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Leftover Sloppy Joes Recipes to Drool Over

Leftover Sloppy Joes Recipes to Drool Over

We all hate throwing away leftover food, especially if it’s something as good as sloppy joes.

But sometimes, leftovers can be boring, and you just leave them until they go bad.

However, that doesn’t have to be the case with sloppy joes. The dish is fun to make, eat, and its leftovers can be tweaked!

Are you looking for ways to make use of your leftover sloppy joes and turn them into something even more delicious? 

I’ll give you some of the best recipes, tips, and tricks.

Recipes with Leftover Sloppy Joes

First, let’s start with the recipes that you can invest in to turn your sloppy joes into an ingredient, and not just tweak it.

1. Sloppy Joes Casserole

 

I love this one because it’s super delicious and also easy to prepare with common ingredients.

While you can use pretty much any type or shape, I’d recommend elbow pasta. 

It’s a good choice for casseroles because it sticks together and holds the sauce.

Cook the pasta with some salted water until it reaches the al dente level then drain it.

Cook some veggies on the skillet that you used to reheat the sloppy joes until they’re soft. 

You can use garlic, green pepper, and onions.

After that, put the sloppy joes back in the skillet and add the following:

Brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, dry mustard, tomato sauce, beef broth, ketchup, and Worcestershire sauce.

Simmer the sauce until it’s thick, which would take around five to ten minutes.

Add the pasta to the meat sauce and stir them together very well.

Then, add the pasta and meat to a baking dish and top them with cheese.

Bake the casserole and enjoy your meal!

Here are some handy notes:

  • You should use a 14-inch skillet to accommodate all the ingredients and sauces.
  • A 2.5-inch deep baking dish would give your casserole the most suitable space to come out “fluffy.”
  • You should add the sloppy joes ingredients to the casserole mix in moderation. You want to keep the sloppy joes taste without overloading it.
  • You can keep the casserole refrigerated for four to five days.

Looking for some variations to this? 

Here are a couple of ideas:

You can remove the pasta from the recipe and top the sloppy joes with tater tots instead.

Alternatively, remove the pasta and add biscuits.

2. Leftover Cornbread Sloppy Joes

 

This one is pretty similar to the casserole recipe, but there are a couple of changes.

In the skillet, you’ll add some chili powder, salt, and pepper to the mix. 

Then, you’ll mix it with brown sugar, ketchup, and Worcestershire sauce.

Over low heat, you’ll leave the mix to simmer for ten minutes, then transfer to a baking pan and top it with cheese.

Meanwhile, mix milk, eggs, and cornbread mix.

Spread this batter over the cheese and bake for 25 to 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Once the cornbread turns a golden shade, you know your dish is ready to be served. 

Note that:

Both the simmering and baking process don’t require that you cover either the skillet or the baking pan.

You can bulk this one up even further by adding some rice – such as your leftover spanish rice perhaps?

3. Sloppy Joes Quesadillas

All you need for this is your leftover sloppy joes, some cheese, and tortillas.

You can use flour, corn, rice, or gluten-free tortillas.

Over low-medium heat, place a pan that’s large enough to fit your tortillas. 

Then, throw in the first tortilla and add some shredded cheese on top of it.

Next, add your warmed sloppy joes mixture and top it with some more cheese and a second tortilla.

Let the quesadilla cook for a couple of minutes.

Remember:

You may want to opt for low heat to make sure the cheese is thoroughly melted before the tortilla browns too much.

Flip the quesadilla to the other side and repeat.

Then, serve it sliced into wedges. 

You can top it with pickles or dip it in sour cream for extra taste.

Tweaks on Leftover Sloppy Joes

Now, let’s check out leftover sloppy joes ideas that use tweaks instead of completely transforming it into a new dish.

4. Chili Hotdogs Leftover Sloppy Joes

 

After cooking your hotdogs to make chili dogs, ground the sausages before you add the sauce. 

Then, after you prepare your chili dogs as you normally would, slather some sloppy joes on them.

This gives you a Texas-style chili that’s so beefy that no one will dare have any beef with you.

5. Sloppy Joes Garlic Bread

 

Add some spice to your garlic bread by slathering some sloppy joes on top. 

This gives you the best snack you can have, and it’s like soaking up the leftover sauce in your pasta. 

6. Sloppy Joes Stuffed Bell Peppers

 

You can add a healthy tweak to the sloppy joes (as if sloppy joes aren’t as healthy as they come!).

Stuff the sloppy joes mixture into red and yellow bell peppers.

Then, stick the peppers in the oven to bake.

You can add a layer of cheese for some extra taste.

7. Sloppy Joes Shepherd’s Pie

 

Sloppy joes on its own?

Excellent. Shepherd’s pie on its own? Amazing. 

Combine both and you have a piece of heaven on your plate.

Simply add vegetables to your sloppy joes mix.

After that, set them in a casserole dish and stuff them in an oven preheated to 350 degrees.

8. Chili Sloppy Joe Fries

 

For this recipe you can: 

Make your own fries or buy some curly ones at the store. 

After baking them, add some of your leftover sloppy joes.

You can mix in some onions and cheese and dig in with a fork!

9. Cincinnati Style Sloppy Joes Spaghetti

 

By adding some chili to your sloppy joes, you’ll get a delicious and spicy topping for your pasta. 

