Pizza Sloppy Joes – Easy recipe for pepperoni pizza sloppy joes! Delicious family dinner made with ground beef and all the cheesy, saucy goodness of homemade pizza.
We're full steam ahead with the next stop on our sloppy joe journey with these lovely li'l pizza joes. Made with ground beef, pepperoni, and mozzarella cheese, pizza sloppy joes are the best of both worlds.
Unlike our original homemade sloppy joes, this sloppy joe recipe has absolutely no ketchup in it. Instead we went with a homemade pizza sauce, made with crushed tomatoes and all the seasonings.
My boys have really been enjoying all of these delicious sloppy joe recipes. I'm pretty sure their favorite so far have been the taco sloppy joes, the Philly cheesesteak sloppy joes, and the grilled cheese sloppy joes.
Personally, I really enjoyed the sloppy joe stuffed peppers.
Just like our other juicy burger recipes, you can serve pizza joes on toasted buns or for a lower carb option, on a bed of lettuce or spinach. Either way, they make a really tasty family meal.
WHERE CAN I FIND THE RECIPE FOR PIZZA SLOPPY JOES?
If you’d rather skip all of my cooking tips, important cooking info for this recipe, and similar recipe ideas – and get straight to the delicious recipe for pepperoni pizza sloppy joes – just scroll down to the bottom, where you’ll find a printable recipe card.
WHAT IS A PIZZA SLOPPY JOE?
If you’ve never had sloppy joes, they’re a loose meat sandwich made with loose ground beef that's mixed with a tomato based sauce. The sauce usually has things like ketchup or tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, sometimes a little mustard, and other ingredients.
Pizza sloppy joes are a loose meat sandwich, but instead of ketchup, they're made with a homemade pizza sauce, pepperoni, and shredded mozzarella cheese.
DO I HAVE TO USE GROUND BEEF? CAN I USE OTHER MEATS?
Pizza joes would taste incredible with a little bit of Italian sausage or regular sausage mixed in with the ground beef. Or you can even use ground turkey instead of beef.
Think pizza when you're making these… What are your favorite meats when you go to order or make pizza?
DO I NEED TO THAW THE GROUND BEEF? WHAT IF IT'S FROZEN?
You can use frozen hamburger meat to make homemade sloppy joes, but you may need to sauté your garlic in a different skillet so it can be added to the ground beef once the meat has thawed. We're really bad about remembering to get meat out to thaw, so don’t fret if you’ve forgotten it too.
Since it’s a loose meat sandwich and you’re not having to shape hamburger patties, it’s a little bit easier to do; though I do recommend thawing if at all possible.
Just put the meat into a skillet with maybe 1/2 cup water, turn the heat on medium, and place a lid on the skillet. This will steam the meat.
You can add the sautéed garlic once the meat has loosened up. And when it’s fully cooked, just be sure to drain off any excess oil.
TIPS FOR HOW TO MAKE SLOPPY JOES WITH A PIZZA TWIST
This is a really easy sloppy joe recipe that's perfect for both pizza lovers and sloppy joe lovers.
I recommend using bacon grease for added flavor to your meat mixture (and for toasting the buns). But if you don’t have bacon grease, no worries; you can also use butter or olive oil.
Be sure to mince up the garlic really well. I prefer to mince it up so that it blends well with the meat and the sauce.
Sauté the garlic in bacon grease in a large skillet. Then add the meat and mix together with the garlic, cooking the mixture well.
Be sure to drain off any excess oil when the meat has finished cooking.
Add the sloppy joe sauce ingredients, including the crushed tomatoes, seasonings, and chopped pepperoni. Let the mixture simmer for a good 5-10 minutes.
Place the shredded mozzarella cheese on top of the cooked juicy burger mixture, and stir it in as it begins to melt.
Meanwhile, you can toast hamburger buns in another skillet or on a griddle in a little bit of bacon grease. Or you may choose a lower carb option and prep a plate of lettuce or spinach to go with your pizza sloppy joe meat.
Add the meat to the buns, lettuce, or spinach, and enjoy a flavorful dinner with your family. This is an especially kid-friendly meal that's sure to be on your menu again and again!
WANT MORE SIMILAR DINNERTIME GOODNESS?
My friend Kristy, from Mommy Hates Cooking, has a delicious recipe for Root Beer Sloppy Joes.
And my friend Lisa from Crazy Adventures in Parenting, has a yummy recipe for Pizza Stuffed Burgers.
KITCHEN TOOLS YOU'LL NEED TO MAKE THIS PIZZA SLOPPY JOE RECIPE
Skillet – We love using our cast iron skillets and griddle for pretty much everything both at home and while camping; they are very much a part of our camping cooking gear on every trip.
Hamburger Chopper – This handy dandy tool makes it easier to chop up the meat into a much looser mixture.
Ninja Food Chopper Express or Cutting Board and Chef’s Knife
PEPPERONI PIZZA SLOPPY JOE RECIPE
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Pepperoni Pizza Sloppy Joes
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon bacon grease *
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1/2 cup crushed tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup pepperoni chopped
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese shredded
Instructions
- Heat the bacon grease in a large skillet until hot.
- Then add in the garlic and sauté for 3-5 minutes
- Add the ground beef into the skillet, stirring the garlic into the meat. Cook on medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the meat is well cooked.
- Be sure to drain off any excess oil when the meat has finished cooking.
- Mix the crushed tomatoes, Italian seasoning, salt, black pepper, and pepperoni into the meat, stirring until combined.
- Let the pizza sloppy joe mixture simmer for a good 5-10 minutes.
- Finally, top the meat with the shredded mozzarella right in the skillet and let it begin to melt.** Then stir the melted cheese into the meat mixture.
- Serve on toasted buns or on a bed of lettuce or spinach.
