I wrote about two different versions of sloppy joes last September. Since then, my wife tweaked her version of one of the recipes and then I also had the great idea to add the sloppy joe mixture into fried egg rolls. Not sure where these ideas come from, but luckily, they sometimes work out.
Welcome to our new sloppy joe adventure.
These are ground turkey sloppy joes, but like our other sloppy joe recipes, you can easily substitute ground beef or plant-based meat for this recipe too.
Here’s Bounded by Bun’s third sloppy joe recipe. Three sloppy joe recipes is how you know that a blog is serious about sandwiches. Trust me, we’re serious.
Korean spiced sloppy Joes
This is a slightly spicier version of Robin's sloppy joe recipe. Using gochugaru and gochujang we introduce a little Korean spice to this comforting sandwich.
Get RecipeThe egg rolling
Next, we need to stuff some sloppy joe mixture and cheese into an egg roll wrapper and fry it up. This process is really easy, and I outlined it in a photo slideshow down below.
Here’s how I pack and roll an egg roll.
Egg roll wrappers are found at the grocery store in either the frozen section or the produce section. 
You’ll need a whole egg whisked with 1 tablespoon of water and one egg roll wrapper. 
With a brush or spoon, paint the egg wash all around the outside of the egg roll wrapper. This will help things stick together. 
Place around 2 to 3 tablespoons of sloppy joe filling in the center of the wrapper. 
This is where you’d add cheese. I forgot to do so on camera, but you’ll see it in a later photo. 
From one corner, start rolling to the other corner, trying to firmly squeeze out any air bubbles. 
When you get the filling totally covered, stop rolling and fold the sides over on top of the filling. 
Once the sides are folded into the middle, you can continue to roll to the end. 
Once rolled up tightly, move aside and continue rolling the egg rolls. 
This is the second egg roll I made where I actually added cheese. 
Rolled up just like the first egg roll. 
Fold the sides in and continue rolling. This is the end of our egg roll slide show.
The frying process
This part is also fairly simple. Get your oil up to about 350 degrees F (176 C) and fry until they’re golden brown. For me, this took around 4 minutes for each sloppy joe egg roll. The one in the photo below was almost perfect. Check both sides and flip in the middle of the cooking time to make sure they brown consistently.
Sloppy joe egg roll recipe
Here’s my sloppy joe egg roll recipe. If you are lazy and you don’t want to make your own sloppy joe mixture, you can buy some from the store and skip a bunch of steps. If you do decide to make your own sloppy joes, this recipe makes enough for you to eat a couple as sandwiches and save the egg rolls until the next day with the leftovers if you want.
NOTE: this sloppy joe egg roll recipe is not using the Korean spiced egg roll recipe from above. It’s using Robin’s sloppy joe recipe. But if you want, you can choose any of the sloppy joe recipes on the site as the sloppy joe base. Choose your own sloppy adventure.
Sloppy Joe egg rolls
Crispy, crunch egg rolls filled with comforting sloppy joe and cheese. The base sloppy joe recipe is based on Robin's recipe. You can make it with turkey, ground beef or even plant based meat if you want.
Ingredients:
Sloppy joe mixture- 2 ounces extra virgin olive oil
- 1 large onion diced
- 2 or 3 jalapenos diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 pounds lean ground turkey
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 cups ketchup
- 1⁄4 cup yellow mustard
- 1⁄4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1⁄2 cup red wine
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1 whole large egg
- 1 tablespoon water
- 10 egg roll wrappers, thawed
- 4 ounces cheddar cheese, cut into 10 skinny rectangles
- 20 tablespoons of sloppy joe mixture from above (should be about 2/3rds of the total mixture)
- vegetable or canola oil for frying (up to 2 inches deep in your pot or pan)
Directions:
Make the sloppy joe mixture: Set a large pan over medium-high heat and add olive oil. Add onions, jalapeno, and garlic. Season with salt and pepper, and saute 5 minutes until onions are soft and translucent.
Add ground turkey and cook until done, breaking it up with a wooden spoon - about 7 to 10 minutes.
Add tomato paste and stir.
Add ketchup, mustard, cayenne, brown sugar, tomato paste, and wine. Stir everything to combine.
Reduce heat and simmer for 10 to 12 minutes.
Finish with a splash of red wine vinegar.
Let mixture cool before wrapping in egg roll wrappers. You can make this sloppy joe mixture and store it in the refrigerator overnight if needed.
Rolling and frying egg rolls: In a small bowl whisk one whole egg with a tablespoon of water.
Remove one egg roll wrapper at a time, lay it flat on your counter or cutting board, and with a brush or spoon, paint egg wash all around the edges of the egg roll wrapper.
Add 2 tablespoons of sloppy joe mixture to the center of the egg roll wrapper and roll the wrapper up from one corner to the other. At the halfway point of rolling, fold in the sides and then continue rolling. The egg wash should glue all the sides together.
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Continue rolling your egg rolls until they are all fully rolled up. Set aside while you get your frying oil ready.
In a large pot or pan heat up vegetable oil, 2 inches deep, to 350 degrees F (176 C). If you do not have a thermometer, make sure the oil will sputter and pop when you add a drop of water to it.
Fry 2 or 3 egg rolls at a time for 2 minutes and then flip them over for 2 additional minutes to ensure even cooking and browning. Once egg rolls are golden brown, remove them from the oil to a cooling rack. Continue frying egg rolls in batches until they are all done.
Let egg rolls cool for 5 to 10 minutes. They will be mouth burning hot right out of the fryer, so be careful.
Notes:
Feel free to use whatever ground meat that you want for these sloppy joes.
Avocado and jalapeno ranch sauce
Here’s a fun new recipe sauce for dipping. You could make a cheese sauce for dipping sloppy joe egg rolls in as well.
Avocado, jalapeno ranch sauce
Want a fresh flavored, spicy, green sauce that contains what some folks would call "the good fat?" Well, maybe this is that sauce. Maybe. Regardless, this sauce is great for dipping fries or chips and as a spread on sandwiches.
Get Recipe
Make sloppy joe egg rolls
You should make sloppy joes for night one and you’ll have lots of leftovers. On the second night, turn those leftovers into sloppy joe egg rolls!
Hope you enjoyed this fresh Thursday “sandwich” post. We’ll be back to normal with a new sandwich on Monday.
