Satisfy your comfort cravings with these Sloppy Joe Sliders! They're the perfect size for sharing or serving as an easy weeknight dinner. Have these delicious sandwiches hot and ready to eat in under an hour!
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📋 About the Recipe
- Perfect for a large crowd! If you're hosting game day or looking for an appetizer for your next party, you can't go wrong with sloppy joe sliders. They're packed with delicious, tangy flavor, easy to customize, and easy to feed a crowd, just like my salmon sliders and cheeseburger tater tot casserole.
- Made with a homemade sauce. It's always been my mission to teach you how to cook from scratch using wholesome, nutritious ingredients. If you've only ever experienced store-bought sloppy joes sauce, you're in for a treat! Making it at home is not only easy, but more flavorful and so much better for you.
- Easy to customize. If you prefer your sloppy joe sauce on the sweeter side, increase the amount of ketchup or brown sugar. If you prefer it tangier, add additional Worcestershire sauce or apple cider vinegar.
If you love hot, homemade sandwiches you'll love these Healthy Ground Chicken Sloppy Joes, Instant Pot Pork Butt, Philly Cheesesteak Skillet, and these Air Fryer Turkey Burgers!
🛒 Ingredients
A few notes about the ingredients:
- Ground Turkey - I prefer to make sloppy joes using ground turkey or ground chicken to keep it on the lighter, leaner side, but ground beef works well, too. If using beef, I recommend an 85/15 or 90/10 lean ground beef.
- Slider rolls - A package of about 12 slider rolls is ideal. I've used both brioche rolls and King's Hawaiian roll sliders and both work well.
- Tomato sauce - The base of the homemade sloppy joe sauce. If you are sensitive to sodium use a salt free tomato sauce.
- Sugar - This tangy sauce is sweetened with a mixture of ketchup and brown sugar.
- Apple cider vinegar - Adds notes of tanginess, acidic brightness, and balances the sweetness.
For a full list of ingredients with measurements, scroll down to the complete recipe card at the bottom of the page.
⁉️ Substitutions and Alterations
- Ground turkey substitutes: Substitute ground chicken or ground beef.
- Tomato sauce substitute: If you're out of canned tomato sauce, make your own Instant Pot Tomato Sauce using fresh vine tomatoes or try one of these 4 Tomato Sauce Substitutes.
- Worcestershire substitutes: If you're out of Worcestershire sauce, try this Homemade Worcestershire Sauce Substitute made from ketchup, vinegar, soy sauce, and optional hot sauce.
- Apple cider vinegar substitute: Use white vinegar or white wine vinegar.
- Brown sugar substitutes: I prefer light brown sugar but dark brown sugar or coconut sugar are good substitutes.
- Bell pepper substitute: Replace the green pepper with any colored pepper of choice or omit entirely.
📓 Instructions
- Preheat and prep. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and lightly grease a baking dish.
- Mix the sauce. In a small bowl, combine the tomato sauce, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, mustard, salt, pepper, and chili powder. Stir well, then set aside.
- Cook the meat. Heat a medium skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add the ground turkey or beef and cook for about 5 minutes, or until almost cooked all the way through. Drain off any excess grease as needed.
- Add in the onions, garlic, and peppers. Cook for 8 minutes, or until the onions are translucent. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking or burning.
- Simmer with the sauce. Pour the sloppy joe sauce over the meat mixture and bring to a simmer. Stir occasionally, for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened and the meat is coated.
- Layer the filling on the slider buns. Place the bottom half of the slider rolls in the prepared baking dish. Add a layer of sliced muenster cheese. Then, scoop the sloppy joe mixture onto the cheese and spread from one end to the other in an even layer.
- Top the sloppy joe sliders. Place the top buns on top of the meat. In a small bowl, mix together olive oil and Italian seasoning. Brush the tops of the buns with this mixture until well coated.
- Bake. Bake the sliders for 10 to 15 minutes, until buns are golden brown and the cheese has melted. Allow to cool slightly, then enjoy!
