A lip-smacking staple in America and an all-time favorite of kids everywhere–Venison Sloppy Joes with homemade sloppy joe sauce. It’s sloppy, so grab a bib.

History says the sloppy joe sandwich began in a cafe located in Sioux City, Iowa. I bet you can guess the name of the man that invented it. That’s right–it was Joe. Good ol’ Joe made this delicious sandwich way back in the 30’s. He must have had a good idea because 30 years later companies started selling sloppy joe sauce and now it’s all over the world.

People make this sandwich with many different variations, especially in other countries. My recipe is the American version but made with venison of course and homemade sauce. Don’t let the words “homemade sauce” frighten you away. This sauce is deceptively simple to make. If I can do it anyone can.

This recipe is so delicious and you can have a nice filling meal in 20 minutes. All you do is fry the meat, add the veggies and cook until they are soft and add all the spices and tomatoes and simmer for 10 minutes. That’s it! You can get any simpler than that.

If you have leftovers it’s great to take to lunch the next day. I remember a few years ago my family and I ate sloppy joes in the woods. We planned an all day hunt and we didn’t want to come home or go to a restaurant to eat, so that morning I heated up the leftover sloppy joe meat from the evening before and put it in a thermos food jar and I brought some hamburger buns and drinks.

When we decided to eat our lunch we went to the trucks and made some hot sandwiches. I don’t know if we were starved or if it was because we were so cold and had hot food, but those were the best sandwiches I’ve ever had…EVER.

Feel free to print our recipe card:

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Venison Sloppy Joes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

Yield: 8 Sloppy Joe Sandwiches

Serving Size: 1 Sloppy Joe

Calories per serving: 426

Fat per serving: 7 g

Ingredients

2 lb venison, ground
1/2 bell pepper, chopped
1/2 large onion, diced
3 tsp. minced garlic
2 tsp. celery flakes
2 tsp. chili powder
2 cups of crushed tomatoes in purée
1/4 cup ketchup
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 Tbsp. white vinegar
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
8 Arnold Hamburger Buns with Sesame Seeds

Instructions

Heat a large skillet to medium heat and fry the venison burger just until it's done, which should be about 7 minutes. Chop the bell pepper and onion while the meat is frying.
When done, remove any excess oil, if any, and add the bell pepper, onion, minced garlic, and celery flakes. Cook until the veggies are tender or somewhat transparent--just a few minutes.
Add the next 10 ingredients, mix well, and let it simmer uncovered for about 10 minutes.
Put 1/2 cup of the venison sloppy joe mixture on each bun and serve with a smile.

The good, the bad and the delicious…

Venison Sloppy Joes are very high in potassium, protein, iron and contains several other important vitamins and fiber.
Unfortunately, it’s also might be too high in cholesterol and sodium for some, especially those of you that are on a special diet.

See tips below for making this a more diet-friendly recipe.

Venison Sloppy Joes Nutrition Facts

Yields: 8 Sloppy Joe Sandwiches	Serving: 1 Sloppy Joe
Calories 426	Calories from fat: 15
	% Daily Value*
Total Fat 7 g	11%
Saturated Fat 1 g	7%
Monounsaturated Fat 2 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 2 g
Trans Fat 0.0g
Cholesterol 117 mg	39%
Sodium 583 mg	24%
Potassium 716 mg	20%
Total Carbohydrates 38 g	13%
Dietary Fiber 3 g	10%
Sugars 12 g
Protein 46 g	93%
Vitamin A 11%	Vitamin C 12%
Calcium 6%	Iron 47%

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily value may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs. The values here may not be 100% accurate because the recipes have not been professionally evaluated nor have they been evaluated by the U.S. FDA, but were calculated by MyFitnessPal, Inc. by Under Armour, Inc.

To make this recipe more diet-friendly…

To help lower the sodium, the hamburger buns I used and calculated the nutrition facts with was Arnold Hamburger Buns with Sesame Seeds and each bun has 220 mg of Sodium. You could find a healthier bun that has a lower amount of sodium. I personally like to use Sara Lee Delightful™ Healthy Multi-Grain Bread, which has 170 mg of sodium per two slices. You can also omit the added 1/4 tsp. of salt.
To lower the cholesterol, you’ll need to put less of the sloppy joe mixture on your bun because the cholesterol is coming from the venison. If you use venison that didn’t have any fat added to it, the cholesterol will be very low, so no worries.