Simple Sloppy Joe Meat

I really love me some saucy, sloppy meat. For a while when you start doing low-carb you think you'll never get to have recipes like chili, spaghetti, and sloppy Joes again. After all, these things are typically loaded with brown beans, kidney beans, onions, tomatoes, etc.  After a while of cooking for this way of eating the reality becomes clear. You can still have these things, and easily make them low carb! Unlike low-carb baked goods, you don't even have to break the bank buying super specialty items like almond and coconut flour. Plus low-carb dinners are often less complicated/ingredient heavy than their full-carb counterparts. Even if you can't replicate mom's cooking, you can still have some staple keto recipes.

Earlier I posted my cheesy sloppy Joe chicken (which I'll be making again... soon), so today I'm making a dedicated post just for the sloppy meat.

As mentioned, I use this simple low-carb mix with these egg buns, but I've recently used it with a modified version of this stromboli dough. I even considered making extra batches and freezing them for later, or putting some in the fridge for lunches. I'd like to try this recipe in my crustless quiche, as well as using it for meat pie. Who doesn't love meat pie?

this is a stromboli dough pocket stuffed with sloppy meat :)

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Ingredients

• 1 lb ground beef, lean or medium (I am using lean. It was on sale! Use medium if you want a higher fat content)
• 1/4 cup sugar free ketchup (I used this)
• 1/4 cup tomato sauce (I went with Classico Tomato & Basil, but you can use any kind you have, from pasta sauces to pizza sauces, or even just use tomato paste)
• 1 tbsp hot sauce (Frank's RedHot Buffalo Sauce is my choice)
• 1/2 tbsp garlic powder

The tiny Club House jar contains Frank's RedHot Buffalo sauce and
spices which I mixed and had leftover from chicken wing night!

*Note: "Nutritional Info" does not include optional ingredients. See "Optional Filler Ingredients" below.
Nutritional Info, per serving (6): 172 cals, 3g net carbs (3g carbs, 0g fiber), 12g fat, 16g protein
Nutritional Info, whole batch: 1029 cals, 13g net carbs (15g carbs, 2g fiber), 69g fat, 93g protein

Sloppy Joe Meat Ingredients	Calories	Net Carbs (g)	Carbs (g)	Fiber (g)	Fat (g)	Protein (g)
1lb lean ground beef	951	0	0	0	68	91
1/4c sugar-free ketchup	20	4	4	0	0	0
1/4c tomato sauce	25	4	5	1	1	1
1 tbsp hot sauce	5	0	0	0	0	0
1/2 tbsp garlic powder	28	5	6	1	0	1

Optional Filler Ingredients	Calories	Net Carbs (g)	Carbs (g)	Fiber (g)	Fat (g)	Protein (g)
1/2c white mushroom pieces	8	1	1	0	0	1
1/2c canned wax beans	15	2	3	1	0	1
1/2c chopped zucchini	10	1	2	1	0	1
1/2c chopped cauliflower	13	2	3	1	0	1

While this post is my "Simple Sloppy Joe Meat" recipe, you can include a filler or two to amp up the flavour and add variety to each bite! I've included four possibilities to get you started (above). For every 1/2 cup of filler you include, be sure to include 1tbsp each of ketchup and/or tomato sauce, rather than just adding more water (we don't want to dilute the flavour of the sauce!).

A word about ketchup: if you don't have or cannot find sugar-free ketchup, you can use regular ketchup. Regular ketchup definitely has more carbs, so make sure you keep track of how much you use. I prefer the sugar-free ketchup in this recipe because it has more of a tangy vinegary flavour that I associate with sloppy joe sauces from my childhood. Alternatively, you could omit the ketchup and just use more tomato sauce, or a low-carb BBQ sauce if you have it. Play with the flavour and see what you like best!

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Directions

Start out by putting your ground beef in a 3 quart sauce pan. Add 1/2 cup of water and cook on medium-low until most of the meat has browned.

Some meat is still pink. No problem, we'll be cooking it some more later

Using a collander, strain your beef. If you're adding any fillers, let the beef rest in the strainer while you cook them. Toss your choice of filler in the sauce pan and cook until soft. If you're using a hard veggie, such as cauliflower, you may want to steam or boil it first.

Once your filler is at the desired doneness, add back your meat and mix them together on low heat.

Add your sauces (1/4c sugar free ketchup, 1/4c tomato sauce, 1 tbsp hot sauce) and 1/2 tbsp of garlic powder to the pan. If you prefer spicy foods, don't be afraid to add as much hot sauce as you desire. 

Add back 1 tbsp of hot water at a time if you want a saucier texture. Be careful of adding too much, as we are using a small amount of sauce to begin with so it will be easy to dilute. If you find you have diluted the sauce, just add back a tbsp at a time of ketchup or tomato sauce.  

Once everything is mixed thoroughly and cooked (5-10 minutes), add your sloppy joe meat to whatever other food you're using. Eggs? Tasty! Low-carb wraps? Convenient! Keto buns? Filling! Stromboli? Delicious, obviously.  

I added the meat to some rolled out stromboli dough and made "hot pockets" out of them. Yum!

As always, please enjoy.
xo, Jennifer