Sloppy Joes are a meal where ground meat is cooked in a tasty sauce and served in a bun, they are usually a little messy, and these sloppy joe’s are themed after pepperoni pizza! I usually go with ground beef for the meat but Italian sausage is also amazing! For the sauce you can use either store bought or homemade pizza sauce or marinara sauce with a bit of extra Italian seasoning (or oregano). You can use any of your favourite pizza topping and for this batch I went with pepperoni, green peppers and olives! Cheese is of course a main component of pizza and I like to melt the mozzarella cheese directly into the sauce and/or add the shredded or sliced cheese to the sandwich! Once the sauce is made, you simply slap it into a bun and eat it as a sandwich or you can serve it open-faced sandwich style with the the two halves of the bun on a plate smothered in sauce to be eaten with a knife and fork!
Pepperoni Pizza Sloppy Joes
All of the flavours of a pepperoni pizza with green peppers and olives in sloppy joe form, that’s quick and easy to make!
ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef (or Italian sausage with casings removed)
- 4 ounces of pepperoni, sliced
- 1 small onion, diced
- 1 green pepper, diced (optional)
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 2 cups pizza sauce or marinara sauce
- 1/3 cup sliced olives, drained (optional)
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning (or oregano)
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
- 4 buns (gluten-free for gluten-free)
directions
- Cook the ground geef, pepperoni, onion, and bell pepper in a large skillet/pan over medium-high heat, breaking the meat apart as it cooks, before draining off any excess grease.
- Add the garlic and paprika and cook until fragrant, about a minute.
- Add the pizza sauce, olives, Italian seasoning, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer until the sauce thickens, about 3-5 minutes.
- Turn the heat off, mix in the mozzarella and let it melt.
- Divide the filling between the buns and enjoy!
Option: Instead of the pepperoni, green pepper and black olives, use your favourite pizza toppings!
so much fun, have always wondered why sloppy joe recipes don’t go full pizza mode since they’re already half way there with tomato sauce and this is a very nice combination pizza with pepperoni and other stuff, so great mash up of flavors and thank you for going the full pizza!
I have made over 30 of your recipes and not one disappoints. Love your site and can’t tell enough people about your yummy recipes! Thanks for all the hard work you put into it