Time to take your taste buds to Greece with these Greek Sloppy Joes made with ground lamb, peperoncini, feta cheese, and a homemade tzatziki (cucumber yogurt) sauce.
As often as I cook with beef and chicken at home, I must admit lamb is my favorite meat. At first I only ate it for Easter where I would make a lamb chop while everyone else ate ham. I don’t even know how that tradition started other than I probably whined about how I didn’t want ham. When I started making a decent paycheck a few years ago, I bought ground lamb on occasion. Then earlier this year, I got a Middle Eastern cookbook that featured lamb. A lot. I’ve been so smitten over this book that I’ve been adding lamb more and more to my menu planning. In fact, I’d take ground lamb over beef any day. Then I started thinking about my friends and family who have not (or very rarely) cooked with lamb. Why isn’t lamb more popular? The American Lamb Board had that same question and asked me to develop a recipe that would encourage you to have lamb for dinner tonight (or at least pick up some lamb the next time you buy groceries). Cooking with ground lamb is the best place to start; if you can cook ground beef, you can cook ground lamb. See? You’re off to a great start already! Lamb also naturally lends itself so well to global flavors, which is why I went Greek with these Greek Sloppy Joes served with a tzatziki (cucumber yogurt) sauce and homemade pita chips. You know sloppy joes. You know Greek food. Now you can have both in one sandwich.
What makes these sloppy joes Greek? When I think of Greek food, I immediately think of gyros, which is almost always lamb. I started with my traditional sloppy joe recipe and subbed ground lamb for the beef. Then I added red onion, a good bit of dried oregano, chopped peperoncini, feta cheese, and of course topped it all off with a homemade tzatziki sauce (don’t worry – I can’t pronounce it either). I loved the temperature contrast of the hot lamb mixture with the cold sauce. If you’re a little wary about using peperoncini (which is milder than a jalapeno), you can certainly substitute green bell pepper.
Let’s talk about the star of the dish – the lamb. American Lamb sent me ground lamb, which is known for its quality, flavor, and tenderness. With more than 82,000 family-owned sheep operations in almost every state, American Lamb is local and available year round. No more waiting for Easter! The lamb is also grass-fed as I know some of you take that into consideration when buying meat. Also, this company has a great sense of humor. I mean, look at those stickers! And a book titled “Curriculamb.” Gotta love companies who are punny.
I served my Greek Sloppy Joes with homemade pita chips. Funny story about those – I went to the store to pick up a bag. Except it was $4 for a small bag! Right below the chips was fresh pita bread for $2. Knowing how quick and easy it was to bake my own (see my recipe here), I just saved $2 and probably got twice as many pita chips than the bag.
Tell me – will you be cooking with lamb more often? What will you make first?
Greek Sloppy Joes
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
- 1/2 pound (8 ounces) ground lamb or beef
- 1/2 cup chopped red onion
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 3/4 cup canned tomato sauce
- 1/4 cup ketchup
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
- 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
- 1/4 cup chopped kalamata olives
- 1/4 cup chopped peperoncini
- 4 hamburger buns
Tzatziki Sauce
- 3/4 cup full fat Greek yogurt (roughly one 5.3 ounce cup)
- 1/2 cup chopped cucumber, peeled and seeded
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon fresh chopped dill or 1 teaspoon dried dill
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
- For the tzatziki sauce In a medium bowl, mix together the yogurt, cucumber, lemon juice, dill, and garlic powder. Store in the refrigerator until ready to use.
- In a large skillet over medium heat, add the oil. When hot, add the lamb, onion and a big pinch of salt. Cook until the lamb is no longer pink. Drain the grease.
- Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
- Stir in tomato sauce, ketchup, oregano, salt, and brown sugar. Simmer until the sauce thickens, about 8-10 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the peperoncini, olives, and feta cheese. Serve on hamburger buns with tzatziki sauce spooned on top.
More Sandwich Recipes For You
Sloppy Joe Sandwiches
Greek Portobello Mushroom Burgers
Sweet Chili and Pineapple Thai Burgers
Maple BBQ Pulled Chicken Sandwiches
Guinness Pulled Pork Sandwiches
Disclosure: I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls. As always, thank you for reading and supporting brands I work with, which allows me to bring you more recipes. All opinions, text, and photographs are my own.
Becca @ Crumbs and Chaos says
I’ve never cooked with lamb before, but this recipe has me wanting to give it a try. Looks amazing!!
