Pizza Sloppy Joes

If you’ve been following our RV camping adventures over on 2 Nerds in a Truck, you’ll already know that I’ve been on a wild binge of designing sloppy joe sandwiches for the last year or so.

Sure, I’ve done some classic sloppy joes (Traditional Sloppy Joes)... but then I branched out a little with things like Cajun Chicken Sloppy Joes, Indian Sloppy Joes, Mexican Sloppy Joes, and Sloppy Giuseppes.

Of course, I couldn’t leave it at that, so started getting a bit weird with it. I’m guessing that my Big Mac Sloppy Joes, Buffalo Chicken Sloppy Joes, Cuban Sloppy Joes, Korean Beef Sloppy Joes, Philly Cheesesteak Sloppy Joes, Puttanesca Sloppy Joes, and Thankgiving Sloppy Joes might stretch the definition of Sloppy Joes a bit TOO far... but hey, they’re really tasty!

As for these Pizza Sloppy Joes recipe, I’m going to say that it only stretches the definition slightly .

This homemade Sloppy Joes recipe still has onions, peppers, ground meat, and tomato sauce involved, it’s just a matter of everything else being added to that traditional homemade sloppy joe sauce making it something different!

It may just be the best sloppy joe recipe for when you’re not sure what you want for supper, and are having trouble deciding between burgers and pizza - it’s almost a halfway point between the two.

Also - while this recipe makes for less than 30-minute meals as-is, you can do some food prep to make for even quicker meals in the future!

Either way, these saucy sandwiches are sure to become a family favorite - even picky eaters tend to give them rave reviews.

Anyway, let’s look at what you’ll need to have on hand, so you can throw on a batch of these tasty Sloppy Joes for dinner tonight!

Ingredients

This delicious Sloppy Joe recipe may look complicated, but it’s mostly just that I use a fair amount of seasonings in it. They’re all basic ingredients, though - you shouldn’t have any trouble finding what you need in pretty much any grocery store.

As always, I have a few ingredient notes for you:

Lean Ground Beef

So I do tend to default to lean ground beef for this recipe, but have also been making it with ground turkey or ground chicken.

I season the meat up to taste like Italian Sausage, and find that ground poultry ends up tasting more like sausage, than beef does.

Either way, do try to use lean meat. If you’re not using lean meat, just be sure to drain off the excess fat before adding the veggies.

Pepperoni

I like to use regular pepperoni, but turkey pepperoni works just as well.

Either way, you’ll want to chop or slice your pepperoni into smaller pieces. Personally, I like to do thin strips - but chopped will disperse the pepperoni flavour more.

Green Bell Pepper

We tend to use green bell pepper, as it’s what we tend to be used to for “deluxe” style pizza - the flavour this recipe is modelled after.

If you’re not as much a fan of green pepper, you can substitute red bell pepper.

Spices

I do use a bit of a laundry list of spices in this recipe. I like to not only add seasoning to the tomato meat sauce, but to make the ground meat taste more like Italian Sausage.

Sure, I could just use Italian Sausage... but this seems healthier and tastier!

Anyway, the herbs and spices I use are: Dried Parsley, Fennel Seeds, Garlic Powder, Ground Black Pepper, Italian Seasoning, Onion Powder, Red Pepper Flakes, and Salt.

Everything Else

Rounding out this recipe, you will need:

Medium Onion (Yellow or White)
Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
Sliced Black Olives
Hamburger Buns
Tomato Sauce
Garlic Butter
Brown Sugar
Olive Oil

Make Ahead Tips

I’m a big fan of meal prepping multiple batches of sloppy joe recipes at once, and keeping the spares in the freezer. This is extra helpful when we’re planning camping trips, and don’t have a lot of room to prepare ingredients!

Either way, here’s what I prep ahead of time:

1. Mix the Brown Sugar, Dried Parsley, Garlic Powder, Italian Seasoning, Fennel Seeds, Onion Powder, and Red Pepper Flakes together. Place it in a Ziploc baggie and press the excess air out before sealing.

2. Chop the Bell Pepper and Onion, vacuum seal it, label it, and freeze. You can actually store the spice mix right in the same bag, just be sure it’s sealed really well, or liquid can leak into the spices.

Either way, the veggies can be thawed before using, or just tossed in frozen.

3. Before camping trips, I’ll mix up small batches of Garlic Butter, basically as a Compound Butter. I wrap it in plastic wrap, then vacuum seal it, if it’ll be a while before using it.

*****

Then, when I want to make a batch of pizza sloppy joes, I just need the Olive Oil, Lean Ground Beef, Chopped Pepperoni, Tomato Sauce, Black Olives, Hamburger Buns, and Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

Ingredients

The full recipe is in the printable recipe card at the end of this post, here is a visual walk through:

Before getting started cooking, prepare all of your ingredients and have them close by - this recipe works up quickly!

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat, add the ground meat and a tablespoon of olive oil.

Cook - breaking up the meat as it cooks - just until it’s about halfway cooked. Add the pepperoni pieces, stir well to combine and cook for another minute or so.

Add the chopped bell pepper and onion, continue cooking until the vegetables are tender, another 2-3 minutes.

Add the remaining ingredients to the pan, stir well to combine.

Turn the heat down to medium low heat, allow to simmer for a few minutes, or until thickened to the texture you like.

Season meat mixture with salt and pepper, to taste.

Split your hamburger buns, spread both sides with garlic butter. Broil for a couple of minutes, until the reach desired level of toastiness.

Divide sloppy Joe filling between your toasted buns, and top with mozzarella cheese.

Serve hot, with plenty of napkins and your favourite Sloppy Joe sides: classic coleslaw, dill pickles, french fries, potato chips, potato salad, a side salad, or sweet potato fries!

Leftovers

Leftover Pizza Sloppy Joes mix can be cooled to room temperature, then stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.

Reheat before serving.

More Pizza - and Pizza Inspired! - Recipes

Love pizza in every form? Here are some more tasty pizza recipes to try!

Breakfast Pizza
Buffalo Chicken Pizza
Campfire Calzones
Campfire Pizza
Crab Rangoon Pizza
Deluxe Pizza Strata
Frozen Dessert Pizza
Gluten-Free Bacon Poutine Pizza
Gluten Free Detroit Style Pizza
Gluten-Free Pizza Bites
Gluten Free Pizza Crust Mix
Gluten-Free Stuffed Crust Pizza
Hawaiian Pizza Skewers
Ham & Swiss Breakfast Pizza
Homemade Bagel Bites
Jalapeno Popper Pizza
Keto Pierogi Pizza
Keto Smoked Salmon Pizza
Pie Iron Pizzas
Pierogi Pizza
Pizza Stuffed Peppers
Portabello Mushroom Pizzas
Smoked Salmon Pizza
St Patrick's Day Pizza