The BEST Sloppy Joe Recipe
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.
There’s no match for a warm homemade sandwich, from Grilled Cheese to our famous Philly Cheesesteak. This Sloppy Joe Recipe is definitely at the top of our list.
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This delicious sloppy joe recipe is such a simple recipe and so inexpensive to make, a budget-friendly family dinner. The tender and juicy ground beef are sauteed with green peppers and onion then cooked in a hearty tomato sauce.
Having some go-to ground beef recipes like 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 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.
- Bell pepper – we used green, but you can substitute a different color in a pinch.
- 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, brown sugar, yellow mustard, and Worcestershire hits all the right flavor notes; sweet, savory, and tangy.
How to Make Sloppy Joes
- Chop veggies – Finely chop the onion and green bell pepper.
- Make sauce – In a bowl, combine worcestershire sauce, yellow mustard, water, brown sugar, and tomato sauce.
- Saute beef – In a deep skillet, heat oil over med/high heat. Add the ground beef and break up as it is being cooked. Season with salt and pepper and add in the finely chopped onion and green pepper. Cook until vegetables are tender.
- Add sauce – Add in the garlic and cook until fragrant. Pour in the sauce and cook over medium high heat until the sauce comes to a soft boil.
- Simmer – Reduce the heat to low and cook for 10 minutes, add more salt and pepper if needed.
- Serve – spoon the saucy beef mixture on toasted buns and serve as sandwiches.
Pro Tip: If you prefer a spicy Sloppy Joes, add some hot sauce or sriracha to the sauce.
To Serve
There are so many different ways to enjoy a sloppy joe. You’ll make 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 pizza dough and top with cheese for a delicious sloppy joe pizza recipe.
- Loaded fries– There is nothing better than loaded fries, top your fries with some cheese and sloppy joe filling.
- Chili dogs – Add the meat sauce to your hot dogs.
- Baked potato – Take loaded baked potato to the next level by topping with this meat sauce.
Common Questions
For this recipe, you want to use 85% or 90% lean ground beef.
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.
This sloppy joe recipe is homemade and made from scratch. Manwich is a pre-made store-bought sauce used to make sloppy joes.
If you like spicy foods, add some jalapenos along with the green peppers.
Make-Ahead
- 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 freeze-friendly containers or freezer bags and freeze for up to 2-3 months. When ready to use, 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.
Love Ground Beef Recipes? Try these:
- Slow Cooker Beef Chili
- Meatloaf with the Best Glaze
- Spaghetti and Meatballs
- Bolognese Sauce
- Stuffed Bell peppers
The BEST Sloppy Joe Recipe
The BEST recipe for a homemade Sloppy Joe! Ground beef in a hearty tomato sauce on toasted hamburger buns. The perfect recipe for lunch or dinner.
Ingredients
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 1/2 small green bell pepper, seeded and finely diced
- 1 Tbsp worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp yellow mustard
- 1 Tbsp brown sugar
- 15 oz can tomato sauce
- 1 lb lean ground beef, 85%-90% lean
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- ½ tsp salt, or to taste
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper, or to taste
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/4 cup water, optional, or added to desired consistency
- 4 hamburger buns, toasted if desired
Instructions
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Finely chop the onion. Seed and finely dice the green pepper.
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In a bowl, combine the Worcestershire sauce, mustard, brown sugar, and tomato sauce.
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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. Season with salt and pepper and add in the diced peppers and onion. Cook another 5 minutes until the veggies are tender and beef is browned.
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Add the minced garlic and saute 30 seconds until fragrant, stirring constantly. Add in 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. Season to taste with salt and pepper and add water if you prefer a looser consistency. Serve on toasted buns for Sloppy Joe Sandwiches.
Valentina Ablaev
Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
Excellent recipe! Good flavor. I didn’t simmer it, not sure if that would have made a difference, but it was fine without doing that.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Shaun!
I am so confused by the write up about Valentina’s corner. Especially after reading your about me where you say that all of the recipes on your blog have been made by you and tested by your family????
Hi Rebekah, Valentina is a friend who guest-posts on our site from time to time. It helps her site grow and I trust her taste in food. We do make it a point to test the recipes on our site and the recipes I develop myself are tested repeatedly before posting. I have a meticulous process behind the scenes.
We really enjoyed this sloppy joe. It was very delicious. Tonight I plan on making it with a baked potatoe.
Oh, yum! I bet that would be great. So glad you enjoyed the recipe.
Best sloppy joe recipe ever tried & definitely bookmarking! We added a tsp of Sriracha to sauce and some chili powder & red pepper flakes to mixture for a little heat then melted some Colby jack cheese and served open-faced. Super Yummy!
Sounds amazing, MJ! Thank you for sharing. 🙂
Delicious sloppy joes on a cold snowy day! Added a stalk of diced celery and after I tasted it I added a bit of horseradish like one of the other reviewers suggested.
