Weight Watchers Recipe of the Day: 3-Ingredient Sloppy Joes
As anyone who has been following me here knows, I'm a slow cooker fanatic. But every once in a while when the mood strikes I pull out my skillet, which is exactly what I did last night to make these super simple 3-Ingredient Sloppy Joes.
Weight Watchers Friendly 3-Ingredient Sloppy Joes
Classic kid food, I sometimes get an unexplained craving for Sloppy Joes, usually around this time of year.
Making regular appearances on the school cafeteria menu, for some reason I associate them with cooler weather and Halloween. I think Mom must have served them once before we headed out trick-or-treating and the connection in my brain stuck.
I don't know about you, but when I want sloppy joes, I'm not interested in an ingredient list as long as my arm. We're talking sloppy joes for goodness sake. But I don't make them often enough to keep a canned sauce, such as Manwich, in my pantry either.
Barbecue Sauce
The solution? This Campbell's recipe for Picante Sloppy Joes calling for two things I always have in my pantry - salsa or picante sauce (affiliate link) and barbecue sauce (affiliate link) - is a brilliant solution.
These super simple sloppy joe's have just 3-ingredients and can be whipped up in 30 minutes or less, perfect when you need to get dinner on the table with minimum effort.
How Many Calories and WW Points in Skinny Sloppy Joes?
According to my calculations, each Sloppy Joe Sandwich has about 282 calories and
8 *SmartPoints (Green plan)
7 *SmartPoints (Blue plan)
7 *SmartPoints (Purple plan)
7 *PointsPlus (Old plan)
To see your WW PersonalPoints for this recipe and track it in the WW app or site, Click here!
Super Simple Sloppy Joes Recipe Notes
To keep your Sloppy Joes as light and Weight Watchers friendly as possible, be sure to use extra lean ground beef.
Here are a few more ideas to lower the Points value even further:
- Replace the regular hamburger bun with a sandwich thin and save 1 to 2 Points.
- Skip half the bun and eat an open-face sloppy joe. (-2 Points)
- Skip the bun and eat your sloppy joe from a bowl on a bed of salad greens or cauliflower rice and save 4 points.
- Bulk up the mixture by using ½ chopped mushrooms and ½ ground beef.
- Bulk up with additional veggies: shredded cabbage, shredded carrots, onion, bell pepper, etc.
Better than canned sauce, and much easier and more flavorful than those I've made from scratch, this super simple 3-Ingredient Sloppy Joes Recipe is a keeper.
Rod, Mom and I all liked it.
For best results, use your favorite picante and barbecue sauces.
What to do with Leftover Sloppy Joe Meat?
- Your sloppy joe mixture will last several days in the fridge or you could always pop it in the freezer the next time a craving strikes.
- I used the leftovers to make a yummy Sloppy Joe Quesadilla for lunch using a little shredded low fat cheese and a high fiber low carb tortilla (affiliate link).
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Ingredients & Kitchen Tools I Used To Make These Low Fat Sloppy Joe's:
- Extra Lean Ground Beef (Substitute ground turkey if you prefer)
- Picante sauce (affiliate link)
- Barbecue sauce (affiliate link)
- Green onions
- Light hamburger buns
- Large Skillet (affiliate link)
- Chef's Knife (affiliate link)
If you like this simple Sloppy Joe's recipe, be sure to check out some of my other easy, healthy Weight Watchers friendly recipes including Slow Cooker Italian Sloppy Joes, Easy Enchilada Casserole, 4-Ingredient Slow Cooker Porcupine Meatballs, Skinny Pepperoni Pizza Chili and Slow Cooker Cabbage Roll Casserole
If you've made these low fat Ground Beef Sloppy Joe's, please give the recipe a star rating below and leave a comment letting me know how you liked it. And stay in touch on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for the latest updates.
Simple 3-Ingredient Sloppy Joe's Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound extra lean (95%) ground beef
- ¾ cup Picante Sauce (affiliate link)
- ½ cup barbecue sauce (affiliate link)
- 2 green onions, sliced (about ¼ cup, optional)
- 5 light hamburger buns, split and lightly toasted
Instructions
- In a large skillet (affiliate link) set over medium high heat, cook the beef, stirring and breaking up the meat, until it is browned, 5 to 10 minutes.
- Add the picante sauce (affiliate link), barbecue sauce (affiliate link) and green onions (if using) into the skillet. Stir to combine.
- Cook, stirring often, until the mixture is hot and bubbling.
- Divide the beef mixture evenly among the five buns.
Recipe Notes
- Replace the regular hamburger bun with a sandwich thin and save 1 to 2 Points.
- Skip half the bun and eat an open-face sloppy joe. (-2 Points)
- Skip the bun and eat your sloppy joe from a bowl on a bed of salad greens or cauliflower rice and save 4 points.
- Bulk up the mixture by using ½ chopped mushrooms and ½ ground beef.
- Bulk up with additional veggies: shredded cabbage, shredded carrots, onion, bell pepper, etc.
Recipe source: adapted from Campbell's Picante Sloppy Joes
*Points® calculated by WW. *PointsPlus® and SmartPoints® calculated by Simple Nourished Living; Not endorsed by Weight Watchers International, Inc. All recipe ingredients except optional items included in determining nutritional estimates. SmartPoints® values calculated WITHOUT each plan's ZeroPoint Foods (Green plan, Blue plan, Purple plan) using the WW Recipe Builder.
