Every two years, my giant family gets together in Minnesota for a family reunion. It’s an awesome weekend and full of foods that I grew up eating and I’m always inspired to recreate those foods.
Two years ago, my cousin blew my mind on Sloppy Joe night when she and grabbed a handful of plain potato chips, added them to her Sloppy Joe sandwich and said “I just can’t eat a Sloppy Joe without the chips inside.” Obviously I copied her. She’s older and way cooler than me. Apparently I have been living under a rock to not know that trick. It was delicious.
The problem is, when I go on “normal people food” benders, it’s fun for a few days, then my body starts to get really upset with me. I needed to recreate a Sloppy Joe recipe that incorporates that potato chip trick. So, for those of us that can’t have potato chips on our sandwiches, or that just don’t want to, I have a solution.
Sweet potato toast instead of a bun.
It’s a game changer. Using a baked sweet potato and topping with the saucy meat is okay, but usually too much sweet potato, and the potato takes 45 minutes to cook.
With sweet potato toast, you just slice it and bake for 15-20 minutes. You can also sprinkle a little sea salt on the slices before baking for extra potato chip like taste.
These sloppy Joe’s have the right sweetness to taste traditional, without being too sweet . The spices are just right to give that smokey flavor. Add a little cayenne pepper if you aren’t feeding sensitive kids. It gives a nice kick.
Please leave me a comment to let me know what you think if you make these! They get devoured by my family and are a kid favorite around here.
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Paleo Sloppy Joe Sliders
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
A traditional-tasting paleo sloppy Joe with just the right amount of sweet and smokey flavors. Added to sweet potato toast for a quick gluten-free bun alternative.
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 5 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon yellow mustard
- 1 can tomato paste (unsalted)
- 3/4 cup water
- 1 + 3/4 teaspoons salt
- 1+ 1/4 teaspoons smoked paprika*
- 3/4 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice seasoning
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
Instructions
- If making sweet potato toast, heat oven to 400 degrees (F). Wash and cut a sweet potato lengthwise about 1/4″ thick. Place on parchment paper and bake on 400 degrees for 15-18 minutes.
- Brown ground beef and diced onion in a large skillet on medium high until meat is no longer pink. Drain out any grease.
While meat is cooking, make the sauce:
- Mix all seasonings with the water.
- Add tomato paste, mustard and maple syrup and stir to combine.
- Mix the sauce with the meat and turn heat to low to keep warm.
- Add a scoop of saucy meat to your sweet potato toast and top with another piece of toast. Add a toothpick to hold together, if necessary and enjoy!
Notes
*this should be smoked paprika since it will give it the smokey taste you expect with a Sloppy Joe. I find mine at Trader Joe’s year round. This one is also good.
There may be a little leftover sauce here. Feel free to add more ground beef (the Costco 1-1/3 lb pack is perfect), or use it as a barbecue sauce dip. Or just pour it on the Joe’s for extra sloppiness.
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 20
- Category: Dinner
- Method: stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/4 of mix
- Calories: 292
- Sugar: 22.7g
- Sodium: 1263.4mg
- Fat: 6.8g
- Saturated Fat: 2.1g
- Carbohydrates: 30.9g
- Fiber: 3.4g
- Protein: 27.7g
- Cholesterol: 67.8mg
Keywords: Paleo Sloppy Joe
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