The perfect snowy day recipe! I’m so glad you loved it, Patty!
Based on the reviews I had high hopes for this recipe but it is very blah tasting. It’s missing something.
Hi Joe, did you change anything about the recipe? One of the most common things we see is under-salting. I always like to taste at the end and add more salt to taste.
Instructions don’t include “mince the garlic” which makes me curse at you when step 4 calls for the “minced garlic”. Please do better. Step 1 finely chops the pepper/onion so why no line for the garlic?
Hi Frank! I apologize for any confusion. The ingredient list on the recipe card above mentions 3 garlic cloves (minced), so it is not included in the instructions to mince the garlic since this is already mentioned in the ingredient list.
PERFECT! Followed the recipe to a T! Added smoked paprika as suggested. Great for a football get together!
Hi Peggy! Thanks for the feedback, glad you loved it!
Reminds me of childhood. I made it as instructed, except that I added some horseradish just because I love it. YUM! Thanks for a delicious treat!
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us, Zendegy!
Sloppy Joes were quick, easy and really, really good. I used ciabatta buns – everyone loved them. Thank you!!
Wonderful to hear! Thank you for sharing.
just made this. a little bland. thought it needed that little kick of vinegar you get from catsup. I added about 2 tbsp and…. just right.
Hi Bruce! Thank you for the feedback.
Really enjoyed this! Quick and easy for a weeknight meal and really tasty.
Thank you for sharing, Lauren! I’m glad you loved this recipe.
This recipe is great! I am in the process of making it for my second time. I love how simple it is and this recipe has great fl!
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us, Hallie!
I am so sorry that I did not read the comments before making this. It’s been simmering now for almost a half an hour and if I simmer it for maybe another hour it might be thick enough to go on a sandwich. I did trust my own thoughts enough to drain the grease from the hamburger, but two cans of tomato sauce, and water produces soup! I believe I’ll be going back to my old method of adding tomato paste and just enough water to get the thickness you desire.
Hi Paul, this recipe calls for just 1 can of tomato sauce. Also, make sure you are using a large skillet. If you use something like a saucepan with a smaller surface area, it will take a little longer to simmer it down.
It’s a bell ringer! This is a perfect base sloppy joe recipe…add whatever spice or cheese or bread type that suits your taste. I, for one, added some ‘heat’ because that’s what I like.
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us, Marty!
This one was kind of bland, as others have pointed out. I jazzed it up with extra W sauce, red pepper flakes, garlic and onion powder, extra brown sugar, a ton of black pepper, and a dash of fish sauce (yes!). Then it was delicious! I skipped the water and mine thickened up very nicely. This is a good (3-star) base recipe, but it definitely needed some love.
This is delish! I made it exactly as your recipe… I made all your recipes exact and haven’t found any that wasn’t over the top…. I served it on a split open baguette that I toasted under the broiler brushed with a little olive oil and then put mozzarella cheese on it and broiled it until it was all melted… like a french bread pizza piled with sloppy joe! Thanks for all your wonderful recipes!!!
Hi Lyle! Thank you for sharing with us. I’m so glad you loved it.
I searched for a recipe that didn’t use ketchup as a main ingredient, and found this one. It came out very tasty. Like some others, I left out the quarter cup of water. I also added a tsp of chili powder and a dash of liquid smoke. This will be my go-to recipe from now on. Thanks!!
Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Gary! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
I’m confused because people are commenting to not to add the water. I don’t see water anywhere in this recipe? Am I missing something?
Never mind! I see it now! I really must be tired because I totally missed the water in both the ingredients and instructions! Ha! I’m going to make these this weekend, and I will follow the recipe. You’ve yet to steer me wrong! Love all of your recipes so dad!! Keep them coming!
I added some smoked Paprika to my recipe and it really was good. Not too much, just a little Smokey flavor.
Thank you so much for sharing that with us!
This was really watery and tasteless… thankfully my friend helped me out by adding BBQ sauce and onion powder to it.
First, thank you for sharing this recipe. I loved Sloppy Joe sandwich days in elementary school, hosted by the PTA. They usually provided the number of sandwiches you desired, with a side of carrot and celery sticks and then there was an ice cream sandwich for dessert.
Second, there’s a grammatical error in paragraph 3 of the instructions:
As reads: Saute the beef for about 5 minutes until cooked through and longer pink…
Should be: Saute the beef for about 5 minutes until cooked through and no longer pink…
Hi Kurt, thank you so much for letting me know about this error. We’ll definitely make the changes. We’re glad you’re liking our recipes!
for years I have always made sloppy joes with either Manwich or sloppy joe seasoning mix packets. being a diabetic I’m always looking for new ways to make healthier old favorites like this. I made a few tweaks to the salt and brown sugar ingredients to make it more diabetic-friendly and added more water, but otherwise, I made it exactly. I will be making it again.
I’m so glad you loved the recipe, Amanda! Thank you for the review.
