This Sloppy Joe Recipe is a quick and easy family-pleasin’ kind of meal.
Browned ground beef is cooked with onion and simmered in an extra tangy tomato sauce and then piled on toasted buns.
These homemade sloppy joes taste so much better than the canned version and they don’t need much extra time!
A Favorite Easy Dinner
Sloppy joes are one of those classics that never go out of style. These are loved by my kids but they’re also one of my husband’s favorites (he sometimes requests them as a birthday dinner).
It is suggested that sloppy joes were created by a chef named Joe in the ’30s in Sioux City, Iowa, and are based on the loose meat sandwich.
- A homemade sloppy joe sauce uses ingredients you likely have on hand already.
- It’s almost as fast as opening a can of mix but tastes so much better!
- The meat mixture can be prepared ahead of time and reheated for quick meals.
Sloppy Joe Ingredients
A sloppy joe is good and saucy to make sure it’s…. sloppy! True to their name, they are finger-licking delicious, so be sure to serve with plenty of napkins!
- Meat – Use 80/20 lean ground beef or any ground meat like ground turkey (I’ve even made sloppy joes with lentils before, they’re great and even meat lovers love them).
- Sloppy Joe Sauce – This sauce is a zesty and slightly sweet tomato-based sauce made with tomato sauce, ketchup, brown sugar for a bit of sweetness, and some cider vinegar for some zest.
- Optional Additions – Adding veggies adds flavor and nutrition, and it helps to stretch the meat a little bit further! In addition to green pepper, try chopped celery, shredded carrot, or other finely diced veggies. Add some red pepper flakes for a bit of heat.
How to Make Sloppy Joes
This is an easy recipe to make sloppy joes on the stove!
- Brown Meat: Brown the ground beef over medium-high heat with onion and garlic. Drain any fat and add bell pepper if using.
- Simmer in Sauce: Add the sloppy joe sauce ingredients to the browned beef and simmer. Season with salt & pepper to taste.
- Serve on Buns: Toast the buns (add garlic butter if you’d like) and pile high with sloppy joe meat.
If you want a thicker sauce, just simmer a little bit longer but not too long, they should be saucy and sloppy. If you’re serving a crowd, make a bigger batch in the slow cooker and keep them warm so your guests can serve themselves!
Serve Them With…
Unlike hamburgers, this hearty sandwich doesn’t need any condiments. The yummy full-bodied sauce takes care of all that. You can top it with a bit of cheddar cheese if you’d like!
To round out the meal, serve Sloppy Joes with your fave side dishes from potato chips to creamy potato salad, coleslaw, tater tots, or baked french fries.
Then sit back and watch as those Sloppy Joes disappear fast!
Got Leftovers?
If you have leftover sloppy joe filling, it can be stored in an air-tight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. Freeze sloppy joe mixture in freezer bags and thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
Reheat on the stove or in the microwave.
Great Ways to Enjoy Leftover Sloppy Joes
- add it to grilled cheese sandwiches
- spoon over hot dogs for zesty chili dogs
- spread it over pizza dough, top with cheese and bake until bubbly
- scoop it on macaroni and cheese
- tuck it into tortillas or taco shells
Got Ground Beef?
Ground beef is the perfect way to make quick meals and happy bellies!!
Easy Sloppy Joe Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- ½ onion finely diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- hamburger buns
- butter or olive oil for brushing
Sloppy Joe Sauce
- ½ cup water
- ½ cup tomato sauce
- ½ green bell pepper finely diced
- ¼ cup ketchup
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon yellow mustard
Instructions
- Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add ground beef, onion, and garlic stirring with a wooden spoon to break it up. Cook until no pink remains. Drain any fat.
- Stir in the remaining sauce ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes uncovered or until sauce is thick.
- While the sauce is simmering, preheat the oven to broil. Brush the inside of the hamburger buns with butter or olive oil and place on a baking sheet. Broil 1-3 minutes or just until lightly browned.
- Spoon meat mixture over the toasted buns and serve.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Beef, Dinner, Main Course
Cuisine American© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
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Easy, sauce tastes and smells delicious! Big hit with the family. Thank you!
I’ve tried many different sloppy joe recipes from the internet. This is the best sloppy joe base recipe ! I found the recipe to be slightly too sweet, but after adding a few seasonings it was absolutely perfect. I also add bell pepper red or green or both if I have some. Thank You so much for this recipe
This was the first sloppy joe recipe I’ve ever used. I usually try and make my own but I wanted to try something different. This was so much more flavorful than the ones that I’ve made. Thank you!!
You’re so welcome John!!
Getting ready to make this right now. It looks super delicious.
This is my go to recipe for sloppy joes. I do add more mustard,ketchup and i use 2tbs of unfiltered apple cider vinegar. This recipe is a winner.
I have enjoyed all of Holly‘s recipes. I would cut back a bit on the light brown sugar next time.
Hi Holly did your blog used to have a green wallet instead of mixing bowls?? I’m trying to find my favorite sloppy joe recipe but I got a new phone and moved so I can’t find it but I don’t remember my favorite recipe having chilli sauce so I just thought I’d ask:) thanks
I didn’t have a green wallet as a logo. This recipe doesn’t have chili sauce, I have one other sloppy joe recipe in the slow cooker too. Hope that helps.
I love your recipes and how easy it is to print them off. This is my 5th one in less days!
Aww Leslie, you made my day!! Thank you so much.
this looks so good can’t wait to make it
Look forward to more mouth watering recipes .
Looking forward to cooking more with your recipes
I’m loving your recipes
Love your recipes x
Holly- I LOVE your recipes. Just made this, but I used half of a way to big onion! (my bad).
I had some fresh mushrooms on hand and chopped them, held my breath and mixed them in. It came out great. The sauce is SOO good!!
So happy it turned out delicious for you Dotty!
Excellent, very tasty and easy to make.
great recipes
Delicious! I used regular yellow mustard for added flavor. I made it an open faced sandwich with melted cheddar cheese on top. Yum! It takes no time at all to put together. So much better than the canned version.
Oh my Carole, that sounds so delicious!
Is that a teaspoon of dry mustard powder or regular yellow mustard?
I use yellow mustard.
Can’t wait to try these recipes!
A great recipe! The only thing which I do differently, is that I double, sometimes triple the recipe, and add a diced green OR red Bell Pepper, which adds even more flavor. I sometimes make Sloppy Joes on toasted buns for our kid’s birthday parties, and they go over extremely well. I serve them with homemade Sweet Potato Parmesan Fries & an Apple Slaw w/diced fruit & raisins. Happy, happy kids!
I do the same. Just my husband now. But when children and grandchildren come, things change. Have missed you a lot on Facebook.