Grass-fed ground beef, healthy veggies, and a sweet and tangy sauce loaded into a sweet potato and topped with shredded cheese and fresh cilantro. No sugar added, Ready in 30 minutes!
In a large saute pan over medium high heat, brown ground beef until no longer pink. If there is a lot of residual fat from browning the beef pour off all but 1 tbsp of fat.
Add onion, bell pepper, zucchini, and garlic to pan. Saute together with beef for 4 minutes.
Add ketchup, water, mustard, vinegar, maple syrup, salt and pepper, and stir well to combine. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to medium-low and allow to simmer for 10 minutes.
Sauce should be thickened, if too thick add a touch more water. Taste for seasoning.
Slice sweet potatoes in half and arrange on a platter. Mash sweet potato flesh and create a pocket for filling. Stuff each sweet potato half with Sloppy Joe mixture, top with shredded cheese and fresh cilantro.
Serve immediately. You can also store Sloppy Joe mixture and baked sweet potatoes sepearately, for quick easy meal prep.
Serving size is one whole sweet potato with Sloppy Joe mixture + cheese.
Notes
DIETARY MODIFICATIONS FOR THIS RECIPE:
This recipe is gluten-free and paleo-friendly.
Paleo/Whole30 - Remove the cheese topping (which is totally optional anyway)
Keto – You would technically have to remove the sweet potato which changes the recipe completely. You could make portobello mushroom "buns" for a very low carbohydrate version of this recipe
Vegetarian/ Vegan – I think lentil Sloppy Joe's would be delicious if you try let me know! Obviously remove the cheese for vegan or use a vegan cheese alternative.
Low Fodmap – Remove the onion and garlic, replace with scallion tops.
RECIPE MODIFICATIONS
Any ground protein will work in place of ground beef
You can replace the ketchup in the recipe with crushed tomato
Dry mustard can stand in for dijon mustard (just use less of it)
1. Scrub the spud!Using a vegetable scrub, under warm running water scrub the sweet potatoes to remove any dirt or debris.2. Line your baking sheet with parchment paperSweet potatoes get super juicy while baking and can ooze sugary deliciousness. For easy cleanup line your baking sheet with parchment paper.3. Poke holes!Use a fork to poke several holes in your sweet potato. This provides steam vents to ensure the potato doesn't burst while cooking and also ensures even cooking. There are several methods that recommend not poking holes to produce a more caramelized sweet potato, I've tested this and do not prefer it, but feel free to try and see what you think!4. Bake until tender Bake in a 400° oven for 40-60 minutes. They are ready when a knife can be easily inserted into the potato as if the knife is going through butter.