Healthier Sloppy Joes aka "Fancy Joes"
You'll love my healthier "Fancy Joes" if you usually find regular Sloppy Joes to be too greasy or sweet. My coworkers think these are too fancy, but my husband and I think they are delicious! Adding diced veggies adds more fiber and vitamins, and reduces the amount of fat and sweet sloppy Joe sauce in each "Joe". It's easy, just dice up about 4 cups of veggies, and add a cup of diced sautéd mushrooms if you have them!*As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Equipment
Ingredients
- ½ lb Lean Ground Beef (Or ground chicken or turkey)
- ½ lb Ground Chicken or turkey
Dice whatever veggies you have. Start with onion, mushrooms, zucchini, and bell pepper, or whatever veggies you like! I dice 4 cups of veggies plus 1 cup of diced mushrooms. *See notes
- 1 tbsp olive oil if needed
- 1 medium onion medium - large, diced.
- 1 bell pepper diced, large red, green, yellow, whatever! Or jalapeño!
- 4 oz mushrooms See note: Cleaned and diced, about 1 cup diced.
- 1 zucchini diced zucchini or summer squash
- 15 oz Manwich Original Manwich can (Can substitute with one 6 oz can of tomato paste, 1¼ C water, plus a packet of sloppy Joe seasoning mix.)
Instructions
- Dice up all the veggies. I usually use one bell pepper, one onion, one zucchini and/or yellow summer squash, and 1 lb of mushrooms. Approximately 4 cups of diced veggies and 1 cup of diced mushrooms.
- In a large sauté pan over medium to medium-high heat, brown the ground meat, remove it from the pan, and set aside. *If using all chicken or turkey, you may need a drizzle of oil to brown the meat in.(Drain the meat of any excess fat. Wipe excess grease from the pan and add a drizzle of olive oil to sauté the veggies.
- Add the veggies that take the longest to sauté first. I start with onions and peppers (and carrots if using), then add the softer zucchini. Sauté until tender. *Add a tbsp of water if the pan is too hot.
- If you are adding diced mushrooms, move the veggies to one side of the pan. Add the mushrooms and 1 tbsp of water to the pan and press them into an even layer on the bottom. Allow them to cook until all the water is gone, and the mushrooms start to shrink and brown. This will take a few minutes.
- Add the strained meat back to the pan and stir in the Manwich.
Notes
NOTES: *Nutritional value listed does not include bread and will vary depending on the exact veggies you use.
A 15-ounce can of Manwich sauce makes about 6 sandwich servings when mixed with 1 pound of ground meat. This fancy, healthier version with four cups of diced veggies makes 8-12 sandwiches.
Diced mushrooms cook up perfectly if you add some water at the beginning, leave them alone until all the water has cooked out, stir, and sauté until browned. They will shrink up and look like ground meat, and the flavor will intensify once they are cooked down!
For a not-too-sloppy "Fancy Joe," try using small pita pockets, like these or even English muffins. Cut a slit into the muffin or pocket, spoon in the joe mix, and serve immediately!
*As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases, at no additional cost to you.
Nutrition
Serving: 4ozCalories: 94kcalCarbohydrates: 7gProtein: 9gFat: 4gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0.1gCholesterol: 28mgSodium: 186mgPotassium: 356mgFiber: 1gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 343IUVitamin C: 16mgCalcium: 9mgIron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!