Name: One-Pan Sloppy Joe Casserole
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 49 min
Ingredients: 1 - 1⅓ cup tomato sauce (we use no salt added); ⅓ cup ketchup; 1-2 Tbsp brown sugar; 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar; 1 ½ tbsp Worcestershire sauce; ½ tsp onion powder; ½ tsp pepper; ½ tsp salt (more or less to taste); 2-3 garlic cloves (minced); ½ yellow onion (diced); 1 Tbsp tomato paste; 2 bell peppers ((we use 1 red and 1 green)); 1 lb ground turkey or beef; 1 - 1½ cup shredded cheese (about 4 oz. (technically optional)); 4-5 halved refrigerated biscuits (I use the grands Buttermilk)

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This easy, one-pot sloppy joe casserole is a dinner favorite that whole family will love. Skip the burger buns, and top your sloppy Joe with cheese and biscuits and bake it up in one pan. This is a great weeknight meal that can easily be prepped in advance, is veggie packed and the perfect comfort food!

Sloppy Joe casserole with biscuits over top in skillet.

Why We Love This Sloppy Joe Casserole
Ingredient Notes
Ways To Vary This Recipe
Step-By-Step Instructions
Recipe Tips
Storage
Other One-Pan Meals
One-Pan Sloppy Joe Casserole Recipe
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Sloppy joe’s are so nostalgic and one of my favorite dinner recipes growing up. I found myself over the years making them but never actually serving them in a bun. So this sloppy joe casserole has become our favorite.

A simple, one-pan dinner that is cozy, comforting and easy to make ahead of time on busy nights. What more could you ask for, right?!

Why We Love This Sloppy Joe Casserole

Biscuits are my love language. I started serving sloppy joes to my family open faced over biscuits and covered with cheese and thus, this dinner recipe slowly evolved into a one-pot meal we can’t get enough of! I can’t wait for you to try!

This sloppy joe casserole recipe:

is super simple to make
makes for a kid friendly and grown up friendly dinner
is an entire meal in one pan
protein packed (46 grams per serving) and veggie packed, with all the flavor and coziness

If you love one-pan meals, try these other favorites: One-Pot Ground Turkey Pasta, One-Pot Ground Beef Stroganoff, Ground Turkey Pot Pie, or this One Pan Chicken and Rice.

Ingredient Notes

See full list of ingredients below in recipe card with exact measurements.

Meat, vegetables, ketchup, seasoning and other ingredients labeled on surface.

We typically use ground turkey when making this dish but ground beef is also an option. Ground turkey has been much more budget friendly lately and you don’t have to worry about any excess grease in the pan. If using beef, use a lean ground beef, and if using turkey, I suggest using 85%-93% lean roughly and not the 99% lean.
You are welcome to make homemade biscuits instead of using canned. These Simple Honey Biscuits are our all-time favorite.
We use one red and one green bell pepper in this sloppy joes casserole recipe. You are welcome to switch that up and use what you have on hand, or your preferred pepper.

Ways To Vary This Recipe

vary the shredded cheese: we like a classic cheddar or Monterey, but you can easily use another favorite shredded cheese instead
add more flavor to the sauce: add a touch of yellow mustard, some smoked paprika, use maple syrup instead of the brown sugar, a bit of chili powder, etc.
bake the biscuits separately: you can technically top the sloppy joe mixture with cheese and let it melt and bake the biscuits while you are making the rest. This will certainly cut a bit of time overall.

Step-By-Step Instructions

Tomato mixture for sloppy Joe casserole in mixing bowl with whisk.

Step 1: Preheat oven to 375°F. Whisk the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside.

Onions, garlic and tomato paste in cast iron skillet.

Step 2: Heat an oven-safe skillet or pan to medium-high heat. Add about a tablespoon of olive oil or your preferred cooking oil. Add the minced garlic and sauté for about 1 minute until fragrant. Add the onions and tomato paste and cook for about a minute or two, allowing the tomato paste to brown slightly.

Sautéed onions and peppers in cast iron skillet.

Step 3: Add the bell peppers and cook it all for about 3-5 minutes to soften. Push the onions and peppers to the side and add the ground turkey to the pan. Allow it to sear for 2-3 minutes before breaking down into smaller chunks/pieces. Cook until meat is browned and internal temperature is 165°F.

Browned ground beef and peppers with tomato mixture being poured in.

Step 4: Shift the heat to medium-low and pour the sauce into the pan. Stir to combine.

Step 5: Allow the mixture to simmer for about 5-6 minutes. It will thicken slightly.

Biscuits and cheese over skillet with sloppy joe mixture.

Step 6: Sprinkle the shredded cheese over top and then peel each of the biscuits at the center to make two thinner biscuits and arrange them over top of the sloppy joe mixture. (If you don’t have an oven safe stove-top pan, transfer the mixture to a casserole dish or baking pan.)

Biscuit tops brushed with butter over casserole in skillet.

Step 7: Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until the biscuits are golden brown and cooked through. We like to brush the tops of biscuits with melted butter before serving.

Sloppy Joe casserole prepped in cast iron skillet with parsley topped buttery biscuits.

Step 8: Allow the pan to sit for about 10 minutes and then sprinkle with chopped parsley (if desired) and enjoy!

Recipe Tips

The biscuits need to reach at least 177°F to be safe to eat. It can be hard to tell if they are done underneath/inside when baking on top of a mixture like this. As long a the temperature int he middle reaches 177°F, you should be good to go!

You can lessen the amount of tomato sauce in this recipe for a thicker mixture, or add a bit more. I wanted to use a whole can of tomato sauce so you wouldn’t have any waste, but it was way too thin overall.

To prep ahead of time: you can prep the sloppy joe mixture up to 1 day before serving. Prepare up until time to add the cheese and biscuits. About 30 minutes before ready to eat, add the cheese and biscuits over top and bake for about 15-20 minutes or until the biscuits are cooked and the meat mixture is bubbling.

Dish with biscuit topped sloppy Joe mixture with fork.

Storage

Store leftovers in an airtight container for about 3-4 days in the refrigerator. You can reheat in the oven at 350°F for about 15-20 minutes. You may want to loosely tent the top of the biscuits with foil so they don’t burn.

To freeze, I like to freeze just the meat mixture and then bake new biscuits at when thawing and reheating. However, you can certainly freeze with the biscuits. Make sure it is fully cooled and then place in a freezer safe container for up to 3 months.