Tuck your napkins into your shirt and dig into the best pizza Joes recipe! This cheesy twist on traditional sloppy joes is a fun way to serve a favorite easy dinner!
Need more sandwich and slider ideas to serve on game day? Or are you looking for something quick and easy to feed hungry kids on busy weeknights? Check out these easy French dip sliders, this roasted portobello mushroom sandwich, and sloppy joe sliders.
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Slow Cooker Pizza Joes
This sloppy joes recipe is a fun twist on the traditional sloppy joes but we’re adding a bit of pizza pizzaz! And they’re still as sloppy as ever. We’re combining our family’s favorite sloppy joes with everyone’s favorite pizza toppings and serving it on a bun for a quick and easy meal the whole family will want to sink their teeth into!
It’s a beefy, saucy, cheesy filling sandwiched between buttery buns and topped with extra mozzarella, pepperoni, and green bell pepper. It’s simply the best!
All it takes is to brown the meat and toss it into the crockpot with the rest of the ingredients to cook low and slow. Then just before serving, you’ll add the mozzarella to melt and dinner is served.
You’ll love how customizable it is too. Just like pizza, you can pick and choose what toppings you add to the meat mixture. Make it lighter by using ground turkey or add some spice with red pepper flakes. You can also set out some extra toppings for people to pick and choose how to dress theirs up. Whatever you do, make sure to make lots of filling. Serve some, freeze some, and then put the rest in the fridge for leftovers throughout the week!
Ingredients/shopping list
Below is a list of the ingredients you’ll need to gather to make this recipe. Scroll down to the full recipe card with amounts
- Two kinds of meat – I use extra lean ground beef, 90% or higher combined with Italian sausage. I love this combination of flavorful meat without a ton of the excess grease.
- Veggies and aromatics – Diced onion, green pepper, and minced garlic cook down and become tender and caramelized and super flavorful.
- Spaghetti sauce – Use your favorite spaghetti sauce or tomato sauce, whether homemade or picked up from the grocery store.
- Pepperoni – The same kind you’d find on a pepperoni pizza! If you want to use mini pepperoni, that would be fun too.
- Buns – Toasting them are what holds all of that yummy beef mixture in these sloppy joe pizza burgers. Brioche buns, slider buns, or regular hamburger buns will do.
- Mozzarella cheese – Traditionally found on pizza, slices of mozzarella cheese melted on top drive home the fact that this is not your average sloppy joe! You can also use shredded mozzarella if you’d like.
Variations/ Substitutions
This is such an easy recipe to customize to your liking!
1. Use ground turkey or ground chicken in place of the ground beef.
2. You can also use turkey sausage instead of Italian sausage.
3. For some heat, not only can you add red pepper flakes to the filling, but you can choose to use hot Italian sausage if you want.
4. Turkey pepperoni also makes a great substitute for regular pepperoni.
5. Toss in more of your favorite pizza toppings like mushrooms and black olives.
6. For a little extra Italian-inspired flavor, sprinkle some Italian seasoning and Parmesan cheese in there.
How to Make this Sloppy Joes Recipe
This easy recipe is basically a dump-and-set recipe that will have your house smelling all kinds of wonderful!
Here’s how it’s done:
Step 1: Brown the sausage and beef in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Drain the grease and add the cooked meat to the bottom of the slow cooker.
Step 2: Add the onion, pepper, garlic, spaghetti sauce, and pepperoni. Mix to combine everything.
Step 3: Cover with the lid and cook on low for 4-6 hours. Just before serving, layer 4 slices of mozzarella cheese overtop the meat mixture. Put the lid back on and allow it to melt into the mixture.
Step 4: To serve, place a slice of mozzarella cheese on the bottom bun. Spoon the meat on top and add another slice of cheese and extra pepperoni if you’d like. Enjoy!
Tips
- Toasting the buns is optional, but so good! You can toast them in the oven, a toaster oven, or use a grill.
- Serve with a side salad, some veggies, potato chips, or a pickle spear.
- Turn these into easy entertaining make-ahead apps by storing the beef in the fridge overnight and putting together some sliders just before your get-together!
Storing Leftovers
Refrigerate: Keep leftovers stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. This is a great idea for quick lunches and when you need an easy dinner idea you can heat up and get dinner on the table quickly.
Freeze: To freeze the filling, allow it to cool completely and transfer it to a freezer-safe container or freezer bag for up to 3 months.
FAQ’s
This recipe doesn’t contain any brown sugar or ketchup for that added sweetness, so it’s a bit more savory than your average Joe 😉
As with any sloppy joes recipe, the filling is quite saucy. This is partly why we add a layer of mozzarella on the bottom bun so that it creates a barrier. If your bun is super fresh and soft, it’ll absorb the sauce rather quickly, so I recommend toasting it first.
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Pizza Sloppy Joes Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef 90% or leaner
- 1 pound Italian sausage
- 1 small onion diced
- 1 green bell pepper diced
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 24 ounces spaghetti sauce 1 jar
- 6 ounces pepperoni diced
- 8 buns
- 12 slices mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- In a medium skillet, add the ground beef and sausage and brown over medium-high heat1 pound ground beef, 1 pound Italian sausage
- Then drain and add the meat mixture to the bottom to the slow cooker.
- Add the diced onion, bell pepper, garlic, spaghetti sauce and pepperoni and stir to mix thoroughly.1 small onion, 1 green bell pepper, 2 garlic cloves, 24 ounces spaghetti sauce, 6 ounces pepperoni
- Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours.
- Just before serving, add 4 slices of mozzarella cheese, place the top back on until it melts and stir it into the mixture.12 slices mozzarella cheese
- When serving in the bun, place another slice of mozzarella on the bottom of each bun and spoon the sloppy joe mixture on top.8 buns
- Then, add another slice of mozzarella and more pepperoni if you’d like.
Notes
Nutrition
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