Made with ground turkey, flavorful homemade sauce, and packed with 3 veggies (carrot, zucchini, and spinach) these healthy turkey sloppy joes are easy to make and are sure to be a crowd-pleasing meal.
This one is for you, my beloved TNNers.
Delicious, veggie-loaded, healthy dinner recipes are what you crave and what we love to make happen. After trying our veggie-loaded makeovers of classic comfort dishes, like Healthier Hamburger Helper and Veggie-Loaded Tater Tot Casserole, the requests for recipe remixes came pouring in from you all…and Veggie-Loaded Sloppy Joes were high on many of your lists!
This turkey sloppy joe recipe is a veggie-loaded and lightened up twist on a classic dinner many of us grew up eating. Made in one pot and done cooking in about 20 minutes, the grated carrots, zucchini and spinach basically melt into this satisfying dinner as it cooks and is perfect from adding in some veggies on a busy weeknight. The delicious homemade sauce is made from ingredients you likely already have in your kitchen and is truly the flavor hero of this easy dinner recipe. Making between 4-6 servings, you can make the filling for these sloppy joes up to 2 days ahead of time, so you can enjoy leftovers for lunch or reheat and eat after an extra hectic day. Easily made gluten free when you use gluten free Worcestershire sauce and gluten free tamari in the sauce.
Want to make sure you always have spinach on hand for these Veggie-Loaded Turkey Sloppy Joes? Check out my tips & tricks for keeping spinach fresh all week!
Suggested Adaptations
- Instead of ground turkey, you can use ground chicken or lean ground beef.
- Don’t want to grate the carrot and zucchini? You can finely chop them by hand or pulse them in a food processor until finely chopped.
- Instead of buns, the sloppy joe mixture is great served on top of rice or quinoa.
- Make it ahead of time! The meat mixture can be made 2 days ahead and reheated in a pan with a splash of water to add back some moisture that may have been lost.
- Add a little extra water towards the end of cooking for a thinner consistency.
- Amp up the flavors. Taste your turkey sloppy joes at the end of cooking and adjust the flavors to fit your personal taste. Add a little more brown sugar/honey or Worcestershire sauce to the sauce if desired.
- Make them gluten free by using gluten free Worcestershire sauce and gluten free tamari in the sauce and serving the filling over your favorite gluten free buns, rice or quinoa.
How to store or freeze leftover turkey sloppy joes
The filling for these healthy sloppy joes can be made ahead of time or leftovers can be stored in an air-tight container for up to 2 days. To reheat, pour the filling into a pan and add a little water. Stir together and heat until warmed through. Or you can reheat it in a microwave.
You can also freeze these turkey sloppy joes. Place cooked and cooled sloppy joe filling in a freezer safe container and freeze to enjoy for up to 2 months. Defrost in fridge overnight before following reheating directions above.
Other amazing veggie-loaded dinner recipes to add into the rotation…
- Healthier Tater Tot Casserole (with veggies)
- Chicken & Veggie Pot Pie Soup
- Veggie-Loaded Turkey Lasagna
- Healthier Hamburger Helper (with veggies!)
- Veggie-Loaded Salsa Verde Chicken Enchiladas
- Veggie-Loaded Quinoa Black Bean Casserole
- Veggie-Loaded Turkey Tacos
- No-Boil Creamy Vegetable Pasta Bake
Did you make this healthy sloppy joe recipe and now you are hungry for more?
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Veggie-Loaded Turkey Sloppy Joes
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- ¾ cup finely chopped onion
- 1 large carrot peeled and grated
- 1 small zucchini grated
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground pepper
- 1 pound ground turkey
- 2 cups baby spinach chopped
- 3 Tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 teaspoons brown sugar or honey or maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 Tablespoon soy sauce or tamari
- ⅓ cup water
- 6 whole wheat hamburger buns or other sandwich rolls of your choice, toasted
Instructions
- Heat the oil in the large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown and soft, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Stir in the carrot and zucchini and cook to release most of the moisture, 3 to 4 minutes. Once the vegetables are soft and cooked down, stir in the garlic, salt, and pepper, and cook an additional minute.
- Add the ground turkey to the pan and cook, breaking it up with a spoon as it browns. Cook until browned and cooked through, about 5-7 minutes.
- While the meat is cooking, make the sauce: Stir the tomato paste, sugar, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, and water together in a small bowl or liquid measuring cup.
- Once the meat is cooked and well crumbled, stir in the spinach and pour in the sauce. Stir and cook on medium-low until the sauce coats the meat and the flavors combine, about 2 minutes. Taste and add more salt and pepper as needed.
- Scoop about a ¾ cup of the warm sloppy joe mixture onto each of the toasted buns and enjoy.
Notes
- Instead of ground turkey, you can use ground chicken or lean ground beef.
- Don’t want to grate the carrot and zucchini? You can finely chop them by hand or pulse them in a food processor until finely chopped.
- Instead of buns, the sloppy joe mixture is great served on top of rice or quinoa.
- The meat mixture can be made 2 days ahead and reheated in a pan with a splash of water to add back some moisture that may have been lost.
Nutrition
The nutritional information is provided as an estimate only and may vary based on the product type, servings and other factors. If you are following a diet, please consult with a professional nutritionist or your doctor. Stay healthy!
Comments
I’m not a sloppy joe fan, but my family loves them. I made this to appease them and, wouldn’t you know, I LOVE this version. Flavorful without being overly sweet like many other sloppy joe recipes. And I appreciate that it’s not so saucy (more joe, less sloppy). Winner for sure. You’ve converted me while helping me get more veggies in!
Wow! What a lovely compliment! I’m so glad you found a new family meal that everyone can enjoy AND adds more veggies to the table!
This was very tasty. Tasted just like I remembered from childhood but oh so much more healthy. Thank you!
I’m so delighted you enjoyed it so much! I agree, it tastes like childhood. Thanks for taking the time to share, Meredith!
Just made this and it was delicious. Tasted just like I remembered from my childhood but oh so much healthier. Will make again!
This recipe is SO GOOD! I don’t usually make sloppy joes but this is definitely going into our regular rotation. I love how many vegetables are packed in here, making it a really easy one-pot meal. We warmed up the leftovers under the broiler with a bit of cheese on top, which was also delicious.
So glad you enjoyed it, Marisa! We love to make “sloppy joe melts” on sour dough with this recipe and melt the cheese under the broiler too!
Adding to our “regulars” list! I didn’t have zucchini so I used chopped mushrooms and cauliflower rice. Yum!
Oh love those additions, Tanya! So glad you enjoyed it!