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I can’t believe that it’s back to school season! If you’re looking for a quick and nourishing dinner to feed your family during the week, try these Curried Turkey Sloppy Joes.
Traditional sloppy joes are made with ground beef, bell peppers, onions, and tomatoes — or sometimes even without those fresh veggie additions. They’re super easy to make at home and totally kid-friendly (mine love this slider version!). I was thinking about how I could change up this old-school classic, when I landed on this lean and flavorful twist. Here, ground turkey is mixed with a blend of warm Indian spices including curry powder, garam masala, ground cumin, and cayenne pepper. You’ll also find some of the usual staples like red bell peppers, yellow onions, and crushed tomatoes, but the flavor profile is totally different.
I like to garnish the sloppy joe mixture with chopped cilantro and thinly sliced serrano peppers for a pop of green and a little more heat before piling it onto soft potato hamburger buns. This recipe will easily feed six people, but it also makes great leftovers (a major win during those first few busy weeks of school).
ingredients:
- Avocado Oil
- Red Bell Pepper
- Yellow Onion
- Garlic Cloves
- Ground Turkey
- Freshly Grated Ginger
- Kosher Salt
- Ground Black Pepper
- Curry Powder
- Garam Masala
- Ground Cumin
- Ground Cayenne Pepper
- Tomato Paste
- Canned Crushed Tomatoes
- Low-Sodium Beef Broth
- Coconut Sugar
- Whole Milk Greek Yogurt
- Chopped Cilantro
- Serrano Pepper
- Potato Hamburger Buns
step-by-step:
step one: cook the veggies
In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the bell pepper, onion, and garlic and cook, stirring, until the veggies are softening, 3 to 4 minutes.
step two: cook the turkey
Add the turkey, ginger, salt, and pepper and continue to cook, breaking up the turkey into very small pieces, until the turkey is cooked through and no longer pink, 4 to 6 minutes. Drain off excess fat, if needed.
step three: add the spices
Add the curry powder, garam masala, cumin, and cayenne (if using). Cook, tossing, toasting the spices until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
step four: add the tomatoes and broth
Stir in the tomato paste until well combined. Add the crushed tomatoes, beef broth, and coconut sugar. Stir until well combined and let come to a light simmer. Cook, simmering and stirring often, for the flavors to meld and the sauce to thicken a bit, about 4 minutes.
step five: stir in the greek yogurt
Reduce heat to low and stir in the Greek yogurt until just combined. Taste and add more salt, as desired.
step six: garnish and serve
Garnish with chopped cilantro. To serve, ladle the curry sloppy joe mixture onto the halved potato buns. Top with thinly sliced serrano peppers.
recipe faqs:
They’re not too spicy! I like to add Greek yogurt to the curry turkey mixture at the end of the cooking process, which provides a nice cooling, slightly tangy flavor that offsets the warmth from the other spices. If you’re still worried about the heat, you can omit the cayenne pepper and serrano peppers on top.
Yes! You can totally make the sloppy joe filling in advance. Let it cool fully before transferring it to an airtight container and store the mixture in the fridge. When you want to serve it for dinner, just gently reheat it in a pot or skillet on the stove.
This is also delicious over a roasted sweet potato like my Sloppy Jane’s!
The next time you’re wondering what you make for dinner, try these Curried Turkey Sloppy Joes. Comment below and let me know what you think!
Looking for more back-to-school recipes? Try these!
Meatballs with Basil and Burst Tomatoes
One-Pot Gluten-Free Mac and Cheese
Curried Turkey Sloppy Joes
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil
- 1/2 cup finely diced red bell pepper (from about 1 bell pepper)
- 3/4 cup finely diced yellow onion
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 pound ground turkey (93/7)
- 1 teaspoon grated ginger
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons curry powder
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 (15-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
- 1/2 cup low-sodium beef broth
- 1 tablespoon coconut sugar
- 1/3 cup whole milk Greek yogurt
- 1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro
- 1 serrano pepper, thinly sliced, for serving (optional)
- 6 potato hamburger buns, for serving
Instructions
- In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the bell peppers, onions, and garlic. Cook, stirring, until the veggies are softening, 3 to 4 minutes.
- Add the turkey, ginger, salt, and pepper and continue to cook, breaking up the turkey into very small pieces, until the turkey is cooked through and no longer pink, 4 to 6 minutes. Drain off excess fat (sometimes not necessary with turkey!)
- Add the curry powder, garam masala, cumin, and cayenne (if using). Cook, tossing, toasting the spices until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
- Stir in the tomato paste until well combined. Add the crushed tomatoes, beef broth, and coconut sugar. Stir until well combined and let come to a light simmer. Cook, simmering and stirring often, for the flavors to meld and the sauce to thicken a bit, about 4 minutes.
- Reduce heat to low and stir in the Greek yogurt until just combined. Taste and add more salt, as desired.
- Garnish with chopped cilantro. To serve, ladle the curry sloppy joe mixture onto the halved potato buns. Top with thinly sliced serrano peppers.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Photography and styling by Eat Love Eats.
Hi! Silly question, but can I use brown sugar in place of the coconut sugar? And would it be the same one to one ratio? Thanks! Looking forward to making this.
Really really good and the leftovers for lunch the next day might have been even better! Served over baked sweet potatoes. Loved that it was quick and easy, too.
Loved this!! I spread yogurt on the buns instead of mixing in cuz I thought leftovers would keep better that way. Turned out great!
Yummy! My 2 year old asked for more. I used dairy free sour cream instead of yogurt and it turned out great. It was a bit too liquidy for a bun, so we put it over white sweet potatoes. We ate the leftovers over rice.
Another hit! A fresh take on an old comfort food. We all loved it! Served with roasted potatoes and a mint/cilantro yogurt sauce I threw together with the leftover yogurt.
Loved this and love the leftovers for lunches! Thanks!
Thanks Lindsay!