Saucy, beefy, and so satisfying. We’re convinced this is the best recipe for homemade Sloppy Joes. Ground beef in a hearty tomato sauce, served on toasted hamburger buns, is a great option for lunch or dinner. Everyone needs a great and nostalgic Sloppy Joe recipe and THIS. IS. IT.
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Helpful Reader Review
“Soooo yummy! Took me years to find a sloppy joe recipe like the one I remember from childhood. This is it. Thank you!” – Kathy ★★★★★
Sloppy Joes Video
This is one of my children’s favorite recipes – it’s so satisfying, and they both agree it’s better than any other sloppy joe they have tried. I just love that my son helped me cook it in the video, and my daughter got in on the taste test because these sandwiches are irresistible.
The Best Sloppy Joe Recipe
This delicious Sloppy Joe recipe is a simple and inexpensive way to make a budget-friendly family dinner. It’s essentially a loose meat sandwich with tender and juicy ground beef is sautéed with green peppers and onions, then cooked in a hearty and flavorful tomato sauce – it’s hard to stop at just one sandwich, which is why I often double the recipe.
Having some go-to ground beef recipes, such as Ground Beef Stir Fry, Goulash, Taco Salad, or Sloppy Joes, will make dinner time a breeze. If you have some ground beef in the freezer and need an easy meal idea, this is a must-try.
Sloppy Joe Ingredients
- Ground Beef – use lean ground beef (85-90% lean). If using a higher fat content, you will need to skim off the extra fat once the beef is cooked so you don’t end up with greasy sloppy joes. You can sub the beef with ground chicken or turkey if you prefer.
- Bell pepper – we used green, but you can substitute any color. If you like things spicy, add jalapenos. You can also substitute with 1 grated carrot (about 1/2 cup).
- Onion & Garlic – these aromatics add great flavor to the sauce.
- Homemade Sauce – just a few simple pantry ingredients create a sauce better than any store-bought version. Combining tomato sauce, ketchup, brown sugar, yellow mustard, and Worcestershire hits all the right flavor notes: sweet, savory, and tangy.
How to Make Sloppy Joes
- Make sauce – In a bowl, combine tomato sauce, ketchup, worcestershire sauce, yellow mustard, and brown sugar.
Natasha’s tip if you love it spicy
If you prefer spicy Sloppy Joes, add some hot sauce or sriracha to the sauce.
- Saute beef – In a deep skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef and break up as it is being cooked. Season with salt and pepper. If you see extra fat on the bottom, tilt the pan and spoon it out.
- Sautee veggies – Add in the finely chopped onion and green pepper. Cook until vegetables are tender. Add in the garlic and cook for 30 seconds until fragrant.
- Add sauce – Pour in the sauce and once it comes to a light boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes. Add more salt and pepper if needed (see the Sloppy Joe Tasting Guide below to adjust to your taste preferences easily).
- Serve – I highly recommend buttering the buns and toasting them in a skillet for another layer of flavor and to keep the buns from getting soggy. Spoon the saucy beef mixture on toasted buns and serve as sandwiches.
What to Serve with Sloppy Joes
Complete the meal by pairing it with crunchy potato chips and dill pickle spears. My kids especially love this combination. It’s also delicious served with a side of creamy potato salad, coleslaw, or macaroni salad. Baked Mac and Cheese is another great option, especially for birthday parties.
Can I make Sloppy Joes in a slow cooker?
These EASY sloppy joes are GREAT to make in the crockpot. Once the meat is browned on a skillet, just add it along with all the other ingredients into the crockpot and cook on LOW for 4-6 hours or on high for 2-3 hours.
What is the difference between a Sloppy Joe and a Manwich?
This sloppy joe recipe is homemade and made from scratch. Manwich is a pre-made, store-bought sauce used to make sloppy joes.
