These are the best healthy sloppy Joes! Saucy and filled with flavour these homemade sloppy Joe's are made without ketchup, without wine, and without brown sugar and are filled with veggies to make them a healthier version of the classic recipe we all know and love.
I love taking classic comfort food recipes and making them healthier, like my healthy Shepherd's pie, healthy chicken Alfredo with spinach and healthy pork chili, which is why I can't wait for you to try the recipe I am sharing with you today! It is a healthier version of a classic comfort food recipe.
Table of Contents
Why you will love this recipe:
- This healthy sloppy Joe recipe is so good! It tastes just like traditional homestyle sloppy Joes and has the most delicious richly flavoured sauce.
- It is quick and easy to make and is ready in less than 30 minutes! It's also made in one pan so the clean up is so simple and easy - just like my one pan tuna fried rice.
- This recipe is made with no added sugar and is sweetened naturally with dates.
- This recipe is perfect for meal prep, makes great leftovers, and also freezes really well.
- It is loaded with veggies to make it a complete, healthy meal.
- This recipe is not only healthy but it is also Whole30 compliant, paleo, refined sugar free, gluten-free and dairy-free.
- These healthy sloppy Joes are great to serve for game day or Super Bowl parties.
If you love healthy ground beef recipes you will also love my easy meat sauce with olives and the best gluten-free meatloaf.
Ingredients and substitutions:
- Lean ground beef - this is my favourite meat for making sloppy joes. I prefer using grass fed and grass finished ground beef but you can use any type of ground beef that you like.
- Fresh vegetables - I use sweet bell peppers and onions to give this recipe the most amazing flavour and beautiful colours. You can use any type of bell peppers that you like including red bell pepper, yellow bell pepper, orange bell pepper or green bell pepper.
- Canned chopped tomatoes or canned diced tomatoes: these form the base of the sauce.
- Tomato paste - this helps the sauce thicken when it cooks to make it even more delicious.
- Coconut aminos: to help give this homemade sauce the perfect flavour. Instead of coconut aminos you can use soy sauce or Worcestershire sauce instead (just don't make these swaps if you are gluten free or following a paleo or Whole30 diet).
- Coconut vinegar: this is one of my favourite types of vinegar! It has such a unique flavour. You can use apple cider vinegar instead.
- Dates: to give the sloppy Joe sauce the perfect amount of sweetness, without any refined sugar or ketchup!
- Garlic - to punch up the flavour in these healthy sloppy Joes even more!
- Spices: sea salt, ground black pepper, parsley, mustard powder and smoked paprika all blend perfectly to give this sauce the best flavour.
- Coconut oil - this is used to brown the ground beef. You can swap this for another oil or fat such as butter, avocado oil, olive oil or ghee.
Recipe variations and add ins:
- If you are serving a crowd or want leftovers feel free to double or triple the recipe for these healthy sloppy Joes.
- Instead of using ground beef feel free to use another ground meat such as ground bison, ground turkey, ground pork, or ground chicken to make these sloppy Joes.
- You can use either green onion, white onion, sweet onion or yellow onion to make this recipe.
- You could add other vegetables such as carrots or celery to these healthy sloppy Joes.
- Instead of smoked paprika you can use regular paprika.
- For even more flavour you can add a bit of garlic powder or chili powder to the sauce.
How to make healthy sloppy Joes:
- Step 1: To make the sauce, add all the sauce ingredients to your Vitamix or other high speed blender.
- Step 2: Blend the ingredients until you have a smooth sauce.
- Step 3: To make the beef and vegetables, place a large pan or skillet on the stovetop on medium heat and add the coconut oil to the pan. When the oil is melted add the chopped green onion and chopped bell peppers to the pan and sauté for a couple minutes.
- Step 4: Then add the ground beef to the pan and cook it until it’s no longer pink, stirring regularly to break the meat apart and ensure it cooks evenly.
- Step 5: Once the meat is browned add the sauce to the pan and mix everything well.
