Cajun Chicken Sloppy Joes

Not content to just stick with basic Sloppy Joe filling, I’ve been playing around with different variations of this iconic loose meat sandwich.

Maybe someday we’ll settle on one being the BEST Sloppy Joe recipe - One sloppy Joe to rule them all? - but for now, we’re enjoying going through ever manner of homemade Sloppy Joes recipe idea that crosses my mind, LOL.

So far, I’ve shared a couple of them - Traditional Sloppy Joes, and Sloppy Giuseppes.

Just wait - there are more coming!

They’re seasoned like my jambalaya, and a slight tweak to the vegetables used brings this Sloppy Joes recipe more in line with Louisiana fare.

The homemade sauce has tons of great flavor, and is sure to earn you rave reviews from anyone you serve it to.

As a camping recipe, it’s easy to do prep work ahead of time and freeze the components, for a VERY easy campfire meal. Brown some meat, dump a veggie packet in, add tomato sauce an a spice packet - boom.

Mega easy one pot meal - I like to call them “Sloppy LeBeaus”! Yes, when I think "Cajun", I think "Gambit", LOL.

Anyway, let’s look at what you’ll need, to make a batch yourself:

Ingredients

This homemade sloppy joe sauce has a relatively lengthy ingredients list, but they’re all super simple ingredients. Whatever you don’t have on hand already, you’ll easily be able to find in any grocery store.

A few notes for you:

Lean Ground Chicken

While Sloppy Joes meat sauce usually starts off with lean ground beef, I decided to make this one a chicken based one by default.

Lean ground turkey would also work.

You can definitely swap in another lean meat - like a lean or extra lean ground beef, ground venison, etc - just know that the spice packet was definitely designed for chicken.

You might want to increase everything except the salt by 25-50%, so it’ll stand out better against the stronger flavour of the beef.

Fresh Veggies

While classic sloppy joes tend to feature green pepper and onion, I went a bit different with this delicious sloppy joe recipe.

We’re using green bell pepper, onion... and celery. Sure, celery isn’t common when it comes to Sloppy Joes... but the combination IS very common in Creole and Cajun cooking.

Referred to as “Holy Trinity”, it’s the Cajun version of French “Mirepoix” - celery, onion, and carrots, in that case.

It forms the start of many Creole and Cajun recipes - Jambalaya, Etoufee, Gumbo, etc - so it only seemed right to use it in this recipe!

Spice Mixture

Basing this on my Jambalaya recipe means there’s a fair amount of dried herbs and spices involved.

I like to assemble a bunch of spice packets at one time, assembly-line style, as it’s just more efficient than measuring everything each time I want to throw on a batch of Cajun Sloppy Joes.

In this case, you’ll be using:

Cayenne
Garlic Powder
Ground Black Pepper
Dried Oregano
Dried Sage
Dried Thyme
Salt

Everything Else

Rounding out this recipe, you will need:

Kaiser Rolls (or regular hamburger buns)
Tomato Sauce
Brown Sugar
Olive Oil

Optionally, sometimes we’ll top the Sloppy LeBeaus with red onion slices and/or shredded lettuce, but they really don’t NEED it.

How to Make Cajun Chicken Sloppy Joes

The full recipe is in the printable recipe card at the end of this post. Here is my visual walk through, including the directions for prep work that can be done in advance.

Pre-Trip Food Prep

Using a Sharpie, label a medium sized Ziploc Freezer with “Cajun Sloppy Joes”, and as much of the instructions as you need or want. Set aside.

Peel and chop your onion, seed and chop the pepper, chop the celery, place in the baggie and set aside.

Press out any excess air, seal the baggie, and add to the freezer baggie of veggies. Press out all excess air, seal, and freeze until you’re almost ready to make your Cajun Chicken Sloppy Joes.

Make Your Cajun Sloppy Joes

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 a tablespoon of olive oil to a large skillet - or a Cutch 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 peppers, celery, and onion, continue cooking until the vegetables are tender, another 2-3 minutes.

(Note: You can thaw them first, or just add them frozen. Frozen will obviously take a little longer, but hey - I’m lazy!)

Allow to simmer for about 15 minutes, or until thickened to the texture you like. (I'll usually turn the stove down to medium low or medium heat, when cooking this at home.)

Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Divide sloppy joes mixture between your toasted buns, serve hot with your choice of side (classic coleslaw, dill pickles, potato chips, potato salad, side salad ), and plenty of napkins!

Leftovers

Leftover Cajun Sloppy Joes 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
Campfire Chicken Curry
Campfire Chili
Dutch Oven Jambalaya
Easy Chicken Curry
Egg Roll in a Bowl
Hearty Campfire Beef Stew
Sloppy Giuseppes
Traditional Sloppy Joes