How to Use Leftover Sloppy Joe Filling
There are so many different ways to enjoy leftover sloppy joe filling. Here are some great ideas for sloppy joes without the bun:
- Sloppy Joe Grilled Cheese – Add the meat mixture when making a Grilled Cheese
- Sloppy Joe Sliders – substitute meat sauce in my cheeseburger sliders.
- Sloppy Joe Pizza – Add on sourdough pizza or overnight pizza dough and top with cheese..
- Loaded fries – top your air fryer French fries with cheese and sloppy joe filling.
- Sloppy Joe Hot Dogs – Add the meat sauce to your hot dogs.
- Baked potato – fill baked potatos, or air fryer baked potatos with meat sauce.
There’s no match for a warm homemade sandwich, from Hamburgers to my famous Philly Cheesesteak. This Sloppy Joe Recipe is definitely at the top of my list. What is your favorite sandwich? I’d love to hear from you in the comments.
Sloppy Joes
Ingredients
For the Sauce
- 15 oz can tomato sauce
- 1/4 cup ketchup*
- 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 1/2 tsp yellow mustard, or to taste
- 2-3 tsp brown sugar, or to taste*
For the Sloppy Joes
- 1 Tbsp extra light olive oil, or any high-heat cooking oil
- 1 lb lean ground beef, 85%-90% lean
- ½ tsp fine sea salt, or to taste
- ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 1/2 small green bell pepper, seeded and finely diced, or use 1/2 cup grated carrot
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 5 hamburger buns, toasted if desired
Instructions
- Make the Sauce – In a medium bowl, combine the tomato sauce, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, and brown sugar, and set it aside.
- Cook the Beef – Place a large skillet or dutch oven over medium/high heat. Add olive oil and ground beef. Saute the beef for about 5 minutes until cooked through and no longer pink, breaking it up with a spatula. If you see extra fat on the bottom, tilt the pan and spoon it out or blot it up with paper towels. Season with salt and pepper.
- Add vegetables – Stir in the diced peppers and onion. Cook another 5 minutes until the veggies are tender and beef is browned. Add garlic and saute 30 seconds until fragrant, stirring constantly.
- Add the sauce and bring to a light boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered for about 10-15 minutes or until thickened to your liking. Adjust the seasoning taste* and add water if you prefer a looser consistency. Serve on toasted buns for Sloppy Joe Sandwiches.
Notes
- Too sweet? Add a pinch of salt or 1/ 2 tsp apple-cider vinegar
- Too Tangy? Add 1/2 tsp brown sugar or a drizzle of ketchup
- Too Tomato-y? Simmer an extra 5 min to concentrate flavors and caramelize sugars.
- Missing depth? Add extra Worcestershire.
- Too loose? Simmer uncovered 3-5 minutes to thicken
- Too thick? Add a splash of water
- Refrigerating – Cool to room temperature, cover and refrigerate up to 3 days.
- Freezing – transfer the cooled meat sauce to freezer-friendly containers or freezer bags and freeze for up to 2-3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight.
- Reheating – It’s best to reheat a recipe the same way it was cooked. Warm the meat sauce in a pan over the stovetop until hot. You can microwave, but cover to catch messy splatter.
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
Easy Ground Beef Recipes
- Slow Cooker Beef Chili
- Meatloaf
- Spaghetti and Meatballs
- Bolognese Sauce
- Lasagna
- Ground Beef Stroganoff
- Mexican Beef and Rice Skillet
- Beef Burritos
I love how you write your recipes and like all the tips. I must say, this was not my favorite sloppy Joe recipe. I am used to a ketchup base so this recipe seemed to be missing some flavor for me and my husband. I will continue to try more recipes your post.
My sauce doesn’t seem tomato-y enough and there was so much of it the consistency was too loose. Will try again and hope it looks more like the photo next time. Very easy to follow.
Hi JoRu! Did you use canned tomatoes sauce purchased from the store, or homemade with garden tomatoes?
I suppose you could add some tomato paste to help achieve a greater tomato flavor.
