I never ate sloppy joes growing up…it just wasn’t a dish on the rotation in our Italian-American household, though I do remember hearing friends in school talk about having it for dinner, and so one day, I begged my mom to make it for dinner… and well we never really made it again.
It’s not that it was bad, but it also wasn’t great? So recently, when someone asked me to reinvent the sloppy joe, I figured this was my moment to take an average dish and make it memorable and something people would want to eat again and again….. and to do that, I decided to take an Italian approach to this. Its got sausage, peppers, onions, garlic, all in a thick tomato sauce and gets all piled on to toasted brioche with garlic butter & melty mozzarella.
❤️ Why You’ll Love the Italian-Style Sloppy Joe
The Italian-Style Sloppy Joe or shall we say Giuseppe is a SUPER SIMPLE dish that comes together in 30 minutes and will make the whole family (or friends or even just yourself) so happy!!! Plus the it makes for great leftovers and did I mention the sauce alone also tastes great on pasta or over rice? Talk about the perfect MEAL PREP!!!
🍲 Ingredients
- Sweet Italian Sausage
- Yellow Onion
- Red Pepper
- Garlic
- Dried Italian Herbs
- Crushed Red Pepper
- Tomato Puree aka Passata
- Balsamic Vinegar
- Fresh Parsley
- Shredded Mozzarella
- Brioche or Hawaiian Buns
- Butter
👩🍳 How to Make The Italian-Style Sloppy Joe
STEP 1:
In a large pan over medium heat, add the sausage (removed from the casing) and use a spoon to break it into small pieces. Allow the fat to render, and once the sausage is about halfway cooked, add in the onions, peppers, and garlic. Stir in the dried oregano, dried basil, crushed red pepper, and salt. Allow to cook until the onions and peppers are soft and the sausage is browned.
STEP 2:
Add in the tomato passata, water, and balsamic vinegar. Bring it up to a simmer, then lower the heat to med low and allow it to cook for another 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
STEP 3:
While the meat sauce cooks, place the opened buns in the oven to lightly toast. Combine the butter with the grated garlic in a small sauce pot for 5 minutes over low heat, or melt the butter in the microwave and then add in the garlic. Once the buns come out of the oven, brush them with the butter mixture.
STEP 4:
Once the meat sauce has thickened, stir in the fresh parsley, taste & adjust the seasoning, and then spoon the sauce onto the bottom of the buns. Layer on the shredded mozzarella and place in the oven or broil to melt for about 3-5 minutes. Top with the buns and serve HOT!
My Pro Tips
Recipe Tips
- Make sure to chop up the sausage well with a wooden spoon so that you get even pieces… or leave it chunky if that is your preference!
- Allow the sauce to REDUCE & THICKEN. If the sauce is too thin it will not sit well on the buns. (To make sure it’s thick enough, do the spoon test ~ image below ~ When you swipe with your spoon the sauce should not fill the space you pushed.)
- Toast the buns well so that is can stand up to the hot sauce without becoming soggy.
🗒 Variations & Substituions
Perhaps the BEST part of this dish is how easy it is to adapt to ingredients you may already have on hand.
- Swap in your group protein of choice!! Don’t have or want to use sausage? Beef, chicken, turkey, or even crumbled tofu would be great here.
- Use the veggies that you have on hand!! If you don’t have a red pepper, swap in a zucchini, carrot, mushroom, or any other veggie you have and may want to incorporate.
- Change the vehicle in which you serve it!! Rather than serving it in a bun try serving it over pasta, rice, other grains, lettuce or heck… just eat it like that with a spoon!
🗒 Best served with
- A side salad…here are some of my favorite salads.
👝 How to Store Leftovers
Store in a container in the fridge for up to a week or frozen for 3 months!
Italian-Style Sloppy Joe
Ingredients
- 1 lb Sweet Italian Sausage
- 1/2 cup Yellow Onion
- 1/2 cup Red Pepper
- 1 clove Garlic, grated
- 1 tsp Dried Basil
- 1 tsp Dried Oregano
- 1 tsp Crushed Red Pepper, to taste
- 2 cups Tomato Puree aka Passata
- 1 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
- 1 tbsp Fresh Parsley
- 1 cup Shredded Mozzarella
- 4 Brioche or Hawaiian Buns
- Olive oil
- Butter
- Salt and Pepper
Instructions
- In a large pan over medium heat, add some oil and then the sausage (removed from the casing) and use a spoon to break it into small pieces. Allow the fat to render, and once the sausage is about halfway cooked, add in the onions, peppers, and garlic. Stir in the dried oregano, dried basil, crushed red pepper, and salt. Allow to cook until the onions and peppers are soft and the sausage is browned.
- Add in the tomato passata, water, and balsamic vinegar. Bring it up to a simmer, then lower the heat to med low and allow it to cook for another 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- While the meat sauce cooks, place the opened buns in the oven to lightly toast. Combine the butter with the grated garlic in a small sauce pot for 5 minutes over low heat, or melt the butter in the microwave and then add in the garlic. Once the buns come out of the oven, brush them with the butter mixture.
- When the meat sauce has thickened, stir in the fresh parsley, taste & adjust the seasoning. Spoon the sauce onto the bottom of the buns. Layer on the shredded mozzarella and place in the oven or broil to melt for about 3-5 minutes. Top with the buns and serve HOT!
