Me and my kids absolutely love these sauce-y chicken sloppy joes, and I’ll never go back to the pre-made stuff again! Ground chicken is all dressed up with ingredients like tomato paste, worcestershire sauce, ketchup and just a few other ingredients to create a flavor-packed sloppy joe sauce from scratch. These sandwiches are ready in just 30 minutes, and they’re perfect for both game day and weeknight dinners. Over 100 5-star ratings means lots of families love this recipe too!
Top Reader Reviews
Love this recipe. Will never buy sloppy joe sauce again! Will probably never even make one with beef again – this is THE BEST.
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We can’t eat red meat because of allergies so I am searching for good ground chicken recipes to replace ground beef. These chicken sloppy joes are delicious!
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Sloppy Joe Sandwiches with Ground Chicken
Making sloppy joes with ground chicken is leaner and healthier than ground beef, but tastes just as delicious covered in all that sauce! Speaking of sloppy joe sauce, my homemade concoction is a simple mix of ketchup, tomato paste, mustard, chili powder, and Worcestershire sauce. I cook it up on the stovetop with ground chicken, and then this sandwich meat is ready in just 30 minutes. This one pan ground chicken recipe is as quick and easy as a can of manwich, but it tastes even better! It’s the perfect weeknight dinner and my kids never get tired of it.
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Use Shredded Chicken
Classic sloppy joes are best with ground meat in my opinion, but if you prefer, you can make an easier “pulled chicken” sloppy joe instead with leftover shredded chicken. Simply cook/warm up the chicken with all the sauce ingredients as instructed.
Chicken Sloppy Joes Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound ground chicken (*)
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ onion (diced**)
- ½ green bell pepper (diced***)
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- ½ cup ketchup
- ½ tablespoon mustard (****)
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- ½ cup water
For Serving:
- 4 hamburger buns
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once heated, add ground chicken and salt to the pan; brown the chicken.1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 pound ground chicken, ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- Stir in onion, bell pepper, and garlic, then cook for a couple of minutes, until softened.½ onion, ½ green bell pepper, 2 cloves garlic
- Stir in chili powder, ketchup, mustard, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, and water.1 teaspoon chili powder, ½ cup ketchup, ½ tablespoon mustard, ¼ cup tomato paste, 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce, ½ cup water
- Cover the pan, turn down the heat to low, and simmer for 10 minutes. Give the mixture a stir; add in more water if needed. Season with salt to taste.
- Serve the ground meat on buns with slaw and/or pickles, or keep it classic without toppings.4 hamburger buns
Notes
- For even cooking, let the ground meat sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes before cooking.
- Dice the onion and bell pepper into small, bite-sized pieces, so they’re easier to incorporate into the mixture.
- If you are sensitive to spicy foods, you can reduce the amount of chili powder.
- Let the mixture simmer until it reaches your desired consistency. If it’s too watery, a few minutes without the lid will help thicken it. If you’d like it a little looser, add a small amount of water at a time to thin it out.
- Be sure to toast the buns before serving, to help the bread hold up under the saucey chicken.
Note: Water, salt, pepper, oil, and broth are not counted as ingredients on this site.
Mistakes to Avoid
- Don’t skip the browning. When first adding the ground chicken to the pan, spend a few minutes thoroughly breaking it up and letting it get a nice brown color.
- Don’t rush the simmer. Sloppy joe meat needs time to simmer, so the ingredients can all meld together, and the sauce can thicken up to the right consistency. Simmer on low for about 10 minutes, but give it a little longer if needed.
- Fix a watery sauce. If the mixture is still too watery after 10 minutes, simmer without the lid to let more moisture evaporate. As a last resort, stir in a cornstarch slurry (1:1 cornstarch to water).
Watch me make this on Youtube!
Trust me, making sloppy joes from scratch is super easy.
Amp Up the Sloppy Joe Sauce
One of the best parts of this homemade chicken sloppy joe mixture is the versatility of the sauce ingredients.
- Add cajun seasoning (instead of or in addition to the chill powder) for some Southern heat.
- Mix in taco seasoning to create a unique taco night meat.
- Make my buffalo chicken sloppy joes for a spicy kick with hot sauce!
- To make cheesy sloppy joes, sprinkle freshly-shredded cheese on top of the ground meat right at the end, place the lid on the pan, and let it melt for a couple of minutes. Then give everything a good stir to distribute the cheese. Sharp cheddar, mozzarella, and pepper jack would all taste yummy, depending in your flavor preference.
How to Make Chicken Sloppy Joes Step by Step
Prep: Gather the list of ingredients for this easy chicken sloppy joes recipe. Dice the onion and bell peppers, then mince the garlic.
Make the Sloppy Joe Mixture: Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Then add 1 pound of ground chicken and ¼ teaspoon of salt, and stir regularly until the meat is fully cooked through. Next, stir in ½ of a diced onion, ½ of a diced green bell pepper, and 2 cloves of minced garlic. Continue cooking until softened. Finally, stir in 1 teaspoon of chili powder, ½ cup of ketchup, ½ tablespoon of mustard, ¼ cup of tomato paste, 1 teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce, and ½ cup of water. Cover the pan, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for about 10 minutes, or until it reaches your desired consistency. Give the mixture a stir and add more water if needed!
Serve: Serve the chicken sloppy joe meat on buns to make sandwiches with any toppings you like. I keep it simple with some coleslaw mix and pickles, and a side of my favorite potato chips! This sauce-y mix can also be served with pasta, mixed into mac and cheese, on sliders, or with rice to make sloppy joe bowls.
How to Store, Freeze, and Reheat
Let the ground chicken cool to room temperature, then store in an airtight container. I don’t recommend storing assembled sandwiches, because the bread will get soggy.
- Fridge: Keep in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Freezer: Keep in the freezer for up to 3 months. If making a large batch ahead of time, I recommend portioning it out in separate containers. For best results, thaw before reheating.
- Reheat: Reheat on the stovetop over medium heat, stirring until warmed through. Or quickly reheat in the microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring in between. Serve the sloppy joe filling on fresh buns and enjoy.
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