These delicious and healthy sloppy joe bowls are made with seasoned roasted sweet potatoes, homemade sloppy joe sauce, and topped with pickles and red onions. Perfect for meal prepping and a good balance of protein and carbs!
If you’re a sloppy joe lover like me, try my Philly Cheesesteak Sloppy Joes and Italian Sloppy Joes!
Why You’ll Love Sloppy Joe Bowls
Great for meal prep – You can prep the components of these bowls at the beginning of the week and enjoy them for a quick and easy dinner or lunch throughout the week.
Family-friendly – Sloppy joes are generally a kid-friendly dinner as are sweet potatoes. Busy parents will appreciate how easy it is to make this meal and that it’s wholesome. It’s a win win for parents and kids!
Homemade sauce – If you’ve never made homemade sloppy joes you’ve been missing out. The flavor is so much better than anything you’ll get out of a can, seasoning packet or jar. Making your own sauce isn’t complicated at all and you probably already have most of the ingredients.
Ingredient Notes
Ground beef – Use lean ground beef so the sauce doesn’t get too greasy.
Onion – Yellow or white onion can be used.
Tomato sauce and ketchup – The base for the sloppy joe sauce. I like to use a lower sugar ketchup because they are often so sweet. If you aren’t using a lower sugar version, you may want to omit the honey.
Worcestershire sauce – Gives the sauce a savory, tangy, umami flavor. If you need the recipe to be gluten-free be sure to check the label to make sure it isn’t made with barley malt vinegar.
Honey – This is the secret ingredient in my homemade sloppy joes. My grandma used it in her recipe and I love it. It adds a touch of sweetness, honey flavor, and balances the acidic flavor of the tomato sauce.
Chili powder, celery seed, garlic powder, dried mustard – The sloppy joe seasoning blend.
Sweet potatoes – Sweet potatoes are packed with vitamins and nutrients like beta carotene, vitamin C, potassium, and fiber. You can peel them or leave the skin on, just be sure to scrub them clean.
Oil – Avocado oil is great for roasting because it can withstand high heat. Olive oil is another good option.
Pickles and red onion – Toppings for the sloppy joe bowls. See below for more topping ideas.
How to Make Sloppy Joe Bowls
Add the diced sweet potatoes to a foil lined baking sheet for easy cleanup. Toss them with avocado oil, chili powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Roast for 25-30 minutes.
While the sweet potatoes roast, make the sloppy joe meat. Crumble and cook the ground beef and onion in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add in the seasoning mix, salt and pepper and stir together.
Add in the ketchup, tomato sauce, worcestershire, and honey. Stir together and turn down the heat. Simmer for 10-15 minutes or until the sauce is thick.
To assemble the bowls, divide the meat mixture evenly into bowls along with the sweet potatoes. Top with sliced dill pickles and red onions or toppings of your choice.
Substitutions and Variations
- Swap ground beef with any ground meat. I’ve made these with ground turkey, chicken, and bison. All variations have been delicious.
- Use purple sweet potatoes for a change in color. They’re also slightly less sweet than orange sweet potatoes.
- Add extra veggies. Grate in a zucchini and carrot to sneak in some extra veggies.
Topping Ideas
Whatever toppings you like to add to sloppy joe sandwiches can easily be added to these bowls.
- Sliced avocado or a dollop of guacamole.
- Pickled red onions and or pickle relish
- Romaine lettuce or coleslaw mix.
- Make them similar to the viral ground beef sweet potato bowls and add a scoop of cottage cheese and drizzle with hot honey.
- Sliced jalapenos and chopped tomatoes
Storage and Reheating
Storage – The sloppy joe bowls can be store in airtight containers for up to 4 days. You can store the meat and sweet potatoes together or separately.
Reheating – Reheat in the microwave until warmed through. You can also reheat on the stovetop if you prefer.
Freezing – Yes, you can freeze sloppy joe bowls! I like to freeze the sloppy joe meat in one container and the sweet potatoes in a separate container. Be sure they have cooled completely before storing them in the freezer for up to 2 months. Defrost in the refrigerator overnight before reheating.
More Bowl Recipes
If you love bowl recipes here are a few of my favorites to try out!
If you’re a fan of salmon try these Spicy Salmon Bowls and Bang Bang Salmon Bowls.
Bring those boring chicken breasts to life and make these Honey Chipotle Chicken Rice Bowls or Chicken Gyro Bowls.
And if you’ve never made a meatball bowl, start with these Asian Turkey Meatball Bowls or Greek Chicken Meatball Bowls.
Did you make these sloppy joe bowls? I’d love if you’d leave a recipe rating and review below.
Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Preheat oven to 425° F. and line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper.
Put the sweet potato cubes onto the sheet pan. Drizzle with the avocado oil, chili powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Use your hands to toss them together until they’re coated in the oil and spices.
Roast the sweet potatoes for 25-30 minutes or until they’re tender. Toss them around halfway through the cooking time.
Sloppy Joe Meat
While the sweet potatoes roast, heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Drizzle a little oil into the skillet then add in the ground beef and onion.
Crumble and cook the beef. Once the beef is cooked through and the onions are tender, add in the dried spices, salt and pepper. Stir everything together.
Pour in the tomato sauce, ketchup, worcestershire, and honey. Stir until everything is coated in the sauce. Turn the heat down to medium-low and simmer for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally or until the sauce is thick.
Calories: 391kcalCarbohydrates: 42gProtein: 28gFat: 13gSaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 70mgSodium: 1333mgFiber: 5gSugar: 19gIron: 5mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
