These Whole30 Sloppy Joes is a Whole30 take on the classic sloppy joes and is always a hit in our house! Simple, comes together in less than 30 minutes, and is a kid-favorite!
They are kept Whole30 by using date paste to sweeten them. What is date paste? It’s just dates softened by soaking and then blended with water. And yes, I have checked with the CEO of Whole30, Melissa Urban, and it’s compatible to use in sauces ; ).
Ways to Serve It
If you are just looking for a gluten-free option, you can serve these Whole30 Sloppy Joes on gluten-free buns. On Whole30? Use a potato slider, or any roasted/baked potatoes of choice, or even just a lettuce cup. I love butter lettuce for flexible lettuce cup wraps!
Another favorite way we love these sloppy joes is using my Paleo Waffles for the buns. They are so easy and affordable, with better ingredients than most GF buns. Plus, the grooves are perfect for holding in the sloppy joes!
Other Fast Weeknight Meals
Need more 30-minute dinner options? Here are some of our favorites! They are all Whole30, but we love them both on or off a Whole30.
Ingredients
Here are the ingredients to these Whole30 Sloppy Joes. You can find them at most grocery stores. They are simple and keep this recipe budget-friendly!
- Ground beef – Feel free to let good enough be good enough and use regular, non-grass fed if that is most accessible to you. You can also use ground turkey or chicken if that works better for you!
- Ketchup – If you are on a Whole30, be sure to use compatible ketchup. My favorite brand is Primal Kitchen. Otherwise, whatever ketchup works for you will do!
- Dried Minced Onion – The cheapest place for spices is Winco bulk bins or Walmart. Dried spices are a great way to keep things budget-friendly.
- Lemon juice – You can use freshly-squeeze or bottled from the juice aisle.
- Date paste – See the recipe below or the details above on what Date Paste is.
- Coconut Aminos – What are coconut aminos? It’s a great Whole30 substitute for soy sauce and can be found in the soy sauce aisle. Trader Joe’s has the cheapest if you have one close to you, or I get this one from Walmart.
- Vinegar – White distilled basic vinegar.
- Mustard – Traditional yellow mustard, like French’s.
Whole30 Sloppy Joes
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 cup ketchup unsweetened if on Whole30; omit dates if using a sweetened ketchup
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 tablespoon dried minced onion
- 1/4 teaspoon lemon juice
- 8 large dates turned into date paste - see recipe below; can use 1-2 tablespoons coconut sugar or brown sugar, if not on Whole30
- 1/2 tablespoon coconut aminos
- 1 teaspoon vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon yellow mustard
- 4 buns gluten-free buns OPTIONAL AND *NOT* Whole30! A gluten-free dinner option
Instructions
- MAKE DATE PASTE (for Whole30, if using): Combine 8 dates and 1/2 c hot water in a blender or food processor and let sit for 1 minute. I usually press them down into the water a bit to ensure they are all soaking. Blend/process for 30 seconds, or until smooth.You will only need 1 tablespoon date paste for this recipe. Store any remaining date paste in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
- Brown beef in large saucepan. While beef is browning, mix ketchup, water, minced onion, lemon juice, 1 tablespoon date paste, coconut aminos, vinegar, and yellow mustard in a medium bowl. Add to beef once it’s browned.
- Simmer uncovered for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until sauce thickens.
- Great served on potato sliders or in lettuce cups. If not on Whole30, serve on gluten-free buns.
Notes
- Sliders - Don’t overthink this one. Take a few potatoes (sweet potato, white, whatever!) and slice into 1/4 inch discs. Toss with enough oil to get on each one. Lay flat on a baking sheet covered with parchment. Sprinkle with salt. Bake at 425, flipping halfway until light brown on each side (40ish minutes depending on the type of potatoes). Can also airfry at 375 for about 15 minutes.
Nutrition
This is a hit, Autumn! As others have said, I used to do another sloppy joe recipe many times before I saw you post this one the other day on instagram. I will be physically removing the other recipe from my recipe book and replacing with yours! I used sweetened ketchup (just shy of 3/4 cup), dry mustard (a little under 1/4 tsp) and granulated onion (1 tsp since it’s stronger than minced onion).
Physically swapping out your old recipe?! That’s the biggest honor — I’m so flattered! Thank you for sharing your tweaks too, so helpful for anyone cooking with what’s in their pantry. Thank you so much for the review! 💛
This is my FAVORITE sloppy joe recipe! So good, the date paste makes it amazing.
That makes me so happy to hear! I love that you enjoyed the date paste – such a great natural sweetener. Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review, it truly means a lot! 💛
Is there anything we can replace the date paste with?? I wanted to make this but dont have dates
Hello! Yes, it says next to the dates that you can use “can use 1-2 tablespoons coconut sugar if not on Whole30”. Or you can use brown sugar if you’d rather. Hope you love it!
This is the only sloppy joe I will make! Love it!
Question: do you think I could Make this in a crock-Pot if I cooked the ground beef separately and then mixed the sauce and put it all in the Crock-Pot on low?
That’s awesome to hear! I’m so glad this sloppy joe recipe is your go-to. Thanks for making it and sharing the love!
As far as your question – I do think that would work! I haven’t tried it, so I can’t verify the consistency or length of cooking time, but I would guess 6-7 hours on low and that it would turn out. Let me know if you try it!
Quick, easy, and delicious and the best part it’s made with pantry staples. Loved them served over a sweet potato and on an English muffin. Will have this in the rotation often.
