Best Sloppy Joe Recipe - Kristine's Kitchen (2024)

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Updated on Dec 4, 2023

See my guide on how to use an Instant Pot.

This Sloppy Joe recipe is a delicious from scratch take on the classic comfort food. Make the best saucy, hearty, flavorful sloppy joes with this easy recipe!

Looking for more ground beef recipes? Try my Taco Recipe, Hamburger Casserole or Chili Recipe next.

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Why You’ll Love This Sloppy Joe Recipe

  • From Scratch Recipe. Growing up, when sloppy joes were for dinner, we relied on the sloppy joe sauce that you buy in a can at the grocery store. No one complained, but now that I’ve tried sloppy joes from scratch I’ll never go back to the canned sauce. These homemade sloppy joes have a richer base of flavors and they’re so incredibly easy to make that there’s no reason not to go the homemade route.
  • Flavor! These meaty, saucy sloppy joe sandwiches offer a tempting blend of savory flavors with a touch of sweetness.
  • Family Favorite. This sloppy joe recipe is a kid-friendly dinner idea, but adults will also appreciate the nuanced flavors.
  • 30 Minute Meal. Making these sloppy joes takes less than 30 minutes. This recipe is made in one skillet on the stove so clean up is easy, too.

Made these tonight and they were so good. I will make again—many times. I used dinner rolls and enjoyed them as sliders. ❤️

Lillian

Ingredients

  • Ground Beef: Sloppy joes are traditionally made with ground beef. You can substitute ground turkey or ground chicken if you prefer.
  • Onion: For flavor.
  • Green Bell Pepper: Or substitute another color of bell pepper that you have on hand.
  • Garlic: Fresh garlic adds flavor.
  • Tomato Sauce: Creates the base of the sauce.
  • Ketchup: For sweetness and tomato flavor.
  • Brown Sugar: For sweetness. You can adjust the amount of brown sugar to your tastes.
  • Worcestershire Sauce: Adds savory, umami flavor.
  • Mustard: Adds a bit of tangy flavor.
  • Salt and Pepper: To enhance all of the flavors.
  • Hamburger Buns: We love these Brioche Buns, or use store-bought buns.

How to Make Sloppy Joes

Here’s an overview of the recipe steps. You’ll find the full printable recipe with ingredient amounts at the end of this post.

Brown the meat. Cook the ground beef in a large skillet until browned.

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Add the onion and bell pepper and cook for a few minutes until softened. Then stir in the garlic.

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Make the sloppy joe sauce. Add all of the sauce ingredients to the pan: tomato sauce, ketchup, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, salt and pepper. Then cook until thickened.

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Serve on toasted hamburger buns.

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Recipe Tips

  • To ensure that the meat mixture stays moist, don’t simmer it too long. Cook it just until it has reached your desired thickness.
  • Toast the hamburger buns before piling on the sloppy joe meat to keep the buns from getting soggy. You can toast them in a toaster or in the oven under the broiler (watch them closely so they don’t burn).
  • Assemble sloppy joes right before serving so that the sauce won’t soak into the buns too much.
  • Try adding more vegetables to the sloppy joe meat. Carrots, mushrooms or zucchini all work well. Chop the veggies up small and add them to the pan along with the onion and green bell pepper.
  • If desired, top your sandwich with pickles or sliced cheese.
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Serving Suggestions

Serve sloppy joes with one or two of these side dishes:

  • Sweet Potato Fries
  • Baked French Fries
  • Instant Pot Baked Beans
  • Macaroni Salad
  • Fruit Salad
  • Corn on the Cob

This meal is sure to satisfy your craving for good old-fashioned home cooking. If you try the recipe, I’d love to hear how you liked it in a comment below!

Best Sloppy Joe Recipe - Kristine's Kitchen (7)

5 from 2 ratings

Best Sloppy Joe Recipe

Servings: 4 servings

Prep Time: 15 minutes mins

Cook Time: 10 minutes mins

Total Time: 25 minutes mins

These sloppy joes are hearty, saucy and flavorful! Serve the ground beef filling on top of toasted burger buns. On the side, I like to serve baked French fries or sweet potato fries.

Print Recipe Leave a Review Pin Recipe

Ingredients

  • 1 pound ground beef, or ground turkey
  • ¾ cup chopped onion
  • ½ green bell pepper, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 8 ounces tomato sauce
  • ½ cup ketchup
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  • 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 teaspoon yellow mustard
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper
  • 4 hamburger buns, toasted, for serving

Instructions

  • Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef to the pan and cook, crumbling. Drain off any excess grease (this may not be necessary if using lean ground beef).

  • When the beef has started to brown but hasn't cooked fully, add the onion and bell pepper to the pan. Cook, stirring often, until beef is no longer pink and vegetables have started to soften.

  • Add the garlic to the pan and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Reduce the heat to medium-low.

  • Add the tomato sauce, ketchup, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, salt and pepper to the pan. Stir. Cook at a low simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes or until the mixture reached your desired thickness.

  • Serve Sloppy Joes on toasted hamburger buns.

Notes

  • Try adding more vegetables to the sloppy joe meat. Carrots, mushrooms or zucchini all work well. Chop the veggies up small and add them to the pan along with the onion and green bell pepper.
  • Recipe serves 4 generously or 6 smaller servings.
  • Nutrition information is for sloppy joe meat mixture only, because hamburger bun nutrition will vary by type/brand.

