Saucy, beefy, and so satisfying. We’re convinced this is the BEST recipe for a homemade Sloppy Joe. Ground beef in a hearty tomato sauce served on toasted hamburger buns is a great idea for lunch or dinner. Everyone needs a great and nostalgic recipe for Sloppy Joes 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 ★★★★★
This delicious Sloppy Joe recipe is a simple and inexpensive way to make a budget-friendly family dinner. The 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 Cheeseburger Sliders, 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 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.
Ingredients for the Best Sloppy Joes
- 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 a different color in a pinch. If you like things spicy, add some jalapenos along with the green peppers. If you aren’t a fan of bell pepper, you can substitute 1 grated carrot (about 1/2 cup).
- Onion & Garlic – these aromatics add great flavor and disappear into the sauce, so picky eaters won’t complain.
- Homemade Sauce – just a few simple pantry ingredients will make a sauce that’s better than any store-bought sauce. The combination of 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 a 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. Spoon the saucy beef mixture on toasted buns and serve as sandwiches.
To Serve
There are so many different ways to enjoy a sloppy joe. You’ll want to try them all:
- Classic – Serve this with toasted hamburger buns for the classic sloppy joe recipe.
- Grilled Cheese – Add the meat mixture when making a Grilled Cheese for a hearty sandwich.
- Pizza – Add on homemade overnight pizza dough and top with cheese for a sloppy joe pizza.
- Loaded fries– There is nothing better than loaded fries, top your air fryer French fries with cheese and sloppy joe filling.
- Chili dogs – Add the meat sauce to your hot dogs.
- Baked potato – Take a loaded air fryer baked potato to the next level by topping it with this meat sauce.
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.
Make-Ahead and Storage
- Refrigerating – Let the meat sauce cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days in an airtight container.
- Freezing – 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.
- Reheating – A general rule of thumb is that it’s best to reheat a recipe the same way it was cooked. Warm the meat sauce on the stovetop in a skillet or saucepan until hot. You can microwave, but use a microwave shield to catch messy splatter.
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
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
Love Ground Beef Recipes? Try these:
- Slow Cooker Beef Chili
- Meatloaf
- Spaghetti and Meatballs
- Bolognese Sauce
- Lasagna
- Ground Beef Stroganoff
- Mexican Beef and Rice Skillet
Made your sloppy joes the other day. Good recipe, I did kick it up a bit with a couple shakes of hot sauce. Everyone really enjoyed them
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us, Candy!
Fantastic recipe, my family loved them for lunch today. My son enjoyed making the sauce, great way to have kids help out in the kitchen. Thank you Natasha!
Awe, that’s so great, thank you so much for sharing that with me, Amanda! Spending time in the kitchen with the kids is such a blessing.
Maybe today I did by accident put a little too much brown sugar and I did season the beef with Chicago beef seasoning from Aldi‘s it was amazing!! love you, Natash!!!
This recipe looks delicious! I’m very excited to try it. One question though, can you substitute the onion with onion powder? (Onion doesn’t sit well with my stomach).
Hi Lori! Yes, that would work. Just add it to taste. I hope you love the recipe!
Sounds good. I am going to try this one.
I hope you love it, Patricia!
Awesome! Everyone loved it….kids and adults alike…..tripled the recipe to feed 10 hungry mouths.
your recipe is very similar to the one my mother in law used to make-except I use a jar of chili sauce instead of tomato sauce.
Love reading and trying out your recipes. My favorite is the Lemon Chicken with White Sauce!
Aww, that’s the best! Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Ruth! I love to hear that.
Nostalgia set it on the first bit. Silence filled the room.
My father used to make these for us as children, but has passed. We’ve tried several different recipes but nothing was right. This was perfect! My fiancé and I sat in silence just smiling as we reflected on both of our childhoods. Then we exploded with smiles. Man, the conversations we had after diving into our second one, were fantastic. Stories of growing up. Thank you for this. I’m sending this recipe to my sisters, so they too can tie this taste to our past childhood memories. It was a feeling. A memory. A flash of a moment. I’m grateful for it all, as our Dad was everything to us. Thanks again.
That is so beautiful. I felt teary eyed reading it. Thank you for sharing your beautiful food memory with me of your father. Sending hugs!
I love seeing your kids growing up! My goodness, when did David get so tall!? Beautiful family. I love your recipes. You are my go to girl!
Thank you so much, Claudia! They sure so grow up so quickly.
Hi Natasha, I love all you recipes! So many favorites but I am Vegetarian so I use Lentils instead and boy this recipe does bring me back to childhood just a different option for the “meat”! Thanks keep doing what your doing…love it
Hi Jacqueline! That’s a great idea. I’m so glad you love it.
Your recipe reminds me of my Mom’s SJ. I have missed her SJ and now I can remake that memory. Thank you. ☺️
I’m so glad you found this recipe. I hope you love it!
I’m going to make this. My sister’s recipe is very good, but I think your recipe will be even better. She did the onions and peppers, but the sauce was just a jar of chili sauce. 😊
Let us know how it turns out, Charlotte!
I liked the recipe a lot. I think I used ground chuck. I drained the grease after I browned the meat. There was a lot of it. Next time I’ll use ground sirloin. I did not add the yellow mustard. I did add about 2 tablespoons of brown sugar. It was a quick dinner that really hit the spot!
Thank you for the recipe, Natasha ~ a big hit with my son and his friends, who devoured about 40 mini Sloppy Joes on Hawaiian buns. A huge hit!