Turkey Sloppy Joes

I’ve made this sloppy joe recipe several times for potlucks or special occasions at school.  After being asked for the recipe by many co-workers, I decided I finally needed to post it!  This is my favorite version of sloppy joes.  If you like a sweet sloppy joe that doesn’t have any refined sugar, this is a wonderful recipe to try!  The veggies, tomato paste and honey add natural sweetness, and the turkey itself has a sweeter taste than beef.   It’s also great if you’re trying to serve more veggies to your kids because the pepper, onion, and carrots soften and meld nicely with the sauce.  If you try it out, let me know what you think!

Turkey Sloppy Joes

adapted from Paleo Mama

1 T extra virgin olive oil

1 red pepper, diced

1 small red onion, diced

2 large handfuls baby carrots or 2 large carrots, diced

2 lb. lean ground turkey (I use Harvestland Farms brand, which is antibiotic and hormone free)

2- 15 oz. cans tomato sauce (I use canned Muir Glen organic tomato sauce- it has no added sugar; don’t get spaghetti sauce, just plain tomato sauce in a can)

6 oz. can tomato paste (I used canned Muir Glen organic tomato paste)

2 T honey

2 T red wine vinegar

2 T lemon juice

1 T ground mustard

1 tsp dried thyme

1 T chili powder

1 T garlic powder

Lots of freshly ground pepper

A few shakes allspice

A few shakes ground cloves

Heat olive oil over medium high heat in large stockpot.  After a few minutes, add diced pepper, onion, and carrots.  Cook 5-10 minutes, or until soft and fragrant.  Add ground turkey, season with salt and pepper, and cook until the turkey is browned all the way through.   As the turkey browns, mix together the rest of the ingredients (tomato sauce through cloves) to create the sauce.  Once the turkey is cooked through, add the sauce to the pot and simmer 10-15 minutes to allow the flavors to meld.  Enjoy!

For serving a crowd, I doubled this recipe, cooking half of the turkey and vegetable mixture in a separate skillet then adding it to pot before adding the sauce.  I cooked everything the night before, refrigerated it overnight, then heated the sloppy joe in a crockpot for 4 hours on high the next day.