Homemade {No Sugar Sloppy Joes}

Posted: June 26, 2012

Whenever I think of sloppy joes, I think of Adam Sandler and start singing:  Sloppy Joes, sloppppppppppy, sloppy joe yeeeeeeah. Besides being a catchy tune, it's an American favorite made popular by Manwich.  Dear Hubby loves sloppy joes (though he doesn't love messes, so I make sure not to make his sandwich too overflowing/sloppy...ha!).  Well for too long I've actually bought those easy cans of Manwich sauce, but no more!  It's time I started listening to my own advice.  If you missed my 7 Tips for Lowering your Sugar Intake, be sure to go back and read them. 

Here's a look at Sloppy Joes from their perspective:

  • Read labels.  (And stop ignoring them!)  High Fructose Corn Syrup is the second ingredient, followed by MORE corn syrup as the 4th ingredient!
  • Find Lower Sugar versions.  Doesn't exist, as far as I can tell, so I created my own.
  • Substitute. Yes! I need to substitute something in for all that HFCS.

Here's the ingredients in a regular can of Manwich:

Tomato Puree (Water, Tomato Paste), High Fructose Corn Syrup, Distilled Vinegar, Corn Syrup, Less than 2% of: Salt, Sugar, Dehydrated Onions, Dehydrated Red and Green Bell Peppers, Chile Pepper, Tomato Fiber, Spices, Guar Gum, Xanthan Gum, Dehydrated Garlic, Carob Bean Gum, Natural Flavors.

Introducing No Sugar Sloppy Joes:

Do you ever add barbeque sauce to your sloppy joes?  We do.every.time.  So it's great that I just found a new lower sugar bbq sauce recently! It has less than half the sugar grams of most other brands/flavors...which makes me very happy :) Here's the 2 main players in today's recipe: Stubb's Hickory Bourbon BBQ + Muir Glen Organic Tomato Sauce.

With only 4 ingredients, this is almost as easy as opening that dreaded can of Manwich.

The extra 90 seconds are worth it!!  This recipe has approximately 50% less sugar content as the traditional manwich/bbq pairing (8g per serving, rather than 16g).

I served the sandwiches alongside my wonderful sweet potato fries, of course!

Questions:

  • Do you ever eat Sloppy Joes? If so, do you ever use Manwich?
  • Do you have any other go-to foods that you'd like to see "made over"?  If so, email me and I'll add it to my list!

No Sugar Sloppy Joes

Description

A homemade low-sugar version of the American favorite: Sloppy Joes.

Ingredients

7 ounces
Muir Glen Organic Tomato Sauce (1/2 the can)
1⁄2 cup
Stubb's Honey Bourbon BBQ Sauce
1 teaspoon
Molasses
1⁄2 teaspoon
Local Wild Honey
1 pound
Lean Ground Beef

Instructions

  1. Saute the ground beef until cooked through, no pink
  2. Mix together all sauce ingredients
  3. Add sauce to cooked ground beef
  4. Stir continually over medium heat for about 5 minutes, or until thickened.

Yields 5 Sandwiches

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Comments

Submitted by mary @ minutespermile - June 26, 2012 - 5:53am

those looks awesome! thanks for the recipe. never making manwich again.

Submitted by kelly - June 28, 2012 - 12:17am

Let me know what you think if you make it!

Submitted by Meghan @ Megger Files - June 26, 2012 - 9:09am

I love sloppy Joes - never thought about how much sugar there is in them! Will absolutely need to try out this recipe very soon! Thanks for sharing :-)

Submitted by kelly - June 28, 2012 - 12:19am

Let me know what you think if you try them. They were just as good as leftovers :)

Submitted by JoAnna - June 26, 2012 - 9:12am

Looks so good! I will definitely give them a try! I guess this question is a little late and maybe the answer is a little obvious, but have you found that maybe the weight comes off easier simply by cutting way back on all that processed sugar? I know you have cut calories too and been exercising but I lose weight so slowly sometimes and I wonder if maybe I should cut way back on the sugar and not just the calories? Besides, all this healthy food really does look awesome!

Submitted by kelly - June 28, 2012 - 12:21am

Yeah, I think it's definitely worth a try for you. I've heard that even just a little sugar at various times of the day can really sabotage weight-loss... especially those little bites most people "sneak" in at night. I think this is also part of why I've been able to lose weight without having to count every calorie. Less sugar, more veggie juice, and reasonable/smaller portions. Those were the keys for me!

