• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Traditional Cooking School by GNOWFGLINS

Dish up the simple joy of healthy, down-home foods your family will LOVE… tonight.

Join 12,000+ families served since 2010!

  • Join Now
  • About
    • About Wardee & TCS
    • Our Team
    • FAQs & Help
    • Contact
  • Recipes
  • Blog
    • Recipes
    • Archives
  • Podcast
    • #AskWardee
    • Know Your Food with Wardee (retired)
  • Shop
    • Bible-Based Cooking Program
    • Print Textbooks
    • eBooks & eCourses
    • Recommended Tools & Supplies
    • More Books We Love
    • Complete Idiot’s Guide To Fermenting Foods
      • Errata
  • Login
You are here: Home » Food Preparation » Recipes » Main Dishes » Sloppy Joe’s in a Bowl

Make a healthy dinner in 30 minutes or less... while spending $0 extra! Click here to get the Eat God's Way “30-Minute Skillet Dishes” worksheet + videos FREE!

Sloppy Joe’s in a Bowl

We only recommend products and services we wholeheartedly endorse. This post may contain special links through which we earn a small commission if you make a purchase (though your price is the same).

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe
Print Friendly, PDF & Email

This is a family favorite! For company, I stretch the meat by adding 4 cups of cooked green lentils to the meat mixture, while (just about if not entirely) doubling the sauce ingredients.

Sloppy Joe’s in a Bowl

  • 2 cups dry brown basmati rice
  • 2 cups water plus 2 T raw apple cider vinegar
  • 2 cups stock
  • 2 pounds grass-fed ground beef (or ground buffalo)
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 3 cloves garlic, diced
  • 3/4 cup filtered water
  • 1 can tomato paste
  • 2 teaspoons sea salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 3 tablespoons raw honey
  • garnishes: sliced olives, thinly sliced or diced onions, diced tomatoes, diced avocado, and/or homemade cultured dairy, chopped cilantro, shredded raw cheese

In a 2 to 3 quart pot, soak the rice in the 2 cups of water and raw apple cider vinegar overnight. The next day, add the 2 cups stock. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until all liquid is absorbed and grains are fluffy and tender. This will be about a half hour if the grains have soaked overnight. Remove from heat. Let stand for 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

While rice is cooking, put the ground beef in a 4 to 6 quart stock pot. Over medium heat, brown the beef. Add onions and garlic. Saute until soft. In a 4 cup measuring cup, whisk together: water, tomato paste, sea salt, pepper, olive oil, and honey. Add sauce mixture to meat. Cover and let simmer for 20 minutes.

Fill bowls with rice, then meat sauce, then desired garnishes.

The picture shows a Sloppy Joe’s bowl garnished with diced shredded homemade goat cheese, diced onions, diced avocado, chopped cilantro, and a drizzle of “sour cream.”

I make our “sour cream” by blending homemade chevre or kefir cheese with raw milk to a drizzly sour cream consistency.

Enjoy!

sloppy joe's and rice in white bowl
0 from 0 votes
Print

Sloppy Joe’s in a Bowl

This is a family favorite! For company, I stretch the meat by adding 4 cups of cooked green lentils to the meat mixture, while (just about if not entirely) doubling the sauce ingredients.
Course Main
Author Wardee Harmon

Ingredients

Rice

  • 2 cups brown basmati rice dry
  • 2 cups pure water
  • 2 T raw apple cider vinegar
  • 2 cups stock

Sloppy Joe's

  • 2 pounds grass-fed ground beef or ground buffalo
  • 1 onion diced
  • 3 cloves garlic diced
  • 3/4 cup pure water
  • 1 can tomato paste
  • 2 teaspoons sea salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 3 tablespoons raw honey

Serve

  • garnishes sliced olives, thinly sliced or diced onions, diced tomatoes, diced avocado, and/or homemade cultured dairy, chopped cilantro, shredded raw cheese

Instructions

Rice

  1. In a 2 to 3 quart pot, soak the rice in the 2 cups of water and raw apple cider vinegar overnight.
  2. The next day, add the 2 cups stock.
  3. Bring to a boil.
  4. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until all liquid is absorbed and grains are fluffy and tender.
  5. This will be about a half hour if the grains have soaked overnight.
  6. Remove from heat.
  7. Let stand for 10 minutes.
  8. Fluff with a fork.

