30 Minute Sugar Free Sloppy Joe’s

A busy month deserves an easy and nourishing meal – and these 30 Minute Sugar Free Sloppy Joe’s deliver!T his recipe is PACKED with flavor, real ingredients, zero refined sugar and will be on your table in less than 30 minutes.

It’s a healthier twist to a classic comfort food that your whole family will love!

Original Post: December 2022 | Updated Post: July 2025

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As for classic sloppy joes that are made with a canned sauce such as Manwich, my version by uses clean ingredients such as lean ground beef and creating a homemade sauce.

The key ingredient to making healthy sloppy joes taste like traditional sloppy joes is to use a high-quality ketchup with no added sugars.

Many conventional brands of ketchup use high fructose corn syrup and corn syrup. Yup- 2 kinds of sugar! But there are plenty of great tasting alternatives. Organic or unsweetened ketchup is easy to find in your local grocery stores. Look for organic or unsweetened. I have tried and suggest are Primal Kitchen and also a brand called Woodstock.

National brands such as Heinz have an organic alternative as well and also Simply, which doesn’t have artificial sweeteners. I suggest reading the nutrition information if there is a particular ingredient you are trying to avoid.

Ingredients needed

• Lean ground beef. I use 90/10 or 96/4 from grcoery stores or 95/5 from my local meat shop.
• Extra virgin olive oil.
• Sweet onion. You can also use white or yellow.
• Red and green bell peppers.
• Fresh cloves garlic.
• Sugar free ketchup.
• Apple cider vinegar.
• Maple syrup. Optional for a little sweetness.
• Paprika.
• Dried oregano.
• Ground thyme.
• Salt.

How to make Sugar Free Sloppy Joe’s

Step One: Cook the meat: Start with heating the oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat.  Add the ground beef to the skillet and let it cook for 5 minutes. Add a pinch of salt.

Step Two: Add the veggies: Add the bell peppers, garlic and onion. Turn the heat down to low. Stir well and let it simmer for an additional 15 minutes.

Step Three: Add spices and sauce: Add the spices and give it a stir. Then add the ketchup and apple cider vinegar. Continue to simmer for 7 minutes then remove from the heat and stir in the maple syrup if using. 

Step Four: Serve with warm bread or buns of your choice. You can also serve it with sweet potatoes or vegetables to keep it Whole30 compliant.

Storing No Sugar Sloppy Joe’s

Store the Sloppy Joe sauce separately in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. You can reheat in the microwave on high for about 1-2 minutes or you can reheat on the stove top.

Helpful Tips for Sloppy Joe’s Without Sugar

A food processor makes this sloppy Joe sauce one of the most easiest things to make. You can cut your onion, garlic and bell peppers in half or 4 quarters, then add them to the food processor on the “chop” setting. It saves you the extra time of dicing! Your vegetables will be ready to add to your skillet in 2-3 minutes. Another bonus is that by chopping the vegetables in the food processor, the juices are then released. Those juices make for a flavorful sauce!

Another key tip is that this sloppy joe meat can be made a day ahead. When the cooked meat sits in the juices for a long time, the spices and tomato becomes scrumptious!

This is not only an easy dinner. A great way to enjoy this is in your meal prep.

Serving suggestions and alternatives

• Just because this is a healthier version of a sloppy Joe doesn’t mean it has to be boring! Some suggested toppings are a slice pepper jack cheese, cheddar cheese, cole slaw, crunchy pickles or pickled red onions.

• You can use any meat mixture you like such as lean ground turkey, bison or ground chicken. A good choice of lean ground beef is 90/10 or 93/7. Be sure to check the nutritional information to verify. Whichever ground meat you choose, homemade sloppy joes will get rave reviews.

• If you do not have fresh garlic, you can substitute with garlic powder and you can also use avocado oil in place of olive oil. You can use yellow onion or white onion in place of sweet onion. To spice it up, you can totally add a touch of red pepper flakes or use hot sauce.

• Balsamic vinegar or distilled vinegar can replace apple cider vinegar.

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