Stuffed Cabbage Sloppy Joes topped with buttery crisp cabbage, mozzarella cheese and rich tomato and beef gravy for the perfect unstuffed cabbage in 30 minutes.
Enjoy all the flavors of Stuffed Cabbage Casserole and Ultimate Sloppy Joes combined in a rich beefy and tomato gravy with the most amazing crispy buttery cabbage topping (like these Crispy Roasted Cabbage Steaks).
Stuffed Cabbage Sloppy Joes
Crispy buttery cabbage may not be the first thing you think of when it comes to the ultimate comfort food, but these sandwiches were among the highest rated sloppy joes we made in this entire sloppy joe year of recipes.
We’ve posted about 15 sloppy joe recipes and my husband declared this one his favorite so far and I don’t blame him. Rich tomato sauce with beef broth and Worcestershire sauce topped with melted mozzarella cheese.
If you love cabbage or love brussels sprouts, you will LOVE these sloppy joes!
WHAT GOES GOOD WITH SLOPPY JOES FOR A SIDE DISH?
We love serving sloppy joes with Crispy Sweet Potato Fries, Beer Battered Onion Rings, Loaded Garlic French Fries or your favorite roasted vegetables.
TIPS FOR MAKING THESE SLOPPY JOES:
- Make sure the cabbage is chopped well and make sure it’s dry, wet cabbage will cause the cabbage to sweat rather than to brown.
- Make sure your ingredients are ready ahead of time, don’t let the pan scorch.
- Make sure you only add back in half the cabbage as the second half is going to be used as a topping.
- Make sure you drain excess fat from the beef, I use 85/15 to minimize excess fat.
- Stop cooking when its just slightly too wet still, the tomato sauce as it thickens too much can become bitter and burned.
- If you want to meal prep just leave the sauce extra saucy before shutting off the heat. You may need a bit of water when reheating.
- Fresh mozzarella would be delicious but not necessary as the meat is so saucy and the cabbage is so buttery.
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Are you going to join us and enjoy this recipe on Wednesday? Remember if you make this dish this Wednesday, we’ll be having the same dinner.
I’d love to know how it turns out for you so if you do make the recipe pretty please come back and leave a comment letting me know how you enjoyed them.
We put a ton of effort into recipe testing 35 Sloppy Joes for this weekly series! The reason we did (aside from the fact we LOVE them) is because you all have gone nuts for ALL 4 of the original sloppy joes on the site!
Stuffed Cabbage Sloppy Joes
Stuffed Cabbage Sloppy Joes topped with buttery crisp cabbage, mozzarella cheese and rich tomato and beef gravy for the perfect unstuffed cabbage in 30 minutes.
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons butter , divided
- 1 head cabbage , chopped
- 1 yellow onion , diced
- 1 1/2 pounds ground beef
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 cup tomato sauce
- 1 cup beef broth
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 6 brioche buns , toasted
- 8 ounces mozzarella cheese , sliced
Instructions
In a large skillet add the butter to the pan on medium high heat and cook the cabbage until crisp on both sides, stirring occasionally (about 8-10 minutes).
- Remove the cabbage and add the beef and onions, cooking well, breaking it apart but leaving some chunks about the size of a raspberry or small grape (don't crush the heck out of it, the larger crumbles will help give the sandwich stability).
Cook until well browned (5-6 minutes), then add in half the cooked cabbage, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, tomato sauce, beef broth and cornstarch before adding it to the pan along with the cooked beef and stirring well.
Continue cooking until the sauce starts to evaporate and the mixture becomes "sloppy" (about 5-6 minutes).
- The consistency you are looking for is reduced enough that spoonfuls can be placed on top of each other with the bottom spoonful not spreading more than a half inch or so.
- Toast the buns then spoon over the mixture and top sliced mozzarella and the remaining cabbage.
It would be helpful to have a cup measurement for the cabbage. If you use an entire head, it has to be a very small one. As i was chopping I almost stopped at 1/2 the head, but I went on to follow the recipe exactly. There was much too much cabbage. As a result it never really thickened to a sloppy joe consistency. It was very tasty, but it had to be eaten with a knife and fork. It would not work as a sandwich at all. Also, the thickening time was more like 10-12 minutes instead of 5-6 as stated.
I used 6 cups of cabbage for this recipe.
I have been wanting to make this since I first saw it on your site and I made it last night. We both gobbled it down and I will make it many times again. I haven’t had sloppy joes for a long time and would not have thought to use cabbage. It was very tasty! The instructions were a little confusing to me because I never figured out why the butter was divided and how much to use when. Also the instructions around the cornstarch…it says add in and then after it says before adding in. But I managed and it turned out great. Introduced me to brioche buns too, I’d never had them before and will definitely get them again.
So glad you both enjoyed it, Renee! Thanks so much for the 5 stars.
I didn’t divide the butter. With an entire head of cabbage you needed all of it to sauté! Also, the confusing bit on the middle… I think it is meant to say: “make a slurry of the beef stock and con starch before adding in.” You never add dry cornstarch to a recipe.
This looks amazing I surely will be trying this one for sure thanks so much for sharing your recipes I have made lots of your recipes and they all turned out amazing so I am sure these will too
Thanks, Janet!
Yummy ! this looks amazing! Really nice post. Thanks so much for sharing!!
You’re welcome, Joseph!
I need to try this immediately, it looks so good! My husband definitely love this Stuffed cabbage sloppy joes!
I LOVE this combination!! It sounds terrific!! YUM!
I hope you enjoy it!
I was brought up eating stuffed cabbage and still make it from time to time, so this sounds like an easy and delicious comfort food to me. I love your recipes!
Thanks Angelina!
Holy wow, this is my kinda sloppy Joe!
Just for you!!
Wow, I would love to try some cabbage on my sloppy joes. What a delicious idea!
Thanks Carolyn!
What a great combination! I have never thought about adding to a sloppy joe!
It’s fun to get creative!