Old-School BBQ Pork Sloppy Joes
with Pickled Onion, Potato Wedges & Chipotle Ranch
- Eggs
- Milk
- Soy
- Wheat
The humble sloppy Joe may be one of the most underrated comfort foods. Adults and kids alike will love this version, which has a few flavor upgrades that take it to the next level. Onion and ground pork are browned, then simmered with barbecue sauce spiked with a little chipotle powder for a smoky kick. The filling’s stuffed between potato buns with pickled onion for tang and served with roasted potato wedges on the side. Tasty nostalgia on the table in just 25 minutes? It doesn’t get much better than that.
Ingredients
1 unit
Red Onion
1 unit
Lime
2 unit
Potato Buns
(Contains: Eggs, Milk, Soy, Wheat)
4 tablespoon
BBQ Sauce
2 tablespoon
Ketchup
1 unit
Chicken Stock Concentrate
1 tablespoon
Cornstarch
12 ounce
Potatoes
1.5 ounce
Buttermilk Ranch Dressing
(Contains: Eggs, Milk)
1 teaspoon
Chipotle Powder
10 ounce
Ground Pork
Not included in your delivery
1 tablespoon
Cooking Oil
¼ teaspoon
Sugar
Salt
Pepper
Nutrition Values
Utensils
Cooking Steps
• Adjust rack to top position and preheat oven to 425 degrees. Wash and dry produce. • Cut potatoes into ½-inch-thick wedges. Halve, peel, and thinly slice ¼ of the onion; finely dice remaining onion. Halve lime. Halve buns. • Toss potatoes on a baking sheet with a large drizzle of oil, salt, and pepper. • Roast on top rack until browned and tender, 20-25 minutes.
• While potatoes roast, in a small bowl, combine BBQ sauce, ketchup, stock concentrate, half the cornstarch (all for 4 servings), and 1 TBSP water (2 TBSP for 4). • In a separate small microwave-safe bowl, combine sliced onion, juice from half the lime, ¼ tsp sugar, and a pinch of salt. Microwave until bright pink, 30 seconds. • In a third small bowl, combine ranch dressing with a pinch of chipotle powder to taste (you’ll use more chipotle powder later).
• Heat a drizzle of oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add diced onion and cook, stirring, until softened, 4-5 minutes. • Add pork* and season with salt and pepper. Cook, breaking up meat into pieces, until browned, 3-5 minutes (it’ll finish cooking in the next step).
• Add BBQ sauce mixture to pan with pork. Cook, stirring, until mixture is thickened and pork is cooked through, 2-3 minutes more. • If you like things spicy, stir in a pinch or two of chipotle powder to taste. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Add a squeeze of lime juice if you like. Turn off heat.
• While filling cooks, toast buns until golden brown. TIP: Place on a baking sheet or toast directly on oven rack. Brush cut sides with melted butter first for extra richness.
• Fill buns with as much pork filling and pickled onion (draining first) as you like. Divide sloppy joes between plates. Serve with potato wedges and chipotle ranch for dipping.
Ground Pork is fully cooked when internal temperature reaches 160°.
Customer reviews
Review summary
Updated on Dec 2025- Flavor: Many loved the smoky, tangy flavor; some found it too sweet. The pickled onions added a zingy crunch 🍲.
- Ease of prep: Quick and easy to make, with clear instructions. Some struggled with tiny potatoes for wedges.
- Suggestions: Consider adding extra BBQ sauce for more moisture. Try beef instead of pork for a classic taste.
- Portions: Several wished for larger or more buns to match the generous meat filling.
- Sides: Many requested alternatives to potato wedges; some suggested coleslaw or baked beans.
Reviews from our home cooks
This was delicious! I usually am not a fan of sloppy joes, but this was amazing!! The bbq sloppy joe sauce was very good and it said to add chipotle seasoning if we liked spicy and I'm happy I added it!! It added a smoky flavor and just enough spice! Also added a squeeze of lime in too and it was yummy! We loved the addition of pickled onion on this! It's nice to find new ways to quick pickle things and this was interesting and made it great! Potatoes wedges were simple but very good with the chipotle ranch dipping sauce! I added a spoonful to each bun of the sloppy joe to add some creaminess and it was yummy!! I toasted the buns in my air fryer and they came out perfect! We'd definitely get this again!!
The sloppy joes tasted more like BBQ but really good - especially with the pickled onions for some crunch. But, once again, rose potatoes are not the right kind to make these wedge fries and every way I try, I can't get them crisp.
So delicious! Adding the lime juice to the meat mixture was such a great way to step up the old style sloppy joe! I knew I wasn't going to make the chipotle ranch, so I threw quite a bit of the chipotle seasoning into the meat mixture. Great meal and great as leftovers!
This was excellent! I expected a typical sloppy Joe but this has something extra to it. We even surprised ourselves trying the pink pickled onions which were very good and sweet. Lastly, I enjoyed the spicy ranch dip for the potato wedges.
This sloppy joe recipe is amazing! And we really loved the pickled onions and can see using them on other recipes too. This meal is one of my top 5 favorites from Hello Fresh. LOVE IT.
It was as delightful as a Sloppy Joe could be I believe. I may have gotten carried away with the chipotle powder leaving it a bit on the spicy side. Which I enjoyed but I'm not sure that it coincides with the tenor of the sandwich. The pickled onions were the highlight I would say. They really stood out.
I added some leftover meat from the Chicken Sandos recipe and some extra onion and a little ground beef, green pepper and some Sweet Baby Ray's original bbq sauce and they were awesome, best ever! I named them Dirty, Sloppy Joes! I love getting my box, it's so fun and delicious. You can stick to the recipe or be creative!
The chipotle ranch dipping sauce just didn't fit the flavors of the sloppy joes very well. Also, while they tasted good, the buns were too small for the amount of filling. I could easily have used the same amount of filling to comfortably fill 3 or 4 of those buns. tl;dr - Needs different dipping sauce and wider diameter buns.
I like sloppy joes. These are very good they do not have an over powering tomato taste. The pickled onions are a good add on and I'm very pleased with the ranch and chipotle for dipping, it was a nice change.
I haven't had a sloppy joes since I was a kid, never liked the canned sauce version. This was magnificent!! The addition of the pickled onions made this over the top.
Explore Similar Recipes