Watch how this Weight Watcher makes her own version of Sloppy Joe's:
More Weight Watchers 30-Minute Meal Ideas:
- Easy Lightened Up Skillet Lasagna (Simple-Nourished-Living)
- Skinny Southwest Goulash (Simple-Nourished-Living)
- Mom's Easy Alfredo Ravioli Casserole (Simple-Nourished-Living)
- Skillet Cheesy Chicken & Veggie "Rice" (SkinnyTaste)
- Pesto Turkey Tortellini Soup (Cookin'Canuck)
- Parmesan-Crusted Chicken (HungryGirl)
Martha is the founder and main content writer for Simple-Nourished-Living.
A longtime lifetime WW at goal, she is committed to balancing her love of food and desire to stay slim while savoring life and helping others do the same.
She is the author of the Smart Start 28-Day Weight Loss Challenge.
A huge fan of the slow cooker and confessed cookbook addict, when she's not experimenting in the kitchen, you're likely to find Martha on her yoga mat.
This post contains affiliate links to products I like. When you buy something through one of my Amazon links or other (affiliate links), I receive a small commission that helps support this site. Thank you for your purchase!
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Ree
Dang! I made mine up last night. Recipe from skinny taste and, yes, a long ingredient list. I wish I had waited. These sound so much better & a heck of a lot easier.
Martha McKinnon
Sorry about that, Ree! This recipe was so easy and good, a winning combination in my book 🙂
Laura Wright
Tried this tonight- excellent and easy! My kids loved it too!
Martha McKinnon
Hi Laura, I'm so happy to hear that! Thanks for taking the time to let me know. I really appreciate it 🙂
Patty GUIDO
Hi LAURA, what did you mean by cauliflower rice ? Or did you mean cauliflower and rice ? Please answer back as soon as possible I was going to make this tonight. Thank you
Martha McKinnon
Hi Patty,
Cauliflower rice is made by chopping up cauliflower in a blender or food processor until it's really small like rice. It makes a great substitute for rice for 0 Points!! I'm working on writing a post all about it here but haven't gotten it finished yet. You can learn more about it here: http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-cauliflower-rice-couscous-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-203344 Hope this helps!!
Stacy
What is the serving size for this? 1 cup, 1.5 cups?
Patty. Guido
Sorry LAURA,I meant to say the persons name that made the recipe. Martha.
Melissa
I made it today and doubled the recipe. I also used sweet baby rays which is our favorite. We really enjoyed it. Thanks for the recipe.
Martha McKinnon
Hi Melissa,
Glad you liked it!!
Janine Roberts
I absolutely am in total love with all of your recipes! You've made losing weight and eating deliciously so very easy! My family loves your recipes too.
I am making these Sloppy Joe's next week. I know you stated that it serves 5 and you divide it equally between the 5 buns but I am obsessed with measuring everything out! How many ounces per serving do you think a serving is..or is it a cup, 3/4 cup, 1/2 cup? I want to make it as accurate as I can.
Thanking you in advance! 🙂
Martha McKinnon
Hi Janine, Thanks so much for your kind comments about my recipes! It really means the world to me. I'm so happy to hear that they are working for you and your family. Unfortunately, I'm not sure exactly what the per serving measurement is. After doing this weight loss thing for so long, I've discovered that the only way for me to stay sane is to relax and guesstimate quite a bit. I'm totally guessing the amount would be between 1/2 and 3/4 cup. If you do measure it out precisely I'd love for you to let us know! Thanks so much. Warmly, Martha
Janine Roberts
Thanks Martha! I understand completely. I need to get to a point where I am comfortable guesstimating. 🙂 I will start out with it being 1/2 cup but when I figure it out, I will let you know. Once again, I truly love your website. You make eating healthy easy. I love that you make eating right so delicious and so filling. Your recipes have been a life changer for me and have really helped me stay on track. I make at least 1-2 of your recipes a week! 🙂 Have a wonderful evening!
Cindy
Thank you for making your recipes printable.
Kristine
Good recipe! Even my mom liked it!!
michelle
How are you getting 5 points per serving? When I added it into the recipe builder I am getting 7 pts per serving. I am using ground turkey 93% lean. Could that be the difference?
Martha McKinnon
Hi Michelle, I didn't get 5 points per serving. The recipe notes say I got 8 SP per serving using 95% lean ground beef. Hope this helps.
Laurie Determan
Love your recipes and so glad I found this one. Simple to make and so good. I decided to use 98% fat free ground turkey breast in place of the ground beef and it was delicious. Really good on top of cauliflower rice, thanks for that suggestion. Thank you so very much for sharing all of your wonderful recipes and for taking the time to add the nutritional information too.
Tina
My mom use to make sloppy Joe's with 3 ingredients but it was1 lb ground beef, can of tomatoe soup and 1Tbsp of mustard. Its delicious
Sharon Hudson
I have one better hamburger , onion, green peppers, and ketchup this is what we did when we were growing up . And it is great!
Martha McKinnon
Sounds delicious!
Jenny Stelzner
I used your recipe last night, and we loved it! I only used 1/4 cup of the barbecue sauce rather than 1/2 cup (cuz thats all I had LOL). Still delicious, and I don't think I really needed that extra amount at all. I love that I can use ingredients on hand to make this recipe, yet it is so easy.
Linda N Victorine
Help!! I paid for the ebooks but had to close before I downloaded them. Now I can't figure out how to get back to that area. If I can't get there, please refund my charge (Visa ending in 3358) and I will start over. Thank you,
Karen Harmon
Loved this recipe, easy and got hubby fed and out of the kitchen.
He scarfed it down
Ethel M
Love your recipes!
I served 1/2 cup pp in Romaine cops and served over yellow rice. Quite yummy and looked pretty too.
Debbie
This has quickly (and easily) become a once a week meal for my family. Best Sloppies ever!!!?
Debbie
Sorry! That question mark is NOT supposed to be there...whoops!
Amy
My family enjoyed this quick, simple meal!
Tiger
why can't anyone tell us how much is a serving?