Name: Ground Turkey Sloppy Joe Sliders
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 55 min
Ingredients: 1 tablespoon olive oil; 1 pound ground turkey; 1 yellow onion (diced); 1 green bell pepper (diced); 2 garlic cloves (minced); 1/2 teaspoon salt; 1/2 teaspoon black pepper; 1 tablespoon mustard ((Dijon or yellow)); 1/2 cup ketchup; 3 tablespoons tomato paste; 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar; 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce; 1 tablespoon brown sugar; 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika; 1/2 cup water; slider rolls; 3/4 cup shredded mozzarella; 1 tablespoon melted butter; 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

These Sloppy Joe Sliders are made with ground turkey simmered in a homemade sloppy joe sauce with ketchup, mustard, and Worcestershire sauce. They're topped with mozzarella and baked until golden. Done in under 1 hour, this family favorite is perfect for hosting!

A slider being lifted out of a dish with melty cheese.

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Ingredients
Instructions
Sarah's Top Tips
Serving Suggestions
Storage & Reheating
More Sandwich Recipes
Recipe
Comments

Skip the Manwich or White Castle and make your sloppy joe mixture from scratch tonight. These sloppy joe sliders can easily feed 8 or be doubled or tripled to feed even more people. It's an easy weeknight dinner the whole family will love or perfect for game day parties.

Serve these sloppy joe sliders on game day or at potlucks with a few crowd-pleasing appetizers like Warm Crab and Spinach Dip and Buffalo Chicken Dip to round out the spread.

Ingredients

Ground turkey. Classic sloppy joes are made with ground beef, but I opted for ground turkey for a lighter, leaner protein (some people call these sloppy Janes!).
Mustard. I prefer to use Dijon mustard for a sharper, tangier sauce, but yellow mustard works well, too.
Ketchup & tomato paste. Tomato is a key ingredient in making the classic sloppy joe sauce. Some people prefer to make their sloppy joes with either ketchup or tomato paste, but I find a combination brings the best sweetness and depth of flavor. If you're craving something BBQ-style instead, try my slow cooker BBQ pork sliders, same cozy flavors, just a different protein.

See the recipe card below for the full list of ingredients and quantities.

Instructions

Step 1: Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the turkey and brown for about 5 minutes. Add in the onions and green pepper and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic, salt and black pepper.

Step 2: Whisk the mustard, ketchup, tomato paste, apple cider vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, smoked paprika, and water together in a bowl or large measuring cup.

Step 3: Pour the sauce into the turkey mixture, stir and simmer for about 10 minutes.

Step 4: In a large baking dish or on a sheet pan, place the bottom buns of the slider rolls. Top each roll with some of the turkey mixture, followed by a layer of cheese.

Step 5: Brush the tops of the buns with melted butter and Italian seasoning.

Step 6: Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the rolls are golden. Allow the sliders to cool for a few minutes, then serve and enjoy them while warm!

Sarah's Top Tips

Shred your own mozzarella cheese. Store-bought mozzarella cheese shreds are coated with an anti-caking agent to prevent the shreds from sticking together on grocery store shelves. Although perfectly safe to eat and use, mozzarella shredded at home will melt faster.
Adjust the sauce to your taste by adding more or less sugar and even some spice.
Try sweet Hawaiian rolls! A great twist for those who love sweet sloppy joe sliders.
If you find your slider buns are browning too quickly, feel free to tent the baking dish to prevent over-browning.

Sloppy joe sliders in a white baking dish.

Serving Suggestions

Serve these on game day or at potlucks as an easy appetizer or as a main dish alongside BBQ chicken sliders. They're also great as a main dish with crispy air fryer potato wedges or a fresh rotini pasta salad to balance out the savory filling.

Storage & Reheating

Allow the sliders to cool completely before storing for a few days in the fridge.
Reheat in the oven for a few minutes.
If you are hosting guests and would like to prep ahead, you can make the ground turkey mix ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator up to 48 hours in advance. When ready to bake, warm the turkey in a skillet again and resume the recipe as usual. Making the full recipe in advance is not an ideal option - the bottom layer of buns is very likely to get soggy.