It's time to bring back Sloppy Joes to your weekly menu with these tasty low-carb Sloppy Joes! This recipe tastes a million times better than any canned Sloppy Joe mix, while still being a quick and easy dinner to make.
Your family is going to love this meal and the variety of ways it can be served!
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What are sloppy joes?
Sloppy Joes are a favorite family comfort food in many houses.
If you don't know what a Sloppy Joe is, it is ground beef cooked in a sweet and tangy tomato sauce that is then served between a hamburger bun.
The meat falls out all over the place while you are eating it (and hence the name "sloppy"), but they are oh so good.
There are several reasons Sloppy Joes aren't usually considered a low-carb meal, but we thought it was time to bring back this family favorite and show you how you can serve this meal without the extra carbs.
How to make sloppy joe meat and sauce
The first step to making Sloppy Joes is to brown/fry your ground beef on the stove. If you aren't sure how to brown or fry ground beef you can find directions in our Low-Carb Ground Beef Meal Prep post.
Once your ground beef is cooked, drain any grease. Then, mix your seasoning, tomato paste, brown sweetener, and liquids into the meat.
You'll want to let your Sloppy Joe meat simmer on the stove for a few minutes so the flavors meld together.
Brown meat and add bell peppers. Season and add tomato paste. Mix and pour in water to make sauce. Simmer and serve. Make 1-Minute Muffins to serve Sloppy Joes over. Enjoy!
Tips for cooking with tomato paste
For this recipe, I used tomato paste instead of tomato sauce like most Sloppy Joes recipes. I chose tomato paste because the flavor is concentrated so you get more of the tomato taste with fewer net carbs.
However, when you are shopping for tomato paste or any canned tomato product, pay attention to the label as you pick a brand. Some tomato products have sugar added to them while others have reduced sugar.
Also, be sure to pay attention to the carbs per serving of your tomato products. The carbs per serving can vary by brand. I picked up one organic tomato paste with no sugar added that had 9g of carbs per serving! So take a quick peek at the label before placing it in your cart.
How to serve sloppy joes
You have many low-carb options when it comes to serving your Sloppy Joes. I chose to serve my Sloppy Joe meat open-faced over 1-Minute Keto Muffins, topped with some shredded mozzarella cheese.
If you are not a fan of the 1-minute muffins or want to try something different, you can also serve your Sloppy Joes between a Keto Mozzarella Dough Bagel or a keto hamburger bun. Another great option is to serve it over or between a plain breakfast chaffle. Yum!
Of course, you can serve this alongside some veggies, or even just enjoy it by the spoonful too! They are all great family side dishes to serve with ground beef.
Storage
I hope you are excited to bring this classic family dinner back to the table! This meal is perfect for a quick lunch or dinner when you don't feel like cooking.
In fact, you may want to make a double batch of this recipe. Your Sloppy Joe meat is excellent for meal prep and stores well in the refrigerator or freezer. You will love this meal—enjoy!
1-minute keto muffins
These are so quick and so simple, no wonder my readers call them magic keto muffins.
They are quick, easy, cheap, and adaptable to sweet or savoury flavours. They are gluten-free and made with coconut flour.
Try them yourselves. They are a great accompaniment to soups or casseroles instead of traditional dumplings.
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Low-Carb Sloppy Joes Recipe
Recipe Video
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Ingredients
- 2 cups cooked ground/minced beef
- 1 teaspoon mustard
- 4 tablespoon tomato paste reduced sugar
- ¼ cup water
- ½ tablespoon onion powder
- ½ tablespoon garlic salt
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- ½ tablespoon brown sweetener of choice optional, add to your taste
- 1 chopped green bell pepper chopped
- ¼ cup pre-shredded/grated mozzarella optional
Equipment
Instructions
- Mix all the ingredients together in a skillet on high heat except for the cheese.
- Let the sloppy joe mix simmer for a few minutes before serving. Serve over 1-minute muffins, chaffles, or between keto bagels. Top with mozzarella cheese if desired.
Notes
- You can substitute the tomato paste and water for ⅔ cup of tomato sauce if needed.
- Two cups = 16 ounces = one pound = 453g.
- I would recommend 75-80% ground beef. You need some fat to create the Sloppy Joe sauce.
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Approximate nutrition information is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. For the most accurate nutritional data, use the actual ingredients and brands you used in your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Gigi
Never having measured chopped/minced beef by the cup, how much would you say 2 cups weighs in lb. or oz.? It Would be a help to know when shopping for the meat and any recommendation on the fat content of the beef (10%, 15% or whatever?). Thank you so much !!
Libby Jenkinson
Great question Gigi. I'll add this to the recipe card recipe notes above for others to see.
Two cups = 16 ounces = one pound = 453g. I would recommend 75-80% ground beef. You need some fat to create the Sloppy Joe sauce.
Krista
Fabulous!! Hubby loved them too! I used an entire pound of beef, so I think that absorbed most of the sauce. Next time I will allow for that, because we like our Sloppy Joe's ... well ... SLOPPY!! Tasted great over the 1 Minute Bread. The only thing I personally missed was my beloved low-salt potato chips (or shall I say, "crisps?") to scoop up and eat the Joe's!! Thanks Libby!
Libby Jenkinson
Awesome Krista, when I can work my magic and develop a keto potato chip .... you'll be the first to know.