BBQ Pork Sloppy Joes
A comforting American pork built around potatoes, bread and pork — roughly 140 minutes start to finish, and rated involved to make. You'll find the full ingredient list (with a scaler to change the servings), 23 steps of method, substitutions, and ideas for what to serve alongside.
You'll mainly reach for oven and pan. At involved difficulty across 23 steps, it's worth setting aside proper time for.
What you'll need
Shopping list (6)
Pantry staples (you likely have these)
Diet: contains meat, based on every ingredient listed below.
Contains: Gluten
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Food-safety and allergen information is general, not medical advice. Follow current guidance from your local food-safety authority, verify product labels, and seek qualified advice for allergies or health conditions.
How to make it
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Wash and dry all produce. Cut sweet potatoes into ½-inch-thick wedges. Toss on a baking sheet with a drizzle of oil, salt, and pepper. Roast until browned and tender, 20-25 minutes.
- Meanwhile, halve and peel onion.
- Slice as thinly as possible until you have ¼ cup (½ cup for 4 servings); finely chop remaining onion.
- Peel and finely chop garlic.
- Halve lime; squeeze juice into a small bowl.
- Halve buns.
- Add 1 TBSP butter (2 TBSP for 4) to a separate small microwave-safe bowl; microwave until melted, 30 seconds.
- Brush onto cut sides of buns.
- To bowl with lime juice, add sliced onion, ¼ tsp sugar (½ tsp for 4 servings), and a pinch of salt. Stir to combine; set aside to quick-pickle.
- Heat a drizzle of oil in a large pan over medium-high heat.
- Add chopped onion and season with salt and pepper.
- Cook, stirring, until softened, 4-5 minutes.
- Add garlic and cook until fragrant, 30 seconds more.
- Add pork and season with salt and pepper.
- Cook, breaking up meat into pieces, until browned and cooked through, 4-6 minutes.
- While pork cooks, in a third small bowl, combine BBQ sauce, pickling liquid from onion, 3 TBSP ketchup (6 TBSP for 4 servings), ½ tsp sugar (1 tsp for 4), and ¼ cup water (⅓ cup for 4).
- Once pork is cooked through, add BBQ sauce mixture to pan.
- Cook, stirring, until sauce is thickened, 2-3 minutes.
- Taste and season with salt and pepper.
- Meanwhile, toast buns in oven or toaster oven until golden, 3-5 minutes.
- Divide toasted buns between plates and fill with as much BBQ pork as you’d like.
- Top with pickled onion and hot sauce.
- Serve with sweet potato wedges on the side.
You'll use: Oven · Pan · Large pot · Baking sheet · Microwave
Ingredient substitutions
- Lime
- lemon
What to serve with BBQ Pork Sloppy Joes
- Cream Cheese Tart Starter
- Rocky Road Fudge Dessert
- Hot Chocolate Fudge Dessert
- Vegan Chocolate Cake Vegetarian
Tips & common questions
How long does BBQ Pork Sloppy Joes take to make?
About 140 minutes from start to finish — an estimate based on the 23 steps and 13 ingredients. Times vary with your kitchen and how much prep you do ahead.
What can I use instead of lime?
Try lemon. See the substitutions section above for more swaps.
Can I scale this recipe up or down?
Yes — use the servings control above the ingredients and every quantity rescales automatically (fractions included). Cooking times stay roughly the same; very large batches may need a little longer.
How should I store leftovers?
Cool leftovers quickly, refrigerate in an airtight container, and eat within 3 days. Reheat until piping hot throughout.
Related recipes
Structured source recipe — not yet independently kitchen-tested by Consomee. How we source, test & correct recipes.
Recipe data for BBQ Pork Sloppy Joes via TheMealDB (open database). Consomee adds the scaler, ingredient tools, timing and structure — how we source recipes.