Soppy Joe's

  1. While rice is cooking, put the ground beef in a 4 to 6 quart stock pot.
  2. Over medium heat, brown the beef.
  3. Add onions and garlic.
  4. Saute until soft.
  5. In a 4 cup measuring cup, whisk together: water, tomato paste, sea salt, pepper, olive oil, and honey.
  6. Add sauce mixture to meat.
  7. Cover and let simmer for 20 minutes.

Serve

  1. Fill bowls with rice, then meat sauce, then desired garnishes.

Recipe Notes

The picture shows a Sloppy Joe's bowl garnished with diced shredded homemade goat cheese, diced onions, diced avocado, chopped cilantro, and a drizzle of "sour cream." I make our "sour cream" by blending homemade chevre or kefir cheese with raw milk to a drizzly sour cream consistency.

© 2006-2009 by Wardee Harmon

We only recommend products and services we wholeheartedly endorse. This post may contain special links through which we earn a small commission if you make a purchase (though your price is the same).

Posted in: Food Preparation Main Dishes Main Dishes (Gluten-Free) Recipes

About Wardee Harmon

Wardee lives in the Boise area of Idaho with her dear family. She's the lead teacher and founder of the Eat God's Way online cooking program as well as the author of Fermenting, Sourdough A to Z, and other traditional cooking books. Eat God's Way helps families get healthier and happier using cooking methods and ingredients from Bible Times like sourdough, culturing, and ancient grains.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Michelle says

    April 24, 2006 at 8:19 pm

    We love Buffalo beef. We are able to get organic buffalo from our local grocery store, but I have to wait until it is on sale. Your Sloppy Joes sound yummy.

    Reply
  2. Robin says

    April 24, 2006 at 9:57 pm

    Dear Wardee,

    Oh! This sounds scrumptious. 🙂

    Love, Robin

    Reply
  3. Wardee says

    April 24, 2006 at 10:21 pm

    Michelle, I just found grass-fed buffalo at our grocery store not too long ago. I am inquiring about buying a quantity of it for a discount, but I am waiting to hear back from the meat department.

    Robin, I hope you’ll like it!

    Reply
  4. Lawauna says

    April 26, 2006 at 6:20 am

    I love buffalo meat. This receipe sounds great. I will have to try it.

    Reply
  5. Karena says

    March 29, 2007 at 12:47 pm

    I think I saw somewhere in your postings I read that you sometimes add lentils to this recipe. At what point in the recipe do you add the lentils and about how much would you add?

    Thank you ahead of time!

    Yes, I do add lentils quite often. Separately, I soak 2 cups of lentils in 4 cups of water overnight. Then next day, I bring that to a boil and cook it fully, until the lentils are tender. I add those to the meat sauce, and about double all the seasoning ingredients (tomato paste, etc.). Hope that makes sense. Let me know if you need me to clarify. -Wardee

    Reply
  6. Steph Stone says

    December 30, 2009 at 3:12 pm

    Hey Wardee…

    Did you change this recipe aside from the soaking of the rice? My old printout had bell pepper. Do you omit it now?

    I’m making it, yet again. It is a favorite over here.

    Reply
    • Wardee says

      December 30, 2009 at 4:16 pm

      Steph, let’s see… I used to use a Vitamin C powder, which I omitted. I took out the bell peppers only because they’re not always in season – but keep adding them if you have them! I could have left it in there! And I soak the rice. I also omitted the onion powder in favor of the sauteed fresh onion. I’m really happy your family enjoys this dish!

      Reply
  7. Steph Stone says

    December 30, 2009 at 4:31 pm

    Ahh, gotcha. Bell peppers are so pricey out of season, even if you don’t mind getting things out of season on occasion. I was a good girl this summer though and froze them like crazy. I even froze some ground to toss in for sloppy joe or spaghetti sauce. Since I’ve got my new dehydrator, I may think about drying some next summer. Then they’ll be traditionally preserved *and* I’ll have them for the winter. I wonder if there’s a way to do something with dried tomatoes instead of tomato paste, too. Hmm…

    Reply
    • Wardee says

      December 30, 2009 at 4:34 pm

      Steph – I’m sure there is a way to use dehydrated tomatoes! In fact, as soon as my supply of tomato paste runs out, I will probably not buy any more because of the BPA in the cans. Here’s a comment where Faith told me how she uses dehydrated tomatoes in place of canned: https://traditionalcookingschool.com/2009/12/03/where-do-you-shop/ For paste, we’d just use less water, I think, to make it really thick.

