Turkey Sloppy Joes

These Turkey Sloppy Joes are bursting with flavor from onion, green bell pepper, garlic, spicy brown mustard, spicy barbecue sauce, and chili powder. Enjoy the mixture over toasted buns, baked potatoes, pasta, rice, or macaroni and cheese.

These have quickly evolved into one of our favorite meals, and my son even declared that he likes them better than beef sloppy joes.

Ingredient Notes and Substitutions

See the complete list of ingredients on the recipe card below.

• Ground turkey: I use a mixture of dark and white meat. I find the turkey breast too lean to make good sloppy joes. You need a little fat for flavor.
• Green bell pepper: I like the flavor that the green pepper lends to the dish, but you can use any color bell pepper.
• Vinegar: As a substitute, you can use white wine vinegar or champagne vinegar.
• Mustard: Use regular yellow mustard, Dijon mustard, spicy brown mustard, whole grain mustard, or honey mustard.
• Spicy barbecue sauce: Use your favorite brand or make homemade barbecue sauce.
• Ground cayenne: This amount will not add much heat, but it will add flavor.
• Chicken broth: Preferably low sodium.

How To Make Turkey Sloppy Joes

This is a summary version; for the complete list of ingredients and instructions, please refer to the recipe card below.

1. Brown the ground turkey in a large skillet over medium heat.
2. About halfway through the browning process, add the onions and bell peppers. Cook the onions and bell peppers until soft, and the turkey is brown.
3. Reduce the heat, add the garlic, and cook it for a minute.
4. Add the cider vinegar, spicy brown mustard, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, barbecue sauce, ketchup, chili powder, ground cayenne, and chicken broth. Stir to combine and simmer for 25 minutes.
5. Toast the buns, add the sloppy joe mixture, and serve.

Preparation Pointers

• Remove any excess fat or moisture from the browned ground turkey. I use paper towels to soak it up. If any ground turkey sticks to the paper towel, you can spoon it off back into the skillet.
• Spicy barbecue sauce adds flavor to the mixture. Turkey is a little more bland than ground beef, so you need added seasoning.
• If the mixture becomes too thick or dry, add a little more low-sodium chicken broth.

Perfect Pairings

• Potatoes: air fryer potato wedges, pan-fried potatoes, or potato pancakes.
• Pasta: Velvetta mac and cheese or cauliflower mac and cheese.
• Salad: Mustard potato salad, broccoli salad, and creamy coleslaw.

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