Garden Sloppy Joes

Name: Garden Sloppy Joes
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Yield: 6 Sandwiches
Ingredients: 1 onion; chopped 1 carrot; chopped or shredded 1 green bell pepper; chopped 1 pound lean ground meat (15% fat turkey; chicken or beef) 1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce 1 can (15 ounces) whole tomatoes; crushed 1 can (8 ounces) mushrooms or ½ pound chopped fresh mushrooms ¼ cup barbecue sauce 6 whole wheat buns; split in half to make 12

Healthy vegetable-packed lunch or dinner favorite!

Video

Cooking for a Crowd

Use these recipe sheets to prepare for larger groups:

Open faced buns with a saucy meat and vegetable mix.

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Makes: 6 Sandwiches
Nutrition Facts: View label

Ingredients

1 onion, chopped

1 carrot, chopped or shredded

1 green bell pepper, chopped

1 pound lean ground meat (15% fat turkey, chicken or beef)

1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce

1 can (15 ounces) whole tomatoes, crushed

1 can (8 ounces) mushrooms or ½ pound chopped fresh mushrooms

¼ cup barbecue sauce

6 whole wheat buns, split in half to make 12

Directions

Wash hands with soap and water.
Rinse or scrub fresh vegetables under running water before preparing.
Sauté onions, carrots, green bell pepper and ground meat in a 2 to 3 quart saucepan over medium-high heat for 5 minutes.
Add tomato sauce, crushed tomatoes, mushrooms and barbecue sauce.
Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes or until thick, stirring occasionally.
Toast buns if desired. Spoon sauce over bun halves. Serve open-faced.
Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours.

Notes

Add your favorite fresh, canned or frozen chopped vegetables.
Try whole wheat English muffins instead of buns.

Comments

Submitted by HENelson13 on Tue, 02/25/2025 - 11:10

Delicious and vegetable packed sloppy joe recipe! I made this with half ground beef and half soy curls/fines. This recipe yield A LOT which makes it perfect for family dinners. I ate it with whole grain English muffins and it paired very nicely.

Submitted by ainsleybeck on Wed, 02/19/2025 - 14:36

I made these the other night with soy fines/curls and I thought they were great! I did not have mushrooms and ran out of carrots so I used red and orange bell peppers and a spinach and arugula mix. I also used frozen onions so I cooked them separately a for a little longer. I seasoned the soy curls/fines with paprika and seasoned pepper and cooked them like I would the meat in the pan. Overall super easy and delicious!

Submitted by AliLind on Wed, 04/01/2020 - 13:07

This is really tasty and so easy to make! A great way to get kids to eat some veggies in something that usually is just meat and sauce.

Submitted by ortegafp (not verified) on Mon, 07/20/2015 - 12:18

This a great recipe and an excellent way to sneak vegetables for our kids to eat! I made this recipe as it called for with my summer students. I did however, first brown my meat, drained the fat and than added the vegetables to saute, I waited to add the mushrooms till the last 10 minutes of cooking time since mushrooms cook fast. I modified the recipe by adding 1 teaspoon garlic powder and 1/2 teaspoon paprika to enhance more flavor. I topped it off with low fat chedder cheese on a whole wheat English muffin. It was delicious! I plan to make this recipe for my family on a regular basis!