Think beyond the bun! You don’t need to sandwich a sloppy Joe to enjoy it; transform the classic comfort food into a date night staple with this sloppy Joe orzo instead. It’s really the sauce and ground beef mixture that makes sloppy Joes so delicious, so we decided to take that and pair it with one of our favorite pasta shapes of all time: orzo.
You cook the orzo right in the tangy meat sauce, meaning less dishes than a traditional pasta dish, creating a cross between pasta and risotto that you can spoon right up into bowls. The meaty sauce is reminiscent of Bolognese, but it stands alone as very much its own sauce, bringing in the signature sweetness and tang of sloppy Joe with thick tomato sauce, Worcestershire, brown sugar, and apple cider. We’ve paired it with various other dinner-worthy recipes (lookin’ at you, sloppy Joe pasta), but it truly shines here.
Made this recipe? Let us know how it went in the comments below!