- Step 6: Turn down the heat to low and let the meat mixture simmer for 15-20 minutes (until it reaches the thickness you like). Then serve and enjoy!
Top Tips:
- If you don't have a high speed blender you could use a large food processor to blend the sauce for these healthy sloppy Joes instead.
- If you don't have a high speed blender such as a Vitamix you will need to de-pit the dates before blending them as other blenders aren't powerful enough to crush the pits and you would end up with date pits in your sauce.
How to serve:
These paleo sloppy joes can be served in many different ways. Here are a few ways to eat them:
- Serve the sauce plain and eat it right out of a bowl.
- In hotdog buns or hamburger buns. They are great as sliders or as a sandwich or manwich. If you are gluten-free be sure to use gluten-free buns.
- If you prefer to make these bunless, you can serve them in a baked potato or in a baked sweet potato. Some people refer to these as potato buns or sweet potato buns.
- My favourite healthy sides for sloppy Joes are apple and kale salad, healthy broccoli salad or easy keto coleslaw.
- I love pairing sloppy joes with grain free cornbread muffins or paleo almond flour biscuits.
Healthy sloppy Joes FAQs:
How do you make a sweet potato bun or white potato bun?
All you need to do is bake your potatoes, then slice them in half and fill them with the sloppy Joe sauce.
Is this recipe keto?
No, this sloppy Joe recipe is not low carb or keto.
Are these sloppy joes paleo?
Yes.
Is this recipe Whole30 compliant?
Yes this is a Whole30 sloppy joes recipe.
How should I store the leftovers?
Store any leftovers of these healthy sloppy Joes in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 5 days. These sloppy joes also freeze really well in a freezer safe container for up to 3 months.
Other recipes you will love:
Recipe
Healthy Sloppy Joes
This is the best healthy sloppy joe's recipe! It is so easy to make and has the most amazing flavour. This kid friendly meal is made in one pan and is perfect for meal prep.
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Servings: 8
Calories: 317kcal
Equipment
Ingredients
Sauce Ingredients
- 2 cans chopped or diced tomatoes (equivalent to 796mL)
- 1/4 cup tomato paste
- 6 dates (sub 2-3 tablespoon honey if not on the Whole30 diet or if on the SIBO diet)
- 2 tablespoon coconut vinegar (sub apple cider vinegar)
- 1 clove garlic, crushed (sub 1 tablespoon garlic infused olive oil)
- 1 tablespoon coconut aminos
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon mustard powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika (sub for paprika if you don't have smoked paprika)
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
Beef and Vegetable Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon coconut oil
- 3 lbs grass fed ground beef
- 1/2 cup chopped green onion
- 1 yellow pepper, chopped
- 1 red pepper, chopped
Instructions
Sauce Instructions
- Add all the sauce ingredients to your blender bend everything until it's smooth.
Beef and Vegetable Instructions
- Place a large pan on the stove on medium heat and add the coconut oil and let it melt.
- Add the green onion and chopped peppers to the pan and sauté for a couple minutes.
- Add the ground beef and cook until no longer pink.
- Add the sauce and mix well to combine all the ingredients.
- Turn down the heat to low and simmer for 15-20 minutes (until it reaches the thickness you like).
Notes
- If you don't have a high speed blender such as a Vitamix, remove the pits from the dates before putting them in the blender and blending the sauce (otherwise the pits won't get ground up).
- Nutritional values are an estimate and will vary depending on the exact ingredients used.
- Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Nutrition
Calories: 317kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 38g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 105mg | Sodium: 659mg | Potassium: 985mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 926IU | Vitamin C: 59mg | Calcium: 58mg | Iron: 6mg
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Cheryle
WHY can't your recipes be printed any more? I have asked this question before and never get an answer. You just delete my comment. Why?
I am a newsletter subscriber.
Dr. Erin Carter
I am honestly not sure. What happens when you try to print them?
I checked and it's working for others so I am really not sure what is going on. Maybe try clearing your cache or try a different browser?