Pizza Sloppy Joes with all your favorite cheesy gooey pepperoni pizza flavors and a couple of vegetables your kids won’t even notice.
Pizza meets hamburger with this amazing recipe that tastes as good as a hot out of the oven melty delicious pizza! For more fun Italian flavors we also love The Best Chicken Parmesan (which we made into these Chicken Parmesan Sloppy Joes) which are also made with crazy easy Marinara Sauce.
PEPPERONI PIZZA SLOPPY JOES
Pizza Sloppy Joes take the classic sloppy joes up a notch with the addition of marinara sauce instead of the classic tomato paste and awesome pizza topping mix-ins. Cheesy, sloppy, pizza sloppy joe goodness! You can adjust these as you’d like, too.
WANT MORE PIZZA SLOPPY JOES FLAVORS:
- Crumbled Italian Sausage, ½ teaspoon fennel seeds, and bell peppers.
- Frozen pineapple chunks (chopped), and chopped ham.
- Pepperoni, sausage, olives, bell peppers and onions.
- Want more flavors? Here is a list of 50 Pizza flavors from Food Network.
Pepperoni Pizza Sloppy Joes had to happen. After these Philly Cheesesteak Sloppy Joes (over 640,000 pins on Pinterest and over 20 MILLION views of the video on Facebook) we posted Bacon Cheeseburger Sloppy Joes which are also one of the top recipes on the site. There is also recently published Ultimate Sloppy Joes if you’re looking for a classic version of Sloppy Joes.
Your family will enjoy these Pizza Sloppy Joes for a busy weeknight meal. You can also make a Pepperoni Pizza Hamburger Helper. The flavors of the ground beef, marinara sauce and pizza toppings come together so well you’ll see the kids asking for more helpings.
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WANT TO MAKE THESE PEPPERONI PIZZA SLOPPY JOES INTO A SLOW COOKER RECIPE? into a slow cooker recipe?
- Add the ingredients (minus the cheese and buns) to the slow cooker and cook on low for 4 hours.
- Use half the amount of beef broth.
- If the sauce is not thick add in another 1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 1 tablespoon room temperature water. Cook for an additional 30 minutes on low.
- Add the cheese and stir once you’re ready to serve.
LOOKING FOR MORE SANDWICHES?
- Philly Cheese Steak Sloppy Joes
- Ultimate Slow Cooker French Dip Sandwiches
- Slow Cooker Chicken Caesar Sandwiches
- Slow Cooker Roast Beef Sandwiches with Horseradish
- Slow Cooker McRib Sandwiches
Or if you’re interested in more sloppy joes you can check them all out here. We add to the collection often!
OH! And another great thing about this recipe?! If you have any left over (which is doubtful, but hey you never know), you can use the leftovers to make the most epic grilled cheese sandwiches EVER. Just use the method found in Ground Philly Cheesesteak Grilled Cheese and you’ll be in heaven!
Tools Used in the making of these Pizza Sloppy Joes:
Cast Iron Skillet: This is the most used pan in our kitchen, heavy, keeps heat well and gives the BEST sear ever.
Chef’s Knife: This knife is one of the three most used tools in the kitchen (tongs and a pig tail flipper are the other two). After almost 10 years it is as sharp today as brand new (left column, second from the top). This knife is so great even if you have a ridiculously expense knife set as well.
HOW TO STORE PEPPERONI PIZZA SLOPPY JOES
- Serve: The Pizza Sloppy Joe mixture can be at room temperature for up to 2 hours before it needs to be chilled.
- Store: Place cooled Pepperoni Pizza Sloppy Joes into an airtight container and refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- Freeze: Cool completely before freezing. Store Pizza Sloppy Joes in a sealed container and freeze for up to 3 months.
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 6 slices bacon
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 small yellow onion diced
- 1 red bell pepper diced
- 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- 1 cup marinara sauce
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1/2 cup beef broth
- 6 ounces mozzarella cheese chopped
- 6 brioche hamburger buns
Instructions
- Add the ground beef to a large cast iron skillet (this browns very well) and brown until a deep brown crust appears before breaking the beef apart.
- Stir the ground beef and brown until a deep crust appears on about 50 or so percent of the beef.
- Remove the beef, drain the fat and add the bacon to the pan.
- Add the butter, onions and bell pepper to the pan.
- Let brown for 1-2 minutes before stirring, then let brown for another 1-2 minutes before stirring again.
- Add the beef back into the pan.
- In a small cup mix the salt, black pepper, marinara sauce, beef broth and cornstarch together and add it to the pan.
- Cook until the mixture is only slightly liquidy (about 75% of the mixture is above liquid), 3-5 minutes.
- Turn off the heat, add in the mozzarella cheese and fold into the meat with a spatula until just melted.
- Served on toasted brioche buns.
Ooh, I just had a thought about the lasagna sloppy joes and had to come back! When I toast the buns, I think I’ll use garlic butter, so it’s like eating it between slices of garlic bread.
It looks like my initial comment didn’t make it through.
I asked how much pepperoni is used for these pizza sloppy joes, and if it is fried briefly in place of the bacon, or when it is added.
I am thinking of trying this version as lasagna sloppy joes, using half Italian sausage and half ground beef, omitting the bacon, pepperoni, and red pepper, spaghetti sauce instead of marinara, and adding cottage cheese. I am torn between adding the cottage cheese with the mozzarella, or if it should be a topping added when building the sandwich. Any opinions?
Hi Beth, sorry for the late response.
If you’re adding pepperoni to the beef and the bacon I would use about 7 oz or so of pepperoni and cook it with the beef.
Here’s a link to all of our Sloppy Joe recipes for your review!
https://dinnerthendessert.com/?s=Sloppy+joe
Or maybe just edit out what’s offending you?
Could I use a green pepper instead of red? Recipe sounds amazing.
Sure
This is the BEST twist on sloppy joes!
Thank you Cathy!
My kiddo would LOVE this!
My family would devour this! I love how you made pizza and sloppy joes one!
Thanks Amy!
Sloppy Joes and Pizza night all in one! I am in love!
Thanks Krista!
I love the cheesy goodness in these sandwiches! I was craving sloppy joes the other night! They look really good!
My kids are crazy about sloppy joes, and they would love a pizza version even more!
This one is definitely kid approved!! Enjoy!!
You are the queen of messy sandwiches!!!! My family will LOVE this idea!
Thank you! I’ll wear the crown proudly!!