This recipe for Turkey Mushroom Sloppy Joes is so flavorful, no one will even think these are on the healthier side. Made with lots of mushrooms, which are naturally rich in umami, this is an economical recipe that stretches a pound of ground turkey to feed a family.
I used to make Sloppy Joes for my three older boys when they were young, but hadn’t made them in years. Somehow the topic of using mushrooms in Sloppy Joes came up in conversion with my sister a few months ago, and I’ve been thinking of trying a recipe I found on Cooking Light that uses mushrooms to stretch the filling out and make it lighter.
If you’ve never had a Sloppy Joe, it’s typically made with ground beef in a sweet and tangy tomato sauce, and served on a hamburger bun. I went a step further, and added carrots and red bell peppers to the Sloppy Joe filling in addition to lots of mushrooms. In fact, one pound of ground turkey with all these healthier additions made enough filling to make eight Sloppy Joe sandwiches!
I served my youngest son his very first Sloppy Joe the other night. He was curious what this sloppy dinner was going to be all about. Not only did he love it, but it was fun to be allowed to eat something so messy with his hands. As the filling oozed out the sides of the bun and tomato sauce got all over his face, I had to chuckle. It reminded me of when he was a baby and always had food smeared all over his face and hands.
This recipe uses just one pound of ground turkey and two boxes of mushrooms. I know that may sound like a lot of mushrooms (they shrink as they cook), but trust me on this – the mushrooms are chopped in the food processor until they resemble ground meat, so the texture melds right in with the Sloppy Joe mixture. Since the sauce is on the tangy side, I snuck in a few carrots and a red bell pepper (remember my Super Healthy Tomato Sauce recipe?). I also topped this sandwich off with some Greek Yogurt Coleslaw, so this dinner was packed with vegetables.
The Worcestershire sauce, fish sauce, tomato paste and mushrooms add lots of umami flavor. If you don’t have fish sauce, you can substitute soy sauce. These Sloppy Joes are so packed with flavor, no one will miss the beef.
Healthy Turkey Mushroom Sloppy Joes
Ingredients
Turkey Mushroom Sloppy Joe Mixture
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 10- ounce packages mushrooms trimmed, finely chopped (I used white and crimini mushrooms)
- 2 carrots finely chopped
- 1 red bell pepper finely chopped
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1 pound ground turkey
- 1 6- ounce can tomato paste unsalted
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon molasses
- 1 1/2 teaspoons fish sauce or soy sauce
- 3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon hot sauce
Greek Yogurt Coleslaw
- 1/4 cup non-fat plain Greek yogurt
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 1/2 teaspoon low-fat mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/4 teaspoon celery seeds
- 4 cups coleslaw mix
- 1/4 cup Vidalia onion or red onion finely chopped
- salt and pepper to taste
- 6 whole grain gluten-free hamburger buns
Instructions
Turkey Mushroom Sloppy Joe Mixture
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Heat oil in a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add mushrooms, carrots, red bell pepper, onion and garlic. Saute until vegetables are soft and liquid evaporates, about 4-5 minutes. Add ground turkey and break up using the back of a large spoon. Saute until meat is cooked through. Add tomato paste, oregano, red wine vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, molasses, fish sauce, black pepper and hot sauce. Stir well.
Greek Yogurt Coleslaw
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In a large bowl, mix together yogurt, mustard, mayonnaise, honey, vinegar, lemon juice and celery seeds. Add coleslaw mix and toss well.
To Serve
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Spoon Sloppy Joe mixture on bottom half of hamburger buns. Top with Greek Yogurt Coleslaw. Place top half of bun on top.
Recipe Notes
Adapted from Cooking Light.
My kids LOVE sloppy joes, and I love your mushroom loaded version with creamy coleslaw on top. Definitely will be making these soon!
looks like a must try
Oh wow that looks amazing! I need to cook this for my family! They would absolutely enjoy this!
Thanks Jen – my kids really enjoyed these!
I haven’t had sloppy joe’s in ages! Great idea, Jeanette!
Mmmm, love a good sloppy joe. Thanks for making them a little healthier!
These sloppy joes look delicious. Do you know how many calories are in them please?
Hi Paula, sorry I did not calculate the calories for this recipe.
Yummy! I love all things sloppy joe!
I’m with Carolyn haven’t had a sloppy joe in a long time, these look yummy!
This was so good I had to make them twice this week! I shared them with friends who were initially cautious about a “veggie approach” to a meaty dish. They loved them. Thank you for posting!
Hi Kevin, so glad you enjoyed this recipe. I was surprised by how good these turned out – the mushrooms really add lots of flavor and their texture is meaty enough to stand in for some of the ground meat.
This was awesome. Great recipe, thanks!
Mark – so glad you tried this recipe and enjoyed it! Appreciate your feedback!
was so pleased finding your site. was looking for making cole slaw with yogurt, but find so many recipes more to try. thanks, U are making my life healthier…
Denise, thank you so much for your kind note – I hope you find more recipes you like. Please let me know if you try any recipes and how they turn out for you.