Carla says
You definitely need to give lamb a try! If you enjoy beef, you’ll enjoy lamb :)
cheryl illinois says
Yet another thing we have in common. Lamb is my favorite meat. I LOVE lamb and would order a lamb chop over steak any day. The reason more people in this country don’t eat lamb (I think ) is because it has a reputation from our Grandparents that it is “strong” and “gamey”. Also because most of it was imported lamb was and still is VERY expensive. We have a large Greek Town section here in Chicago and I ALWAYS order lamb when we go there. They REALLY know what to do with lamb.
cheryl illinois says
P.S. When making Tzatziki you should use full fat Greek yogurt and let it drain in a colander for about 1/2 hour. Also squeeze liquid out of cucumbers. Otherwise the sauce gets too liquidy.
Carla says
I actually did use full fat Greek yogurt, but I will specify that in the directions.
Christie - Food Done Light says
I love your spin on sloppy joes. What a great idea to use lamb. This would be a winner in our house.
Carla says
Thanks, Christie!
Sherri@The Well Floured Kitchen says
I don’t usually cook with lamb, but you make it look so easy! Love all of the flavors, especially the topping of tzatziki. Looks amazing, Pinned!
Carla says
Cooking with lamb is easy! I usually tell people if you can cook beef, chances are pretty super high that you can cook lamb. In the case of ground lamb, I cooked it just like I would ground beef. Hope that inspires you to try it!
Thalia @ butter and brioche says
I have never eaten a sloppy joe before.. think it’s definitely a much loved American food that is hard to find here in Australia. You definitely have inspired me to make a regular sloppy joe AND these greek versions to find out what all the fuss is about!
Carla says
I will say that homemade sloppy joes are quite amazing (assuming you love tomato-based beef/lamb recipes lol) I grew up with canned sloppy joe sauce and wasn’t crazy about sloppy joes until I started making mine from scratch. Hope you give them a try!
Linda | Brunch with Joy says
I’m not a fan of lamb, partly because I can get sore throat easily right after eating lamb so I try to avoid eating lamb, but you totally convince me to try this recipe. The addition of Greek Yogurt totally makes this a fun refreshing meal. Can’t wait to grab a bite, I mean a big bite!
Carla says
Hmm interesting you get a sore throat after eating lamb! Wonder if it’s the lamb itself or something in the recipe (tomatoes, mint, whatever it’s paired with). I hope you do give this recipe a try and hope you don’t have any allergies!
Erin @ The Spiffy Cookie says
Hahaha love that little flag. Great change up on flavors for sloppy joes! I’ve done a mexican version before why not Greek?
Carla says
I knew I had to use at least one of the stickers in my photos! I love punny things. And Mexican sloppy joes sounds fun!
Jenny Flake says
Oh my goodness, what a great idea for sloppy joes!! Drooling :)
Carla says
Thanks, Jenny!
Faith (An Edible Mosaic) says
Fun twist on sloppy joes! That tzatziki is a brilliant addition. I love sloppy joes but don’t make them much b/c my hubby isn’t a fan…he loves lamb and I bet he’d go crazy for this version though!
Carla says
Sloppy joes do make great leftovers! I usually have enough for lunch the next day.
Anne-Marie @ This Mama Cooks! On a Diet says
I love lamb but since it’s not super popular I can usually pick up some manager specials that are about to expire at the super market. I just take it home and either freeze it or cook it up right away. My family loves it. I grew up eating lamb chops, but lamb sloppy joes? Wow! I’ll have to try this!!
Carla says
Oh smart tip about getting manager special meats!
Angie | Big Bear's Wife says
I need to find somewhere around here that sells lamb!! yum!
Carla says
If you can’t find lamb at your grocery store, try a specialized butcher shop. Or maybe you can ask them where you can buy some.
Miss @ Miss in the Kitchen says
Love this twist on traditional sloppy joes! My boys would love it!
Carla says
I bet they would! Thanks Miss.
Lori @ Foxes Love Lemons says
Too funny – Greek Sloppy Joes have been on my “recipes to create” list for ages. I’m kind of glad you beat me to it, because this recipe is fantastic. I love ground lamb, and every time I buy it and make something with it at home, I always wonder why I don’t do it more often.
Carla says
Looks like I did the work for you and now all you have to do is cook and eat ;)
Lori @ RecipeGirl says
Totally making this for my family soon!
Carissa & Brenna says
Made this tonight using a 1.25# package of ground turkey, as we’re not huge fans of lamb. We used an 8 oz. can of tomato sauce, which ended up being a hefty 3/4 c. (weight vs. volume) and maybe 1/3 c. of ketchup. We served it in whole wheat pita. It was delicious and will absolutely be made again.
Thanks for sharing such a great re-do of an old classic!
Carla says
Glad you were able to customize to your liking! That’s the nice thing about sloppy joes – you can play around until you get what your taste buds love.