You have already decided that you are making sloppy joes for dinner, now the question is what to serve with sloppy joes. While everyone loves a great big plate of sloppy joes on its own, it is even better when paired with the perfect side. Luckily, we have found the best 21 sides that pair perfectly with your sloppy joes recipe and will make your meal complete!
From french fries to potato salad, there is something here for every sloppy joe lover. You may also need to try every single one of these side dishes and have sloppy joes every week. Which dish is the absolute best? We can’t decide! They are all delicious and every side enhances your sloppy joe meal, bring out that meaty, saucy taste that you love. So pull out your favorite recipe, pick the first dish that catches your eye and start cooking. We know your sloppy joe meal combo will be great.
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What Goes Good With Sloppy Joes?
When you start planning your meal around this tasty sandwich, what kinds of dishes should you consider to pair with your meaty sandwich? There are lots of ways to go about choosing what to serve alongside your favorite sloppy joe recipe. Sloppy joes in general are very filling.
Homemade BBQ Sloppy Joe Sandwiches with Fries
All that meat, sauce, and bread makes for quite a hearty meal! Keeping this in mind, you may like to opt for a lighter dish. Of course, you still need the side you choose to be flavorful! We have plenty of lean, tasty options for you to pick here.
Sloppy joes are also a great choice for nights when you need a quick meal that you know everyone in your house will love. You may need the sides to be just as simple and just as crowd-pleasing. Options like french fries and potato salad are always a sure bet. We know how to take your sloppy joes to the next level by serving them with awesome sides. Now, which dish will you choose?
1. White Cheddar Mac and Cheese
Mac and cheese is a classic side dish and this recipe uses white cheddar cheese which adds and an incredible amount of flavor. The cheesy pasta goes well with sloppy joe sauce and the two dishes put together are sure to fill you up! Take a look at this great dish from our site and whip up a batch right now!
2. Crispy Baked Sweet Potato Fries
There is no better combination than sweet and salty. These fries will bring sweetness while the sloppy joes will bring the salty. This recipe from Cookie and Kate is the perfect dish to pair with a recipe for sloppy joes. Since the fries are baked instead of fried, they are also a great healthier option.
Image Source: Cookie and Kate
3. Homemade Tater Tots
While we are thinking about potato-based sides, let us mention how amazing homemade tater tots are. These light and fluffy potatoes are ideal to serve with sloppy joes as they won’t overpower the main course. Damn Delicious shows you how to make perfect tater tots (that are way better than those you can buy in the frozen food section!), a bite-sized treat that is a classic match for sloppy joes.
Image Source: Damn Delicious
4. Homemade Potato Chips
Potato chips have long been a go-to pairing to serve with recipes for sloppy joes. However, we are ready to take the basic potato chip to the next level. Make your own, homemade potato chips using Easy As Apple Pie. The best part? These chips are made in the microwave so there is no need to turn on that hot oven and wait- the chips are cooked in just 6 minutes! You will be surprised how perfect these microwave chips are.
Image Source: Easy As Apple Pie
5. Potato Salad
Potato salad may be the most classic food to serve with sloppy joes. The tangy but creaminess of the potato salad goes well with the meat and sauce of the sloppy joes. This recipe for potato salad from A Spicy Perspective is the only potato salad you will ever want to eat again- it is incredible!
Image Source: A Spicy Perspective
6. Easy Baked Beans
Sure, you could just open a can of baked beans but your sloppy joes deserve something homemade, something authentic. It is simple to make your own, delicious baked beans using directions from a Chunky Chef. With brown sugar and bacon, the beans are sweet and savory- the perfect match for the mean and sauce of your sloppy joes.
Image Source: Chunky Chef
7. Refrigerator Dill Pickles
There is nothing like a nice crunchy dill pickle alongside your soft, savory sloppy joe sandwich. Pickles can take some time to really develop their flavors but A Couple Cooks will help you make the pickles fast while still getting that deep, vinegary taste that you love. These homemade pickles are so much better than any store-bought ones- we guarantee it!
Image Source: A Couple Cooks
8. Pasta Salad
Pasta salad is a perfect cold dish to serve alongside your favorite messy sandwich. The tomatoes, onions, and fresh herbs will go well with the ingredients of your sloppy joes- in fact, many of the ingredients are the same! Pasta salad is a perfect recipe to prepare ahead, store in your fridge, and take out when you are ready to enjoy. Use this recipe from Inspired Taste for a classic but perfect pasta salad. Serve it warm or cold- both ways will be delicious.
Image Source: Inspired Taste
9. Grilled Corn on the Cob
A fresh ear of corn is an amazing sweet treat that matches the ease of sloppy joes perfectly. We love this recipe for grilled corn as it is quick to make and very flavorful thanks to the grill. While you are grilling the corn, you may also try to grill your sloppy joes buns to give them a little crisp warmth. Spend with Pennies has a great grilled corn method that you should definitely try.
