Buffalo Chicken Sloppy Joes

Next up on our homemade sloppy joes recipe designing odyssey... Buffalo Chicken Sloppy Joes!

We’re big fans of buffalo wings (Traditional for me, boneless wings for him!), but even more so of the Buffalo Chicken sauce itself.

You may have noticed this across our various food blogs, which have recipes for

A great way to ave this comfort food, warm and comforting food, but with a spicy kick that makes it different from the foods he grew up with.

Campfire Buffalo Chicken Dip, Buffalo Chicken Pizza, Buffalo Chicken Buns, Buffalo Chicken Nachos, Low Car Buffalo Chicken Meatballs, Buffalo Chicken Salad, Buffalo Chicken Jerky, and - most recently - Buffalo Chicken Mac & Cheese!

The cayenne pepper sauce - along with ranch dressing - actually works really well as a variation on the tangy sauce you’d usually expect in classic Sloppy Joes.

Because we tend to keep both hot sauce and ranch on hand in the RV, it’s a really easy meal to make on the road. I like to do up freezer packets to make it even more convenient:

I’ll measure the herbs and spices into a small freezer baggie, then vacuum seal that into a larger baggie, with the chopped veggies. It makes for a SUPER quick meal, whether at home or at a campground.

It’s how we did this batch up, before cooking and shooting it while staying at Kap-Kig-Iwan Provincial Park last year... and it’s how we’ll continue to prep them, going forward!

Anyway, let’s look at what you’ll need for your own batch of Buffalo Joes!

Ingredients

This delicious sloppy joe recipe uses really simple ingredients - we haven’t had any trouble finding everything we need even in small, rural grocery stores.

As always, I have some ingredient notes for you:

Lean Ground Chicken

Ground turkey is a good substitute, and lean ground pork would also work.

You COULD use lean ground beef, but it does have a stronger flavour than ground poultry, and takes you further from the “Buffalo CHICKEN” theme.

Lean meat is key, though. If you’re using a fattier ground meat, you’ll want to drain excess grease off after cooking it.

Frank’s Redhot Sauce

Be sure to use the Original Cayenne Pepper Sauce, NOT the “Buffalo Wings Sauce”.

The original one is basic hot sauce, the buffalo wing sauce has oils and such added.

Also note: We add cayenne powder to the mix, to boost heat and the flavour of the Frank’s Red Hot Sauce, without making the homemade sloppy joe sauce too salty and vinegary.

Ranch Dressing

We recommend using regular - not light - ranch dressing, for flavour and texture reasons.

If you enjoy Bleu Cheese with your buffalo wings, though... feel free to use a blue cheese dressing instead.

Kaiser Buns

We like to use Kaiser buns for these sloppy joe sandwiches, but sometimes we can’t find them - especially when way out in then boonies.

When it comes down to it, you can use whatever hamburger buns you like - just try to get something substantial enough to hold up to the sloppy joe filling.

Everything Else

Rounding out this recipe, you will need:

Shredded Cabbage (Optional)
Plain Tomato Sauce
Ground Black Pepper
Cayenne Powder
Garlic Powder
Dried Parsley
Olive Oil
Celery
Onion
Salt

... I just don’t really have any substitutions or anything else to add, as far as these last few ingredients go. Pretty straightforward stuff!

How to Make Buffalo Chicken 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 mix the dry ingredients into a spice packet, push out the excess air and seal it.

Then, we chop the celery and onions, and vacuum seal them in a larger baggie, along with the spice packet - a regular freezer baggie works fine though.

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

Buffalo Chicken 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 ground chicken and olive oil to a large cast iron skillet - or a dutch oven, and set over the fire or hot coals.

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

Add the chopped celery and onion, continue cooking until the just starting to become tender, another 2-3 minutes.

Note: If using frozen vegetables, 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 pan, 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 Buffalo Joes meat mixture between the 4 bottom buns.

Top with a drizzle of ranch dressing, and cabbage - if using - before finishing off with the top bun.

Serve immediately, with your favourite sides - classic coleslaw, dill pickles, french fries, potato chips, potato salad, or a side salad... and 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.

See the post for details on how to do most of the food prep in advance, creating a freezer pack of ingredients.

It makes the cooking SO much quicker and easier when we get to our campsite!

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
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
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!