      Reply
  8. Steph Stone says

    December 30, 2009 at 5:47 pm

    Ooh, thanks for the link. BTW, Bionature brand tomato paste is in glass jars, but I’m fairly certain that the lids have BPA. Right now I’ve been getting it by the case through our co-op’s UNFI order. Maybe I’ll figure out the dried tomato thing so I won’t need to get it any more. 🙂

    Reply
  9. Tammy says

    March 3, 2010 at 3:17 pm

    One can of tomato paste…how much? The ones I have are 6 oz.

    Reply
    • Wardee says

      March 3, 2010 at 4:01 pm

      Tammy – yes, the 6 ounce size.

      Reply
  10. Sarah M says

    July 23, 2010 at 4:08 pm

    This was a hit with my family. I actually used only one pound of ground beef and 2 cups (approx.) of lentils for the meat, and no one noticed. The lentils are a great way to stretch beef, which can get so expensive. Thanks for sharing that tip!

    Reply
  11. Becky says

    October 18, 2010 at 5:52 pm

    I just made this for dinner tonight and added sprouted lentils. So delicious!!!!! My husband loved it. I was a bit nervous because he doesn’t like traditional sloppy joes at all and he said this was great! Thanks for the great idea.

    Reply
  12. Anonymous says

    May 5, 2013 at 6:01 am

    Sounds good! I don’t eat red meat, so would sub turkey and try black beans instead of lentils? I think cooking is all about fitting a basic recipe to your likes!

    Reply
  13. Darla says

    October 20, 2014 at 3:57 pm

    I used one pound ground beef and two cups black beans and it was delicious!!!! Thank you for a yummy and easy recipe!!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Hi and Welcome!

I’m Wardee Harmon and I help Christian families who know they should eat healthy but are tired of complicated, time-consuming, weird-tasting, and unsustainable “healthy” diets…

…who want to look and feel better, save time and money, and have more energy for enjoying family life and serving Him fully!… like I was. Click here for more…

Recently on the Blog

  • Fizzy Apple Cider Switchel (VAD)
  • VitaClay Review & Buyer’s Guide
  • How to Make Healthy Cookies #AskWardee 006
  • Bean and Barley Soup (Instant Pot, Stove Top)
  • Soaked Spelt Banana Bread (VAD)
  • Ancient Grains 101
  • How to Heal Digestive Issues Naturally (Leaky Gut, SIBO, IBS, Celiac & more)
  • How To Meal Plan In 4 Easy Steps (KYF103)
  • Debunking 4 Sourdough Myths (& How To Overcome Them)
  • How To Use A Pressure Cooker 101

Recently Commented

  • Danielle on Naturally Sweetened & Nourishing Chocolate Marshmallows
  • Stacey Hingson on Naturally Sweetened & Nourishing Chocolate Marshmallows
  • Lori Gintner on The Connection Between Mental Illness & Candida (+ why you need more than anti-fungals)
  • Tiranga on Homemade Sauerkraut In A Stoneware Crock
  • ronald ryan on 10 Tips For Using A Gas Grill As An Oven
  • Julia on How To Make Sour Cream
  • KM on The Best Sourdough English Muffins (Traditional Recipe)

We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Before Footer

g-NOWF-glinz

…are what we eat! God’s Natural, Organic, Whole Foods, Grown Locally, In Season.

We love working with other Christian families who love good food and want to eat according to God’s design…

Not only because we believe it’s the healthiest way, but because we want to give Him glory for creating good food as the best medicine!

Learn more about GNOWFGLINS here…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOcH27DM1dI

Eat God’s Way Cooking Program

Our Eat God’s Way cooking program is for Christian families who know they should eat healthy but are tired of complicated, time-consuming, weird-tasting, and unsustainable “healthy” diets…

…who want to look and feel better, save time and money, and have more energy for enjoying family life and serving Him fully!

Join 12,000+ families served since 2010! Learn more here…

Copyright © 2025 Traditional Cooking School by GNOWFGLINS • About • Help • Privacy • Partners

Rate This Recipe

Your vote:




A rating is required
A name is required
An email is required