Homemade Sloppy Joe Recipe (turkey or beef)

A zesty mixture of ground turkey (or beef), bell peppers, and onions with an easy ketchup-based sauce, this sloppy Joe recipe is tasty and always hits the spot. It’s great for weeknight dinners or for casual get-togethers.

This recipe for turkey sloppy Joes definitely fits into the “go-to” category in my house. I almost always keep a package of ground turkey or beef on hand. It usually ends up in spaghetti with meat sauce, tacos, or these sloppy Joe sandwiches.

If you’re more accustomed to Manwich, a canned sauce used to make sloppy Joes, I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised by your homemade version. If you look at the ingredients on the side of the can, you’ll see that there’s a lot of sugar in the form of high fructose corn syrup and corn syrup, along with other not-so-great things. Your own “Manwich” sauce has real peppers and onions, and no preservatives.

Easy Sloppy Joe Sandwiches

Uses turkey or beef. Why use ground turkey instead of beef? Using ground turkey instead of beef cuts down slightly on calories and fat. It’s hard to tell the difference in flavor, especially in these sloppy Joes. If I’m making a large batch, sometimes I use half turkey and half beef. Feel free to use whatever you prefer.

With added vegetables.The bell peppers and onions in this sloppy joe recipe not only add flavor, they also add a lot of good nutrition and fiber. They help to stretch your meat budget too. It’s always good to eat more veggies and less meat!

An easy sauce. The sauce is pretty basic and easy to make with ingredients that you have on hand. It shouldn’t take you more than fifteen minutes to throw it together and the mixture can simmer on the stove indefinitely. Just give it a stir now and then to make sure it isn’t sticking. It’s ready when you are.

Ingredient Notes

• Ground Turkey or Beef: It’s really up to you which one you choose. Sometimes I even use a mixture of the two especially if I’m making it for a crowd. Choose a leaner cut of beef, such as ground round to cut down on grease.
• Onion: A regular yellow cooking onion is fine for this recipe but other types of onion are good, too, such as red onion or sweet white onion.
• Bell Peppers: Just for visual appeal, I choose a couple different colors. You’ll need about one total pepper so if you’d rather just use one color, that’s perfectly fine.
• Ketchup: Choose a ketchup with no high fructose corn syrup. I realize that ketchup is a processed food that often contains high amounts of sugar but there are brands that offer a better choice. If you prefer, make it with tomato sauce (an 8 oz. can). You may have to increase the seasonings a bit.
• Dark Brown Sugar: Just a tablespoon of sugar gives the sauce the tangy sweet and sour flavor. Light brown sugar is fine, too, or a tablespoon of molasses.
• Yellow Mustard, Worcestershire Sauce, Garlic Powder: This trio of familiar pantry items flavors the sauce. Feel free to vary it to your taste. My mom always adds a splash of vinegar because she likes things tangy.
• Buns: Hamburger buns or slider buns are commonly used for a sloppy Joe sandwich but any type of bread, roll, or sub bun can be used. Toasting them first really adds a nice touch.
• Optional Toppings: Sloppy Joes are perfectly good just the way they are but why not jazz them up with a few toppings? Try shredded or sliced cheese, shredded lettuce, a spoonful of coleslaw, a slice of tomato, sliced avocado, chopped onions, whatever you like. Pickles are great too: spicy Korean pickles, refrigerator dill pickles, or pickled red onions. My husband slathers his sandwich with yellow mustard, so hey, anything goes!

How To Make This Sloppy Joe Recipe

Prep the veggies. Begin by chopping the onions and peppers. Sometimes I throw the sauce ingredients in a measuring cup before I start cooking so it’s all ready to stir in, but you can also add them in separately.

Brown the meat and veggies. Choose a skillet that will easily accommodate the ingredients. If you plan on simmering the sloppy Joes for an extended time, a cover is a good idea.

Add the ground meat, chopped onions, and peppers to the pan. Season with salt and pepper and cook over medium high heat, stirring and breaking up the chunks of ground meat. I like to use a wooden spatula with a flat edge.

Add sauce. Once the meat is cooked and the vegetables are softened, add the sauce ingredients, stirring well to coat.

