I’ve made these sloppy Joes more times than I can count. It’s one of my auto-pilot recipes that I don’t have to think about. (We all need those!) Over the years, I’ve kept the heart of her recipe intact while making small tweaks to keep it fresh and weeknight-friendly. The result? A recipe that honors tradition but still feels right at home in today’s kitchens.

Serve it on a soft gluten-free bun, spoon it over roasted sweet potatoes, or pile it onto fries for the best version of chili fries you’ve ever had.

What is a Sloppy Joe?

A Sloppy Joe is a sandwich containing a tomato sauce-coated ground beef mixture. It often contains onion, Worcestershire and a small amount of sweetener, but not always. They’re typically a little messy to eat, hence the name.

The name is thought to have originated from a midwestern cook named Joe who added tomato sauce to his “loose meat” sandwiches.

Four Ways to Serve this Easy Sloppy Joe Recipe!

Easy Sloppy Joe Recipe Ingredients

First, this is a great recipe because the sloppy joe meat isn't overly sweet or fussy. You don't even need a knife for this.

For reals. No chopping anything. Not even onions. Or bell peppers. This is a green bell pepper free recipe.

And there's just a handful of ingredients. Most of them you probably have on hand already:

• chili powder
• dried onions
• ketchup
• mustard
• (here's the secret ingredient: ground sage)
• And no extra sugar. The only sugar is from the ketchup, which can be a pretty low amount depending on what kind you buy.

And second, it's my grandma's recipe. No, not Grandma Inez. My Grandma LaRue, who claims she's a "horrible cook." I sense that she doesn't enjoy cooking, but I have to disagree with her. In fact, two of my favorite family recipes come from her, my favorite chocolate cake.  And these Sloppy Joe's.

How to Make Sloppy Joes without Brown Sugar

1. Brown the beef in a large skillet over medium-high heat. If your beef is extra lean, you may want to add a tablespoon of oil to keep it from sticking to the pan. Drain off any oil, if needed.
2. Return pan to skillet and add the remaining ingredients plus water. Stir well and simmer over medium-low heat for about 10 minutes.
3. Serve with buns or lettuce leaves, shredded cheese, Sweet Potato Fries, and (our recommendation) pickles.

Serving this Sloppy Joe Recipe without Brown Sugar

I have to admit -- eating these as a lettuce wrap gives a whole new meaning to the word "sloppy."

Most of the time we make them easier to eat and turn them into Sloppy Joe Salads. Or "Salad Joe's". It's much easier to eat! I actually prefer to eat them over a pile of Sweet Potato Fries. Like chili fries, but better.

If you're not into salads, but still want these to be gluten-free, try serving the sloppy joe meat over a baked potato or baked sweet potato. Or with some jasmine rice. Or roasted cauliflower rice. Or in a bowl with assorted roasted vegetables. Sloppy Joe's definitely don't have to be confined to a bland hamburger bun. 

Grab a large skillet and go to town, guys. You wouldn't be disappointed if you doubled this recipe, either. Our little family has started eating a full batch, and I like having leftovers for a couple of days for lunches. 

You might be tempted to substitute ground turkey for the beef. I have a feeling that you'd be disappointed, my friends. The beef gives these a richness that ground turkey definitely doesn't have. And if you get grass-feed beef, it's much healthier than most ground turkey you find in the grocery store. 

If you're looking for a vegan version, try mushroom and cashew-based Vegan Sloppy Joes!

How to Store these Easy Sloppy Joes

Leftovers can be stored in the fridge for up to 4 days in an airtight container.SaveSave

If you make one of my recipes, I'd love to see! Post it on social media and tag me at @perrysplate or #perrysplate so I can send you some love!

Frequently Asked Questions

Sloppy Joes without Brown Sugar

Yield: Serves 6

Additional Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Why are these the best Sloppy Joe's ever? Well, they're not overly sweet or fussy. You don't even need a knife. (Honest!) And eating it over a pile of sweet potato fries puts chili fries to shame.

Print

Ingredients

• 1 - 1 ½ pounds lean ground beef (organic, grass-fed, if possible)
• 1 15-ounce can tomato sauce (two 8-ounce cans are also fine)
• ½ teaspoon dried, ground sage
• 2 Tablespoons plain yellow mustard
• 2 Tablespoons ketchup (see note)
• 1 ½ teaspoons dried minced onion
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon salt

Instructions

1. Brown the beef in a large skillet over medium-high heat. If your beef is extra lean, you may want to add a tablespoon of oil to keep it from sticking to the pan. Drain off any oil, if needed.
2. Return pan to skillet and add the remaining ingredients plus ⅓ cup of water. Stir well and simmer over medium-low heat for about 10 minutes.
3. Serve with buns or lettuce leaves, shredded cheese, Sweet Potato Fries, and (our recommendation) pickles.

Notes

Nat's Note:

1. If you'd rather not use ketchup, leave it out or replace it with a Tablespoon of honey to keep the sweetness.

This post may contain affiliate links. Any purchases made by using these links won't cost you any extra and helps keep my content free. These links may be Amazon links as I am part of the Amazon Associate Program.

The post Easy Sloppy Joe Recipe without Brown Sugar appeared first on Perry's Plate.

After nearly two decades of creating custom seasoning blends, I can tell you—this mix is a keeper. It uses dried herbs and spices you probably already have, and it comes together in ten minutes flat. No dairy (unless you want it), no weird additives, and totally customizable depending on how tangy or garlicky you like your ranch.

Keep a jar on hand and you’ll always be just a quick stir away from salad dressing, veggie dip, or a way to make roasted potatoes taste unreasonably good. It’s the little things—like homemade ranch on demand—that make you feel like you’re winning at life.

