These are my Favorite Homemade Ground Turkey Sloppy Joes – throwback to a childhood favorite made a little lighter with ground turkey! The perfect main dish to make ahead and reheat on a busy weeknight – plus the whole family will love it!
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I LOVE SLOPPY JOES. I’m pretty sure when I was younger, we had the Manwich style sauce from a can. I remember that stuff being like a magical liquid that would transform boring ground meat into an amazing juicy mess on a bun.
But until recently, I hadn’t had one since before I stopped eating beef in my late teens. It’s a serious shame that I spent so long without making a homemade turkey version. [Full disclosure: I do eat grass-fed sustainably raised beef VERY rarely these days (like, once so far this year – it’s March), but I think this meal works amazingly well with ground turkey.]
But now, the day has come! Homemade Ground Turkey Sloppy Joes are the kind of thing I want to put on my meal plan every week.
Reasons to love these Homemade Ground Turkey Sloppy Joes:
- Perfect main dish to make-ahead and reheat. You can literally just grab the whole bowl of Sloppy Joe mixture out of the fridge, reheat, and throw some on a bun.
- Skip the bun, and it’s still just as good. Or, maybe I’m weird. But I’ve also eaten this Sloppy Joe mixture bunless and it was still super tasty. I bet it would even go well over greens.
- It’s a family friendly dinner idea! The heat from the jalapeño is lost through the cooking, so just a tiny hint of jalapeño flavor remains. It’s not spicy at all, and even kids will love it!
- They’re so flipping delicious, especially with a homemade bun. You can devote as much or as little time to this meal as you want – I like to make homemade hamburger buns instead of buying mine at the store, but that totally works too! I use this recipe from King Arthur Flour.
- It’s a quick, low maintenance dinner that can be paired with almost any side dishes. Any roasted veggies go well, and sweet potato waffle fries are an especially great combo.
- Since you’re making homemade sauce to go with your homemade ground turkey sloppy joes, you know exactly what’s in your sauce. Instead of canned manwich 👍
Add this to your dinner menu rotation – I definitely have!
More dinner recipes from Project Meal Plan:
- One-Pot Pesto Chicken & Rice
- Meat Lover’s Spaghetti Squash Pizza Casserole
- Easy Jalapeno Shrimp Stir-Fry for Two
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These are my Favorite Homemade Ground Turkey Sloppy Joes – The perfect main dish to make ahead and reheat on a busy weeknight – plus the whole family will love it!
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon avocado or olive oil
- 2 shallot bulbs, peeled and finely diced (2 whole bulbs before peeling)
- 1 jalapeño, stem and seeds removed, finely diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced (about 1 TB)
- 1 pound lean ground turkey meat (93% lean or higher)
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons barbecue sauce
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- 1/2 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon ground mustard powder (can sub 2 teaspoons plain yellow mustard)
- 1-3 tablespoons water
- buns & toppings: your favorite hamburger buns, cheese slices, jalapeno slices, coleslaw, up to you!
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When hot, add jalapeño and shallots. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the shallots are translucent. Add garlic and stir for about 1 minute or until garlic is fragrant. Remove all the jalapeño, shallots and garlic from the pan and set aside in small bowl.
- To the same pan, add ground turkey and cook over medium heat. Use a spatula or wooden spoon to break up the ground turkey as it cooks.
- Once the turkey is browned and completely cooked through, return the shallot/jalapeño mixture back to the pan, and add ketchup, tomato paste, barbecue sauce, white vinegar, worcestershire sauce, mustard powder, and 1 tablespoon water. Mix together and let simmer over low heat for about 5-6 minutes. If the mixture isn’t saucy enough for you, add one or two more tablespoons of water and mix thoroughly.
- Serve on a toasted bun with cheese and any veggie toppings you like. It’s also great without a bun on roasted veggies or greens. Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Notes
I like to make my own hamburger buns at home with this recipe for Beautiful Burger Buns from King Arthur Flour.
This recipe will also work if you have 1 1/4 pounds of ground turkey (this size usually comes from Costco). Add additional 1/4 cup ketchup, 1 tablespoon barbecue sauce, and 2 tablespoons water for your desired sauciness.
Recipe adapted from 30 Minute Healthier Turkey Sloppy Joes from Ambitious Kitchen. Nutrition information estimated with My Fitness Pal, and does not include bun or toppings.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/4 of meat mixture
- Calories: 280
- Fat: 12g
- Carbohydrates: 18g
- Protein: 23g
To make this recipe, I used:
Thanks for checking out my favorite Homemade Ground Turkey Sloppy Joes! If you’re digging this dinner, tag me or use #projectmealplan on social media to share your own version!
Hey, I'm Danielle. I made Project Meal Plan because being prepared and saving time are my favorite things. It doesn't hurt that I LOVE cooking and photography too. 
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