What To Serve With Sloppy Joes

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Sloppy joes are a mealtime favorite. This saucy and somewhat messy dinner can be paired with a variety of side dishes to complement the meal.

This meal is usually served on a hamburger bun. It can be made with beef or pork and is made with a tomato-based sauce, peppers, and onions.

To fully complement the meal, you will want something starchy, something light, or something that’ll soak up the delicious sauces left over after you’re done.

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17 Easy Side Dishes to Serve with Sloppy Joes

Sloppy joes are already easy to make, why not keep the side dishes simple too?

1. Tater Tots

Tater tots are an excellent pairing partner to sloppy joes. The crispy and crunchy texture of the tots contrasts well with the softer texture of the sandwich.

Ketchup is a good dipping sauce for tater tots and will mix well with the sweet flavored sauce of sloppy joes. Barbeque sauce pairs great as well.

2. Pasta Salad

There’s nothing better than a summertime sloppy joe meal paired with pasta salad. This flavorful pasta and vegetable side is quick and easy to make.

Pasta salad is usually served cold and mixed with a variety of vegetables. It’s a great side dish to serve with sloppy joes during the summer months.

3. Corn on The Cob

Corn on the cob is another summertime favorite side dish. It’s easy enough to make by boiling in water over the stove or even microwaving.

Try cutting the corn cobs in half if whole corn is too big of a side dish. Sweet corn pairs great with sloppy joes.

4. Mac & Cheese

If you’re looking for a truly rich and full meal, try pairing your sloppy joes with mac and cheese. It’s another quick and easy side dish.

Sloppy joes aren’t normally served with cheese, so adding mac to your meal will round it out. You can also ditch the bun and just mix the mac with the sloppy joes!

5. Baked Beans

Baked beans are flavorful and packed with protein to round out a sloppy joe meal nicely. They’re sweet-tasting, which compliments the flavor of the meal.

Baked beans are easy to prepare. There’s no need to measure anything, just empty the can into a pan over the stovetop and heat them up!

6. Sweet Potato Fries

 

Mixing starchy texture with sweet flavoring, sweet potato fries are an excellent side dish. They’re a great alternative to your typical russet potato French fry.

You can make your own sweet potato fries, but this may take some extra preparation and cook time. You can also buy pre-made frozen fries.

7. Green Beans

Green beans can be made in a variety of different ways. The easiest way is to simply cook them on the stovetop in some olive oil.

If you want to spruce up your green beans, try adding bits of bacon to it. You can opt-out of the bacon for a lighter side dish.

8. Coleslaw

Coleslaw is easy to make, tastes delicious, and doesn’t fill you up too much. It goes great with sloppy joes, adding a vinegary taste to the meal.

If you have coleslaw mix, you can whip up this side dish in no time. The creamy yet crunchy texture contrasts with the sloppy joes, rounding out your dinner.

9. Broccoli

Looking for a healthier side choice? How about some steamed broccoli, lightly salted and seasoned with garlic powder? It’s an easy and light side dish.

Steaming is the quickest and easiest way to cook broccoli. It also gives you the power to stop cooking as soon as the broccoli is done enough for you.

10. Garden Salad

It’s hard to go wrong with a garden salad. It’s simple, easy to put together, and adds some vitamins and nutrients to an otherwise protein-heavy meal.

Garden salads have the ability to be as spruced up or dressed down as you like. You can add some tomatoes and feta cheese for a heartier salad.

11. Baked Potato

Just like with mac and cheese, you can opt-out of your hamburger bun sandwich and just pile your baked potato with sloppy joe meat.

Alternatively, serve it on the side with melted butter, shredded cheese, and sour cream. Baked potatoes are easy to make, and can be made in the oven or microwave.

12. Garlic Bread

The perfect mopping tool for a deliciously messy meal. Garlic bread is easy enough to make on your own, or you can buy pre-made bread.

If you decide to make your own garlic bread, it only takes about fifteen minutes. Just mix together melted butter and seasonings, spread on bread, and bake!

13. Macaroni Salad

Macaroni salad is a great side dish to sloppy joes during the summer months. Nothing says a picnic quite like crockpot sloppy joes and macaroni salad.

You can, of course, make macaroni salad any time of year! The cool and creamy texture of this side dish will pair great with sloppy joes.

14. Steak Fries

Steak fries are thicker cut than your average shoestring or crinkle cut. These will go smoothly alongside your sloppy joe dinner, adding starch and flavor.

Fries are a classic side dish to sandwiches, but with sloppy joes, steak fries seem to pair the best. They add a salty flavor to the sweet sloppy joe mix.

15. Fried Dill Chips

Pickles and sandwiches have been matched together for years, and for good reason. The sour vinegary taste of the pickles contrasts with a salty sandwich.

Fried dill chips are just pickles that are battered and deep-fried. They are usually served with a dipping sauce, but you can also try them plain.

16. Grilled Squash & Zucchini

A summertime favorite. Grilled squash and zucchini can be made with olive oil and topped with parmesan cheese and then grilled to delicious perfection.

This is a great side dish for outdoor picnics or summertime get-togethers. It’s a lighter side dish, leaving you room for your sloppy joes.

17. Potato Chips

The original classic side dish to a sandwich. Potato chips come in tons of different flavors, but with sloppy joes, you’ll want to dial the flavor back a little.

Keep your chip selection simple with plain sea salt chips. Alternatively, you can make your own homemade chips using an air fryer or an oven.

Wrap Up

Sloppy joes are a great weeknight dinner. They are easy to put together, and the shortlist of ingredients is inexpensive and easy to find in your grocery store.

Make sure to pick a side dish that’s as easy to make as sloppy joes. Weeknights can be busy and packed with activity. No need to add more work to your plate.

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