Image Source: Spend with Pennies
10. Coleslaw
Coleslaw always reminds us of BBQs and summer dinners. Sloppy joes also fall into that category. Why not combine the two?! Everyone loves a good coleslaw and this creamy slaw from Love and Lemons is a great match for your saucy joe. That pretty purple cabbage is also sure to be a crowd-pleaser at your next summer picnic.
Image Source: Love and Lemons
11. Jalapeno Poppers
You may think of jalapeno poppers as an appetizer but they are also a perfect accompaniment for sloppy joes. The crunchy, spicy peppers are stuffed with a cream cheese and bacon blend. The recipe from Dinner at the Zoo is guaranteed to make your dinner more exciting! You can also alter this dish a little bit and use any kind of peppers you’d like. Banana peppers are perfect for a less spicy option while you can turn up the heat with a stuffed ghost pepper!
Image Source: Dinner at the Zoo
12. Garlic Bread
Sloppy Joes are knowns to be super saucy (and a little bit messy!) so make sure that you enjoy all that sauce by soaking it up with some extra garlic bread. You may even want to use this garlic bread from Budget Bytes as the bread for your sloppy joe. A little extra garlic is always a good idea.
Image Source: Budget Bytes
13. Waffle Fries
Everyone has their favorite kind of fries but we are obsessed with this homemade waffle fry recipe from A Plantiful Path. The fries are made in the air fryer which means you can use less oil, making them a healthier fry. The waffle shape will soak up some of that sauce and you may even consider topping the fries with some extra sloppy joe meat!
Image Source: A Plantiful Path
14. Mashed Potatoes
As you can see, potatoes are one of the best ingredients to serve alongside sloppy joes so, of course, we need to include a recipe for some awesome mashed potatoes. The garlic and cream cheese in these mashed potatoes from Gimme Some Oven may be the best idea ever. Make these mashed potatoes when you need a hearty side to go with your sandwich.
Image Source: Gimme Some Oven
15. Cauliflower Mash
If you like the idea of mashed potatoes served with your sloppy joes but are interested in a lower carb option, you may need to consider making cauliflower mash instead. In the recipe from Cafe Delites, steamed cauliflower florets are mashed with butter, sour cream, and spices to make a wonderful, low carb, healthy side.
Image Source: Cafe Delites
16. Onion Rings
There is nothing quite as tasty as crispy onion rings alongside your meat-filled sandwich. Did you know that you can bake onion rings in the oven? No frying needed when you use this dish from Just a Taste! But don’t worry, all that crispy, flavorful taste of onion rings that you crave is still there.
Image Source: Just a Taste
17. Sweet Potato Hash
Carmelized onions and garlic help create this straightforward baked sweet potato dish that’s truly incredible. We love serving this hash with sloppy joes especially in the wintertime when you want something filling and sweet. Give the hash from Build Your Bite a try- you will love it!
Image Source: Build Your Bite
18. Balsamic Lentil Salad
Sloppy joes are essentially meat, sauce, and bread. You may want to pick a side dish that is vegetable or bean-based in order to add some nutrition. This balsamic lentil salad from Destination Delish is healthy, tasty, and a more unique accompaniment for your favorite saucy sandwich. You also have the option of serving this recipe cold or warm- it works perfectly both ways!
Image Source: Destination Delish
19. Homemade Burger Buns
Once you have made a delicious sloppy joe filling, you may consider making your own burger buns to put that tasty filling on. Making your own buns will seriously take your sandwich to the next level. Use this quick-to-follow method from The Clever Carrot for a buttery roll that you will love then pile it high with all your saucy meat!
Image Source: The Clever Carrot
20. Garden Salad
A nice light garden salad is sometimes exactly what you need to go with your sloppy joes. Garden salad can be whatever you’d like it to be, basing the ingredients on what veggies you have on hand. Fresh lettuce is a must but after that, you can use what you want- from tomatoes to cucumbers, olives to bacon! It is up to you to make your ideal salad to go with your favorite meal. However, this creation from Moms Dish will show you how to craft a perfect, loaded salad to serve with your favorite sloppy joes!
Image Source: Moms Dish
21. Homemade Lemonade
Eating a big sloppy joes sandwich is sure to make you thirsty! That is why we thought a nice homemade lemonade would be a great thing to make to go alongside your sloppy joes. The tangy and refreshing drink will quench your thirst after eating that filling sandwich! Give this lemonade from Sugar Spun Run a try for the best blend of sweetness and tang. Make the lemonade ahead of time and store it in your fridge until you are ready to enjoy- it will stay nice and fresh for a few days.
Image Source: Sugar Spun Run
What Sides Go With Sloppy Joes?
We hope that we have answered this question for you throughout this article and given you some great options when it comes to what to serve with sloppy joes. From chips to salad, potatoes to veggies, there is something here that everyone will love. Sloppy joes are certainly a hearty, messy, amazingly delicious meal and now, with these recipes on hand, your meal will be complete! Let us know which recipes you try and which are your favorites. Don’t forget to snap a pic and send it our way- we love to see your mealtime creations!
Thank you so much for this amazing post!
You’re so welcome, Sofia! Glad you liked it.