This was one of those ideas that sounded strange to me at first. My husband gave me the idea with his talk of sloppy joe expertise. I altered the ingredients a bit by omitting tomatoes (yuck!). As you can tell, tomatoes are not my favorite thing in the world. For the sake of my husband, I will concede and add tomatoes to some of my recipes occasionally (and be sure to pick them out of my own serving). But this particular time, I decided to try something new: A sloppy joe mac & cheese dish, sans tomatoes.
You can’t go wrong with mac and cheese, so I suggest you pick up your favorite out-of-the-box brand and keep it simple if you’re looking for a quick dinner. OR if you want something from scratch, stay tuned as I will be sharing some of my homemade mac and cheese recipes in the near future. This time around however, I opted for a box of store bought “Shell and Cheese” pasta. If you are going to choose a boxed mac and cheese, I would recommend picking a brand that has the melted ready-to-add cheese instead of the powdered cheese. The consistency and flavor is so much better.
Lastly, pick your favorite packet of sloppy joe mix and get ready for the magic. This was probably the ingredient that made this meal’s flavor really pop. I only needed to use half a packet since I didn’t add tomatoes, but if you’re going to go the traditional route, go ahead and use the whole packet. As you can see, this meal requires very minimal and affordable ingredients. It’s one of those lazy, afternoon meals when you want something quick, yet delicious. Give it a try and let me know your experiences and suggestions! Full recipe for this Sloppy Joe Mac & Cheese below!
CHECK OUT THESE OTHER MAC & CHEESE RECIPES NEXT!
Sloppy Joe Mac & Cheese
Course: Main Course, Pasta & Noodles, Sides & SaladsDifficulty: Easy6
servings5
minutes30
minutes321
kcalThis Sloppy Joe Mac & Cheese is an easy recipe with only 4 ingredients needed! A delicious meal that you can whip up quickly for those lazy dinners.
Ingredients
12 oz box of mac and cheese
1 lb ground beef
½ packet sloppy joe mix
½ cup water
Directions
- Prepare the mac and cheese pasta according to box instructions
- In the meantime, cook the ground beef in skillet on medium heat
- Once browned and cooked through, drain any excess grease and return to the skillet
- Add the water and sloppy joe mix to the skillet with the beef
- Bring to a boil, then simmer on low for 10 minutes
- Pour the sloppy joe mixture unto the finished mac and cheese
- Mix well and enjoy!
Notes
- Calories & Nutritional Info may vary based on different brands and ingredients used. Nutritional Info below was calculated using Very Fit Well’s Nutrition Calculator.
Nutrition Facts
6 servings per container
Calories321
- Amount Per Serving% Daily Value *
- Total Fat
2.1g
4%
- Saturated Fat 0.8g 4%
- Cholesterol 2mg 1%
- Sodium 7121mg 297%
- Amount Per Serving% Daily Value *
- Potassium 325mg 10%
- Total Carbohydrate
66.7g
23%
- Dietary Fiber 0.3g 2%
- Sugars 4g
- Protein 3.8g 8%
- Calcium 2%
- Iron 2%
* The % Daily Value tells you how much a nutrient in a serving of food contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
I grew up mixing my velveeta shells and cheese with my sloppy Joe’s and it’s definitely one of them delicious meals from childhood that always brings you back in time. Thanks for sharing 👍 😊