Hearty, tangy and healthy Sloppy Joes made with ground beef, sweet potatoes and carrots. The recipe is ready in 30 minutes if you bake the sweet potato ahead of time.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees and bake the sweet potato for 40 to 50 minutes until soft. Allow to cool, remove the skin and mash.
In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the ground beef, carrots and onions, until the meat is browned the the vegetables are soft. If you're using turkey or chicken breast, you may need to add 1 Tablespoon of olive oil to the pan so the meat doesn't stick.
Add garlic, if using, and cook for 1 minute more, being careful not to burn it.
To make the sloppy Joe sauce, combine the mashed sweet potato, tomato sauce, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, mustard and hot mustard in a bowl. Stir or whisk to combine.
Pour over the meat mixture in the pan. Season with salt and pepper. Stir and lower the burner temperature to low.
Simmer for 15 minutes, until the sauce thickens.
Serve on hamburger buns.
Notes
Time-Saving Tip
I like to bake my sweet potatoes ahead of time when making this recipe. Just throw an extra one in the oven when you're cooking dinner. You can keep the mashed sweet potato in the fridge for a day or two, or freeze the mash to use later in Sloppy Joes.
Substitutions & Variations
You can substitute a can of condensed tomato soup for the canned tomato sauce in this recipe.The sweet potatoes add natural sweetness to the Sloppy Joes. If you want to sweeten things up more, add 1-2 Tablespoons of brown sugar to the mix.
Freezing Sloppy Joe Filling
Sloppy Joe filling freezes really well. Divide into single-serve portions. Or freeze a larger batch of leftovers in a freezer-safe zipper bag. I love using this gadget to hold my Ziploc bags when prepping freezer meals.