Healthy Chicken Sloppy Joes {Low Cal, GF, Low Carb, Paleo}

Healthy Shredded Chicken Sloppy Joes is a low calorie meal made easy in a slow cooker with a flavorful sauce. Clean ingredients, delicious taste and family approved! Low Calorie + Gluten Free + Low Carb + Paleo friendly

Sloppy Joe's are the ultimate comfort food!

There is nothing better than a warm plate of shredded chicken and veggies in a yummy sauce, especially when the meat is so tender!

Since the slow cooker does most of the work, this healthy meal couldn't be any easier. Sloppy joe's and healthy coleslaw always make the best dinner.

Even better, there isn't any weird ingredients. It's higher protein, lower carb, lower calorie and gluten free!

Why Chicken Sloppy Joes Are Healthy

• Easy - This is a no brainer meal that you literally toss in a slow cooker and after a few hours it's ready to be served. Easy, peasy!
• Simple Ingredients - The ingredients are simply and healthy and are very easy to find.
• Higher Protein - This recipe has 34 grams of protein per serving making it very filling. Not to mention the sauce is super yummy!
• Lower Calorie - This low calorie sloppy joe recipe has 215 calories leaving room for healthy options to serve it with.
• Versatile - You can easily add more vegetables to this recipe and serve is a million different ways to accommodate the individual tastebuds you're feeding.

Ingredients For Healthy Crockpot Chicken Sloppy Joes

Here's what you need for this easy shredded chicken sloppy joe recipe! For ingredient measurements, instructions and nutrition information, scroll to the bottom of this post for the recipe card!

• Chicken Breasts (I get mine from ButcherBox - they're organic and pasture-raised)
• Tomato Sauce
• Tomato Paste
• Yellow Mustard
• Apple Cider Vinegar or White Vinegar
• Soy Sauce, gluten free
• Carrots
• Garlic Powder
• Onion Powder
• Paprika
• Salt + Pepper
• Crockpot for slow cooking

For ingredient substitutions, see the section below with substitution recommendations.

How To Make Shredded Chicken Sloppy Joe's

Here's how to make shredded chicken sloppy joe's in a slow cooker!

Step One - Place all ingredients in a slow cooker. Stir to combine.

Step Two - Cover the slow cooker and cook 4-6 hours on low or 3-4 hours on high.

Step Three - Once the time is up, remove the cover from the slow cooker then shred the chicken breasts with forks. It should shred easily.

Step Four - Stir the shredded chicken with the sauce then top with sliced green onions and serve!

How to Serve Sloppy Joes

I always serve my healthy sloppy joe's with my homemade coleslaw recipe. Sometimes that is all I eat for the meal. Here's more ideas for how you can serve sloppy joe's.

• Hamburger Bun - On a whole grain bun is a traditional way of serving sloppy joe's. Unbun is a low carb bun alternative.
• Tortillas - Higher fiber tortillas or lower carb ones can be used to serve sloppy joe's. Some of my favorites are low carb tortillas, egglife wraps, zero net carb tortillas, whole grain tortillas.
• Sweet Potato Toast - Toast a slice of sweet potato in a toaster or toaster oven.
• Cauliflower Rice - Serve with a side of cauliflower rice or half rice with cauliflower rice.
• Baked Potato - Use the sloppy joe mixture to top on a baked potato!
• Grains - Serve with a side of quinoa or cooked rice.

What To Serve With Low Calorie Sloppy Joes

• Coleslaw - Homemade coleslaw is my favorite addition to sloppy joes.
• Fruit Salad - Healthy fruit salad or Waldorf salad is great to serve with low calorie sloppy joes!
• Fries - Regular fries, tots, veggie fries or garlic mashed cauliflower.
• Veggies - Roasted broccoli, roasted cauliflower or any vegetable you enjoy!
• Salad - Add a large green salad, healthy broccoli salad or asian broccoli salad to your sloppy joe's.

Storing and Reheating Sloppy Joes

• Refrigerator - Store leftover sloppy joes with shredded chicken in the refrigerator in an airtight container up to 4 days.
• Freezing - Store chicken sloppy joes in the freezer up to 3 months. Defrost in the refrigerator overnight then cook on low to medium heat in a pot over the stove until cooked through or in a slow cooker on low until warmed.
• Reheating - Reheat leftover sloppy joes on the stove over low to medium low heat until warmed through. You could also reheat in the microwave 1-2 minutes or reheat leftovers in a slow cooker until warmed.

Crockpot Sloppy Joe Frequently Asked Questions

Can You Make Sloppy Joes In Advance

Yes, you can made shredded chicken sloppy joes in advance. It reheats well on the stove or in the microwave so if you need to make it in advance, you can.

Can You Double A Sloppy Joe Recipe

Yes, this recipe doubles well, just make sure you use a very large slow cooker to accommodate all the ingredients. You should not need to add additional cooking time.

Can You Add Veggies To Sloppy Joes

Yes, you can add vegetables to this chicken sloppy joe recipe. You can add any you like to the skillet or you can sauté them in a pan ahead of time and place in the slow cooker.

Can You Make Sloppy Joes In The Instant Pot

Yes, you can make chicken sloppy joes in the instant pot. Add all the ingredients to the instant pot, cover and set the valve to sealing then set the pot high pressure for 30 minutes.

After it is done cooking, manually release the pressure by switching the valve to release. Uncover the pot then shred the chicken with forks, add the chicken back to the pot to stir with the sauce then serve!

Substitutions For Shredded Chicken Sloppy Joe Recipe

Here are the substitutions I recommend for this sloppy joe recipe. Remember when you make substitutions to ingredients, it does change the nutritional values from what you see in

• Chicken Breast - Turkey tenderloin, turkey breasts or pork tenderloin could easily be substituted for the chicken breast in this recipe.
• Soy Sauce - I used gluten free soy sauce for this recipe. Coconut aminos, tamari, regular soy sauce or low sodium soy sauce can all be used in this recipe.
• Apple Cider Vinegar - White vinegar can be used instead.
• Yellow Mustard - Dijon mustard or ground mustard would be good substitutes.
• Tomato Sauce - I used regular jarred tomato sauce, you can use diced tomatoes instead.
• Paleo - To make this recipe Paleo friendly, use apple cider vinegar for the vinegar and coconut aminos for the soy sauce.
• Add More Veggies - I added shredded carrots to this recipe. I often will bulk up the veggies in the recipe by adding shredded cabbage to the slow cooker. You can certainly add any veggie you enjoy to cook with the recipe in the slow cooker.

More Healthy Crockpot Recipes

• Healthy Crockpot Ground Turkey Sloppy Joe's
• Healthy Crockpot Ragu
• Healthy Crockpot Tomato Sauce
• Healthy Crockpot Chicken Cacciatore
• Healthy Crockpot Pulled Pork
• Healthy Crockpot Buffalo Chicken

About Megan

Megan is a certified nutrition practitioner, author, freelance food photographer and fitness instructor living in Phoenix, Arizona. On her blog, Skinny Fitalicious she shares EASY, gluten free recipes for weight loss. Follow Megan on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram for the latest updates.