These Easy Ground Chicken Sloppy Joes are a family favorite! They’re made with just a few pantry staples and come together in no more than 20 minutes. The perfect easy weeknight dinner!
Who can resist a good sloppy joe sandwich? I know I can’t. And these Ground Chicken Sloppy Joes are one of my favorite recipes to whip up when the craving hits.
They’re a lighter version of a classic sloppy joe sandwich, made with chicken instead of beef—but trust me when I say, they’re just as tasty. This recipe is the perfect weeknight meal because it comes together so fast, and makes for great leftovers.
This healthy sloppy joes recipe is soon to be one of your favorites too!
Why I LOVE this recipe!
- Just a few ingredients – This recipe is made with ground chicken, onion, and a super simple sauce.
- Total crowd pleaser – This is a hit always, whether you’re serving it up for the family or bringing it to a party.
- Classic sloppy joe flavor – Ground chicken sloppy joe is a lighter version of a classic beef sloppy joe recipe without sacrificing any of that flavor.
- Stores beautifully– Make a ton and store it in the fridge for easy meals all week long.
Recipe Notes
This ground chicken sloppy joes recipe is as simple as promised! Just 10 minutes of prep for a family friendly meal.
In this section I am going to go through a few tips and tricks I use for how to make sloppy joes with ground chicken to get the absolute best and most delicious results.
Make sure to scroll to the bottom for the FULL recipe card.
Ingredients + Substitutions
- Ground Chicken – You’ll need 1 pound of ground chicken for this recipe.
- Onion – Onion creates the most delicious flavor base for the chicken.
- Sloppy Joe Sauce – Our sloppy joes sauce is made up of a combination of chili sauce or ketchup, brown sugar, yellow mustard, salt, black pepper, and garlic powder.
- Hamburger Buns – Use your favorite brand of buns for serving!
Make sure to see the recipe card at the bottom of this post for the full quantities and ingredients list.
Recipe Variations
If you love this recipe as much as we do and want some quick ways to change it up for variety, these little tips will do the trick!
- BBQ Ground Chicken Sloppy Joes – Swap the sauce in this recipe out for a healthy amount of your favorite BBQ sauce. Store-bought or homemade will work.
- Buffalo Ground Chicken Sloppy Joes – Spice your sloppy joes up a bit by swapping the sauce out for my easy homemade buffalo sauce.
- Cheesy Ground Chicken Sloppy Joes – Take your sloppy joes up a notch by mixing your favorite shredded cheese right into the filling. Cheesy, melty goodness for the win!
Recipe Step by Step
I am going to highlight a few key steps in the recipe here, but make sure to jump down to the recipe card for comprehensive instructions on how to make easy ground chicken sloppy joes.
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat, then add in the ground chicken and onion.
2. Cook, breaking up the chicken, until it’s no longer pink, then add in the chili sauce or ketchup, mustard, brown sugar, and seasonings.
3. Reduce the heat to low, then simmer for 2-3 minutes. Be sure that the sauce ingredients are well distributed throughout the chicken.
4. Serve over a toasted bun with the side dishes of your choice, and enjoy!
Recipe Tips
- Cook the chicken all the way through – To be sure that the chicken is fully cooked, use a meat thermometer to check the temperature. It should be 165ºF.
- Don’t overcook the chicken – While you do want to make sure the chicken is cooked through, it’s important that you don’t overcook it. Since chicken is low in fat, it can dry out more quickly than other types of meat.
- Toast the buns – This is optional, but the slight crisp is a delicious contrast to the juicy filling.
- Swap the meat – Feel free to use ground turkey in the sloppy joe mixture instead if that’s what you prefer.
- Up the veggie content – Add some diced bell pepper into the pan with the diced onion to boost the nutrition a bit.
Recipe Short Cuts
If you need to make this recipe, but are extra short on time, here are a few ideas that can help make this recipe even faster!
- Use pre-thawed chicken – You can start with already thawed chicken or grab frozen ground chicken and thaw it in advance.
