Paleo Sweet Potato Sloppy Joes

It’s a week night. You’re stuck in traffic heading home from work. Tonight’s dinner needs to be something fast and easy. Well here you go…

This one’s no beauty, but it’s a beast of a meal.

I’ve mentioned more than a few times about having some sweet potatoes pre-baked around as part of your meal preps. This recipe is another example why that’s a good idea.

This sloppy joe dinner will only take about 15 minutes to whip up if your sweet potatoes are already cooked. If not, fear not. Pop those sweet potatoes in the oven pronto, relax for about 20 minutes or so, and start the sloppy joes. Either way, this paleo recipe is comfort food, made easy.

We made this last Sunday after I spent a weekend cooking new recipes. I wanted hearty and tasty. And this simple meal delivers. [av_sidebar widget_area=’Lockerdome’ av_uid=’av-33y0ir’]

Remember the days of sloppy joes as a kid? I do, because I loved them. And I still do. The sweet potato is the perfect partner for this sloppy joe’s sweet meat mixture. I keep saying, who needs a bun when you have food like this? And it’s true. It filled me up and made me happy.

I’m pretty sure your kids will gobble this one down. Kid food and comfort food go together. And you’re happy because you fed your family a healthy and delicious meal.

It’s a little different, but I will definitely make this one a staple in our house because it satisfies. Feel free to change it up and use ground turkey or chicken.

It’s easy peasy, palate-pleasing paleo.

Ok enough.

Make it!

Paleo Sweet Potato Sloppy Joes Recipe

Paleo Sweet Potato Sloppy Joes Recipe

Ingredients

  • 4 pre-baked sweet potatoes or yams
  • 1 1/2 lbs of grass-fed ground beef or ground turkey
  • 1/2 onion, chopped small
  • 1/2 green pepper, chopped small
  • 1/2 red pepper, chopped small
  • 1/4 cup of celery, chopped small
  • 1 clove of garlic, minced
  • 1 Tbsp of chili powder
  • 1 tsp of cumin
  • 2 Tbsp of coconut sugar or honey
  • (1) 14 oz can of diced tomatoes, with liquids
  • (1) 6 oz can of tomato paste

Instructions

  1. Saute the onions, garlic, celery together in a skillet until onions are tender
  2. Add and brown the ground beef in the same skillet
  3. Next add the spices, coconut sugar (or honey), and bell peppers to the skillet
  4. Pour in the can of diced tomatoes with liquids and the tomato paste
  5. Simmer all together on low for about 15 minutes
  6. Finish with salt and pepper to taste
  7. Cut sweet potatoes in half and scoop out a portion to form a little bowl and fill with sloppy joe mixture -or- slice up each sweet potato into wedges and pour sloppy joe mixture over
  8. Serve hot and enjoy!
https://www.paleonewbie.com/paleo-sweet-potato-sloppy-joes-recipe/

Join the Conversation

  1. Stephanie Ann says:

    This is one of my favorite recipes. It’s a huge hit with my husband! I just switch out the ground beef for ground turkey instead. Love it! :)

  2. Any chance you have made this without the honey or coconut sugar? Do I need to sub any Whole30 compliant option for it, or just leave it out all together?

    1. Yes Meghan, many people have told me they made it without coconut sugar and it was great! :) I only added it because Sloppy Joes tend to be a little on the sweeter side.

  3. this recipe is fantastic, makes eating paleo easier :) second time i made this recipe didn’t have honey or coconut sugar so i used maple syrup and still turned out amazing! thank you for sharing

    1. You are so welcome! :)

  4. I love this recipe and I was not a fan of sloppy joes. I ,ake this about once a week, so I had to blog about it. Ha! So, here is a link to my post and thank you! http://theunrefinedwife.com/2015/09/23/sloppy-joes-on-sweet-potato-no-sugar-added/

  5. My husband and I love this recipe. I adapted it a little to fit our no sugar added diet. I would like to use your link to this recipe in a future post of mine, if that’s ok. I will let you know when I do.

    1. I’m glad you liked the recipe Nicole! I’m always up for people adapting recipes to their needs/taste. :)

  6. I LOVED it! The sweet potato and the sloppy joe was a perfect combo, Thank you for sharing
    What I loved even more is the calorie count. I used only one pound 93% lean g.beef and MPF calculated the cals at 211 per serving. I used 1/2 cup serving and had 6 servings (sweet potato separate).

    1. Thrilled to hear that Angela…this is one of my personal favorites too…so easy and healthy!

  7. How many does this serve??

    1. 4-6 depending on how hungry you are. :)

  8. I absolutely can not wait to try this recipe! I’ve been trying to eat healthier and I came across this recipe on Pinterest. Looks amazing :)

    1. I hope you do. It has been a very popular recipe! :)

      1. Do you have nutritional info?

        1. No, not at this time.

  9. Thanks for this delicious recipe. Made this tonight and it was super simple and fast. My husband and 4 yo son are in heaven.

    1. Hi Mandy,I’m so glad your family enjoyed! I love getting the little ones on board! Well done mom! :)

  10. So I’m reading recipe and wondering what you do with the potato you scoop out when forming the bowls? Does it get mixed in?

