Ethiopian Sloppy Joes

I mean, we’ve got more planned for this year, but hey... we’ve finally caught up on last year’s sloppy joe sandwiches, and that feels noteworthy!

Beyond my Classic Sloppy Joes, I’ve posted my recipes for Big Mac Sloppy Joes, Buffalo Chicken Sloppy Joes, Cajun Chicken Sloppy Joes, Cuban Sloppy Joes, Indian Sloppy Joes, Korean Beef Sloppy Joes, Mexican Sloppy Joes, Philly Cheesesteak Sloppy Joes, Puttanesca Sloppy Joes, Sloppy Giuseppes, and even Thankgiving Sloppy Joes.

Whew!!

Today, it’s all about my Ethopian inspired Sloppy Joes.

The homemade sloppy Joe sauce skips the peppers you’d usually expect in sloppy joe filling, in favour of extra onions.

From there, the homemade sauce is heavily seasoned with Berbere. It’s the same spice used in Doro Wat, as well as in Berbere Lentils, AKA Yemisir Wat.

Sure, it’s not exactly the most traditional flavour profile for these saucy sandwiches, but it just WORKS!

Porter ranks this one as one of his top 3 favourite sloppy Joes... but refuses to be held down to actually ranking those top 3.

Good enough for me!

Anyway, let’s look at what you’ll need in terms of ingredients...

Ingredients

With one exception (that’s easily made at home!), this delicious sloppy Joe recipe uses pretty simple ingredients, you shouldn’t have a problem finding what you need in pretty much any larger grocery store.

As always, I have some ingredient notes for you:

Lean Ground Chicken

Lean ground turkey is the best substitute in this recipe, if you can’t find ground chicken for some reason. You COULD use lean ground beef - or even Beyond Beef - but it will have a fairly different flavour profile.

Whichever wat you go, aim for lean meat - otherwise you’ll need to drain off excess fat after browning it, and that’s just annoying when camping!

Berbere Seasoning

Berbere is a WILDLY complex, flavourful Ethiopian spice mix. It’s used a LOT in Ethiopian cuisine, and adds a great flavour to anything it’s used in.

You can find berbere spice in African markets, or order it from specialty spice shops (generally not as good as what you get from African markets, IMHO!).

Or - as I prefer - you can easily make it at home. All you need is a bunch of basic spices, and a food processor.

Recipes vary from person to person, but mine - found in the post for my Berbere Lentils Recipe (AKA Yemisir Wat) uses:

Allspice, Black Peppercorns, Dried Chilies, Cardamom Seeds, Coriander Seeds, Garlic Powder, Ground Cinnamon, Ground Ginger, Ground Nutmeg, Onion Powder, Salt, Smoked Paprika, Sweet Paprika, and Whole Cloves.

Everything Else

Kaiser Buns (or whatever hamburger buns you like)
Shredded Cabbage (Can use Coleslaw Mix)
Plain Tomato Sauce
1 Large Onion
Garlic Powder
Ginger Powder
Brown Sugar
Olive Oil
Pepper
Salt

... I just don’t have anything else to say about these last few ingredients. Pretty basic!

How to Make Ethiopian Sloppy Joes

The full recipe is in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post, here is the pictorial walk through:

Optional Food Prep

We like to make up freezer packets of prepped ingredients for our sloppy joes recipes, in advance of our camping trips. This is not only great for camping, but can be a great way to have easy weeknight dinners available, with little work.

For this one, we measure the dry seasonings into a snack sized Ziplock baggie, push the air out, and seal.

Then we chop the onions, and vacuum seal them in another baggie, along with the spice packet. A regular freezer baggie works fine though.

Label it and freeze until you’re ready to use it.

Ethiopian Sloppy Joe Filling

Get a medium campfire going, or get your charcoal on the go. (If you’re making this on a stove, use medium high heat and a nonstick pan.)

Add the onion and olive oil to a large cast iron skillet - or a dutch oven, and set over the fire or hot coals. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onions start to brown.

Note: If using frozen onions, you can thaw them first, or just add them in frozen. They’ll take a bit longer to cook if frozen, but it works just fine!

Add the ground chicken to the pan. Cook - breaking up the meat as you go - just until it’s cooked though.

Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Assembly

Toast the buns, then divide the Ethiopian Chicken mixture between the 4 bottom buns.

Top each with some shredded cabbage, before finishing off with the top bun.

Serve immediately, with plenty of napkins!

Leftovers

Leftover Sloppy Joe mix can be cooled to room temperature, then stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. Reheat before serving.

More One-Pot Camping Recipes

Looking for more easy - but satisfying! - one pot meals to cook over your campfire? Here are some of my favourites!

Bacon Cheeseburger Soup
Beef & Root Vegetable Stew
Big Mac Sloppy Joes
Buffalo Chicken Sloppy Joes
Cabbage Roll in a Bowl
Cajun Chicken Sloppy Joes
Campfire Chicken Curry
Campfire Chili
Chicken Marbella
Cuban Sloppy Joes
Dutch Oven Jambalaya
Easy Chicken Curry
Egg Roll in a Bowl
Hearty Campfire Beef Stew
Indian Sloppy Joes
Korean Beef Sloppy Joes
Mexican Sloppy Joes
Peanut Chicken Stir Fry
Philly Cheesesteak Sloppy Joes
Puttanesca Sloppy Joes
Shrimp Boil
Sloppy Giuseppes
Southwest Chicken Chili
Thankgiving Sloppy Joes
Traditional Sloppy Joes
Venison Chili
Venison Stew

Be sure to check out our other Camping Recipes, including Camping Desserts, Camping Snacks, Make-Ahead Camping Mix Recipes, and a ton of delicious Camping Main Dish Recipes.

Also, we had SO much fun designing gourmet jerky recipes for our camping trips, we started a whole new blog for them! Check out Dried & Tasty for all kinds of fun recipes to make in your food dehydrator!