Simmer until heated through. Turn the heat down to low and simmer the mixture for thirty minutes or so. If you’re in a hurry, no problem. The sloppy Joes can be eaten as soon as the mixture is steaming hot. It tastes a bit better after it simmers awhile so if you have time, let it cook for a bit. In fact, it will be fine for an hour or more and you can even throw it in a slow cooker, set it on Low, and leave it for a few hours.

Serve. Serve on buns with toppings, if desired.

Sloppy Joe Side Dishes

These air fryer French fries are a super good side, or if you prefer, air fryer tater tots or air fryer sweet potato fries. A simple green salad and potato chips are perfect, too, especially with homemade French onion dip. Really, almost anything goes with sloppy Joes, from roasted broccoli to a bowl of creamy squash soup.

Helpful Tips

Chop the vegetables finely. Since you’ll be eating the mixture on a bun, the texture of the sauce will be better if there aren’t large chunks of peppers and onions. Be sure to break up the meat into small crumbles as it browns, too.

Drain the meat, if desired. This depends on the ground meat you’re using. Ground turkey doesn’t have a lot of extra fat so it often isn’t necessary to drain it. Ground beef is sometimes greasier and it’s a good idea to drain some of the liquid off before adding the rest of the ingredients.

Get the right consistency. If your sloppy Joes seem too runny, simply bring the mixture to a vigorous simmer, uncovered, and let some of the liquid boil off. Another easy way to thicken sloppy Joes (and taco meat, too) is to add a tablespoon of flour or masa to the mixture. Stir it in well and the mixture will immediately thicken. Add more, a teaspoon at a time, if it’s still too “sloppy.”

Recipe Variations

• Decrease the vegetables: I like to make this mix heavy on the vegetables, but if that isn’t your cup of tea, start with ¼ cup of green peppers and ¼ cup of onions. I put in over a cup of mixed bell peppers, and a heaping half cup of onions. This is totally up to you.
• Add tomatoes: Want the mixture even chunkier? Add canned diced tomatoes as well as peppers and onions.
• Spice it up: Add a pinch of red pepper flakes or ground cayenne pepper.
• Skip the ketchup: Substitute an 8 oz. can of tomato sauce for the ketchup. Increase seasonings to taste. Ketchup has a lot of sugar, so you might want to add more brown sugar if you use tomato sauce. Ketchup also has a vinegary tang, so you may want to consider adding a splash of white vinegar. A teaspoon or two should be plenty.

Make-Ahead Ideas

Make a big batch. Turkey sloppy Joes are perfect for make ahead meals. This recipe is easy to double or triple. Prepare a big batch of this sloppy Joe mix and freeze it in serving size containers. It will keep for a few months.

Slow cook it. Make a big batch in the morning and let it simmer in the crockpot until you’re ready to serve. This is a great idea for get-togethers or tail-gate parties! Just bring the crockpot of sloppy Joe to your destination, with lots of sliced buns and toppings for make-your-own sandwiches.

Storage & Reheating Tips

Refrigerate/Freeze: Leftover sloppy Joe mixture can be stored separately from the buns in the refrigerator for up to 4 days if refrigerated promptly in a covered container. It can be frozen for up to three months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.

Reheat: Sloppy Joe meat can be reheated on the stove over medium heat until warmed through; individual portions can be reheated in the microwave in 30-second increments.

Leftover Love

It’s easy to repurpose leftover sloppy Joe mixture. Make baked macaroni and cheese, and top it with sloppy Joe meat before baking. Add taco seasoning to the meat and make burrito or taco filling. Top a pizza crust with sloppy Joe mix, add shredded cheese and sliced peppers and onions and bake.

More hot sandwich Recipes

• Sliders: Turkey sliders, aka Rachel sandwiches, pepperoni pizza sliders, ham and Swiss sliders
• Sandwiches: Pizza panini sandwiches, crockpot Buffalo bhicken sandwiches, meatball subs
• Burgers: Turkey burgers, pizza burgers, or air fryer burgers

More Uses for Ground Meat

If you are looking for a different way to cook ground meat, try homemade Hamburger Helper, hamburger soup, or cheeseburger soup. We also love crockpot goulash or stovetop American goulash, and they’re both one pan dinners.