Keto Sloppy Joes are the stealthy healthy dinner you didn’t know you were missing. This low carb supper is hard to beat!
Because what is life if you can’t get messy with dinner right?
Sloppy joes are probably one of the quintessential meals of life because meat-loving husbands love ‘em and so do picky eaters!
You can even be ultra-sneaky and make vegan sloppy joes with cauliflower to get in those hidden vegetables!
Despite what you may think, sloppy joes are also pretty versatile. Want to lighten them up? Use ground chicken!
Want to make paleo sloppy joes? Stick them on a sweet potato! You can even take these babies south of the border and make tex-mex sloppy joes!
If 3 ways wasn’t enough for you, you greedy sloppy joe eater, you can make low carb sloppy joes and serve them over LETTUCE!
Trust me on this. It’s like a messy salad and it’s tasty. And if forks aren’t your style, you can eat it like a lettuce wrap and just get ALL UP IN THERE.
Lettuce Love
You can use almost any kind of lettuce to make this keto sloppy joe recipe, but I have a few favorites:
Butter lettuce
Butter lettuce is my most favorite kind for making any kind of recipe that resembles a lettuce wrap because its shaped like the perfect little cup. Scoop in the joe mix and get SLOPPY!
Green leaf
The long, thing shape of green leaf lettuce works well too! Although, it’s a little less sturdy than better, so keep that in mind if your skipping the utensils!
Cabbage
Okay, so it’s not *traditional* lettuce, but it is super sturdy and holds all the sauce in nicely. It is tougher and crispier, so if that’s not your thang? No cabbage for you!
To Cheese or Not to Cheese
I love my low carb keto sloppy joes piled with melted cheese – white cheddar is my go to. However, for Mr. FFF, we nixed the cheese and he thought they were delicious.
So, really, it’s up to you if you’re feeling cheesy or not!
Sloppy Joe Ingredients
The key flavor ingredients to make the BEST sloppy joes are:
- Tomato sauce (not marinara sauce)
- Tomato paste
- A pinch of sweetener
- Worcestershire sauce
- Red wine vinegar
- Chili powder
- Prepared yellow mustard
How to kick these low carb keto sloppy joes up a notch
Do you like a little heat in your meat? You can swap the chili powder for chipotle chili powder and throw in a good sprinkle or red pepper flakes! Just make sure you have a glass of water nearby because I’m getting warm just thinking about that!
How to Freeze Sloppy Joes:
If you’re like me and you hate making dinner *everyone raises their hand* then you are in luck because this sloppy joe mixture freezes well for times when future you is hungry but does not want to cook!
- Cool the mixture completely.
- Package it up in an air-tight container
- Write “sloppy Joes” on the front so you don’t forget what it is! (guilty!)
- Freezer for 3-6 months!
Meal Prep
You can also freeze the cooled mix in air-tight Ziploc bags in single-serve portions so you can grab and go for meal prep.
Thaw it out, throw it on some lettuce and call it lunch!
You know food tastes better with your hands.
Keto Sloppy Joes Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/2 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1/3 cup Green Onions thinly sliced
- 1 pound Ground Beef (85%)
- 3/4 cup Tomato Sauce (canned)
- 1/2 cup Low-Sodium Beef Broth or Low-Sodium Beef Bone Broth
- 1 1/2 tablespoons Tomato Paste
- 1 tablespoon Monkfruit Sweetener or Granulated Sugar
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 teaspoon Red Wine Vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Chili Powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt
- 1/2 teaspoon Prepared Yellow Mustard
- pinch of Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
- pinch of Black Pepper
- Lettuce for serving (choose your favorite)
- Cheese for garnish (optional)
- Chopped Parsley for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- In a large frying pan, heat up the olive oil on medium high. Add in the green onions and cook one minute.
- Add in the ground beef and cook until no longer pink, breaking it up as you cook it, about 5 minutes.
- Whisk all the remaining ingredients, up to the parsley, together in a bowl. Pour into the cooked beef and bring to a boil.
- Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the sauce has thickened, about 9-10 minutes.
- Spoon the mixture over lettuce and top with cheese and parsley, if desired.
- DEVOUR!