Taco Sloppy Joes – How to make homemade taco sloppy joes with ground beef and all the fixings. Easy dinner recipe your family will love, especially the kids!
I've already shared how much I loved sloppy joes as a kid; and I've shared my love for tacos, especially ground beef tacos. So I thought it only appropriate to combine the two into a delicious new recipe, taco sloppy joes.
My kids weren't too sure about this combination at first. And then we had them for dinner, and their minds were forever changed; I got lots of compliments that night.
I think it's safe to say this recipe, much like Philly cheesesteak sloppy joes, will be a regular on our dinnertime menu. The nice thing is you can eat these on a toasted bun, or if you're trying to go more low carb, you can top off a bed of lettuce or spinach and make a taco salad instead.
You can even swap out buns for bell peppers and make the most delicious beef taco stuffed peppers.
While this sloppy joe makes a nice juicy burger, you can top it off with taco ingredients like lettuce, tomatoes, cheddar cheese, avocados, and green onions if desired.
It's a quick and easy sloppy joe recipe you can even make ahead of time, then pull out the meat and warm it up to go with all the fixings.
Who's ready for a dinner recipe your kids will love? I'm ready to make them again.
More family favorite sloppy joe recipes your kids will love… Grilled Cheese Sloppy Joes, Sloppy Joe Stuffed Peppers, and Pepperoni Pizza Sloppy Joes.
I JUST WANT THE RECIPE! TAKE ME TO THE TACO SLOPPY JOES RECIPE!
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 taco sloppy joes – just scroll down to the bottom, where you’ll find a printable recipe card.
WHAT ARE TACO SLOPPY JOES?
Just in case you've never had sloppy joes, they're a sort of loose meat sandwich made with loose ground beef 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.
Well, as can be expected, taco sloppy joes are a little bit different. They're still a loose meat sandwich, but instead of ketchup, you make them with pretty much the same ingredients you'd use to make taco meat.
Some people use salsa or picante sauce to season their taco meat. I like to use a mix of ingredients like onion, garlic, lemon juice, chili powder, and chopped tomato.
And while I use ground beef, you can also make a good sloppy joe sandwich with ground pork or ground turkey.
Then you serve the meat on a toasted bun (or on a bed of lettuce for a low carb option), along with all the fixings you'd use in tacos.
CAN I USE FROZEN GROUND BEEF? DO I NEED TO THAW IT?
You can use frozen hamburger meat to make homemade sloppy joes, but you may need to sauté your onion, garlic, and bell pepper in a different skillet so they can be added to the ground beef once it's thawed. We actually do this quite often because we forget to get the meat out, so don't fret if you've forgotten it too.
Since it’s a loose meat sandwich and you’re not making 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 basically steams the meat.
You can add the sautéed onion, garlic, and pepper once the meat has loosened up.
When it’s fully cooked, you can drain off any excess oil.
TIPS FOR HOW TO MAKE TACO SLOPPY JOES
This is a super easy sloppy joe recipe that's perfect for taco lovers.
I do recommend using bacon grease for the added flavor to the 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, onion, and bell pepper really well. I like mincing them up so they blend well with the meat and the sauce.
You’ll start by sautéing the garlic, onion, and bell pepper in a large skillet. Then add the meat and mix together with the vegetables, cooking the mixture well.
Be sure to drain off any excess oil when the meat has finished cooking.
Once you add the sloppy joe sauce ingredients, just let the whole mixture simmer for a good 10 minutes.
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 taco sloppy joe meat.
Add the meat to a toasted bun and top with your favorite taco ingredients, like lettuce, chopped tomatoes, shredded cheddar, mashed avocados, and maybe even green onions.
However you choose to enjoy your taco sloppy joes, they're sure to be delicious!
KITCHEN TOOLS YOU MAY NEED TO MAKE TACO SLOPPY JOES
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
TACO SLOPPY JOE RECIPE
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Taco Sloppy Joes
Ingredients
- 1 tablespooon bacon grease *
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1/2 medium yellow onion minced
- 1 large bell pepper chopped
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 large tomato chopped
- 3 cups lettuce shredded
- 2 large tomatoes chopped
- 1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese shredded
- 2 whole avocados mashed
- 5 green onions chopped
Instructions
- Heat the bacon grease in a large skillet until hot.
- Then add in the garlic and sauté for 1-2 minutes.
- Add the onion and bell pepper in with the garlic and sauté for another 2-3 minutes.
- Add the ground beef into the skillet, stirring the garlic, onions, and bell pepper 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 lemon juice, chili powder, salt, black pepper, and chopped tomato into the meat, stirring until combined.
- Let the taco sloppy joe mixture simmer for at least 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, prep the taco ingredients, including lettuce, tomatoes, cheddar cheese, avocados, green onions, and whatever else you like on your tacos.
- Serve on toasted buns or on a bed of lettuce or spinach.
