This ground turkey-based Sloppy Joe recipe is a simple, healthy version of a childhood classic. Put it over zucchini noodles for a low-carb/gluten-free option!
Growing up we were “deprived” of the usual pre-made food delights – I never had Spaghetti-Os, Sloppy Joes, Lunchables, or Kraft Mac ‘n Cheese. My mom was a purist. We would only eat homemade meals, dammit! This was nothing short of torture to my 10-year-old self.
That said, when I came up with this homemade Sloppy Joe recipe I had to ask Vegas if this tasted like the “real” thing. She confirmed that the flavor was spot on… minus the fatty ground beef and the trashy white bread. I call that a win.
As an adult, I appreciate the care my mom took in making sure we ate well. The way I grew up informed how I eat today. I prefer cleaner, made-from-scratch meals… which means Vegas has to suffer through all of my cooking experiments. Mwhahaha!
This experiment was a double win because I gave her the (gluten-free) sandwich version of a Sloppy Joe, including the slice of cheddar on top. I enjoyed mine over zucchini noodles.
Side note: This handheld spiralizer makes my life so much easier.
These Sloppy Joes are better for you than the canned variety, and they’re MUCH tastier. I loved the fresh tomatoes in the sauce, and the natural sweetness the carrots added.
Rather than beef, I used lean ground turkey sent to me from Jennie-O. It was a perfect lighter option (read: left plenty of room for seconds).
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Turkey Sloppy Joes
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 10 mins
Keywords: sautee entree gluten-free low-carb tomatoes ground turkey turkey zucchini American
Ingredients (4 servings)
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1 pound lean ground turkey
- 1/2 C yellow onion, diced
- 1/2 C chopped green pepper
- 1 carrot, peeled and minced
- 1 T tomato paste
- 18 oz (1 jar) whole peeled tomatoes, diced
- 2 T spicy mustard
- 1 T Worcestershire
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/4 tsp pepper
For a Sandwich:
- 8 slices of bread or 4 buns, split
- 8 cheese slices
For a Zucchini Noodle Dish:
- 3 zucchinis, spiralized
Instructions
Heat a large skillet over medium heat, add in oil. Once hot, stir in turkey, onion, pepper, and carrot.
Cook, breaking up the turkey as you go, until the turkey is cooked and veggies are soft (~ 5 mins).
Meanwhile, whisk together remaining ingredients for the sauce.
Stir the sauce into the turkey mixture and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat and simmer until sauce thickens slightly (3-4 mins).
Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
When ready to serve, preheat broiler.
Place the bottom buns on a baking sheet and top with turkey mixture. Cap each bun with a cheese slice and place under a broiler until it melts. Remove and top the other piece of bread.
If you’re using zucchini noodles as your base, simply spoon the turkey mixture over your noodles.
***
I feel like I need to apologize to my mom for all the times I begged for trashy food. Kids… sigh.
To the mammas: do your kids beg for the packaged stuff?
What’s your favorite trashy childhood food?
Looks good Laura – never had sloppy joes before but from looking at the ingredients I know exactly how good it would be. Adding this to my list to make in the winter – but saying that over zoodles would actually make a good summer dish… Sorry just thinking out loud, ha!
Trashy food when I was growing up was always ‘food from the freezer’ – frozen chips, nuggets and the like… Oh the days when mum would say dinner was ‘whatever falls out of the freezer’ was always the best day!
I know it’s a trashy American thing… but I promise this version is worth a shot. It’s kind of like a chili.
Falling out of the freezer dinners sound fabulous!
Now I know what I am making as my recipe for this week. Slow cooker sloppy joes (my goal is to use my slow cooker once a week at the moment). My childhood informed my cooking in that I both don’t mind and mind terribly eating things that are prepackaged. I am a stickler for a balanced meal, but I have too many memories of eating boxed everything. So I try to balance that out.
YAY! I saw a lot of recipes for making this in a slow cooker… but I didn’t see the need to cook it that long. Convince me otherwise!!!
My mom’s big thing when I was growing up was that I couldn’t have the sugary cereals. All I wanted in life was some damn Frosted Flakes! But now I get it.
Alex’s favorite junk foods are: popsicles, lollipops, goldfish and fig bars. I try to at least buy healthier versions of these things when I can.
I love Frosted Flakes. And Lucky Charms. My child will have NONE of that. In theory…
Goldfish are a childhood staple.
This is exactly how we make ours!!
Except for the brilliant addition of the spiralizing. I need to try that. Do we think 11 will rebel? I will let you know if she does 🙂
If she’s anything like me, she’ll rebel. But one day she’ll love it. 🙂
OH WOW. DELICIOUSNESS> Anything with an enormous pile of cheese looks absolutely incredible.
The rest of my family would eat this! Love the mustard and worsteshire sauce for flavor
I think lentils would do well in a meatless version… or pinto beans?!
I haven’t had sloppy joes in a very long, and man oh man I want one right now. I’ve been cooking with turkey instead of ground beef lately just to be a bit healthier in my household, and no one can tell the difference. I’m going to make this recipe and spoon it over Zoodles!
Nice! There’s a small difference, but with a flavorful sauce, no one seems to care!
Wait wait, who puts sloppy joes on bread? They go on hamburger rolls!
I realllllly was going to buy Vegas buns, but they were out of GF! Doh.
Sloppy Joe needs Sloppy G…. Yes, yes he does!
Actually, I probably need him more than he needs me.
Sloppy SALMON SKIN G?!
My mom made all our meals from scratch too and I would beg for the crappy boxed stuff. In fact going to friends houses where they had that stuff was like a dream come true. We didn’t realize how good we had it.
For real. And Bisquick. WHY did I beg for that?! My mom actually used to warm the syrup (for homemade pancakes, obv) with butter and cinnamon. Heaven.
Oo yum! I haven’t had sloppy joe’s in a long time. Sounds delicious! My mom didn’t make them much either. I love how you’ve packed lots of veggies in with the turkey.
I’ve never had sloppy joes but they sound right up my street! My favourite trashy childhood treat would be mini frankfurt sausages. I just had some on Monday!
Trying SO HARD to be mature and not make a joke about you enjoying mini sausages…