You are going to love this moist flavorful meat sandwiched in a fluffy gluten free bun. This is the best gluten free sloppy joes recipe because it has so much flavor. It makes an incredible meal in under 30 minutes.
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Do you know what I love about this recipe? It helps to break away from the old stereotypical school cafeteria food. Did you grow up with that goopy meat on a hamburger bun at your school? Ick! This sloppy joe recipe is a FAR cry above that old cafeteria yuck!
If you love sloppy Joes, why not try this delicious kid-friendly Gluten Free Baked Ziti Casserole recipe too. Looking for the perfect sides to serve with Sloppy Joes? I have 31 incredible Sloppy Joe side dish ideas for you!
What Kind Of Meat Is Best For Sloppy Joes?
The beauty of this sloppy joe recipe is you can use many kinds of meats, or even vegetarian or vegan meat substitutes for this recipe! The secret is in the sauce! Which is your favorite? Use that one!
- Ground Turkey
- Ground Beef unstuffed and super easy to make.
- Ground Chicken
- Ground Pork - Also check out these delicious gluten free ground pork recipes.
- Meatless Crumbles - I love using Impossible meat and other vegan meat crumbles in this recipe to cut back on our meat consumption.
For this recipe, I usually use ground beef or ground turkey. You get the awesomeness of grandma's sloppy joe sauce recipe...and it tastes amazing!
You can see in this picture all of the good stuff inside this sloppy joe recipe. If you like vegetables, feel free to add more in! These are the best homemade gluten free Sloppy Joes!
Use my homemade Gluten Free Hamburger Buns! They are so fluffy and easy to make.
Vegetable Mix-In Ideas:
- Carrots
- Peas
- Broccoli (yeah, I am weird but it tastes good!)
- Winter squash like butternut or acorn squash
Step By Step Recipe Instructions:
Step 1: Add the light cooking oil, ground meat, onions, and diced bell pepper to a pan or cast-iron skillet. Cook over medium heat for 5-7 minutes until the meat is browned.
TIP: You can drain the hot grease into a paper cup or container. Do not dump hamburger meat grease into the sink as it can really clog pipes.
Step 2: Add the ketchup, sugar, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, sea salt, and black pepper to a small bowl. Whisk with a wire whisk to blend them together.
You can read more to see Is Ketchup Gluten Free to make sure you get the right brand.
Step 3: When the meat is browned, add all of the sauce ingredients and mix well to coat all of the meat.
Step 4: Simmer for 10 minutes so the flavors seep into the meat. This gluten free sloppy joe meat gets even better the next day as the flavors seep into the meat overnight in the refrigerator!
Recipe FAQ:
In this gluten free recipe, I used rolls made by Shar. There are a lot of fabulous gluten free hamburger bun brands out there now. Even Trader Joe's has them! My family also likes Franz Bakery, Udi's, and Canyon Bakehouse buns. I recommend putting them in the microwave oven to soften them before adding the sloppy Joe meat.
Sloppy Joe's taste like meat with a slightly sweet tomato sauce. There are chunks of onion and pepper to add even more flavor.
Sloppy Joe's are healthy, but you can make them even more healthy by using low-fat ground meat like chicken or turkey.
This sloppy Joe meat mixture will keep in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Store it in an air-tight container.
You can definitely freeze this sloppy Joe's meat mixture. Freeze in a zipper bag or freezer-safe container. To thaw, put in the refrigerator, or thaw in the microwave if you need it quicker.
Although Manwich is not certified gluten free, the company states that they use no gluten ingredients in their sloppy joe sauce.
This post was updated from an older 2018 post with new photos and better recipe directions.
More Gluten Free Dinner Recipes to Try:
- Cheesy Ground Turkey Stuffed Peppers
- Easy Chicken Legs with Vegetables
- Crazy Good Mexican Meatloaf Burgers
Recipe
The Best Gluten Free Sloppy Joes Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground meat * see note
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 ½ cups ketchup
- ½ cup chopped onion
- ½ cup yellow pepper
- 2 tablespoons coconut sugar
- 1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce * see note
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- In a small bowl, add the sauce ingredients and whisk to blend them together.
- In a pan, add oil, onion, and pepper. Cook over medium heat. Stir frequently.
- When the onion becomes soft, add either ground turkey or ground beef to the pan.
- Cook until the meat is browned.
- Add sauce, lower heat to low and simmer with the sauce for 5 minutes.
- Serve on a gluten free bun.
Video
Notes
- You can use ground beef, pork, chicken, or turkey in this recipe. The ground chicken and turkey will make this dinner recipe lower fat and calories.
- This recipe is easy to make, double-check the label to ensure the Worcestershire sauce is gluten free.
- You can use coconut sugar or brown sugar, both work well to slightly sweeten the meat sauce.
- This meat dish will keep up to 4 days in an air-tight container, or up to 4 months in the freezer.
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the products and brands you are using with your preferred nutritional calculator.
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Linda Faye
Thank you soooo much! I'm making it for the second time,(this time with ground turkey). I'll never use store-bought again! Homemade is so much better, and I can regulate the amount and type of sugar. Love it!
Sandi Gaertner
Thank you so much, Linda :-). I agree this recipe is so much better than anything you would buy in the store!