Serving: 1/4 meat mixture, Calories: 320kcal, Carbohydrates: 19g, Protein: 23g, Fat: 17g, Saturated Fat: 7g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 8g, Cholesterol: 77mg, Sodium: 962mg, Potassium: 695mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 13g, Vitamin A: 459IU, Vitamin C: 20mg, Calcium: 48mg, Iron: 3mg

Nutrition information is an estimate.

Cuisine: American

Course: Main Course

Tried this recipe?Mention @kristines_kitchen on Instagram or tag #kristineskitchenblog.

This site contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through these links, I may receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting Kristine's Kitchen!

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Best Sloppy Joe Recipe - Kristine's Kitchen (2024)

FAQs

What can I put in my Sloppy Joe mix to make it taste better? ›

Well, it's as easy as incorporating a splash of apple cider vinegar to upgrade the savory Sloppy Joe flavors. By adding apple cider vinegar, you introduce a tangy acidity to sugary Sloppy Joe sauce, effectively balancing its sweetness and enhancing its overall flavor profile.

What's the difference between a Sloppy Joe and a sloppy Jane? ›

Enter Sloppy Janes. To make this recipe leaner, healthier, and sassier than the original I substituted ground turkey for ground beef and added sliced mushrooms to “beef up” the volume of the dish without adding excess calories.

How do you thicken up Sloppy Joe sauce? ›

  1. Flour can be used similar to corn starch.
  2. Other thickeners used are bread crumbs, potato flakes and oats. ...
  3. Go gradually with these. ...
  4. Use oats to thicken sloppy-joes as to absorb the excess but it will be thicker the next day.
  5. Barley can be used but is more expensive.
Oct 29, 2021

What is the Sloppy Joe sauce made of? ›

What is the sloppy joe sauce made of? It's made with ketchup, brown sugar, tomato paste, Worcestershire, chili powder, garlic, dry mustard, and a little Tobasco (if you want). That sauce coats the ground beef, onion, and bell pepper to make the filling.

Should you drain meat before adding sloppy joe sauce? ›

Cook beef in large skillet over medium-high heat 7 minutes or until crumbled and no longer pink, stirring occasionally; drain. Stir in Sloppy Joe sauce; heat through.

Do you drain meat when making Manwich? ›

Brown hamburger meat and then drain grease from meat. Start to preheat oven to what ever the biscuit instructions say. Add the can of Manwich to the drained beef in pan and mix. Follow directions on can of Manwich as far as how long to cook, then turn off stove and let mixture start cooling down.

What is the New Jersey version of Sloppy Joe? ›

There are minor variations depending on the deli, but it is always a double-decker thin sliced rye bread sandwich made with one or more types of sliced deli meat, such as turkey, ham, pastrami, corned beef, roast beef, or sliced beef tongue, along with Swiss cheese, coleslaw, and Russian dressing.

What is the fancy name for Sloppy Joes? ›

Manwich, slush burger, yum yums, dynamite, spoonburgers, tavern sandwich; a Sloppy Joe can be called by many other names. The most well-known however is Manwich.

What do Canadians call Sloppy Joes? ›

Several variations of the sloppy joe exist in North America. In Quebec, Canada, sandwiches of stewed ground beef such as pain à la viande and pain fourré gumbo are usually served on hot dog buns.

What if I forgot the tomato paste in the sloppy joes? ›

You don't have to dash out to the store if you're out of tomato paste; tomato sauce and tomato puree are both an excellent substitute. For every 1 tablespoon of tomato paste needed, use 3 tablespoons of tomato puree or sauce.

What do people add to Manwich? ›

Tweaks
  1. I used red pepper instead of green. ...
  2. More garlic is better! ...
  3. I really wanted something for my slow cooker but couldn't find a manwich copycat specific to slow cooker recipes. ...
  4. Add chopped green, red bell pepper, hot sauce or cayenne and some white vinegar along with 1 tsp of msg....

Does sour cream help thicken sauce? ›

For an add-in that both thickens and enhances flavor, turn to a versatile, dairy-forward ingredient: sour cream. Sour cream is a common add-in for thickening soups and sauces, but it can also be stirred into gravy for a touch of tang and a smooth, creamy finish.

Can I use tomato sauce instead of tomato paste for sloppy joes? ›

Tomato sauce: The base of the sloppy joe sauce is tomato sauce, but it's thickened a bit with some tomato paste and ketchup, which also adds a hint of sweetness. If you don't have tomato sauce on hand, you can use a full can of tomato paste with an extra ½ cup of water.

How do you make Manwich sloppy joes taste better? ›

5 Easy Ways to Doctor up Manwich Sloppy Joes to Improve Taste
  1. Produce.
  2. • 1/4 tsp Garlic powder.
  3. • 1/2 Green bell pepper.
  4. • 1 Large or 2 small jalapeno peppers.
  5. • 1 Onion, medium white or yellow.
  6. • 1 Pickled jalapenos.

What is Sloppy Joe supposed to taste like? ›

Once you've gathered the ingredients, it's basically like making Bolognese. And the flavour is somewhat reminiscent of it too, except Sloppy Joes taste a bit more like BBQ Sauce. The one big difference is that the sauce is cooked right down so it's really thick and not saucy at all.

Does Sloppy Joe seasoning mix go bad? ›

Unopened McCormick Culinary® Sloppy Joe Seasoning Mix packages are shelf stable and can be held for use for up to 720 days.

What is a substitute for tomato paste in sloppy joes? ›

You don't have to dash out to the store if you're out of tomato paste; tomato sauce and tomato puree are both an excellent substitute. For every 1 tablespoon of tomato paste needed, use 3 tablespoons of tomato puree or sauce.

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