These Low Carb Sloppy Joes are just as good as you remember them being as kid, without all the unnecessary sugar. This version is sweet, spicy and smokey, and we think you will love the flavor! This easy to make ground beef dinner is a family favorite, reinvented to be keto friendly. Serve this awesome sloppy joe mixture with low carb burger buns, over salad, or really in any way you prefer.

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Here’s What You Need For These Low Carb Sloppy Joes:

Bell peppers
Jalapeño
Sweet onion
Fresh garlic
Tomato paste or ketchup
Pink Himalayan salt
Smoked paprika
Chili powder
Oregano
Onion powder
Garlic powder
Ground black pepper
Cayenne pepper
Ground beef, 85% lean
Brown sugar Swerve or brown sugar substitute
Apple cider vinegar
Dijon mustard
Worcestershire sauce
Sriracha chili sauce
Hickory liquid smoke
Serving vessel ideas: with Sola Company hamburger buns are the best.

sloppy joe mix with buns pickles and cheese

Recipe Notes:

This recipe was inspired by my mom's recipe, but we made it spicier!

Seasoning: Everything is sort of to taste in this recipe, and we love things a little spicy. Start with adding a small amount, or just omitting the optional ingredients if you like things less spicy. The optional spicy ingredients in this recipe are the jalapeño, cayenne pepper, and sriracha chili sauce. We like a lot of spice in our food, and we realize others may not be quite as enthusiastic about it as we are.

For the brown sugar substitute, start by adding ½ cup then giving it a taste, and add more to your preference. You of course could use regular sugar if you aren't low carb, just note that this will affect the nutrition information.

We added hickory liquid smoke to our sloppy joes for an unbeatable smokey flavor, but it is of course optional.

Peppers: For the bell peppers, use whatever you want. We used a mixture of red and green bell peppers because that's what we had on hand. Jalapeños are totally optional in this recipe, and we added them for spice.

Serve With: If you’re on a keto diet like we follow most of the time, we love to dip things like veggies, pork rinds, low carb crackers and spread on low carb bread for sandwiches. We imagine this would also make an amazing topping for a burger! We've linked some of our favorite ready made snacks in our Amazon store if you're looking for ideas!

Show Us Yours!: We also love when you guys try our recipes and share them with us! If you make this recipe, be sure to tag us on Instagram @afullliving so we can see it and share it!

Tools:

low carb sloppy joes on a plate with cheese in a bun with cheddar cheese

Need supplies for this recipe? We've linked our favorites above and right here in our Amazon Store! You don't pay anything extra if you shop using our link, but we get a small percentage of the sale. A Full Living is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associate program, an affiliate advertising program designed to promote a means for sites to earn advertising fees by linking products to amazon.com. We only share products we use and love. It doesn't cost you anything extra to shop using our links, but we earn a small commission that helps us keep this site going!

Let's Make These Low Carb Sloppy Joes:

Bring your ground beef out of the fridge while prepping your ingredients. Dice up your bell peppers, onions and jalapeños really well. Mince your garlic really fine. Heat up your dutch oven over medium heat, then add some of the butter.

Now, add in your peppers, onions and jalapeños with a pinch of salt, cooking until soft, about 3-5 minutes. After the vegetables have softened, add in your garlic, and your dry seasonings and toast for about 1 minute. You don't want the garlic to burn.

fresh garlic added to onions and bell peppers

adding seasonings to a dutch oven with onions and peppers

Now, add in your tomato paste, cooking until the color deepens, about 2-4 minutes. Add in the rest of your butter, then add your ground beef, with a big pinch of salt. Cook until the meat is browned.

adding tomato paste to a dutch oven with peppers

Add in your brown sugar substitute, along with your sriracha, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, apple cider vinegar, and liquid smoke seasoning. Combine, then allow to for the mixture to simmer for at least 20 minutes. It can simmer as long as you like for a well developed flavor. After the mixture has been simmering for 20 minutes, give it a taste and adjust the seasonings.

cooked ground beef with red bell peppers and a wooden spoon

Now, just eat and enjoy! Serve with low carb buns if you can find them, lettuce wraps, with cheese, any more!

sloppy joe mixture in a cast iron dutch oven

If you get a chance to try this recipe, let us know what you think, would ya?! Leave us a comment, or catch up with us on Facebook or Instagram, or pin to your favorite Pinterest board for later.

sloppy joe mixture in a white bowl with buns pickles and cheese

If you love this recipe, please consider sharing it with a friend and also leaving a rating and comment so others can find this recipe. Thank you for your support!

Until Next Time,
Briana & Chamere

Save This Recipe! 💌

Here’s What You Need For These Low Carb Sloppy Joes:

Recipe Notes:

Tools:

Let's Make These Low Carb Sloppy Joes:

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