Sloppy Joe Tacos
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Traditional Sloppy Joes are given a spicy Mexican twist in this quick and easy recipe for Sloppy Joe Tacos, made in just 29 minutes! Ground meat is combined with taco seasoning, hot sauce and tomatoes to create a delicious sloppy joe mixture for these tasty tacos.
I’m totally a sucker for a fun new Taco Tuesday recipe, and today I’ve got a really good one for you. I combined two of my favorite childhood meals, tacos and sloppy joes, into one deliciously sloppy recipe!
Whether you have kids at home, or you’re a kid at heart (me!) you’re going to love this recipe. They’re sloppy, fun, delicious and made in only 29 minutes. You can’t beat that for an easy weeknight meal!
After whipping these up last week, they made two delicious dinners for me and and my husband Kurt. The first night we ate them in soft flour tortillas, the second night we ate them in crispy shells (per Kurt’s request!) I loved them both ways, but preferred them in the soft tortillas, and of course, he preferred the crispy. Either way, you can’t go wrong!
Table of contents
Ingredients
- Olive oil – or another vegetable oil of your choice, like canola or avocado oil.
- Red onion
- Red and green bell pepper – you can use a combination of both, like I did, or go with all green, or all red.
- Ground turkey – or ground beef, either one works great in this recipe!
- Taco seasoning – click the link for my easy, homemade seasoning mix. It only takes 5 minutes to mix up and is so flavorful! You can also use store bought taco seasoning mix, found on the spice aisle at the grocery store.
- Hot sauce – we love Pico Pica at our house, but feel free to use your favorite hot sauce!
- Tomato paste
- Diced tomatoes with green chilies
- Chicken broth
- Tortillas – feel free to use flour or corn tortillas, or even crispy taco shells.
Step by step instructions
Cook the meat and veggies. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and bell peppers, cook for 4-5 minutes. Mix in the ground turkey and cook through.
Add the flavor. Drain any grease from the skillet, then return to the stove and add the taco seasoning, hot sauce, tomato paste, diced tomatoes with green chilies and chicken broth. Combine well, reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes.
Build the tacos. Spoon the sloppy joe mix into warm tortillas, then top with the optional ingredients of your choice like shredded cheese, lettuce and tomatoes.
Topping ideas
- Cheese – top the tacos with shedded cheddar, pepper jack or Monterey jack cheese to melt over the sloppy joe meat. Or mix it up and use a crumbly cheese, like queso fresco or cotija cheese.
- Hot sauce – spice up the tacos even more by drizzling extra hot sauce right on top!
- Veggies – shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, diced onions or sliced jalapenos are all delicious on top of these tacos.
- Sour cream – a dollop of sour cream adds a cool creaminess on top of the tacos.
- Salsa – make my restaurant-style homemade salsa in just 10 minutes and spoon it over these tacos.
- Guacamole – a scoop of guac or diced avocado adds a delicious creaminess to the tacos!
Diet variations
- Gluten-free: the meat mixture is naturally gluten free when using my homemade taco seasoning recipe. If using a store-bought seasoning mix, check the ingredients to make sure it’s gluten free. Serve the sloppy joe taco meat in corn tortillas.
- Dairy-free: the meat mixture is naturally dairy-free. Do not top the tacos with cheese or sour cream, to make the recipe dairy free.
Storage options
- To store: any leftover sloppy joe meat can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
- To reheat: you can reheat the sloppy joe meat on the stove or in the microwave. If reheating it in the microwave, place the meat in a microwave-safe container, cover with a paper towel and microwave for 2-3 minutes. To reheat on the stove, place the meat in a saucepan on the stove over medium heat. Let simmer for 8-10 minutes, or until heated through.
- To freeze: you can freeze the sloppy joe mixture for up to 3 months. Make sure the meat mixture has cooled completely, then transfer it to a freezer-safe container, like a plastic zipper bag, glass or plastic container. Make sure to leave 1 inch of space for the mixture to expand in the freezer.
- To defrost: move the sloppy joe meat from the freezer to the refrigerator 24 hours before reheating the mixture, to allow it to defrost. If you forget, you can also use the defrost button on your microwave to quickly defrost the meat mixture. Once defrosted, follow the reheating instructions above.
What to serve with them
Pair these tasty tacos with any of the following Mexican side dishes.
- Mexican Rice
- Deconstructed Mexican Street Corn
- Grilled Romaine Chopped Salad
- Green Chili Chorizo Queso Dip
More taco recipes
If you’re looking for more Taco Tuesday inspiration, be sure to check out these popular taco recipes!
- Carne Asada Tacos
- Slow Cooker Shredded Beef Tacos
- Grilled Mahi Mahi Fish Tacos
- Pulled Pork Tacos
- Beef Barbacoa Tacos
Sloppy Joe Tacos
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup red onion, diced
- ½ cup red bell pepper, diced
- ½ cup green bell pepper, diced
- 1 pound ground turkey, or ground beef
- 2 tablespoons taco seasoning, click link for recipe
- 2 tablespoons hot sauce
- 6 ounce can tomato paste
- 10 ounce can diced tomatoes with green chilies
- ½ cup chicken broth
- 8 small tortillas, flour or corn
Optional Toppings
- shredded lettuce
- shredded cheese
- diced tomatoes
- sour cream
- salsa, or hot sauce
- guacamole, or diced avocado
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
- Add the onion and bell peppers, saute 4-5 minutes
- Add the ground turkey and cook through.
- Drain any grease from the skillet, then return to the stove and add the taco seasoning, hot sauce, tomato paste, diced tomatoes with green chilies and chicken broth.
- Combine well, reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Spoon the sloppy joe mix into tortillas, then top with the optional ingredients of your choice like shredded cheese, lettuce and tomatoes.
Notes
- To store: any leftover sloppy joe meat can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
- To reheat: you can reheat the sloppy joe meat on the stove or in the microwave. If reheating it in the microwave, place the meat in a microwave-safe container, cover with a paper towel and microwave for 2-3 minutes. To reheat on the stove, place the meat in a saucepan on the stove over medium heat. Let simmer for 8-10 minutes, or until heated through.
- To freeze: you can freeze the sloppy joe mixture for up to 3 months. Make sure the meat mixture has cooled completely, then transfer it to a freezer-safe container, like a plastic zipper bag, glass or plastic container. Make sure to leave 1 inch of space for the mixture to expand in the freezer.
- To defrost: move the sloppy joe meat from the freezer to the refrigerator 24 hours before reheating the mixture, to allow it to defrost. If you forget, you can also use the defrost button on your microwave to quickly defrost the meat mixture. Once defrosted, follow the reheating instructions above.
Nutrition Facts
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