Sink your teeth into the BEST gluten-free sloppy joe recipe without ketchup! Savory sweet with a bit of bold flavor, perfect for easy weeknight meals.
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We grew up eating Manwich sloppy joes piled into a big bready bun slathered in that delicious sloppy sauce as a weeknight dinner. An easy and tasty choice for my busy mom, along with these chicken muffins and easy teriyaki chicken.
As I got older and started cooking for myself, I wanted to make healthy sloppy joes made with real ingredients instead of canned sauce, and also easy to make.
These ground chicken sloppy joes are made in one pan and only take 20 minutes to pull together. Serve them up on gluten-free buns with a side of mint cabbage salad for a great meal on any occasion.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- This sloppy joe recipe is filled with hidden vegetables and is zesty, tangy, sweet and savory. It has the perfect texture and consistency.
- There is no brown sugar and no ketchup in the sloppy joe sauce.
- It's super versatile and can be made with a variety of ground meat like grass-fed and pasture-raised ground beef, ground chicken or ground turkey.
- Best of all it's served messy on purpose!
Recipe Ingredients
You'll need the following ingredients to make gluten free sloppy joes:
Ingredient Notes:
- Onions can be sweet, yellow, red or shallots. I prefer to use sweet onions as they're fairly inexpensive, versatile and don't overpower the dish.
- Red peppers add a little color but a green bell pepper works as well.
- Ground turkey, chicken or beef all work well with this sloppy joe recipe. I always choose pasture-raised and/or grass fed when available.
- Cumin, smoked paprika and ground mustard make a great spice mix that compliments the sauce.
- Tomato sauce and tomato paste make the base of the sloppy joe sauce and replaces the need for ketchup.
- Apple cider vinegar adds a little tang.
- Hot sauce brings a little heat but not too much!
- Maple syrup or date paste adds a little sweetness which is more in keeping with the traditional Manwich Original Sloppy Joe Sauce. I tend to leave it out most of the time. It tastes great either way.
See recipe card below for all ingredients and quantities.
How to Make Gluten-Free Sloppy Joes
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Warm olive oil, add onion and red bell pepper. Sauté until softened, mixing often.
- Add garlic, ground cumin, smoked paprika, ground mustard and sea salt. Mix for 1 minute as spices become aromatic.
- Add the ground chicken and continue to cook, breaking the meat apart with a wooden spoon until no longer pink.
- Add tomato sauce, tomato paste, apple cider vinegar, hot sauce, and maple syrup or date paste if using. Mix well and reduce heat. Simmer uncovered until sauce has thickened. About 10-12 minutes.
Expert Tips
- To save time, prep your veggies in a food processor, pulsing a few times to coarsely chop for texture. Or pulse a little longer to mince the veggies so no one notices there's vegetables in the sloppy joes.
- Pick your choice of ground meat using ground beef, ground turkey or ground chicken. You could also use about 2 cups of cooked lentils in place of the meat to make vegetarian sloppy joes.
- Add extra hot sauce, sriracha or jalapeño to pump up the spicy heat. Or top with a sprinkle of chili pepper flakes.
Common Questions
In order to thicken your sloppy joes, continue to cook the mixture on low heat for a while longer. Tomatoes hold a lot of water, some brands of sauce have more than others. By leaving the sloppy joe mixture simmering, the water will eventually evaporate and the sauce will thicken.
The sloppy joe meat mixture is super flavorful and easy to use in different dishes. The obvious way is in a gluten-free bun but it also works well in tacos, on top of pizza or stuffed in a baked sweet potato. It can also be used as a protein in salad, over gluten-free pasta or rice, or in your favorite nacho recipe.
Storage Tips
- Refrigerator: The homemade gluten free sloppy joes can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container for 4 days.
- Freezer: This ground chicken sloppy joes recipe freezes well in an airtight container for up to 3 months. You can also store in single portions for easy thawing and individual servings.
Recipes to Pair With Sloppy Joes
📖 Recipe
Homemade Gluten-Free Sloppy Joes
Ingredients
Sauté mixture:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil (or ghee, coconut oil, avocado oil)
- 1 medium sweet onion, diced
- 1 red bell pepper (or green pepper)
Spice mixture:
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon ground mustard
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
Sauce:
- 1 pound (454 grams) pasture-raised lean ground turkey, chicken or beef
- 1 14-ounce can tomato sauce
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoons hot sauce
Optional:
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup or date paste
- 6 gluten free buns
Instructions
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Warm olive oil and add onion and red bell pepper. Sauté until softened, mixing often. About 4 minutes.
- Add garlic, ground cumin, smoked paprika, ground mustard and sea salt. Continue to mix as garlic slightly browns and spices become aromatic. About 1 minute.
- Add the ground turkey, chicken or beef and continue to cook, breaking the meat apart with a wooden spoon until no longer pink. About 3 minutes.
- Add tomato sauce, tomato paste, apple cider vinegar, hot sauce, and maple syrup or date paste if using. Mix well and reduce heat. Simmer uncovered until sauce has thickened. About 10-12 minutes.
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Notes
- The sauce will continue to thicken as it rests.
- Serve on a gluten-free bun, lettuce wrap, gf pasta, taco, pizza or in a stuffed sweet potato.
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge for 4 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
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