The perfectly savory and sweet Healthy Sloppy Joe Recipe is here! Made with ground chicken and a flavorful sauce packed with clean ingredients, these Sloppy Joes will not disappoint!
If you love Sloppy Joes and other flavorful recipes with ground meat, you’re sure to love our Instant Pot Hamburger Soup and these Grilled Sweet and Sour Meatball Skewers and, of course, this Healthy Hamburger Casserole.
Calling all Sloppy Joe Lovers!
Anyone else out there completely reminded of childhood when you think of Sloppy Joes? As a true midwestern staple, Sloppy Joes were always a fan favorite at our house growing up. So, we decided to take everything we love about this nostalgic fave, put a healthy twist on it, and serve it up to you guys!
The Key to Perfect Sloppy Joes
THE SAUCE! You absolutely cannot make a proper sloppy without a kickass sauce. And this Sloppy Joe recipe will not disappoint in the sauce department! It’s the most perfect savory and sweet flavorings from:
- Worcestershire sauce
- Apple cider vinegar
- Frank’s hot sauce
- Maple syrup
- Chili powder
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
- Mustard powder
- Salt
- Pepper
Combined with that tomato-ey flavor you love in a traditional Sloppy Joe that we achieved through the just-right combination of:
- Tomato paste
- Tomato sauce
- Ketchup
And we promise you, this sauce is NOT too runny (nobody needs a soggy bun!) and NOT too thick (this isn’t a thick midwestern chili recipe!).
Meat Options for Sloppy Joes
We love these healthy Sloppy Joes with ground chicken, but feel free to sub in ground turkey or ground beef. Just be aware that the fattier the meat you use, the more fat you’ll have to strain out of the pan before adding in the sauce to obtain that perfect Sloppy Joe thickness.
We haven’t tested this with Beyond Meat or other vegetarian or vegan alternatives, but if this works for you, let us know in the comments!
No Bun? No Problem!
Are you GF? Or looking for lower carb options that aren’t as bun-heavy to make the very best Sloppy Joe? Feel free to slap this delicious Sloppy Joe filling on:
- A corn tortilla
- A lettuce wrap
- On top of a salad
- In a buddha bowl with your fave accompaniments
- Dipped with tortilla chips
- In between grilled slices of eggplant, sweet potato or portobello mushrooms
What to Serve with Sloppy Joes
Looking for the perfect sides to round out your Sloppy Joe meal? Here are some of our favorite recipe pairings for these Joes:
- Foil Pack Grilled Red Potatoes
- Vegan Potato Salad
- Healthy Baked Potato Salad
- Olive Oil Parmesan Grilled Corn
- Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad
- Creamy Cucumber Salad
MORE of our best side dishes
More Healthy Sandwiches
- Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken
- Lemon Dill Salmon Burgers
- Roasted Garlic Black Bean Quinoa Burger
- Avocado Tuna Salad Sandwich
Healthy Sloppy Joe
Ingredients
Sauce
- 2 tablespoon tomato paste
- 3/4 cup tomato sauce
- 1/4 cup ketchup
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoons Frank's hot sauce option to sub 1 more teaspoon apple cider vinegar instead
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon mustard powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon pepper
Other
- 1.5 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 medium yellow onion minced
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 lb. ground chicken
Instructions
- First, prepare sauce by mixing together all ingredients in a large Pyrex or bowl. Set aside.
- Next, heat olive oil in a large pan over medium/high heat. Once fragrant, add yellow onion and minced garlic.
- Sautee for about 2 minutes before adding in ground chicken. Saute chicken for around 3-5 minutes until almost browned. Make sure to break the chicken up into small pieces.
- Add sauce to to the ground chicken and bring to a boil. Once boiling, turn heat down to low and let simmer for around 20 minutes or until sauce reduces by half.
- Serve on your favorite bun*.
. This is more work than the classic recipe and the flavor is not worth the extra effort. It much easier to substitute chicken or Turkey in a simple recipe. Glad others like it. Just not to my liking Prefer the classic flavors. Won’t do again.
Is is possible to sub the 1/4 cup ketchup for more tomato sauce? I don’t buy ketchup so don’t want to buy and throw the rest out
That should work, Zena! Maybe start with a bit less since tomato sauce is a little more soupy than ketchup and increase up to 1/4 cup if needed for taste.
Love this recipe and make it all the time! Would it be possible to make this work in a slow cooker? Thanks!
Amazing!!! ended up using 93/7 ground beef and out sliced avocado on top of the sloppy joe’s 😋 served with sweet potato tots. New fave sloppy joe recipe! Had wonderful flavor and loved the chili powder.
Oh wow that sounds AMAZING. I love sweet tater tots!
Hi, I’ve made this Sloppy Joe recipe a few times now and my whole family LOVES it. This tastes so much better than the canned stuff. Thank you for this recipe!
Yay! We’re so glad you loved these Sloppy Joe’s!