Sloppy Joe Sliders
These sloppy joe sliders are one of my favorite slider recipes. With a tangy sauce on a slightly sweet buns, you're going to love this tasty meal for your weeknight dinners and game day parties. A recipe the whole family will love!
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Sloppy Joe Sliders Recipe
When I'm planning a football get-together, I'm always looking for easy recipes that can be prepared ahead of time. That's when I came up with the idea for one of my favorite classic dishes, but with a game day twist.
Sloppy joe sliders are perfect for eating while watching football, especially since they can be prepared ahead of time with a simple kitchen hack! But they're a great weeknight dinner too, especially with a side of roasted rosemary potatoes.
You can plan on making this sloppy joe sliders recipe the morning of by throwing everything into your slow cooker and plate them just before dinner or the game. Or just throw everything in a skillet day-of and cook it up that way too!
Why You'll Love this Recipe
Classic sloppy joes are already a popular meal choice, but turning them into individual sliders makes them the best easy dinner and family favorite. Not to mention, Hawaiian roll sliders are always a crowd favorite as game-day food.
Making this simple recipe means you'll be spending less time preparing food and more time enjoying your family dinner around the table or watching that nail biter of a game!
- The sloppy joe mixture stores and reheats well, making it perfect for meal prep.
- This meal is cooked in one pan which make clean up super easy, sending it right to the top of my list of favorites. Any meal that will save me some time washing dishes is a winner in my book.
- You can easily double or triple this recipe to make as much food you need for any size crowd.
Ingredients
These are the key ingredients to making this easy dinner and game day recipe:
- ground beef
- diced onions
- diced green peppers
- diced red peppers
- salt
- black pepper
- paprika
- garlic powder
- chili powder
- chipotle powder
- dijon mustard
- brown sugar
- tomato paste
- water
Substitutions and Variations
You can use dinner rolls instead of sweet Hawaiian rolls if you prefer. Slider burger buns will also work great!
If you can't find Rotel chili fixins, a regular can of rotel or diced tomatoes with green chiles is all you need. And if you want the homemade sloppy joe sauce to have a little more liquid, add some tomato sauce or ketchup into the mix.
Add some spices and fresh herbs to give this recipe extra flavor. Red pepper flakes, onion powder, minced garlic and fresh cilantro would all be tasty.
Save some calories and fat content by swapping the ground beef for ground turkey or chicken.
Serve each sandwich with sliced cheddar cheese or American cheese to make cheesy sloppy joe sliders. Condiments like dijon mustard, yellow mustard, and barbecue sauce are good additions to a slider too.
How to Make Sloppy Joe Sliders
Follow these simple step by step instructions to make a delicious sloppy joe mixture that will fill these sliders:
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium safe heat, then add the diced bell peppers and onion. Sauté until the onion is translucent.
Remove veggies from the pan and set to the side. Add ground beef into the same skillet and cook until browned.
Drain off any excess grease, then add the seasonings, dijon mustard, brown sugar, tomato paste, cooked veggies and water.
Stir well to combine, then simmer for a few minutes. Spoon the sloppy joe beef mixture onto slider buns or rolls and serve!
How to Store Leftover Sloppy Joe Sliders
Store leftover buns and sloppy joe mixture separately. Place meat into an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. You can also freeze leftovers for up to 3 months.
Leftover Hawaiian sweet rolls will last longer if they are transferred to an airtight container. Store at room temperature for 2-3 days or keep them in the fridge to extend their life a bit. You can also freeze them for up to 2 months! Place in a zip top freezer bag and squeeze out all the air before freezing.
What to Serve with Sloppy Joe Sliders
While you're picking up the simple ingredients for this recipe, you can grab a few bags of potato chips or some frozen french fries if you want a super easy side to serve with sliders.
But if you want to serve a little something more, make a tasty green salad with strawberries or some potato salad. A simple pasta salad is always a good idea!
These little sandwiches are perfect for an easy weeknight dinner. Make sure you finish off this meal with a sweet, healthy and creamy yogurt fruit salad.
Serving sloppy joe sliders as an appetizer? Throw together some fresh guacamole or buffalo chicken meatballs to eat alongside them. Or make multiple types of sliders and add these smoked sausage jalapeno sliders to the menu.
And if dips are your thing on game day, then you've gotta try our skillet sausage dip and jalapeño popper dip.
Tips for Success
- If you plan to use a crock pot instead of the stovetop, then just check the sloppy joes around the half way mark. Take the lid off your crock pot and give the beef mixture a good stir to incorporate all the ingredients and make sure nothing is sticking.
- Melt some butter and add garlic powder to it. Then brush a bit of the butter over the top of the rolls to make them extra tasty!
- Use lean ground beef so that you sloppy joes are not too greasy and fatty after being cooked.
FAQ
The best way to avoid a soggy slider is to assemble them one at a time and eat right away. However, if you need to pre-assemble some and place them in a baking dish or serving tray for transport then try toasting the inside of the rolls first. This will help keep them from getting soggy too quickly.
Though the two classic food dishes are quite similar, sloppy joes and chili are not the same. Both things chili and sloppy joes have a ground beef and tomato bas. However, sloppy joes tend to be much sweeter and are consistently a thick mixture so that it can be eaten on a bun. Chili can vary in consistency, often contains beans, and is going to be much more spicy than sloppy joes.
More Easy Dinner Recipes
- Slow Cooker Salsa Verde Pulled Pork
- Slow Cooker Refined Sugar Free Pulled Pork
- Salsa Verde Chicken
- Slow Cooker Bacon Jalapeño Creamed Corn
Did you make this recipe?
If you make and love this recipe, please leave a ★★★★★ review below! It means so much to me when you try my recipes, and I'd love to know how it goes. Please leave a comment below if you have any questions.
Sloppy Joe Sliders
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1.5 pounds ground beef
- ⅓ cup finely diced onions
- ⅓ cup finely diced green bell peppers
- ⅓ cup finely diced red bell peppers
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- ⅛ teaspoon chipotle powder
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 6 ounce can of tomato paste
- ¾ cup water
- 1 package slider buns cut in half horizontally
Instructions
- Heat oil in skillet over medium heat, then add the diced onion and bell pepper.
- Sauté until the onion is translucent, then remove the veggies and set aside.
- Add the ground beef to the pan and cook until browned.
- Then add the seasonings, tomato paste and the rest of the ingredients.
- Stir well to combine and allow to simmer for a few minutes.
- Spoon the mixture onto the slider buns and serve!
Nutrition
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This was quick, easy, and delicious with a spicy twist! It was perfect for one nights dinner.
This sloppy Joe slider was so delicious. The sauce really complements the whole dish. Plus, my kids also loved it, so I would definitely be making it again!
I made these tonight for the grandkids and they were a huge hit! So easy, thank you.
I loved how easy this recipe was with the slow cooker on hand. I used pickled jalapeños and onions and the flavour combo was awesome with the sweet ground beef.
I love these because they're so much easier to make for a crowd than lots of individual burger patties. And I think they're tastier, too! Love them with jalapenos but it's so easy to leave them off for folks who don't like spicy.
These look so good! I can't wait for our Superbowl party!
Mmmm! The slow cooker is such a smart way to get everything done on time for a party. Sliders are always so fun, too!
sister friend!
these look so delicious (and yu-yesss to adding jalapenos!)
p.s. i agree with @accordingtolaurajean:disqus your pictures are stunning in this!
Yum! It's 7 am in California and now I'm hungry and craving sloppy joes. Lol
These sound SO delicious!
Your photos are awesome! I love the way you styled this post. And jalape?os on sloppy joes? I had never thought of that. Brilliant!