Even if you don’t add chili, the sloppy joes would be a nice alternative to marinara sauce or plain chili.

10. Sloppy Joes-topped Nachos

Sloppy Joes topped Nachos recipe

Top your tortilla chips with sloppy joes, corn, onions, sour cream, black olives, cheese, and beans. 

I bet you’ve never had more delicious nachos!

11. Sloppy Joes-topped Baked Potatoes

 

After baking your potatoes, add some shredded cheese, chives, and your leftover sloppy joes. 

Not only will it be tasty, but it’s pretty much a full meal.

I’m not the one to talk about healthy food, but this meal is surely better than adding sloppy joes to curly french fries.

12. Mac ‘n’ Cheese with Leftover Sloppy Joes

If you thought mac ‘n’ cheese couldn’t get any better or sloppier, try adding some leftover sloppy joes.

There’s no comfort food better than this dish to fill your late-night cravings.

13. Sloppy Joes Tacos

Sloppy Joes Tacos recipe

This is the kind of dinner that you take more time eating than preparing. 

Simply whip up your leftover sloppy joes and add them to the taco shells. 

Add some shredded cheese and bake them.

You can even store the recipe in the freezer or fridge until you need to use it. 

All you’ll have to do then is simply stuff the taco shells before baking.

Just note the following:

Taco shells become soggy when microwaved and lose their crunch when refrigerated.

That’s why you should preheat an oven to 350°F (177°C) for ten minutes if you want to reheat sloppy joes tacos.

14. Cheesy Sloppy Joes Dip

 

Instead of adding the sloppy joes on top of the tortilla chips, you can add a lot of queso sauce to it and serve it as a side dip.

You can also mix it with sour cream, guac, or cheese.

Alternatively, you can serve them alongside all these dips with tortilla chips or regular ones.

15. Leftover Sloppy Joes Grilled Cheese Sandwich

 

The name speaks for itself. 

Adding some leftover sloppy joes to a grilled cheese sandwich enhances the experience of both dishes.

And just like the original sandwich, you can add some of the same sloppy joes side dishes to complete a truly yummy meal.

16. Sloppy Joes Omelet

Sloppy Joes Omelet recipe 

However you like your omelet, add some leftover sloppy joes to it to get an extra hearty meal.

This works well with any type, French, Frittata, or even Souffle. 

Though, the dish I got most compliments on was when I added it to an American-style omelet.

17. Crescent Sloppy Joes Rolls

 

Fill some crescent rolls with sloppy joes and shredded cheese. 

Roll the crescents up and bake them for an excellent comfort snack of hot pockets.

18. Add to Pizza

 

Instead of only using tomato sauce, use the leftover sloppy joes as a topping for your pizza. 

Add plenty of cheese and you’re good to go.

You can also add some ham, pork sausage, salami, and pepperoni.

You’ll have yourself a top-notch super supreme.

19. Replace Gravy

Replace Gravy recipe

Instead of adding gravy sauce to mashed potatoes, you can add leftover sloppy joes.

You get the same texture and spiciness, but with more tanginess. 

20. Leftover Sloppy Joes Goulash

 

You can use leftover sloppy joes to stuff goulash and add a stronger taste to the filling.

Just make sure that you minimize the oil content in the sloppy joes recipe as the goulash itself will have some more of that.

FAQs

How long are sloppy joes good for?

You can refrigerate sloppy joes for three or four days, or freeze them for two months or three at max.

When is national sloppy joes day?

March 18 marks national sloppy joes day.

What are other names for sloppy joes?

Sloppy joes are also known as slush burgers, barbecues, dynamites, sloppy janes, manwiches, and yum yums.

What are the main and essential ingredients for sloppy joes?

While the recipes for making sloppy joes change and have plenty of variations, there are three basic ingredients:

Minced meat, onions, and tomato sauce.

Any sort of meat can be used, the onions can be caramelized with some brown sugar, and the tomato sauce can be spicy with chili.

Hopefully, you now know what to do with leftover sloppy joes. 

It’s about time you go ahead and try one of those recipes and tweaks that are bound to take your sloppy joes experience up a notch or two.

leftover sloppy joes hdr

20 Easy Leftover Sloppy Joes Recipes

Ideas and recipes that use leftover sloppy joes

Ingredients

  • Sloppy Joes Casserole
  • Leftover Cornbread Sloppy Joes
  • Sloppy Joes Quesadillas
  • Chili Hotdogs with Sloppy Joe Meat
  • Sloppy Joes Garlic Bread
  • Sloppy Joes Stuffed Bell Peppers
  • Sloppy Joes Shepherd’s Pie
  • Chili Sloppy Joe Fries
  • Sloppy Joes Spaghetti
  • Sloppy Joes-topped Nachos
  • Sloppy Joes-topped Potatoes
  • Mac ‘n’ Cheese with Sloppy Joe Mix
  • Sloppy Joes Tacos
  • Cheesy Sloppy Joes Dip
  • Leftover Sloppy Joes Grilled Cheese Sandwich
  • Sloppy Joes Omelet
  • Crescent Sloppy Joes Rolls
  • Add to Pizza
  • Replace Gravy
  • Leftover Sloppy Joes Goulash

Instructions

  • Choose your desired leftover sloppy joes recipe.
  • Gather and organize needed ingredients.
  • Create a tasty leftover sloppy joes recipe and enjoy your meal!

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