I have used this recipe before the sloppy Joe’s are delicious. Going to make again tonight.
Husband said this is one of the best sloppy joes he’s ever had! Honestly, no notes! Was so good! We topped with Cole slaw and are adding this to the rotation.
I’m so happy it was a hit.
Love that you and your son like cooking your favorite recipes together. Stumbled on your site trying to spice up my homemade sloppy Joes. A few of your added ingredients made mine delicious!!
All 4 of my adult sons enjoy cooking.
It’s super cool when they send me a picture of something they made for dinner whether it is something new or a favorite dish from when they were young.
Bon appetit
Welcome to my blog, Renee! I’m so glad you found us! I absolutley love cooking with him, and especially love hearing when my readers share that they enjoy cooking with their sons or sharing their meals with each other – that’s so special. Thank you for your thoughtful comment, Renee!
If you’re a fan of spice replace 1/2 the ketchup with Gussa sauce (you can find on Amazon). It’s amazing- great recipe!
Thanks for the suggestion, Dan!
We liked that this recipe is very good and also small enough for two people with leftovers to be had.
I can’t wait to try this tonight !! We are snowed in and I have all the ingredients!!
Hi Joyce! I hope you loved it. Stay warm and safe.
Hi! “Yellow mustard”? The kind I squeeze out to put on hot dogs? Or the yellow powder one that is spicy? Thanks!
Hi KC! That’s correct, the kind you use on hot dogs.
Sooo good and comforting! Do leftovers freeze ok?
Thanks Karen for your good feedback. For freezing leftovers – once the mixture is cooled, add to freezer-friendly containers or freezer bags and freeze for up to 2-3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight.
I think it tastes delicious! I make 3 pounds of meat so I doubled it but added a can of sauce bc my husband insists he hates home made (apparently his mom used ketchup as the base) so I’ll let ya know how it goes when he gets home! 😂
Also, I love that you added the “fixes” at the end. Sometimes I have to Google how to fix a taste in a recipe. 🤗
I’m glad that was helpful, Wendy! I hope he loves it.
You’re beyond any doubt my go-to when it comes to trying a new recipe. I received your cookbook as a gift and since, we’ve been trying so many of your recipes, notably your perogi recipes, including the homemade dough. Truly inspiring and delicious!
Thank you so much, Emilie! I’m glad you’re loving the recipes.
Natasha, if I want to make 2 lbs of ground beef do I double everything? Excited to try this!
Hi Debbie! Yes, you should double all the ingredients so that you have a good texture and flavor balance.
My grandson is sensitive to taste and textures of food. He smells everything before any tasting happens. Often food doesn’t pass the smell test and there is no tasting at all if it doesn’t pass the smell test. He has favorite brands of certain foods to the point that he knows if it isn’t his normal and he will not eat it. Brand doesn’t mean he only eats name brand. His favorite chicken nuggets are Aldi nuggets in the red bag. If he is at my house he wants homemade French toast for breakfast every time. At home he wants Sam’s Wholesale French toast sticks or Sonic French toast sticks
When I made this sloppy Joe recipe you would have thought it was Christmas for him. He absolutely loves it and will not accept any imposters. I had to share the recipe with his mom as she wasn’t “making it right”. She was making that popular canned variety. No longer. Thank you for sharing the recipe. We now have an immediate go to that we know he will eat.
Btw, I now make this in big batches and freeze in individual servings so he can have “my sloppy Joe” anytime he wants it.
Hi Samantha, as a Mom, your review warms my heart and made me smile big. Thank you so much for sharing that with me!
These are the best hands down sloppy joes I have ever had!!! I made them in the crockpot and made them as the recipe calls for. They remind me of what people made when I lived in Maryland called “ Steamers”. I’m a Virginia lady who has always tried to replicate them however never had a recipe that came even close. These are !!! Thank you again!!! Very Warm Regards- Stephanie 😊