Sloppy Joes with Ground Chicken
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Sloppy Joes with Ground Chicken are sweet and tangy but have fewer calories than the traditional ground beef version! Bonus – they go from fridge to table in 15 minutes!
What You Will ❤️ About Sloppy Joes with Ground Chicken
- Fast – this is a fast dinner since it’s ready in about 15 minutes!
- Lower Fat – by using ground chicken – you’re saving calories over a traditional ground beef sloppy joe
- Kid Friendly – I’ve never met a kid that didn’t like Sloppy Joes – they fall apart and you get sauce on your face – all fun!
Ingredients for Chicken Sloppy Joes
Simple pantry ingredients come together for a tasty weeknight dinner. Here’s everything you’ll need:
- Ground chicken – you can use ground chicken, ground chicken breast, ground turkey – or even grind your own chicken by tossing a couple of chicken breasts into a food processor
- Yellow onion – sweet vidalia onions are best for this recipe
- Ketchup – if this is too tangy for you – you can use tomato sauce
- Yellow mustard
- apple cider vinegar – you could sub white vinegar if you like
- Worcestershire sauce – soy sauce could be a substitute if needed
- Brown sugar – light or dark brown sugar will work
- Sesame seed hamburger buns
- OPTIONAL – you can add salt, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder to taste if you like. If you want it a little spicy – add chili powder.
Sloppy Joe’s Recipe Variations
By using ground chicken, this is a pretty healthy sloppy joes recipe. Here’s a few ways to tweak it if you’d like to make it your own.
- Buffalo or BBQ – swap out the sauce for Buffalo sauce or BBQ sauce. If you choose Buffalo serve with stalks celery and blue cheese dressing on the side. If you like BBQ chicken – you could serve with a salad and ranch!
- More Veggies – add finely diced green bell pepper with the onion for more texture and diced mushrooms to make it stretch further and still have a meaty texture
- Baked Potatoes – serve your sloppy joe mixture over baked potatoes instead of on a bun and top with cheese or sour cream
- Sliders – make them into sliders by placing on little buns and adding cheese and bake them – here’s a similar recipe for Maid Rite Sliders!
How to make Sloppy Joes with Ground Chicken
Sloppy Joes are super simple to make and you can make them from fridge to table in just 15 minutes. Be sure you have pickle slices to serve on top!
- In a large skillet over medium high heat, brown the ground chicken and onions. Break up the ground chicken with a wooden spoon or meat chopper and cook until pink is nearly gone about 4 minutes.
- Drain grease from ground chicken and stir in ketchup, vinegar, Worcestershire, brown sugar and mustard into the meat mixture.
- Bring the sauce to a simmer, then reduce the heat to low. Simmer for 10 minutes to thicken, stirring frequently.
- When the sloppy joe mixture has thickened, remove the skillet from heat
- Serve on sesame seed buns with sliced pickles – if you’re feeling fancy you could toast the buns in your air fryer for 1 minute at 325 degrees.
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Tips, Tricks & FAQs
Store leftover meat mixture in an airtight container (I like these glass ones) in the refrigerator for up to a week. You can freeze up to three months. Reheat in the microwave for 1-2 minutes.
Of course – any of the ground meats can be interchangeable: ground chicken, turkey, pork or beef. Ground pork is probably my favorite!
Not really – it’s so lean it’s not going to emit much grease like ground beef. But you can if you like.
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What to Serve with Sloppy Joes
- Longhorn Steakhouse Broccoli
- Olive Garden House Salad
- Air Fryer Waffle Fries
- 35 More Recipes to serve with Sloppy Joes
More Ground Chicken Recipes
Sloppy Joes with Ground Chicken
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground chicken
- 1/2 yellow onion diced
- 1 cup ketchup
- 2 tbsp yellow mustard
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 6 sesame seed buns
Instructions
- In a large skillet over medium high heat, brown the ground chicken and onions. Break up the ground chicken and cook until pink is nearly gone about 4 minutes.1 lb ground chicken, 1/2 yellow onion
- Drain grease from ground chicken and stir in ketchup, vinegar, Worcestershire, brown sugar and mustard into the meat mixture.1 cup ketchup, 2 tbsp yellow mustard, 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar, 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce, 2 tbsp brown sugar
- Bring the sauce to a simmer, then reduce the heat to low. Simmer for 10 minutes to thicken, stirring frequently.
- When the sloppy joe mixture has thickened, remove the skillet from heat
- Serve on sesame seed buns with sliced pickles – if you're feeling fancy you could toast the buns in your air fryer for 1 minute at 325 degrees.6 sesame seed buns
