Growing up, my Grandma Verna served the best sloppy joes, and she made them often. It was one of those meals I always looked forward to, and I still have a soft spot for the sweet, savory, and tangy flavors that are an embodiment of Midwestern comfort food. This recipe is a modern nod to the classic, with a more nutritious, meal-prep-friendly, full-meal twist. It’s protein-rich, veggie-packed, and always a hit with my whole family. All three of my kids devour it. Plus, leftovers store and reheat like a dream, making it perfect for weeknights.
Recipe Highlights
Quick and easy: With minimal prep time and a quick cook time, this entire dish is ready to eat in under an hour, making it one of my favorite healthy recipes for busy days.
Meal prep–friendly: Both the roasted sweet potatoes and sloppy joe mixture store and reheat nicely, making this a great option for prepping ahead to assemble for quick lunches or dinners throughout the week.
High-protein and family-approved: With 2 pounds of lean ground beef and plenty of veggies, this dish is hearty and satisfying, making it easy to hit both my daily fiber and protein goals. It’s also naturally gluten-free and dairy-free, making it easier to meet an entire family’s dietary needs.
Easy to customize: Prefer a base of mashed sweet potatoes or roasted baby potatoes? Go for it. Want to sneak in more veggies? Add chopped spinach, green bell pepper, or shredded zucchini to the beef mixture. This recipe is super forgiving and one of my favorite ways to use up any leftover produce I have on hand.
A Few Notes About the Main Ingredients
Here are a few notes about the primary ingredients in this sloppy joe bowl recipe.
- Roasted Sweet Potatoes: These take the place of buns in traditional sloppy joe recipes, like sloppy joe sliders and turkey sloppy joes, providing a sweet flavor and an excellent source of complex carbs, fiber, and nutrients while keeping the bowls gluten-free.
- Veggies: I use yellow onion and bell peppers to add color and nutrients to the bowls.
- Ground Beef: I always look for 90-93% lean quality ground beef. Ground beef is tasty, budget-friendly, and versatile. It’s also a great source of protein and contains a lot of essential nutrients, such as zinc and iron. I’ve also used ground turkey, and the flavor is very similar.
- Coconut Aminos: Also known as coconut liquid aminos, coconut aminos have a similar savory taste to soy sauce but are slightly milder and sweeter, adding some depth of flavor to the sloppy joe sauce. If I don’t have coconut aminos on hand, use tamari or low-sodium soy sauce, or Worcestershire sauce also works in a pinch.
Find the ingredient list with exact measurements in the recipe card below.
How to Make Sloppy Joe Bowls
- Prepare the sweet potatoes: Preheat oven, then cube the large sweet potatoes. Toss them in oil and spices on the baking sheet, then bake until tender.
- Brown the meat: While the potatoes bake, heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat to medium-high heat. Then, add the onions and peppers, and cook until the onions begin to soften, stirring occasionally. Add the 2 lb ground beef, and cook, breaking it into pieces, until browned and nearly cooked through.
- Combine and simmer: Add the water, tomato paste, mustard, vinegar, coconut aminos, and seasonings, stirring to combine. Reduce the heat to medium, and allow the beef to cook through and the peppers to soften. Season to taste.
- Assemble the bowls: Add a portion of the roasted sweet potatoes and sloppy joe mixture to each serving bowl, then garnish with pickled onions and pickles.
For serving size and the complete directions and ingredient amounts, scroll down to the recipe card below. All of our recipes include the nutrition analysis, listing calories (kcals), protein, carbohydrates/carb, fiber, sugar, sodium, cholesterol, and more per serving.
My Favorite Toppings and Sides
Toppings are one of the best parts of any meal, if you ask me, and these sloppy joe bowls are no exception. I serve mine topped with pickled onions, pickles, broccoli slaw, sliced green onions, or jalapeños for extra crunch and a bit of spice. However, my kids opt for a little sugar-free ketchup instead.
These bowls can easily be served as a complete meal on their own, but I like to pair them with cooked vegetables like sautéed broccolini or roasted green beans for extra color and nutrients.
How to Store and Freeze
Once cool, transfer the sweet potatoes and sloppy joe meat mixture to an airtight container. When meal prepping, I like to separate them into individual servings that I can just reheat and eat. However, for a longer-lasting option, I recommend storing them separately to prevent the potatoes from becoming soggy. They will keep fresh in the fridge for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Thaw frozen portions in the fridge overnight, then microwave until warmed through (about 2-3 minutes for thawed, slightly longer for refrigerated portions).
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Sloppy Joe Bowls Recipe
Turn a favorite comfort food sandwich into a dinner bowl with lots of veggies and well-rounded nutrition. This satisfying dinner is great for meal prep and provides plenty of servings for easy-reheat leftovers.
Ingredients
For The Roasted Sweet Potatoes:
- 1 ½ lbs sweet potatoes (3 medium)
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil or olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
For The Sloppy Joe Mixture:
- 2 teaspoons avocado oil or olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 1 small bell pepper, any color, diced
- 2 lbs. lean ground beef (may substitute ground turkey)
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 cup water
- 1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons yellow mustard or Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon coconut aminos
- ½ teaspoon paprika (smoked or regular)
- 1 teaspoon fine salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- Optional for serving: pickled red onions, pickles, and minced fresh parsley
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400℉. While the oven is preheating, wash and cube the sweet potatoes into about ½ -¾ inch cubes, making sure the cubes are all similar in size. You should have about 6 cups.
- Spread the sweet potatoes in an even layer on a large sheet pan. Drizzle with oil, and season with the garlic powder, paprika, salt, and pepper; toss to evenly coat.
- Place in the oven and bake for 18 minutes, then remove and toss. Return the sheet pan to the oven until the sweet potatoes start to brown, an additional 5-8 minutes.
- Remove the sweet potatoes from the oven, toss, and season with additional salt to taste.
- While the sweet potatoes are in the oven, prepare the sloppy joe mixture. Place a large skillet over medium to medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, add the oil, onion, and bell peppers. Saute, stirring occasionally, until onions start to soften, about 5 minutes.
- Add the ground beef and garlic. Use a large spoon to break up the meat and cook, stirring occasionally, until the meat is mostly browned and almost cooked through, 10-12 minutes.
- To the meat mixture, add the water, tomato paste, mustard, vinegar, coconut aminos, paprika, salt, and pepper. Stir well to combine. Reduce the heat to medium and continue to cook until the ground beef is cooked through and peppers are tender, 8-10 minutes.
- To assemble each bowl, add a scant ¾ cup roasted sweet potatoes, ¾ cup sloppy joe meat, and top with pickled onion, pickles, and parsley.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
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Notes
This recipe makes 8 servings (6 cups of sloppy joe and 5 cups of sweet potatoes. The sloppy joe meat is freezer-friendly, so this is a great meal to have some leftovers or freeze some for a future meal.
Nutrition Information
- Serving Size: 1/8 of the sweet potatoes and meat
- Calories: 404
- Fat: 22 g
- (Sat Fat: 8 g)
- Sodium: 570 mg
- Carbohydrate: 25 g
- (Fiber: 4 g
- Sugar: 9 g)
- Protein: 28 g
- Cholesterol: 78 mg
Dietary
The photos in this post were taken by Megan McKeehan.
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