Slow Cooker Ground Turkey Sloppy Joes
Made with ground turkey meat and a homemade sloppy joe sauce including tomato paste, ketchup, and simple spices, this wholesome slow cooker turkey sloppy joe recipe takes ground turkey from a basic protein to a delicious, craveable family meal!
How and why to make ground turkey sloppy joes in the slow cooker
Low and slow cook time allows the turkey to get tender and absorb all flavor from the spices. Once you saute the turkey meat, and add to the crockpot, this is a hands-off recipe, making it perfect for busy days, slow weekends at home, or days you just want to set it and forget it.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Onion and bell pepper add a punch of vegetable power, plus added sweetness. You could also add chopped carrot to boost the natural sweetness even more.
- I use dark meat ground turkey for this slow cooker turkey sloppy joes recipe, but you could substitute white meat turkey for a low fat option.
- Ground beef can also be used in place of ground turkey in this recipe.
- The type of catsup or ketchup you use will have a significant impact on your final result as well as on nutrition information.
- Add additional water for a looser consistency.
- We wanted to keep the added sugar to a minimum in this recipe, however if you prefer a sweeter sloppy joe mixture, feel free to sweeten things up by adding a tablespoon of brown sugar or coconut sugar to the mix.
How to Store or Freeze
- The cooked sloppy joe turkey meat will keep well in the fridge for up to 3-4 days, in a sealed container.
- This recipe also freezes well, store in a sealed freezer friendly container for up to 2-3 months.
this recipe is…
Dairy FreeGluten FreeNut FreePaleoWhole30
Slow Cooker Ground Turkey Sloppy Joes
Made with ground turkey meat and a homemade sloppy joe sauce including tomato paste, ketchup, and simple spices, this wholesome slow cooker turkey sloppy joe recipe takes ground turkey from a basic protein to a delicious, craveable family meal!
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 1 large red bell pepper, finely chopped
- 1 lb 93% lean dark meat ground turkey
- 1 tsp granulated garlic powder
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 3/4 cup ketchup
- 2 tb brown sugar
- 2 tsp yellow mustard
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1/4 cup water
Equipment
Instructions
Slow Cooker Directions
- In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and bell pepper. Cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the turkey, sprinkle with ½ teaspoon salt and the garlic powder, then stir, breaking the turkey apart into small pieces with a wooden spoon.
- Allow the turkey to cook through, stirring occasionally, about 3-4 minutes.
- Carefully transfer the turkey to a 6-quart slow cooker. Add the remaining ½ teaspoon salt, ketchup, brown sugar, mustard, tomato paste, and water, stirring to combine.
- Cover and cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 5-6 hours. A longer cook time will yield more tender results.
Nutrition Information:
Serving: 1 (of 6), Calories: 188kcal, Carbohydrates: 12g, Protein: 15g, Fat: 9g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 4g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 56mg, Sodium: 775mg, Potassium: 387mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 9g, Vitamin A: 913IU, Vitamin C: 29mg, Calcium: 30mg, Iron: 1mg
Did you make this recipe?If you do, be sure to share it on Instagram and tag me at @realfoodwholelife so I can see!
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This was really good, I normally don’t like Sloppy Joes but when I had this I was SO good!
Elle, I’m so glad you enjoyed this one. Thank you so much for leaving a review!
I would add a full cup of water or broth to the recipe rather than only 1/4 cup. This was tasty but there was no enough water/broth to leave it in a slow cooker. I added an additional 1/4 broth to the recipe or so because I was worried it would burn and I still came home to a partially burnt slow cooker. (The stuff that wasn’t burnt was good though.)
Hi Victoria, thanks for your comment. All slow cookers are different, and it sounds like yours definitely runs hot! By any chance did it switch to warm while you were away from the house? Some slow cookers turn to “warm” after the cook time is over, which often continues cooking the food at too high a temp, which can also lead to burning. I’ve tested this one numerous times and 1/4 cup was the correct amount of liquid — any more for made the consistency way to thin. However, it sounds like you’ve worked out the proper ratio of liquid for your specific slow cooker, which is great! You can also try cooking it on low, and or less time next time. Hope that helps!
Loved the recipe! Used low sodium catsup and it was still a great meal!
Mary, great tip, thanks for sharing and for leave a reivew!
Just made this for my family and everyone loved it. As an adult, I thought it was a little sweet, so I might halve the brown sugar. It was also a bit salty…with ketchup and mustard in the mix, not sure I needed much kosher salt. But overall, it was great and we enjoyed it as part of a nacho bar!
Stephanie, great idea to serve this as part of a nacho bar! Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Hi. You say it matters what kind of ketchup is used so what ketchup do you recommend? I have the Primal Kitchen brand which isn’t near as tasty as a Heinz but more healthy of course.
Great question! You’re right, primal kitchen ketchup is maybe healthier but probably isn’t the best option for this recipe unless you really love the taste of it. I like the Whole365 brand of katsup or Trader Joe’s in terms of a “cleaner” ketchup, but regular Heinz is good in this one, too!