Recipe: Sheet Pan Sloppy Joe Meatball Subs

I’ll admit, I was skeptical of this recipe the first go-round. Am I really pouring sloppy Joe sauce into a bag of frozen meatballs? Will this actually taste good? But the answer was a resounding yes (why was I even nervous? It’s sloppy Joe sauce and meatballs!), and the pouring of that sauce turned out to be one of the smartest sheet pan dinner shortcuts ever.

This recipe requires just four ingredients, no mixing bowl, and makes both a sandwich and a vegetable side on one single sheet pan. Ready to get a little weird with this Miracle Meal? Here’s how to make sheet pan sloppy Joe subs and broccoli for dinner tonight.

This recipe was inspired by my older sister, who makes a version of these subs for her two kids. She uses a baking dish to hold the subs, which, due to its high sides, keeps the buns from drying out in the oven. To make room for a vegetable side, I like to bake these on a sheet pan (which has a larger surface area), but I create a protective shield for the subs out of aluminum foil to keep the buns tasting fresh — and to hold them in place when I’m moving them in and out of the oven. While I’m constructing my foil dam, I also like to line the sheet pan with foil to make cleanup even easer.

Embrace the weirdest moment of this recipe for less cleanup: Open your can (or jar) of sloppy Joe sauce and pour it directly into the bag of frozen meatballs. Use tongs to toss the meatballs in the sauce, then transfer the meatballs to the sub rolls. When you’re done, toss the bag!

Miracle meals are the meals we pull off despite the failure of our best-laid plans; the dinners we can get on the table in 10 minutes; the meals made from pantry staples. Miracle meals are just as much about the cooks as they are about the eaters. At Kitchn, a Miracle Meal recipe only uses basic kitchen equipment and no more than five ingredients, with just 40 minutes (or less) of hands-on cooking time.