Submitted by Jaren@Kiwi Fit Blog - June 26, 2012 - 9:14am

Those look delicious! I have been making sloppy joe at home for a long time. Me and the fiance both love them but youre right the stuff in the can is terrible!

Submitted by Corrie Anne - June 26, 2012 - 10:49am

I'd love to try that BBQ sauce. I'm always irritated by the sugar content of bbq sauce too. Lol. I've been using Frank's Red Hot BBQ lately, but I'd love this for something like sloppy joes!! Kevin would love this... a good kid meal. Haha.

Submitted by Gina @ Running to the Kitchen - June 26, 2012 - 4:10pm

We never had sloppy joe's growing up and I remember resenting my mom for that when "everybody" else did. Guess she knew a thing or two back then ;)
This is such an easy dinner idea that it HAS to go on the rotation soon!

Submitted by kelly - June 28, 2012 - 12:23am

She DID know something. My mom wouldn't let me have poptarts, gosh darnit. :) So I ate them at my friend Laura's house...ha! Let me know what you think if you try the sloppy joes!

Submitted by Heather @ Better With Veggies - June 26, 2012 - 5:38pm

For any veggie readers, I have found lentils make a great veggie substitute for sloppy joes - so delicious! Your sauce sounds great. :)

Submitted by kelly - June 28, 2012 - 12:24am

I'm intrigued. Can you share the recipe? Is it JUST lentils, or a mix of a few other veggies/things? How do you cook them before adding the sloppy joe sauce?

Submitted by Betty Lynn Pepka - June 26, 2012 - 11:14pm

Hi. Try adding chopped celery, onions and green peppers (all chopped small). Then, serve on hot dog buns instead of regular buns for WAY less "slop"
I've been making from scratch for years. Better and cheaper ;)

Submitted by kelly - June 28, 2012 - 12:25am

I love the suggestion of using a hot dog bun... much less mess/slop!

Submitted by Susie - June 28, 2012 - 12:03am

Yummy yum!
Btw where did you get your plates? Gorgeous ;)
Thanks for being a true inspiration.

Submitted by kelly - June 28, 2012 - 12:26am

I get my plates from lots of different places :) I like buying 2 of everything... ha! These particular striped ones came from Target.

Submitted by Susie - June 30, 2012 - 11:19pm

Thank you :)
Btw- Is there a way to get email updates of your blog posts?

Submitted by kelly - July 1, 2012 - 6:21pm

My hubby added it for me (you) today! It's in the right column under my picture. Please let me know if it doesn't work for you. Thanks!

Submitted by Susie - July 1, 2012 - 11:37pm

It works! Thanks so much :)

Submitted by Calee Himes - June 29, 2012 - 12:06pm

My family's sloppy joe recipe? Meat + brown sugar + ketchup + mustard + vinegar + salt & pepper. I highly doubt mom and dad make them anymore but they were a staple when I was a kid. And they're still a Himes family staple at potlucks.

Submitted by Dailah - July 9, 2012 - 9:22pm

I love your blog, so inspirational! I found a nice sugar free homemade BBQ sauce recipe on spoonful of sugar free... That site also lists all of the scary names sugar hides behind. Our food is killing us if we don't take control of what we put in our mouths. It's scary out there!

Submitted by Chris - July 16, 2012 - 9:26pm

First off, congrats on your weight loss. My wife and I are on a similar journey. Second, thanks for the great recipe! I made it tonight and it was great. And it took no time to make at all!!! I think I spent more time on the veggies than the sloppy joe. :-)

My only change was that I used turkey instead of ground beef, and it was delicious.

Thanks again! I look forward to trying some of your other suggestions.

Submitted by kelly - July 25, 2012 - 4:20pm

Yeah, chopping up the sweet potatoes takes the longest! Glad you all enjoyed the sloppy joes :)

Submitted by Kimberly - July 20, 2012 - 6:11pm

Just made these for dinner great success family loved them! Thank u

Submitted by kelly - July 25, 2012 - 4:21pm

When the family likes dinner, it's a success indeed!

Submitted by Christina - September 30, 2012 - 10:18am

I was just scouring the web for healthy sloppy joes yesterday. Only to be disappointed. Thank you!! Do you think these would be good with ground turkey? We're also cutting our red meat intake. But if not, no big deal. We haven't had red meat in about a month, so I think we're ok. :)

Submitted by Sarah - April 13, 2013 - 7:05pm

The name of the recipe is homemade no sugar sloppy joes, except there is sugar. Maybe put "less sugar" or "lower sugar." I found this page thru a web search and wasted my time because I indeed in search of a no sugar sloppy joe recipe. Just sayin'.

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