Thrilled to hear this was an easy hit and one you want to make again! This is one my boys have loved on rotation for years. Thank you for the review!
These taste exactly like the ones I had growing up. I love knowing the are much healthier, and still eat the food I loved/missed
Right?! I am here for the (what was for me) 80s throw back in a whole food remake. Yay! I’m delighted to hear it was a hit. Thanks so much for your feedback!
This was so good! Sloppy joes is a usual on our rotation, but I liked this recipe so much more than our old one! Winner at our house!
YAY! I’m so glad this one is a new favorite. Thanks for taking the time to let me know it was a winner in your home!
My fav recipe of yours to date!! My family loves it. It’s so easy but has such good flavor! My husband didn’t like sloppy joe until I tried this recipe.
Oooo, a favorite?! I’m HERE for it. Glad it even won over the hubby. Thank you for the review!
This is so delicious and such a hit in my household! Even my picky 7 year old loves it!
YAY that this one was an easy family dinner hit. Picky eater wins are my favorite kind! Thank you for the review!
This sloppy joe recipe was really good. My husband has a sensitive stomach that acts up with canned sloppy joe mix. For him, I omitted the onion in this recipe and no only did he love the taste, but it didn’t bother his stomach. Total win! It was also so tasty on roasted sweet potatoes circles. Will definitely make again!
I had dinner on the table in 10 minutes with this recipe!! Steamed sweet potato for me and traditional bun for the rest of my family made a perfect quick dinner for my Whole30! These were delicious!
WOOOWEEE! We love a fast easy dinner win. So happy it was delicious AND quick to make happen. Thanks so much for the review!
This is my new favorite recipe! I double it and make it every week!! It’s delicious, paleo, and easy peasy.
Love that this is a new favorite and you found it EASY and delicious. Thank you!
Made this for my first day of Whole 30 and it was amazing! I served my husband and toddler on a bun. I served mine with air fries sweet potato rounds and a pickle and the baby ate it plain abs loved it. I had extra time so I chopped up half an onion, 2 carrots and 2 celery stalks and sautéed in olive oil before adding the meat. It was great I think I’ll be making this weekly!
This was sooo good and satisfying. I used a spicy ketchup I purchased by accident and it was an amazing swap for regular ketchup! Highly recommend. The prep was so easy which was perfect because I was starving after not eating much all day at work. Thank you, Autumn, for creating a fast, easy and delicious meal.
We love this easy dinner solution – so glad to hear you enjoyed it as well! 😃
Delicious! Tasted even better than my old go-to canned sauce. Fun to have on Base Culture Bun, but the meat mixture was so good, I’d probably prefer it on its own!
I’ve definitely been guilty of eating this on its own and am right there with you that I grew up loving canned sauce but have abandoned it for this recipe. Thank you for the review!
Family hit! Followed recipe as is or as close as I could get (used yellow mustard and ACV and coconut sugar). Used half simple truth NSA ketchup and half Portland ketchup Co (on hand). Kids already asking for it again…excited momma!!! Thank you
Kids asking for it again make my mom heart SO HAPPY. Thrilled to hear that, thank you for letting me know!
One of my favorite Whole 30 approved recipes! My entire family loves and would never even know it was any different from the original recipe they’re use to. Plus its super easy!
Where do you find date paste please? Can’t find it in my local stores anywhere, not even WF. Thank you!
Great question! I make it, it’s just dates + hot water. I share that on my Cauliflower Oatmeal recipe here https://wholefoodfor7.com/cauliflower-oatmeal/ but I will also add it here. Thanks for asking!
This recipes is on our weekly rotation of family favorites recipes, even my 2 toddlers will eat it!
Yay! I love that this is a family win and on the rotation, thank you!
Yum this was so good! Perfect for January whole 30!
Love this recipe! This is a go to when I am on Whole30
Hooray, I’m so happy this is a go-to for you!
Tastes better than my favorite childhood sloppy joes! This is so delicious and bonus it is a snap to make so I can have my girls be involved in making dinner with me! 🙂 We always try to make an extra for the freezer for when that craving strikes!
Aw yay! Sounds like a win all around – I’m so happy to hear this, thank you!
My family LOVES these, and they are so easy to make! I greatly prefer them to non-paleo sloppy joes.
I’m so happy these have been a family favorite!
I’ve tried a few different clean sloppy joe recipes and this one is the best. I used coconut sugar instead of date paste and it was delicious. We paired it with your sweet potato toast recipe.
I’m so happy this was the sloppy joe recipe worth keeping! Thank you!
When I first made these on Day 1 of my last Whole30, I think an actual tear came to my boyfriend’s eye. I don’t even remember the last time I had sloppy joes! These are SO GOOD and so much better than canned Manwich (what’s even in that stuff?). Highly recommend!
Lol, I totally ate Manwich growing up too! I love that this was a win for you and your boyfriend – hooray!
We always love a good sloppy joe recipe! And potato sliders rock!
Quick, easy and so good! If you are a vinegar fan you will love this dish!!! My whole family really enjoyed it and my son went back for seconds.
YES! I’m thrilled your family loved it and your son wanted more. Kid wins are the best. Thank you so much for the review!
This is a win in my house! I triple the recipe and freeze the leftovers. The only thing I’ve changed is not using as much water as the recipe calls for otherwise the sloppy joes are too runny for us. ☺️
This recipe is delicious! My fiancé is a junk foody and frequently requests “non paleo” dinners but I was able to fib a little about this one and he loved every bite!
I love that it was a win even with your non-paleo fiance. Wahoo!