Ground meat in a rich brown sauce speckled with diced red and green bell peppers on a toasted brioche roll on a wooden cutting board with potato chips on the side

Sloppy Joes

Ground meat, peppers, onions and a slightly sweet and tangy sauce make for one deliciously “Sloppy Joes” sandwich!

Do you remember those days, when you were excited to hear it was Sloppy Joe night?   Something different, not Mom’s meatloaf or tuna casserole for sure

They even had the sauce already made for you in a can (just add to ground meat) with an advertising campaign telling you just how filling this sandwich was because it was called the…

Wait for it…

MANWICH

Doesn’t that make you feel rugged?  Well it’s time for a Simply Sunday’s Sloppy Joe upgrade!  We know your family will just love these!

Why are they called Sloppy Joes?

Rumor has it that “loose meat’ sandwiches were the rave back in the day.  Loose meat being ground meat not formed into a patty.  Some say a cook named Joe at a cafe in Sioux City added tomato sauce to his and a legend was born!

Let’s start off with 1 red bell pepper, 1 green bell pepper, 2 small onions (or 1 large) and 2 garlic cloves

Peel the onions, remove the stems and seeds from the peppers and give everyone a chop

One red bell pepper, one green bell pepper, two onions and two garlic cloves on a white plastic cutting board Onions, red and green bell peppers and garlic all chopped on a white plastic cutting board

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a pan over medium heat

Add in all the veggies and sprinkle with kosher salt and ground black pepper

Cook 6-8 minutes or until tender and the onions start to get translucent

Softened vegetables in the cast iron pan

Add in the ground meat

 We are using 3 pounds of ground turkey however you can use whatever ground meat you prefer

Pinkish ground turkey has been added to the pan with the vegetables

Cook 8-10 minutes breaking up the meat as you go, until it is all nicely browned and cooked through.  If using ground beef drain off some of the fat once cooked

The ground turkey is browned and cooked through and mixed with the peppers and onions

Let’s work on the sauce.  This can be done while the meat is cooking

We will need 2 cups of crushed tomatoes, 3/4 cup of Worcestershire Sauce, 1/2 cup of ketchup, 4 tablespoons of dark brown sugar, 2 tablespoons of Gravy Master, 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar and 1 tablespoon of chili powder

A white cutting board with clear glass bowls holding crushed tomatoes, ketchup, Worcestershire Sauce, brown sugar, chili powder, gravy master and apple cider vinegar

Keep in mind,if cooking with less meat, adjust the sauce accordingly

Place all of the ingredients into a bowl and whisk together

A bowl with all the sauce ingredients all together All the ingredients are now whisked together into a dark brown sauce

Pour the sauce into the meat mixture

The cooked meat with the dark brown sauce poured over it

Mix the meat and sauce together

Bring to a rapid boil, then reduce heat and gently simmer for 20-25 minutes

The meat and sauce mixture folded together

Chop about 1/2 cup of fresh parsley

Chopped fresh green parsley on a white plastic cutting board

Add the parsley and mix to combine

Adjust seasoning to taste

Meat mixture sprinkled with the fresh parsley Parsley mixed in

We like to use a toasted brioche roll for this

I lightly toasted and browned brioche roll on a wood cutting board

Top the roll with the Sloppy Joe mixture and serve with some chips!!!

Try some of our other favorite recipes using ground meat

Turkey Burgers

Tex Mex Casserole

Asian Pork Bowl

Ground meat in a rich brown sauce speckled with diced red and green bell peppers on a toasted brioche roll on a wooden cutting board with potato chips on the side

Enjoy!!!

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Simply Sundays! ~ Sloppy Joes

  • Servings: 6-8
  • Difficulty: Easy
  • Print

Ground meat in a rich brown sauce speckled with diced red and green bell peppers on a toasted brioche roll on a wooden cutting board with potato chips on the side

Ingredients

For the Meat

3 pounds of ground turkey

1 red bell pepper

1 green bell pepper

2 onions (or 1 large)

2 garlic cloves

2 tablespoons of olive oil

pinch of kosher salt and ground black pepper

For the Sauce

2 cups of crushed tomatoes

3/4 cup of Worcestershire Sauce

1/2 cup of ketchup

4 tablespoons of dark brown sugar

2 tablespoons of Gravy Master

1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoon of chili powder

Garnish

fresh chopped parsley (optional)

toasted brioche roll for serving

Directions

Remove the stem and seeds from 1 red and 1 green bell pepper and give them a rough chop.  Peel and chop the onions and garlic.  Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a pan over medium heat.  Add in all the veggies and sprinkle with kosher salt and ground black pepper.  Cook 6-8 minutes until tender and the onions also start to become translucent

Add in the ground meat.  Cook 8-10 minutes breaking up the meat as you go, until it is all nicely browned.  If using ground beef, you may want to drain some of the fat off once the meat is cooked through

In a bowl, whisk together 2 cups of crushed tomatoes, 3/4 cup of Worcestershire Sauce, 1/2 cup of ketchup, 4 tablespoons of dark brown sugar, 2 tablespoons of Gravy Master, 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar and 1 tablespoon of chili powder

Pour the sauce over the meat and stir to combine.  Bring to a rapid boil, then reduce heat and gently simmer for 20-25 minutes.  Adjust season to taste and add some chopped fresh parsley (optional)

Toast some brioche rolls and top with the Sloppy Joe mixture

Tools used to make this recipe

Architec Carving Board, Gripperwood

Lodge Cast Iron Skillet

Meal Prep Stainless Steel Mixing Bowls Set, Home, Refrigerator, and Kitchen Food Storage Organizers | Ecofriendly, Reusable, Heavy Duty By WHYSKO

Mini Prep Glass Bowl

NuWave Flex Precision Induction Cooktop

ZELITE INFINITY Chef Knife 8 inch

OXO Good Grips Balloon Whisk

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