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Three Fun Ways to Make Sloppy Joes
I love a good sloppy joe! It’s one of my childhood favorites that has followed me into adulthood. Hot sloppy joe meat piled onto a soft hamburger bun and served with potato chips or tater tots takes me right back to my family dinner table on a busy weeknight.
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Basic sloppy joes are a dinner time staple, but there are so many other great ways to make them. That’s why I’ve compiled for you my list of Three Fun Ways to Make Sloppy Joes when you want to switch things up a bit.
- Sloppy Joe Sticks: We all love breadsticks, but I bet you’ve never had them stuffed with sloppy joe meat before! I use refrigerated pizza dough to make this recipe super simple.
- Sloppy Joe Pockets: I’ve been making sloppy joe pockets for years and they’re always so good! You’ll use refrigerated biscuit dough to create super easy little pockets stuffed with saucy meat and cheese–so good for a meal on the run!
- Slow Cooker Sloppy Joes: I love to make sloppy joes in the slow cooker when I will be busy in the evening and want to make sure there is a hot dinner ready. I throw it all together in the afternoon and then a few hours later we can grab dinner whenever time allows. Also, it’s so great how the meat becomes so tender and the flavors meld when the sloppy joe mixture is able to simmer in the slow cooker for a few hours.
The Ingredients to Add to Your Shopping List
The first step is to have your pantry stocked with the items you need to make sloppy joes as well as sides to round out your meal. I went to my local IGA store and bought cinnamon apple sauce (it’s my favorite!), canned green beans, and canned sloppy joe sauce. These are all IGA Exclusive Brands. They are my go to.
Don’t forget the chips! My husband loves the wavy cheddar and sour cream flavor while I’m always a fan of classic potato chips.
Find the sloppy joe sauce in the canned goods aisle:
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How to Kick up Your Sloppy Joe Meat
Sloppy joe is simply a tomato-based sauce mixed with cooked ground beef. But there are so many ways to customize the flavor! Here are a few of my favorites:
- Onion – peel and chop up some onion and cook them with the meat as it browns.
- Bell pepper – I love to add bell pepper to my sloppy joes! I remove the seeds from a small green bell pepper (you could also use red or orange/yellow) and chop it into small pieces then cook it with the meat as it browns. This is a great way to add more vegetables to your meal.
- Brown sugar – a bit of brown sugar really adds nice flavor to the sauce.
- Mustard – try adding a tablespoon of mustard to the sloppy joe sauce.
- Hot sauce – if you like your food spicy, add some hot sauce to your sloppy joes to kick up the heat!
In addition to being delicious, sloppy joes are an inexpensive dinner option. Thanks to IGA you can fill your table with great-tasting food at a price that is within your budget! This is why I chose to use all IGA products for making the three sloppy joe recipes below.
Three Fun Ways to Make Sloppy Joes
Here are three ways to turn sloppy joe night into something special!
Sloppy Joe Sticks
Here is what you will need to make sloppy joe sticks:
- IGA Sloppy Joe Sauce
- Refrigerated pizza crust – I used the kind in a tube that you’ll find in the refrigerated section with the crescent roll dough.
- Lean ground beef
- Cheese sticks – my favorite cheese sticks for this recipe are colby jack, but I only had mozzarella on hand, so that’s what I used and it was good. Any kind of cheese stick you like will work.
- Butter
- Garlic powder
- Dried parsley
STEP 1: Crumble the ground beef into a skillet over medium heat and cook until browned. Drain off any excess fat, then stir in the sloppy joe sauce. Simmer the meat for about 5 minutes, then remove from the heat and allow to cool while you move on to the next steps.
STEP 2: Open the pizza crust and lay it out on a clean counter or cutting board/mat. Use a rolling pin to roll the pizza out to about 10×13-inches. Cut the dough into 8 equal rectangles.
STEP 3: Cut the cheese sticks in half. Scoop the sloppy joe meat onto the dough rectangles, shaping it like a log in the center. Top the meat with half a cheese stick.
STEP 4: Pull the sides of the dough up over the meat and cheese filling and pinch to seal until you form a breadstick.
STEP 5: Place the breadsticks seam side down on a cookie sheet that has been greased with non-stick cooking spray or covered with parchment paper. Combine the melted butter, garlic powder, and parsley and brush generously over top of the breadsticks.
STEP 6: Bake at 425ºF for 9-12 minutes until golden brown.
We love these cheesy sloppy joe sticks! Just add some fresh veggies and apple sauce for a super simple and delicious meal.
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Sloppy Joe Sticks
Ingredients
- 1 tube refrigerated pizza dough
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 15-ounce can IGA sloppy joe sauce
- 4 cheese sticks (colby jack or mozzarella recommended)
- 3 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425ºF and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or grease with non-stick cooking spray.
