Name: Crockpot Sloppy Joe Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 240 min
Total time: 255 min
Ingredients: 1 Tbsp olive oil; 1 lb ground beef (I used 93% lean); 1 Tbsp coconut sugar (or brown sugar); ¼ tsp sea salt; 1 small onion (diced); 1 bell pepper (diced); 3 cloves garlic (minced); 14.5 oz tomato sauce; 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce; 1 Tbsp dijon mustard; 1 Tbsp ketchup; ½ cup beef broth (low sodium); ½ tsp chili powder; ¼ tsp black pepper; 3 sweet potatoes (halved lengthwise); Avocado oil spray (or any cooking spray or oil); 1 tsp sea salt; ½ tsp black pepper

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These crockpot sloppy joe stuffed sweet potatoes taste like the sloppy joes you grew up on, without the hamburger bun. Ground beef simmers low and slow with tomato sauce, Worcestershire, dijon and a little coconut sugar until it’s thick and tangy-sweet. Then it gets piled into caramelized roasted sweet potato halves. Prep takes 15 minutes and the crockpot does the rest. It’s dairy-free, easy to keep gluten-free, and feeds eight. The leftovers make a great lunch the next day too!

A baked sweet potato topped with a savory ground meat and tomato sauce on a patterned plate. — Screenshot

Not-So-Sloppy Joes

My least favorite thing about sloppy joes has always been the mess. A hamburger bun was never the right vehicle for a pile of saucy, tomatoey beef. I went along with it for years, but it’s my turn to shake up the sloppy joe world. Enter sweet potatoes!

A woman with long red hair, wearing a brown sweater and jeans, smiles while standing in a modern kitchen beside a counter with fresh lettuce and hibachi steak bowls. Marble backsplash and gold kitchen accents are visible in the background.

A roasted sweet potato holds all that sauce without falling apart. You eat it with a fork and knife, it’s a lot more filling than a bun, and the caramelized edges are a major bonus. The leftovers are just as good, too. My husband happily took them for lunch the next day.

A person sits cross-legged in a meditation pose with their hands resting on their knees, peacefully imagining delicious hibachi steak bowls. The simple black outline contrasts against a white background.

If you’re team stuffed sweet potato, my buffalo chicken stuffed sweet potatoes are the chicken-and-ranch version of this one. For more Crock-tober dinners, try my shortcut crockpot birria tacos or crockpot honey garlic chicken and rice.

Ingredients & Notes

Ground beef - I use 93% lean. You can use a fattier ground beef just make sure to drain the excess fat.
Coconut sugar - brown sugar works as well.
Tomato sauce, ketchup, dijon, Worcestershire - together these make the classic sauce. The tomato sauce is the base and the rest builds the tang.
Beef broth - you only need ½ cup. More than that and you’re making chili.
Onion, bell pepper, garlic - they go in raw and soften in the crockpot.
Sweet potatoes - halved lengthwise and roasted cut side down so the flat side caramelizes.

How to Make Crockpot Sloppy Joe Stuffed Sweet Potato

Ground meat browning in a metal skillet on a stovetop. — **Step 1** : Brown the beef until caramelized.

A slow cooker filled with a mixture of ground meat, diced white onions, and red bell peppers in a tomato-based sauce. — **Step 2** : Add the sloppy joe ingredients to the crockpot and cook low and slow.

A roasted sweet potato served on a patterned white plate. — **Step 3** : Bake the sweet potatoes.

A hand holds a plate as a ladle pours savory meat and vegetable sauce over a baked sweet potato. — **Step 4** : Top each sweet potato half with sloppy joe mixture.

Tips

Keep the broth at ½ cup. My first test had more liquid and it was more of a chili. Cutting the broth is what makes it thick enough to pile on a potato.
Want it even thicker? Take the lid off for the last 20 minutes of cooking.
Let the beef sit for 30 seconds before you break it up, so it browns instead of steaming.
Roast the potatoes cut side down until that side starts to caramelize. Time them so they come out right when the beef is ready.
Dig a small well in each potato half with a fork before you spoon on the meat, so it holds more.

How to Store Leftovers

Store the sloppy joe mixture in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Store the sweet potato halves separately in an airtight container too. To reheat, place the sweet potato half on a plate and make a well with a fork. Spoon the sloppy joe mixture on top and heat in the microwave in 30 second intervals until warm.

Check out these recipes for more easy dinners

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