❄️ How to Store
To store: Sliders are best served fresh, but can be stored as needed. Cool the leftover sliders to room temperature, then transfer the sliders to an airtight container or wrap tightly in aluminum foil. Store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
To freeze: I wouldn't recommend freezing the sloppy joe sliders once assembled as this can result in the buns becoming soggy, but you can freeze the sloppy joe meat separately. To do so, follow the recipe instructions through step 5.
Allow the mixture to cool to room temperature, then transfer the mixture to a freezer safe container or zip top bag with all excess air removed. Freeze for up to 3 months, then thaw in the refrigerator overnight before assembling and prepping your cheesy sloppy joe sliders.
To reheat: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place the leftover sliders in a baking dish and cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until warmed through.
🔍 Recipe FAQs
It's not uncommon to enjoy classic sloppy joes as is, but if you'd like to top with additional toppings to take the flavor to the next level, serve with your favorite pickles, tomato slices, bacon or turkey bacon, fresh herbs like parsley, or your favorite slaw.
The mini size of these sloppy joe sandwiches make them perfect for appetizers or a main dish paired with a few simple side dishes. They're delicious served with other appetizers such as Spicy Meatballs, or Air Fryer Garlic Parmesan Wings.
If serving as a main, I recommend healthy homemade french fries such as Air Fryer Green Bean Fries, Air Fryer Carrot Fries, or Air Fryer Fingerling Potatoes. These sliders are also delicious served with salads such as Summer Tortellini Caprese Salad or simple sides such as Skillet Roasted Corn.
Yes, these sliders are suitable for kids! The spice level is very mild. If your kids don't like muenster cheese, swap it out for another cheese such as cheddar cheese, American cheese, or Swiss cheese.
💭 One More Tip
Don't skip greasing the baking dish! In addition to preventing the slider buns from sticking, lightly greasing the pan helps the bottom of the buns crisp up and become nice and golden on the bottom. This helps prevent the sliders from becoming soggy or overly soft.
🍴 Related Recipes
Share your cooking with me! If you make this recipe, I'd love to know! Tag @yourhomemadehealthy on Instagram or leave a comment with a rating and some feedback at the bottom of this page!
📖 Recipe
Sloppy Joe Sliders
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce
- ⅓ cup ketchup
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon yellow mustard
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon chili powder
- 1 pound ground turkey can also use ground chicken or beef
- 1 cup diced yellow onion (about ½ an onion)
- 1 cup diced green bell pepper (about 1 pepper)
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic (about 3 garlic cloves)
- 1 package slider rolls (about 12 rolls), cut in half to create slider buns such as Brioche buns or King's Hawaiian
- 6 slices muenster cheese
- 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- ¼ teaspoon italian seasoning
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Add tomato sauce, ketchup, worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, mustard, salt, pepper, and chili powder to a bowl. Stir to combine. Set aside.
- Heat a medium skillet over medium heat. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil, then add the ground turkey. Cook until almost cooked all the way through, about 5 minutes. (If using ground beef, drain off any excess grease)
- Add onion, bell pepper, and garlic. Cook 8 minutes, or until the onion is translucent, stirring occasionally so nothing sticks or burns to the bottom of the skillet.
- Pour sauce over the meat mixture. Simmer, again stirring occasionally, for 2 to 3 minutes, until sauce is thickened and meat is coated.
- Place bottom half of slider rolls in a baking dish. Top with sliced muenster cheese. Then scoop sloppy joe mixture onto the cheese in an even layer, spreading from one end of the buns to the other.
- Place top buns on top of the meat. Brush tops with 1 tablespoon olive oil and sprinkle with italian seasoning.
- Bake sliders for 10 to 15 minutes, until buns are golden brown and the cheese has melted.
Notes
- The nutritional estimates are based on using ground turkey. The nutritional value will change based on the meat, cheese, and slider buns used.
- I recommend making the sauce per instructions and adjusting to taste. If you prefer sweeter sloppy joes, increase the ketchup or brown sugar. If you prefer tangier sloppy joes, use additional apple cider vinegar or mustard.
- If making this ahead of time, make the sloppy joe filling and store it in the refrigerator or freezer. Then, assemble and bake the sliders just before serving.
Nutrition
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