced yellow pepper
• 1/2 cup of diced carrots
• About 9 oz. of BBQ sauce 1/2 the 18 oz. size bottle – adjust to your preferences

Instructions

1. Simply sauté the vegetables in a bit of olive oil until softened (skip this step if using already cooked leftovers and add them in later with the KC Masterpiece Barbecue Sauce).
2. Add in your ground meat – I’m using extra lean ground beef but ground turkey or bison are also excellent selections.
3. Pro tip: use a potato masher to break up the ground beef in the pan. So much easier than any other method I’ve ever tried!
4. Once the meat is browned, be sure to drain off any excess fat! Then, stir in some of the KC Masterpiece Barbecue Sauce (try all the different flavors to find your favorite!) and let that simmer for about 10 minutes.

Recipe Notes

Not only do the veggies add some added nutrients to this recipe, but they also help extend the beef and make the recipe go further. If those visible veggies won’t work for your picky eater, try pureeing some and adding it to your Sloppy Joe mixture. Carrots, squash, and sweet potato work really well for this.

Nutrition Facts

Delicious and Incredibly Easy Sloppy Joe Sandwiches

Amount Per Serving

Calories 331 Calories from Fat 171

% Daily Value*

Fat 19g29%

Saturated Fat 7g44%

Trans Fat 1g

Cholesterol 64mg21%

Sodium 594mg26%

Potassium 450mg13%

Carbohydrates 24g8%

Fiber 1g4%

Sugar 18g20%

Protein 16g32%

Vitamin A 2283IU46%

Vitamin C 29mg35%

Calcium 41mg4%

Iron 2mg11%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Now Mom is here visiting and I made her my version of Sloppy Joes. Having perfected her own recipe, she is really picky about them, in particular the BBQ sauce.

She took a bite and I held my breath. Would it pass muster? The verdict: not only did she like it but she thought the BBQ sauce was even better than her own! Win!