BBQ Sausage Sloppy Joes

6 servings
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes

BBQ Sausage Sloppy Joes made with Italian sausage links, hidden veggies and a sweet and tangy bbq sauce mixture in 30 minutes will be the answer to your summer recipe wishes!

We LOVE sloppy joes around here, especially Philly Cheese Steak Sloppy Joes and our classic Ultimate Sloppy Joes.

Barbecue Sausage Sloppy Joes BBQ SAUSAGE SLOPPY JOES

Week two of our new sloppy joes series and this week we’re leaving beef for the first time in favor of cooking with sausage links. The flavors are similar to your favorite bbq links on a sandwich, but with the benefit of added vegetables your family won’t even realize are there.

If you’re sensitive to too much sausage flavor we also sometimes work with half sausage and half ground pork. The flavors are more muted but still delicious.

Want to make the bbq sauce from scratch? THIS one is the one I ALWAYS make.

WHAT DO YOU SERVE WITH SLOPPY JOES?

We love serving sloppy joes with Crispy Sweet Potato FriesBeer Battered Onion RingsLoaded Garlic French Fries or your favorite roasted vegetables.

MEAL PREP INSTRUCTIONS

If you’re looking to meal prep the recipe cook the sauce mixture for 3-4 minutes less. The meat will be more liquid but it isn’t a problem.

Store in a separate container and add chopped cheese to the top of the meat. Microwave on half power for 2-3 minutes before adding to the toasted bun.

See how to chop the cheese in the image below. This is also how we add it when serving fresh.

When you stir the meat just before serving only allow the cheese to cook for 10-20 seconds before scooping or the cheese will fully melt. This sandwich is even more delicious when you have the little pockets of cheddar cheese.

Ground barbecue sausage in pan for sloppy joes

When making sloppy joes with sausage here are some tips:

  • Remove the casing before cooking. A paring knife will easy remove the casing before you cook.
  • If you leave the casing it will taste rubbery and won’t absorb bbq sauce as well.
  • Use raw sausage, making this with cooked sausage will result in overcooked sloppy joes.
  • Chop the bell peppers and onions finely, then cook them in the sausage fat, they will melt into the sloppy joes.
  • If you cut the bell peppers slightly bigger they’ll mimic the texture of tomatoes after you cook them down before simmering them in the sauce.
  • Remember to cook the sauce down slowly, cooking too quickly will burn the sauce because of the high sugar content of the bbq sauce.

Sloppy Joe Sandwich with BBQ sauce

BEST BREAD FOR SLOPPY JOES

  • We prefer brioche for the buttery texture, chewy center and tender crust even when toasted.
  • Regular hamburger buns are fine but will get soggy even when toasted if you don’t add a fat to create a crispier barrier.
  • Use sliced bread as a last resort.
  • If you have to use sliced bread use sliced cheese. Make a grilled cheese using this method: Philly Cheese Steak Grilled Cheese
  • Hoagie rolls are great too, especially if you remove some of the bottom half of the roll to create a well for the filling.

If you’re keeping up with the sloppy joe series then you know we are making easy sloppy joes every Monday. If you like the recipe and decide to cook alongside us we are going to be enjoying this recipe for dinner this Wednesday.

Looking for more sloppy joe recipes?

BBQ sausage sloppy joe sandwich on plate

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BBQ Sausage Sloppy Joes

BBQ Sausage Sloppy Joes made with Italian sausage links, hidden veggies and a sweet and tangy bbq sauce mixture in 30 minutes will be the answer to your summer recipe wishes!
Yield 6 servings
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Course Main Dish, Sandwich
Cuisine American
Author Sabrina Snyder

Ingredients
 

  • 19 ounces sausage links I used Johnsonville and it was 5 links
  • 1 red bell pepper finely diced
  • 1 green bell pepper finely diced
  • 1/2 yellow onion finely diced
  • 1 cup barbecue sauce
  • 1 cup tomato sauce
  • 1 cup beef broth chicken is okay too
  • 6 brioche rolls
  • 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese cut into small cubes

Instructions

  • Cut the sausage casing with a knife and empty the meat into a large skillet that's been preheated on a medium-high flame.
  • Break apart the sausage into pea sized crumbles.
  • Cook for 5-7 minutes or until fully cooked.
  • Remove the sausage and drain all but 2 tablespoons of the remaining oil.
  • Add the bell peppers and onions and cook, stirring, for 5-7 minutes.
  • Add the barbecue sauce, tomato sauce and beef broth.
  • Simmer until reduced by half, about 6-8 minutes.
  • Add the sausage back in, dot with the cheddar cheese and mix slightly just to start melting the cheese.
  • Serve on toasted brioche buns.

Nutrition

Calories: 576kcal | Carbohydrates: 46g | Protein: 24g | Fat: 32g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Cholesterol: 84mg | Sodium: 1756mg | Potassium: 652mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 22g | Vitamin A: 1235IU | Vitamin C: 46.3mg | Calcium: 246mg | Iron: 3.5mg
Keyword: BBQ Sausage Sloppy Joes, easy, pork, sandwich, sloppy joes, weeknight meal

 

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the cookbook Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients, published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. If you enjoyed the recipe and would like to publish it on your own site, please re-write it in your own words, and link back to my site and recipe page. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

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Comments

  1. What kind of sausage links? Johnsonville has 10 different flavors at my store, from Italian to brats to breakfast? Just want to make sure I get the right kind

  2. This recipe was delicious! Never going back to regular Sloppy Joes!
    I never comment on recipes that I try on the internet but these were so good, I just had to!

  3. I’m amazed at how quick your blog loaded on my mobile .. I’m not even using WIFI, just 3G

  4. Mmm! Pass me a napkin, please! These sandwiches look scrumptious, and what a great idea to use sausage links!