    1. Hi Hanna, sometimes I scoop it out and put it in a baggie and save it for my sweet potato waffles or I throw it on a plate with breakfast! You can do whatever you want! :)

  11. I roasted my yams (not sweet potatoes) and put sloppy joe mix on top. Added aged Balderson Cheddar and OMG delicious

  12. I had to comment to say how wonderful this recipe is! I added mushrooms, because we LOVE mushrooms in this family and they were great in the recipe as well! Thank you for sharing this simple recipe!!! We came home from Christmas shopping and were very hungry! These came together quickly!

    1. It’s a favorite at our house too Casey! The mushrooms are a great idea! delish! Merry Christmas!

  13. This was so wonderful! The seasoning was perfect and I loved sweet potato versus a rice or cornbread. My only issue was when I went to simmer there was no real liquid left from the tomatoes so I had to add half a can of water. It worked out just fine and I can’t wait to have my leftovers for lunch!

    1. Hi Kelly! I made the filling thick so it would be like the sloppy joes I remember. But, adding the water is a great idea for those wanting it more “saucy”. Thanks for your comment! :)

  14. Holy amazing. This was an incredible dish. I served mine over or roasted diced sweet potato to cut down the cooking time. Thanks for the recipe.

    1. Thanks Michael! It’s on our menu a couple of times a month. So easy and tasty! Glad you like it too! :)

  15. I want to make this but I don’t have an oven at the moment. I have a electric stove top, a microwave, and a crock-pot. Would slow cooking them in the crock pot work? That seems like the best option. I found a guide to do it (I’m an 18 year old guy and have no idea what I’m doing). http://www.wikihow.com/Cook-Sweet-Potatoes#Slow_Cooked_Sweet_Potatoes_sub Anyway, do you think slow-cooked sweet potatoes would still work?

    1. Hi Ray, I think the crockpot is a great idea! Good for you making the effort to make up some healthy meals with a limited kitchen. You’re proof it can be done! :) let me know how it goes.

      1. Cooked it a few hours ago. I ended up chopping up the sweet potatoes and cooking them in a frying pan, then when I was done with everything else, I added the potatoes into the rest of it and stirred it together and had it in a bowl. Photo: http://i.imgur.com/5v3z4SL.jpg

        I noticed you also live in Phoenix, I’m from MN and flew in 4 days ago. I wanted to see if my sinuses would stop being so inflamed (mold allergies). So far they’re the same, but I’m still hoping. Where do you get grass fed beef by the way? Actually I don’t remember where I saw it say you were in Phoenix, so it might just be my messed up memory that thought I saw that.

        1. Ray, I do live in phoenix! You will find grass fed meats and free range chicken and turkey at Sprouts. Also lots of great meats at Whole foods, (more expensive) and Trader Joe’s. Thanks for the photo of the sweet potato sloppy joes, it looks like the recipe turned out great!
          I had severe allergies before starting paleo that have completely gone away, although they were not caused by mold. I hope you feel some relief soon! :)

    2. Ray I have been making “baked potatoes and baked sweet potatoes” in my crock pot for years. I leave the peel on, give them a scrub, pat dry, prick them a few times with a fork and wrap them in foil. Put them in the crockpot for for 5 hours on high and 8 on low. I do quite a few at a time and leave them wrapped in foil in the fridge so they are always handy.

      1. Great idea Denise!

  16. Made this tonight and my boys loved it!! They thought it was so cool to eat out of potato. Anything to get the littles to eat well :)

    1. Yay! Kids are my favorite critics! I’m so glad they enjoyed it and anytime you get kids to like healthy food, it’s a win! Great job mom! :)

  17. This is an outstanding recipe! I have made it twice and my family loves it, even my husband. I have been looking for so long for a sloppy joe recipe that doesn’t have Worcestershire sauce and sugar. We are not paleo, but have many food restrictions and paleo recipes fit nicely into our diet. This recipe is phenomenal and I thank you!

    1. Hi Kim! thank you so much for your comment I am always so glad when people take the time to tell me they like the recipe. It doesn’t matter if your paleo or not, it’s just great food. And if it makes your family happy, it makes me happy. :)

  18. LOVE this recipe!!! It’s a new favourite in our house. How long do you bake your sweet potatoes for and at what temp? I think I may have overbaked mine…the skin was very tough, however I really enjoyed eating the sloppy joes in the hollowed out potatoes. Great idea. Any thoughts re: the the skin being tough?

    1. Hi Julie, thanks for taking the time to tell us how you like the sweet potato sloppy joes! To answer your question, since sweet potatoes vary so much in size, I start at about 40-45 min. The one clue to look for is they will start to ooze a little liquid when they are baked through. I find some types of yams and sweet potatoes have a little tougher skin as well. Hope that helps! Hope you enjoy more of our recipes. :)

      1. at what temp??

        1. Sorry Julie! Bake the potatoes at 400 for about 40-50 mins depending on the size of the potato. They will release a little liquid when they are done and will be very tender. :)

  19. This was yummy…but of course I knew it would be :) Had it last night for dinner and today at lunch!

    1. Thank you Kristi! You rock. Thank you so much for trusting us with your meal planning. :)

  20. Have this simmering now!!! Can’t wait to try it!! Thanks so much for the great recipe. I’m new to the paleo thing so trying to find tasty meals the whole family will eat!!

    1. AnnMarie, hope your family likes it. It’s a staple in our house. :)

  21. Elaine Kilgore says:

    I just made this! Really delicious! Thanks for the recipe!

    1. Hey Elaine! We just had it last night! It’s one of my go to favorites! Glad you like it! :) thank you for your comment!

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