Keto Sloppy Joe (3g Net Carbs)

This Keto Sloppy Joe is an easy low-carb dinner perfect to fill your favorite keto burger buns for only 3 grams of net carbs per serving.

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I love making keto versions of classic dinners and lunches, like my Keto Orange Chicken, Keto Chicken Curry, or Keto Mac and Cheese. Sloppy Joes are a popular American dinner recipe that my kids love. But, unfortunately, all sloppy joes filling recipes contain added sugar from ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, and brown sugar.

Here’s a way to make Keto Sloppy Joe using wholesome ingredients and packed with flavors.

Ingredients and Substitutions

First, if you need some keto hamburger buns, you can use my bun recipe or buy some from the store. For this recipe, I used store-bought low-carb keto buns made from lupin flour, and they are very light and fluffy, similar to regular bread, but only 2 grams net carb per buns.

The Sloppy Joes mix is the most important part of cutting down sugar in this recipe. You will love that it takes only 20 minutes to prepare for a quick low-carb dinner.

• Ground Beef – You can also use other ground meat if you like pork, turkey, or chicken more, go for it.
• Sugar-Free Ketchup – I am using a keto-friendly ketchup, like my homemade ketchup that is naturally sweetened with vegetables and no added sugar.
• Yellow Mustard – Sloppy Joe is better with mild American mustard, but you can also use Dijon mustard.
• Onion – Any onion works, like yellow, red, or even shallots.
• Avocado Oil or olive oil
• Onion Powder and Garlic Powder – for flavor.
• Water to thin out the sauce.
• Brown Sugar-Free Crystal Sweetener like brown erythritol. This is optional, especially if your sugar-free ketchup is already sweet, you can leave it out.
• Tomato Paste – This is lower in sugar than ketchup.
• Apple Cider Vinegar or white vinegar
• Salt and Pepper to taste

How To Make Keto Sloppy Joes

1. In a non-stick skillet, warm avocado oil over medium heat, then add diced onion. Stir and cook for about 1 minute or until translucent and fragrant.
2. Stir in ground beef, break the meat into pieces using a wooden spoon (photo 1), and cook and stir until all the meat is no longer pink (photo 2).
3. Then, to make the sloppy joe sauce, add sugar-free ketchup, yellow mustard, tomato paste, spices, and water (photo 3).
4. Stir to coat the cooked meat, and simmer for about 5 minutes or until the sauce is shiny and thick, and coat the meat evenly (photo 4). If too thick, add a splash of more water to thin out.
5. Taste and adjust with salt and pepper or a pinch of chili powder if you like it spicy.

Serving

To serve this keto sloppy joes filling, add about 1/2 cup of filling into keto burger buns and any low-carb vegetables you love inside or on the side. You can also serve this keto sloppy joe in lettuce wraps to avoid the buns, and add any of your favorite grated cheese on top like cheddar or Emmental.

The best vegetables to add to your low-carb sloppy joe recipe are:

• Coleslaw
• Shredded red cabbage
• Slices of gherkins
• Slices of English cucumber
• Bell peppers

The best low-carb side dishes to sloppy joe are roasted vegetables or keto protein chips. We love roasted rutabagas, keto fries, or mashed cauliflower. These low-carb side dishes are simple to make and add a good bunch of veggies and fiber to your meal.

Storage Instructions

This low-carb Sloppy Joe is perfect to meal prep a week of low-carb dinner. You can double or triple the recipe and store the sloppy joes mixture in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. You can also freeze the filling in freezer bags for up to one month. Thaw in the fridge the day before. Rewarm the filling in a microwave-safe bowl or in a non-stick saucepan.

Allergy Swaps

Below are some options to substitute ingredients in the sloppy joes mixture if you need them.

• Gluten-Free – Make sure you use gluten-free keto burger buns. The remaining ingredients in this low-carb sloppy joes filling are gluten-free.
• Beef – You can also use ground turkey, ground chicken, or ground pork.
• Sweetener-Free – Skip the monk fruit sweetener and make sure you use a no-sweetener-added, naturally-sweetened ketchup.

Frequently Asked Questions

Below are my answers to your most common questions about sloppy joes.

More Easy Keto Recipes

If you like simple keto lunches, try the following recipes: