This easy recipe for slow cooker sloppy joes is so simple, but so full of the flavors we know and love! It’s perfect for meal prep, easy weeknight meals, family gatherings or football parties, and so much more. The best is that it’s Whole30, paleo, gluten-free, and made without sugar so everyone can enjoy! Cooking in the slow cooker makes it great for guests to serve themselves, or to bring to a potluck, and it’s a budget friendly ground beef recipe that will be a family favorite!
This post is in partnership with Primal Kitchen. They’re giving you 10% off any of their products using the code “PALEOBAILEY” at checkout! I’m happy to work with a company I love, use and believe in so much. Thanks for your support here on the blog and your support for Primal Kitchen!
Related: 50 Easy Whole30 Slow Cooker Recipes
Slow Cooker Sloppy Joe Ingredients
Making slow cooker sloppy joes Whole30 (and sugar-free!) is really quite simple! It only takes a few common Whole30 and gluten-free pantry staples. You’ll need a pound to a pound and a half of ground beef, one green bell pepper, one white (or yellow) onion, and minced garlic.
For the pantry staple type ingredients you will need tomato paste, beef broth, dijon mustard, salt, pepper, coconut aminos and Primal Kitchen Whole30 Approved Ketchup. This recipe is really simple, but of course still delivers on that familiar taste of sloppy joes we’re all used to!
It’s important to use a sugar free ketchup here to keep these slow cooker sloppy joes Whole30 compatible. The only ketchup we ever use anymore is Primal Kitchen’s. It has the same consistency and flavor as the conventional ketchup we’re used to (seriously!), but without the additives, sugar, artificial ingredients. You can find the condiments and dressings, including the ketchup from Primal Kitchen on their website! Make sure to use the discount they gave me for my readers, PALEOBAILEY, for 10% off!
Get a FREE no-dairy Garlic Alfredo Sauce, plus free shipping, with the purchase of a Whole Kitchen Sink Bundle! These are all of my most favorite Primal Kitchen products, including the ketchup, at a huge discount!
How to Cook Slow Cooker Sloppy Joes
The cooking process here is really quick and easy. You’ll first start by adding the ground beef, minced garlic, diced onion and diced green pepper into a skillet that’s been heated over medium-high heat. Use a spatula or wooden spoon to break apart the ground beef and begin crumbling and browning it. The vegetables will sauté a bit as they mix in with the ground beef.
While the ground beef is browning, add the remaining ingredients (broth, tomato paste, mustard, ketchup and coconut aminos) into your slow cooker. Give it a quick stir to combine the ketchup, mustard and tomato paste in with the liquid.
After about 6-8 minutes, the ground beef should be pretty well crumbled. Transfer the beef and vegetables to a strainer and drain the excess liquid. It’s okay if the beef is not fully browned. Pink in the ground beef is just fine, as it will cook in the slow cooker. You just wanted to crumble it and cook it enough to draw out the grease from the beef and water content from the vegetables so it can be drained.
Then, dump the drained beef and vegetables into the slow cooker. Mix it into the sauce really well, and then place the cover on your slow cooker. Cook the Whole30 sloppy joes on low for 3-4 hours, and then flip to keep warm. About a half hour prior to serving, you’ll want to tilt the slow cooker lid off the insert slightly so there’s a gap. This will allow the steam to be drawn out and keep the sloppy joes from getting watery.
Serving and Storing Instructions
The Whole30 slow cooker sloppy joes can be served a number of ways. They are great stuffed into a baked potato, over mashed potatoes or mashed cauliflower. The sloppy joe mix can be served over sweet potatoes or on sweet potato slider “buns”, with paleo buns, or on what we in our house call a “sloppy salad”, with greens and lots more veggies.
To store your sloppy joes, you will want to let the slow cooker cool completely. You can then store the entire thing or separate it out into individual portions in air-tight containers. What we do is store them for easy lunches with a baked potato on the bottom of a meal prep container and a portion of the sloppy joe mix over it. Then it can be microwaved all together.
Whole30 Sloppy Joe Substitutions
There are a few different types of things you can do to customize this recipe to your preference, or to use up what you have on hand already. If you want to use a leaner protein, you can absolutely substitute ground turkey in place of ground beef. Keep in mind that ground turkey is a bit more bland, so you will want to season with salt and pepper accordingly.
You can also swap a red pepper for the green pepper, and add in additional vegetables like carrot or baby spinach. If you add in carrots, if you dice them very finely, it’s a great way to sneak in extra veggies for kids!
Other Slow Cooker Recipes You’ll Love:
Whole30 Slow Cooker Beef & Broccoli
Slow Cooker Chicken & Chickpea Tikka Masala
Whole30 Slow Cooker Cashew Chicken
PrintSlow Cooker Sloppy Joes: Whole30, Paleo, Gluten-Free
This easy recipe for slow cooker sloppy joes is so simple, but so full of the flavors we know and love! It’s perfect for meal prep, easy weeknight meals, family gatherings or football parties, and so much more. The best is that it’s Whole30, paleo, gluten-free, and made without sugar so everyone can enjoy! Cooking in the slow cooker makes it great for guests to serve themselves, or to bring to a potluck, and it’s a budget friendly ground beef recipe that will be a family favorite!
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 3 hours
- Total Time: 3 hours 15 minutes
- Yield: Serves 4
- Category: Beef
- Method: Slow Cooker
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Gluten Free
Ingredients
- 1–1.5 pounds ground beef
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 green pepper, stem and seeds removed and finely diced
- 1 white onion, finely diced
- 1 cup Primal Kitchen Ketchup
- 1/2 cup beef broth
- 2 tablespoons coconut aminos
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- In a large skillet over medium-high heat, add the ground beef, minced garlic, diced green pepper and diced onion. Begin to crumble and brown the ground beef and sauté the vegetables
- While it’s browning, add the ketchup, beef broth, coconut aminos, tomato paste, dijon mustard, salt and pepper into a slow cooker. Mix to combine
- After about 6-8 minutes of the beef browning and vegetables sautéing, transfer it to a strainer and drain the liquid in the skillet. The beef does not need to be fully browned, and still having remaining pink is fine. You do not want to spend a lot of time cooking it on the stovetop, just enough to draw out enough of the grease and excess water from the vegetables so it can be discarded
- Transfer the beef and vegetables from the strainer into the slow cooker. Stir well to mix it with the sloppy joe sauce that’s already in the slow cooker
- Place the cover on the slow cooker and cook on low for 3-4 hours. In the last 45 to 30 minutes of cooking, slightly tilt the lid off of the slow cooker insert so there is a gap that allows the slow cooker to vent. The excess steam will be drawn out so it doesn’t get watery
- Serve over baked potatoes, mashed potatoes, spaghetti squash, sweet potato (or sweet potato sliders), a “sloppy salad”, or buns
Notes
- Easily double this recipe for feeding more people or freezing
- To make sloppy joes in the instant pot, follow these instructions
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Sam G says
Hi! Love this recipe! I was wondering – can this be made on the “high” setting on the crockpot? If so, how long would you cook it for?