Big Mac Sloppy Joes

There’s this thing I run into from time to time, as a food blogger. I’ll have a GREAT idea, flesh it out... and eventually come to find out that someone’s already done something similar.

BOO!

Anyway, this recipe for delicious Big Mac Sloppy Joes was one of those instances.

We’d gone on a big sloppy joe recipe designing binge last year, coming up with all KINDS of variations on the popular loose meat sandwich.

After all, homemade Sloppy Joes are the perfect one-pan meal for camping. The sloppy Joe meat generally needs only a few ingredients, and it’s a super easy ground beef dinner recipe in general.

We made a bunch of different variations on the classic Sloppy Joe, but this was the first one inspired by an American fast food icon.

We took all of the elements of the classic sandwich from McDonald’s, and just sort of... rearranged them - Sloppy Joe style!

Instead of beef patties, the secret sauce, onions, and pickles all separately, all of those elements were combined into a fun twist on sloppy Joe filling.

The homemade Big Mac sauce I built into the meat mixture, rather than using a separate sauce. I based in on the copycat Big Mac sauce I used for my Big Mac Salad.

Fun fact: Contrary to popular belief, the special sauce is NOT actually Thousand Island dressing. I know - that shocked me too!

Anyway, the creamy sauce acts as a binder for ground beef, onions, and diced pickles, then the whole thing is assembled with more pickles, American cheese slices, lettuce, and a toasted sesame seed bun.

It may not look it, but it tastes just like the real thing!

While we generally think of Sloppy Joes as a camping meal, this also works really well as a quick easy weeknight dinner recipe - just cook it on a stove top, instead of a campfire.

Speaking of which, we photographed this post while camping at Kap-Kig-Iwan Provincial Park - fantastic!

Anyway, this is a great recipe, and is sure to be a big hit with your whole family - so let’s get to it!

Ingredients

This recipe uses fairly simple ingredients that should not ne difficult to find in any larger grocery store. As always, I have some notes for you:

Lean Ground Beef

Ground beef is obviously going to get you the closest to that authentic Big Mac taste - I recommend using lean ground beef, specifically.

That said, if beef isn’t an option, feel free to swap it out for ground chicken, ground turkey, or even a vegetarian substitute, like Beyond Beef.

Onions

I generally use 2 kinds of onions in this recipe - yellow onion in the sauce, and sliced red onion on top.

Sure, the red onion isn’t as accurate, but I prefer it. Feel free to use thinly sliced yellow or white onion, if you prefer!

Sugar

If you don’t want to use the 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar in the sauce, you can swap out the same amount for any cup-for-cup type sweetener.

Use a neutral flavoured one if possible - honey, maple syrup, brown sugar, etc will all change the flavour profile.

For lower carb sugar substitute options, I’m not a fan of erythritol, on account of the weird cooling sensation it causes.

So, I generally use allulose. It’s less sweet than sugar, though, so if you go that way... you’ll want to use 4 tsp, instead of 1 Tbsp.

Everything Else

Rounding out this recipe, you will need:

Sesame Hamburger Buns
Kraft Singles Cheese Slices
Dill Pickles
Iceberg Lettuce
Mayonnaise
Olive Oil
White Vinegar
Yellow Mustard
Smoked Paprika
Onion Powder
Garlic Powder
Ground Black Pepper
Salt

I don’t really have anything to add, as far as these last few ingredients go.

How to Make Big Mac Sloppy Joes

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

Optional Prep:

We like to do freezer packs of prepped ingredients before our camping trip, but this is also a great idea at home. You can make a bunch of packs at once, for easy weeknight meals!

Mix the spices in a small baggie, and chop the onions.

Seal the small baggie - pushing out all air you can - then place the spice packet and the onions in a freezer baggie. (We like to vacuum seal these, for longevity).

Freeze until you’re ready to use them.

Big Mac 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.)

Prepare all of your ingredients ahead of time - it comes together FAST once you start cooking!

Add the ground beef and olive oil to a large skillet - or a dutch oven, and set over the fire or hot coals.

Cook - breaking up the ground meat into small pieces as it cooks - just until it’s cooked though.

Add the chopped onion, continue cooking until they’re just starting to become tender, another 2-3 minutes. For best results, drain excess grease if applicable.

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 remaining ingredients to the ground beef mixture, stir well to combine. Allow to simmer for about 15 minutes, or until thickened to the texture you like.

Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Assembly:

Toast the buns, then divide lettuce, dill pickle chips, and onions - if using - between the 4 bottom buns.

Divide Sloppy Joe mixture on top of the prepared bottom buns, placing a slice of American cheese on top, before finishing off with the top bun.

Serve immediately, with plenty of napkins and your favourite sides - dill pickles, french fries, a side salad, and tater tots are all great options.

Leftovers

Leftover sloppy joe mix can be cooled to room temperature, then transferred to an airtight container.

Store leftovers 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
Cabbage Roll in a Bowl
Cajun Chicken Sloppy Joes
Campfire Chicken Curry
Campfire Chili
Chicken Marbella
Dutch Oven Jambalaya
Easy Chicken Curry
Egg Roll in a Bowl
Hearty Campfire Beef Stew
Indian Sloppy Joes
Mexican Sloppy Joes
Puttanesca Sloppy Joes
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!