- Make it ahead of time – This sloppy joe filling makes for great leftovers! To get way ahead, you can whip this recipe up in advance and save it for later in the fridge or the freezer.
Freezer Meal Instructions
Making this ground chicken sloppy joes recipe into a freezer meal is simple! Follow the steps below and you can store this recipe in the freezer for up to 6 months.
How to Freeze Sloppy Joes with Ground Chicken After Cooking
- Let the sloppy joe filling cool completely.
- Transfer it to a freezer-safe container, then store in the freezer for 2-3 months.
- When you’re ready to serve, simply thaw the filling overnight in the fridge, then reheat on the stove until heated through.
What to Serve with Ground Chicken Sloppy Joes
Since this protein based dinner has the delicious flavors of classic sloppy joes, it will pair well with many of your favorite sloppy joe side dishes.
Choose one or several of these side dishes to create a wholesome, well-rounded dinner. There are both classic options and some healthy options to keep it light.
Side Dish Ideas
- Loaded Baked Potato Soup – Make your meal hearty and comforting by pairing your ground chicken sloppy joe sandwich with a steaming bowl of this pressure cooker loaded baked potato soup. It’s quick to make, creamy, cheesy, and piled with bacon, sour cream, cheddar cheese, and green onions.
- Chef Salad – This chef salad is a restaurant-quality classic that is the perfect lighter pairing to go with your sloppy joe sandwich. It features crunchy romaine or butter lettuce topped with cubes of provolone cheese, eggs, avocado, tomato, croutons, and a dressing of your choice.
- Easy Baked Macaroni and Cheese – What’s better than a sloppy joe sandwich next to a generous helping of mac and cheese? This baked mac and cheese recipe takes just 15 minutes to prep and yields the cheesiest, creamiest baked pasta ever.
Ground Chicken Sloppy Joes Leftovers
If you have leftovers after making this recipe, then it is your lucky day! They save and reheat well, and can make the start of another delicious dish.
To save leftovers, separate into meal sized portions and then place in an airtight container and store:
- in the refrigerator for 3-4 days
- in the freezer for 2-3 months
Leftover Recipes
Here are a few ways to repurpose those leftovers and give them a delicious makeover!
- Pile it on a baked potato – Make my Instant Pot Baked Potatoes into a meal with a big scoop of sloppy joe filling and a sprinkle of cheese on top.
- Mix it into rice – Serve it over plain rice or mix it into Cheesy Broccoli Chicken Rice for a delicious flavor twist.
- Put it on pizza – Swap it in for the BBQ chicken in my BBQ Chicken Pizza.
Recipe FAQ’s
Can you use ground chicken instead of beef?
Yes! Like many recipes, ground chicken is a delicious and lighter alternative to ground beef. You won’t even know the difference in these ground chicken sloppy joes!
How do you make ground chicken taste like beef?
Don’t over-cook! While we’re doing plenty with the sauce and seasonings to give the ground chicken sloppy joe filling an authentic sloppy joe flavor, the key is really to make sure that the chicken doesn’t dry out. Cook just until heated through and no longer.
More EASY Chicken Recipes
If you enjoyed this recipe, I really hope you will take a moment to grab a few more easy recipes for another busy night!
You can check out all of my easy chicken recipes here, or see a few of our readers favorite recipes below.
- Pulled BBQ Chicken Sliders
- Mozzarella Stuffed Chicken Parm Meatloaf Muffins
- Marry Me Chicken – Crockpot Recipe
- Firecracker Chicken Meatballs
Ground Chicken Sloppy Joes
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground chicken
- ½ cup chopped onion
- 1 cup chili sauce, or ketchup
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon yellow mustard
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 4 hamburger buns
Instructions
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the ground chicken and onion. Cook breaking up the chicken as you stir until the chicken is cooked through and no longer pink, about 5-7 minutes.
- Add the chili sauce, brown sugar, yellow mustard, salt, pepper, and garlic powder and stir to combine. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 2-3 minutes.
- Optional: Toast each hamburger bun.
- Pile the ground chicken sloppy joes onto each bun and serve immediately.
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