- Crumble the ground beef into a skillet over medium heat and cook until browned. Drain off any excess fat, then stir in the sloppy joe sauce. Simmer the meat for about 5 minutes, then remove from the heat and allow to cool while you move on to the next steps.
- Open the pizza crust and lay it out on a clean counter or cutting board/mat. Use a rolling pin to roll the pizza out to about 10×13-inches. Cut the dough into 8 equal rectangles.
- Cut the cheese sticks in half. Scoop the sloppy joe meat onto the dough rectangles, shaping it like a log in the center. Top the meat with half a cheese stick.
- Pull the sides of the dough up over the meat and cheese filling and pinch to seal until you form a breadstick.
- Place the breadsticks seam side down on the prepared baking sheet. Combine the melted butter, garlic powder, and parsley and brush generously over top of the breadsticks.
- Bake the sloppy joe sticks at 425ºF for 9-12 minutes, until golden brown. Cool slightly before serving.
Sloppy Joe Pockets
Here’s what you’ll need to make sloppy joe pockets:
- IGA sloppy joe sauce
- Lead ground beef
- Refrigerated biscuit dough
- Shredded cheddar cheese
STEP 1: Crumble the ground beef into a skillet over medium heat and cook until browned. Drain off any excess fat, then stir in the sloppy joe sauce. Simmer the meat for about 5 minutes, then remove from the heat and allow to cool while you move on to the next steps.
STEP 2: Use a rolling pin to roll each biscuit dough out to about 6-inches across. Scoop sloppy joe filling onto the center of each dough round, then top with cheddar cheese.
STEP 3: Fold one side of the dough over the filling and pinch closed to form a pocket. Place the pockets on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
STEP 4: Bake the sloppy joe packets at 375ºF for 10 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool slightly before serving.
I recommend serving the sloppy joe pockets with IGA green beans and cinnamon apple sauce for a complete dinner.
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Sloppy Joe Pockets
Ingredients
- 1 tube refrigerated biscuit dough (8 large biscuits in package)
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 15-ounce can IGA sloppy joe sauce
- 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375ºF and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Crumble the ground beef into a skillet over medium heat and cook until browned. Drain off any excess fat, then stir in the sloppy joe sauce. Simmer the meat for about 5 minutes, then remove from the heat and allow to cool while you move on to the next steps.
- Open the biscuit dough and lay the individual biscuits out on a clean counter or cutting board/mat. Use a rolling pin to roll each biscuit out to about 6-inches across.
- Scoop the sloppy joe meat into the center of each dough round, then sprinkle a tablespoon of cheese over top of the meat. Pull one side of the dough up over the meat and cheese filling and pinch to seal to form a pocket.
- Place the pockets on the prepared baking sheet and bake at 375ºF for 10 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool slightly before serving.
Slow Cooker Sloppy Joes
Here is what you will need to make slow cooker sloppy joes:
- IGA sloppy joe sauce
- Lean ground beef
- Onion
- Brown sugar
- Hamburger buns
STEP 1: Crumble the ground beef into a skillet over medium heat and cook along with diced onions until the meat is fully browned. Drain off any excess fat, then pour the meat into a slow cooker. Add the sloppy joe sauce and brown sugar and mix well.
STEP 2: Cover the slow cooker and cook on high for 2 1/2 hours or low for 4 hours, stirring occasionally.
Serve the sloppy joes on hamburger buns with IGA potato chips on the side.
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Slow Cooker Sloppy Joes
Ingredients
- 2 pounds lean ground beef
- 1/2 a small onion, peeled and chopped
- 2 15-ounce cans IGA sloppy joe sauce
- 1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
- Hamburger buns
Instructions
- Crumble the ground beef into a skillet over medium heat and cook along with the chopped onion until the meat is browned. Drain off any excess fat, then transfer the meat and onions into a slow cooker.
- Stir the sloppy joe sauce and brown sugar into the meat. Cover the slow cooker and cook on high for 2 1/2 hours or low for 4 hours, stirring occasionally.
- Serve the sloppy joe meat on hamburger buns.
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Which is Your Favorite of These Three Fun Ways to Make Sloppy Joes?
Tell me which you’re trying and how you like it! Be sure to click here now to learn more about IGA products and what specials are going on at the store near you.
If you make you own sloppy joe sauce, if you add a few dashes of stake sauce and wistershar sauce, it makes it really good…. ( can’t even say it, so I can’t spell it)…
Thanks for the dinner ideas! We tried the sloppy joe pockets. They were a little time consuming to roll out the biscuits, but they were yummy. It was a nice change from a standard roll.