I do want to. . . (warn?) tell you that this doesn't taste exactly like the little green ranch seasoning mix packets you get at the store.

It's hard to compete with monosodium glutamate (MSG), but I'm OK with my tongue not being tricked. I really like this version, though, and I hope you do, too.

How to make dairy-free ranch dressing mix

Another key ingredient in most ranch dressing mixes is buttermilk powder. If you want to add buttermilk powder and aren't concerned with this recipe being dairy free, go right ahead.

Just add about ¼ cup of buttermilk powder to the recipe below. You'll also need to add a little more of the ranch mix when you make ranch dressing because it won't be as potent. The buttermilk powder dilutes it some.

My recipe doesn't contain buttermilk powder and because it's made with non-dairy milk it's easily made dairy-free!

This recipe is also gluten free in case you're wondering.

Do you have to make homemade mayonnaise?

Nope.

There are healthier brands of mayonnaise popping up that aren't vegetable oil based. Using avocado oil as a base for mayo is MUCH better for you.

99% of the time I make paleo ranch dressing, I do it immediately after I make homemade avocado oil mayo.

In fact, the reason why I make homemade mayo most of the time is so I can turn it into paleo ranch.

How to make paleo ranch dressing

I like to make my dressing in a quart-size mason jar. I have a serious crush on mason jars.

I just dump some of dry mix on top of the mayonnaise and add a little milk to thin it out.

This works well if you make your mayo using a mason jar and an immersion blender. Then you don't have have to dirty up another jar to store the dressing.

What kind of milk do you use in paleo ranch dressing?

Add the milk -- either almond or coconut. I recommend unsweetened almond milk though, and, surprisingly, the Silk unsweetened vanilla flavored does just fine. (Not the Costco unsweetened vanilla. It's too strong.)

Add less milk than you think you'll need.  I included the ranch dressing recipe in the notes of the seasoning mix below, but you can make it as thick or as runny as you like.

I also like to add a squeeze of lemon juice and an extra pinch of salt to brighten the flavors. It actually makes a big difference.

And whisk (or shake) like there's no tomorrow. Have you ever used a ball whisk? It's my new favorite gadget. It gets into corners and edges a lot better than a regular whisk. I didn't even need a spatula to scrape down the sides and bottom of my mason jar.

This dressing seriously tastes good and is super versatile. The dried herbs and spices in this mix are plenty for an awesome dressing or ranch dip.

How to make different types of ranch dressing

To mix it up, you could add some fresh herbs (extra fresh dill is AMAZING in this!) or pureed chipotle. Or cilantro, jalapeno, and tomatillo to make a mexi version. (Cafe Rio knock off? :))

Extra garlic would be nice, or BBQ sauce & bits of crispy bacon. Mmm.

I wrote a post for Pioneer Woman all about how to make different kinds of ranch dressing and turn it into something special: Elevating Ranch Dressing.

You can even use the dry mix as a spice rub or a popcorn seasoning. Or part of breading for chicken or fish!

Recipes Using Paleo Ranch Dressing

Here are a few recipes that use this homemade ranch seasoning mix that that we love from my site and my cookbooks.

Green Chile Turkey Burgers with Guac-Ranch

Buffalo Ranch Chicken & Spaghetti Squash Bake

Green Chile Chicken & Spaghetti Squash Bake

Buffalo Ranch Chicken Chowder (Big Book of Paleo Pressure Cooking)

BLT Egg Salad (Big Book of Paleo Pressure Cooking)

BBQ Ranch Chicken Bites with Roasted Sweet Potatoes (Big Book of Paleo Pressure Cooking)

Bacon Ranch Potato Salad (Big Book of Paleo Pressure Cooking)

Recipes Using Homemade Ranch Seasoning

Ranch Chicken with Broccoli & Bacon (Big Book of Paleo Slow Cooking)

Tomatillo Beef & Zucchini Taco Soup (Big Book of Paleo Pressure Cooking)

If you make one of my recipes, I'd love to see! Post it on social media and tag me at @perrysplate or #perrysplate so I can send you some love!

Paleo Dry Ranch Seasoning

Yield: 1 cup of mix

Making your own paleo ranch dressing is SO easy and having a dry paleo ranch mix on hand makes it super easy without having to keep fresh herbs on hand.

Print

Ingredients

Toggle ingredient group

• ½ cup dried parsley
• 6 Tablespoons freeze dried chives
• ¼ cup dried dill
• 3 Tablespoons ground mustard
• 4 teaspoons paprika
• 4 teaspoons dried minced onion
• 1 Tablespoon sea salt
• 2 teaspoons granulated garlic
• 2 teaspoons onion powder
• freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

Shake together all ingredients in a pint-sized mason jar or another similar container. Store at room temperature. Makes about 1 ½ cups.  

Notes

To Make Paleo Ranch Dressing

• 1 ½ Tablespoons Paleo Dry Ranch Seasoning
• 1 cup paleo-friendly mayonnaise
• ½ cup unsweetened almond milk, plus more if necessary
• A squeeze of fresh lemon juice

Whisk together all ingredients. Taste, and add a little more lemon juice or a couple pinches of salt, if necessary. Or add a little more almond milk if you'd like it looser.

Store in an air-tight container in the fridge. Keeps for about 10 days. Makes about 1 ½ cups.

This post may contain affiliate links. Any purchases made by using these links won't cost you any extra and helps keep my content free. These links may be Amazon links as I am part of the Amazon Associate Program.

The post Homemade Ranch Seasoning + Paleo Ranch Dressing appeared first on Perry's Plate.