Sweet & spicy turkey sloppy joes are the traditional sandwich we love with a fresh twist. I used ground turkey instead of hamburger along with hoisin sauce and Sriracha to give the filling a zesty Asian flare.
Over the years, I have become a fan of taking a beloved favorite food or recipe and giving it a different twist of flavor. I think the Asian flavors are really nice along with the classic sloppy joe ingredients.
Ingredients
Olive Oil: Lean ground turkey needs a little olive oil as it cooks, since it is very low in fat.
Ground Turkey: Lighter and lower in fat than ground beef. I love using ground turkey in recipes.
Mixed Vegetables: This is when you can dig through your refrigerator product drawer and use up those onions, peppers, and celery stalks. Any combination will work great. Adds some texture and crunch to the mixture.
Garlic: Adds so much flavor.
Sesame Oil: Adds great Asian flavor.
Ketchup: Ketchup is often found in traditional sloppy Joe recipes. Adds great tang and a little sweetness.
Hoisin Sauce: I freaking love hoisin sauce. It adds so much great rich flavor to any recipe.
Low Sodium Chicken Stock: Adds liquid to allow all these terrific flavors to cook down and become saucy.
Rice Vinegar: Acidity and tang you want in a rich, savory sauce.
Sriracha: The spicy flavor we love in so many recipes. Omit or decrease the amount if you don’t care for spice.
Green Onions: Nice sliced over the top for a little added color and crunch.
Buns: It is a sandwich, we have to have some bread. Use your favorite buns. You can also do open-faced on a slice of bread; which I often do.
Instructions
Take a large skillet heated with olive oil and break up your ground turkey. You will want chunks as opposed to completely pulverized to help the meat stay in the sandwiches. Add the veggies to the pan soon after the ground turkey.
While the turkey and veggies are cooking, mix up the sauce ingredients.
When the turkey is almost cooked through, add the garlic and saute for about a minute. Stir in the sauce.
At this point, you just have to stir occasionally until the sauce reduces. The sauce will be thickened, and the mixture is ready to be spooned into the awaiting buns.
This recipe makes enough for two very loaded buns or three nicely filled sandwiches. Husband gets two and I get one. Perfect!
Sweet & spicy turkey sloppy joes are wonderful with oven fries, coleslaw, or potato salad.
If you like a saucy, satisfying sandwich, you might also like this pulled chicken sandwich.
Sweet & Spicy Turkey Sloppy Joes
Ingredients
- 2 tsp olive oil
- ½ pound lean ground turkey
- ½ cup mixed vegetables; red pepper, onion, celery finely chopped
- 1 large clove garlic minced
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- ¼ cup ketchup
- ¼ cup hoisin sauce
- ¼ cup low sodium chicken stock
- 2 tsp rice vinegar
- 1 tsp sriracha
- 1 green onion, sliced
- hamburger buns for serving
Instructions
- Preheat a large skillet and add olive oil. Add ground turkey and the mixed vegetable. Break up the turkey into chunks. Sauté until the turkey is cooked and slightly browned; about 10 minutes.
- In the meantime, mix up the sauce. In a bowl or measuring cup, add sesame oil, ketchup, chicken stock, rice vinegar and sriracha and stir to thoroughly combine.
- Add garlic and sauté for one minute. Give the sauce another stir and add to the skillet. Stir together and allow to simmer until sauce reduces slightly, 5-7 minutes.
- Spoon the mixture onto buns and top with green onions.
One comment