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Healthy, hearty and absolutely delicious, these slow cooker Turkey Sloppy Joes are sure to be your family’s favorite weeknight meal. You’ll need just 10 minutes of hands-on kitchen time to make these, and they’re great for meal prep too! What’s more, they're gluten-free and Paleo friendly too.
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Crockpot meals are my go-to on busy days. My healthy Crockpot Buffalo Chicken and savory Crockpot Beef Stew are on repeat in my household! Recently, I made Shredded Chicken Sloppy Joes in my slow cooker, and they turned out fantastic.
They were such a hit with everyone, that it really inspired me to try another version of the recipe, using ground turkey. And that’s what I did!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Quick and easy: You’ll need just a few minutes in the kitchen, and after that, it’s pretty much hands-off with your slow cooker doing the job.
- Kid-friendly: These healthy sloppy joes are loaded with flavor, and are sure to be a total hit with kids too!
- Meal-prep friendly: You can meal prep these too! Make the filling in a large batch over a weekend, and store it for later, to enjoy during the week.
- Made better for you: We're adding in some bell peppers (gotta get those veggies in!) and making it lower in sugar by using dates to sweeten the healthy sloppy joe sauce instead of brown sugar.
Turkey Sloppy Joes Ingredients
- Ground turkey: I used extra lean ground turkey for the base. It’s the perfect lean protein that works great for this recipe.
- Veggies: Fresh onion and garlic for that savory flavor, and a mix of green and red bell peppers to bulk it up and sneak in more vegetables. Great for picky eaters!
- Tomato sauce: For the base of the sauce. I love using my homemade tomato sauce instead of buying canned.
- Tomato paste: To deepen the flavor of the sauce. This also helps caramelize the veggies and enhance the sweetness of the veggies.
- Seasonings: I used onion powder, paprika, salt, pepper, and a bit of cayenne to lend a bit of heat.
- Dates: To add a bit of sweetness to the sauce.
- Mustard: For that earthiness and a bit of spice. I used spicy brown mustard.
- Apple cider vinegar: A splash of apple cider vinegar for a little gut health and spices of course, to give the sauce a mild kick.
- Coconut aminos: For that delicate, umami flavor that keeps the dish Paleo-friendly rather than the more commonly used Worcestershire sauce, which contains sugar. You can use soy sauce if you’re not sensitive to gluten.
- Olive oil: To cook down the veggies and turkey. Use extra virgin olive oil.
See the recipe card below for exact ingredient amounts, nutritional information, and detailed instructions.
Variations & Dietary Modifications
- Veggie loaded: Bulk up the filling by adding more veggies like chopped zucchini, mushrooms, and shredded carrots.
- Meat swap: Swap the turkey for lean ground beef or ground chicken to enjoy a different version of the recipe.
- Make them spicy: Increase the amount of cayenne pepper or you can add in a few dashes of hot sauce or cook some diced jalapenos along with the vegetables at the start.
How to Make Turkey Sloppy Joes in the Crockpot
Grab your slow cooker and all your ingredients to get started making this turkey sloppy joes recipe!
Step 1: Saute veggies. Add the olive oil to your slow cooker and cook the veggies for 15 minutes on high, stirring occasionally.
Step 2: Make the sauce. While the veggies are cooking, combine the coconut aminos, apple cider vinegar, seasonings, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and dates with a bit of water in a blender and blend on high until you get a smooth paste.
Step 3: Add meat and sauce. Once the veggies are soft, add the sauce and the meat and stir well.
Step 4: Finish up and serve. Cover this and cook on low for 6-8 hours.
Storage Directions
- Storing: You can store your leftovers for up to 3 days in the refrigerator. Just use a clean, airtight container to preserve its freshness.
- Reheating: Reheat the filling in the microwave, pausing at every 30 second interval and giving it a quick mix. You can also reheat the mixture in a pan if you want to. You may need to add a splash of water to loosen up the mixture a bit.
- Make Ahead: If you like to meal plan and prep your meals ahead of time, this one’s an excellent recipe to try. The crockpot sloppy joes turn out perfect every single time. Just let the filling cool down completely, then portion it out and transfer to freezer safe containers or bags and freeze for up to 3 months.
Serving Suggestions
These healthy turkey sloppy joes taste perfect with slider rolls or hamburger buns. If you want to keep it low carb, you can pair the filling with some cooked zucchini noodles, spaghetti squash, or another low carb vegetable substitute.
You can also enjoy the meaty filling in these 3 ingredient gluten-free tortillas or cauliflower tortillas as the base. Or add on a side of roasted broccoli, air fryer sweet potato fries, or low fat potato salad to make it a hearty, filling meal.
Recipe Tips
- Extra flavor: For some extra flavor, you can add a dash of Worcestershire sauce or some healthier BBQ sauce into the mix.
- Load up the toppings: Lend some extra deliciousness to these ground turkey sloppy joes by loading them up with toppings like sliced avocado, chopped parsley, cheese and even some pickled jalapenos.
- Toast it up: Turkey joes are typically served with some hamburger or slider buns, and if you’re using them, I would highly recommend toasting them before you pile on the filling. It makes all the difference in the texture!
More Kid-Friendly Ground Turkey Recipes
If you tried this turkey sloppy joe recipe or any other recipe on my website, please please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how you go in the 📝 comments below.
Healthy Sloppy Joes (Crockpot)
Ingredients
- 1 lb extra lean ground turkey or lean beef
- ½ cup green bell pepper diced
- ½ cup red bell pepper diced
- ½ cup onion diced
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic
- 1 cup tomato sauce
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- 2 dates soaked in ¼ cup warm water for 5 minutes
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons spicy brown mustard
- 1 tablespoon coconut aminos
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Add the extra virgin olive oil to the slow cooker along with the bell pepper, onion and minced garlic. Set the slow cooker pot to high and cook 15 minutes covered, stirring occasionally.
- While the veggies cook, add the dates with the ¼ cup of water, coconut aminos, brown mustard, tomato sauce, tomato paste and all the seasonings (including salt and pepper) in a blender. Blend on high until smooth.
- After 15 minutes, add the remaining ingredients to the slow cooker. Stir again and cover. Turn the slow cooker down to a low setting. Cook on low 6-8 hours.
- Serve immediately on a gluten free bun or for a Paleo version serve with cooked zucchini noodles or spaghetti squash.
Notes
- 1 serving equals 1 cup
- The meat is perfect to make ahead! So feel free to make a double batch so you have extras for another meal. Just let the filling cools down completely, then portion it out and transfer it to freezer-safe containers or bags and freeze for up to 3 months.
- Add toppings to your turkey joes like sliced avocado, chopped parsley, cheese and even some pickled jalapenos.
- Feel free to use lean ground beef or ground chicken instead of the turkey.
Nutrition
Do you brown the meat on the stove ahead of time or throw it in the crockpot raw?
You put it in raw. Step three has a picture in the blog post and it shows the raw ground meat in the slow cooker. So, if you're not sure look at the process pictures in the post or the frequently asked questions that will help clarify things for you. Hope that helps!
Yum! This looks pretty easy, can't wait to try.
Thanks Karly!