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Meat, Americas

Sloppy joes with oven fries

Sloppy joes are burger buns filled with ground beef simmered in a sweet and tangy tomato sauce, served with oven fries. This very easy recipe takes 45 minutes for 4 people, at €3.10 per serving. The key is letting the sauce thicken well before filling the buns, so it holds instead of dripping out.

Tonight, we're getting messy with sloppy joes, those American buns overflowing with sauce, and a batch of oven fries.

Sloppy joes with oven fries
Total time
45 min
Difficulty
Very easy
Cost per person
€3.10
Calories per person
720 kcalcalculated by Kiloach, your weight coach
Season
Spring, Summer, Fall
The kids
They generally like it

A sloppy joe is a burger bun you eat with your hands while trying not to lose half of it on the table. The ground beef simmers with onion, bell pepper, and a tomato sauce sharpened with mustard and vinegar, landing somewhere between sweet and tangy. The oven fries bake while the sauce reduces, so you never have to watch two things at once.

This is the dinner you pull out on a weeknight when the kids want something they can eat with their hands, or on a relaxed Sunday evening with no fuss. Mon Chou built this recipe so the filling stays put in the bun instead of ending up in a puddle on the plate. Everyone serves themselves, nobody argues, and the tray of fries gets passed around the table.

The ingredients

4 people

Butcher

  • Ground beef 500 g

Fruits and vegetables

  • Onion 1
  • Green bell pepper 1
  • Garlic 2 cloves
  • Potatoes 800 g

Bakery

  • Burger buns 4

Pantry

  • Ketchupoften in the pantry 5 tbsp
  • Tomato pasteoften in the pantry 2 tbsp
  • Mustardoften in the pantry 1 tsp
  • Cider vinegaroften in the pantry 1 tbsp
  • Brown sugaroften in the pantry 1 tbsp
  • Paprikaoften in the pantry 1 tsp
  • Olive oiloften in the pantry 4 tbsp
  • Saltoften in the pantry 1 pinch
  • Pepperoften in the pantry 1 pinch

Allergens Gluten, Mustard

The step by step recipe

  1. Peel the potatoes, cut them into sticks, coat them with oil and paprika, then spread them on a baking sheet and bake at 220°C. 35 min

    Flip them halfway through and don't crowd the sheet, they need room to brown instead of steaming.

  2. Meanwhile, finely chop the onion, bell pepper, and garlic.

    The smaller the pieces, the better the filling holds together in the bun.

  3. Brown the ground beef in a large hot skillet with the vegetables, season with salt and pepper. 10 min

    Let the meat sit and sear a bit before stirring, that's what builds flavor.

  4. Add the ketchup, tomato paste, mustard, vinegar, and sugar, then simmer over low heat until the sauce thickens. 10 min

    Taste and adjust the sugar and vinegar, the sauce should sit between sweet and tangy.

  5. Toast the burger buns open, generously fill them with the meat, and serve with the fries.

    Wrapping a piece of parchment paper around the bun keeps most of it out of the kids' plates.

Our tips to get it right

  • Drain off a bit of the fat after browning the beef if it releases a lot of liquid, otherwise the sauce takes longer to thicken.
  • Make the sauce a bit ahead and let it reduce slowly, it only gets better reheated right before serving.
  • Pick slightly firm burger buns, soft ones turn soggy fast once the sauce goes in.

The variations

  • Swap the ground beef for ground turkey or pork, the sauce stays just as good with a milder flavor.
  • For a vegetarian version, replace the meat with cooked lentils or plant based ground, and keep the same sauce.
  • For a faster version with rushed kids, serve the filling in small pre sliced rolls and let everyone build their own.

What to serve it with

  • Crisp green salad with vinaigrette
  • Crunchy coleslaw
  • Cold homemade lemonade

Storage

The filling keeps 2 to 3 days in the fridge in a closed container, stored separately from the buns. It freezes well for up to 2 months, reheat gently in a skillet or in the microwave. The oven fries are best eaten the same day, they lose their crispness once stored.

Questions about this dish

Can you make the meat sauce ahead of time?

Yes, make the filling the day before and keep it in the fridge in a closed container. Reheat it gently in a skillet before filling the buns, it only tastes better the next day.

Can you swap the green bell pepper?

You can use a red or yellow bell pepper for a milder taste, or leave it out if your kids don't like the chunks. The sauce keeps its sweet and tangy balance even without pepper.

How do you keep the sauce from dripping out of the bun?

Let the sauce simmer until it's nicely thickened, without too much liquid left. Lightly mash the meat into the sauce at the end of cooking so it holds together better on a spoon.

Can you freeze the sloppy joe filling?

Yes, the meat in sauce freezes well for up to 2 months in an airtight container. Thaw it in the fridge, then reheat it in a skillet before filling fresh buns.

How long does it take to make sloppy joes with oven fries?

Count 45 min in total, prep and cooking included. The recipe is rated “very easy”.

How many calories are in sloppy joes with oven fries?

About 720 kcal per serving, for a recipe meant for 4 people. Calories are calculated by Kiloach, your weight coach, the app that partners with Mon Chou.

How much does sloppy joes with oven fries cost?

About €3.10 per serving, or €12.40 for 4 people, based on average supermarket prices.

What allergens does this recipe contain?

This recipe contains gluten, mustard. Always check the labels of the products you buy.

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