These healthy sloppy Joes are and easy and delicious weeknight meal ready in 30 minutes. They're made with simple ingredients, contain some sneaky veggies, and are much lower in sugar than traditional Sloppy Joes!
In a small bowl mix together ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, garlic powder, onion powder garlic salt, mustard, and black pepper. Set aside.
Add ground beef to a medium skillet and cook over medium-high heat until it begins to brown.
Add green pepper and cook until soft.
Drain liquids and stir in the mixture made in step 1. Mix until combined.
Reduce heat, and simmer covered for 20 minutes.
Remove the lid and simmer for about 5 minutes more or until the mixture thickens (if you like thicker sloppy joes)!
Serve with your favorite garnishes on your favorite rolls!
Video
Notes
*Nutrition information calculated for the Sloppy Joe mixture alone, using 93% lean ground beef, making 8 servings. It does not include the bun since there are many bun options and all have varying nutritional information.
Ingredient Substitutions
Lean ground beef. I recommend 93% lean ground beef, however ground turkey or chicken can be used in it's place if desired.
Green Pepper. Any variety of bell pepper works well in this recipe. I like the addition of a veggie to these homemade sloppy Joes, but if you have picky eaters you might want to leave it out. Or substitute a veggie like shredded zucchini that disappears when it's cooked!
Onion powder. Real onion can be substituted for the onion powder. I recommend using about 1/2 cup finely diced onion depending on your tastes. Add it to the skillet when you add the meat!
Garlic powder. Minced garlic can be used in place of garlic powder. Add it with the meat and/or onion.
Brown Sugar. Coconut sugar can be used in place of brown sugar for a refined sugar free version.
A quick note on Ketchup.
You could replace the ketchup with tomato sauce and increase the sugar (or not if you like less sweet sloppy joes) but I use it for ease and taste. Make sure to check the ingredients on the ketchup that you buy! I recommendorganic varieties like this.Yes, ketchup has sugar - but I try to steer clear of corn syrup and it's the first ingredient in most commercial ketchups. This Heinz Organic Ketchup only has 7 ingredients and organic cane sugar is number 4, as opposed to other varieties that list "corn syrup" as the number 1 ingredient.
To store
Store leftover meat in an airtight container in the refrigerator. If you will be packing leftovers to take to work I recommend packing the bun and meat separately so it doesn't become soggy.