Simple and amazing! I tasted the sauce prior to mixing it, and it was “meh”….but I trusted it, and continued along. It was excellent.
So glad you loved it! 🙂
Made sloppy joes for the first time using this recipe and it was delicious! I have never eaten a sloppy joe before but feel like I may need to add it on a monthly rotation. I followed the recipe exactly, except omitted the onions (subbed onion powder) as my kids are not a fan. After simmering for 10-15 minutes the sauce was the perfect consistency once it cooled. This would also be great with a slice of melted cheese on top, over fries or fries, or scrambled with some eggs for breakfast.
I’m so glad you loved it! Thank you for the review.
I made the recipe as listed but really don’t like it. It was kind of flat.
Compared to other sloppy Joe recipes I’ve tried, this is on the blander side. There’s also a lot of liquid if you follow the recipe as stated. I had to add cornstarch to thicken it for sandwiches. Don’t add any water, drain the beef after cooking. You might also substitute tomato paste for sauce, about half the ounces called for, as I don’t think that’ll be enough ingredient swaps alone.
I thank you for your recipe. I change only a couple of things (we like it spicy) so I used Jalapeno peppers instead of green, I added Cilantro to the mix as well. Basically I sautéed the onions, peppers, garlic, cilantro in the olive oil. Then added the hamburger, the rest I did as the recipe called for. Excellant!!
Sounds good, great to know that you enjoyed this recipe!
I used 2 lbs meat-instead of the 1lb in the recipe.
A couple of things–you are better off draining the browned meat. Too much liquid otherwise.
2nd-I am glad I did not double the tomato sauce or add water.
Added a bit of paste to make it thicker. This was simply lackluster.
This recipe is delicious, but I’ll never understand why people sauté their veggies in the meat. Doing so STEAMS the veggies and they do not caramelize at all. Sauté your meat first, ALWAYS, then remove, sauté onions by themselves, then add in bell pepper and cook down, then garlic last. That is the order of operation by every chef and the one thing I’ve learned over the years. Makes a big difference. Other than that, this recipe is very good and we enjoy it often. Thank you.
Read this review: Great recipe as far as the seasonings combinations go. But here are the changes you need to make: Only add about 2/3 of the tomatoe sauce and then add more if you see the need.
Do not add any H2O.
Hi Aaron, it can also depend on your pan size – a larger pan with more surface area might need more liquid.
I used ground deer and beef!!! Added all other ingredients. It’s SO GOOD!!!!
Glad you enjoyed this recipe, Hanna!
I use this recipe many times over the years. Sometimes it’s add diced carrot, sometimes sliced olives, I tend to double up the spices and not add water. I like to experiment with different items like today made it and added maple bourbon spice. Its a great recipe!
Thanks, Travis! I’m glad you love it!
This is very tasty! I didn’t have tomato sauce, so I used pizza sauce in a jar. I also sautéed my onion and peppers before the hamburger. I toasted the buns with butter and garlic, too! Great recipe!
Hello Tory, good to know that the pizza sauce worked too! Thank you for sharing that with us.
Recipe came out very tasty! I used pizza sauce since I didn’t have tomato sauce. I also sautéed the onions and green peppters first. Not watery at all.
So glad you enjoyed this recipe!
This was extremely watery and bland. Do not think the water is needed with the tomato sauce. Had to drain some sauce, add more mustard, brown sugar and hot sauce to make it even slightly palatable. Something is way off with this recipe. Normally your recipes are great, but this was a huge miss.
Just tried this today. All of your recipes are perfect, but this one?
It is pretty watery and thin. I’ve gone over this and can’t see how yours was so thick. Everything was correct. I will add a small can of tomato paste maybe next time. I’m stumped. I am not a fan of supernspicy but used a little chili pepper to it..No water next time. 🙁
My mistake!! It thickened up nicely. I used the slow cooker on high for 2 hours! I added some spices and used died chilis instead of peppers.
Big hit!
No worries, good to hear that it was a hit, Cindy!
This is a very good base recipe.
I believe it was the famous chef, James Beard, who once said something like all recipes are just a starting point and you base each on ingredients at hand and individual taste. This is so true here and forgotten, or unknown, by many commenters.
The major change I made was to sauté the green peppers and onions beforehand and then add the beef.
I agree with a commentator who said most of the comments here are vicious. Add stupid. You cannot use tomato soup (the recipe calls for paste) and think the result is too watery. And to the fool who posted that the recipe only calls for two spices, salt and pepper, I would like to point out that Worcestershire sauce is a secret blend of sauces, and garlic, and onions are usually thought of as the
same. Green bell peppers also add plenty of sauces (I did add turmeric seasoning) because I am a health freak.
Good job for a recipe.
I used a can of tomato paste and added a chopped up jalapeño. Added a little water to get it to the consistency we likes, but it was amazing and made the kitchen smell wonderful. Thanks!
sorry I should clarify, that should read: tomato paste instead of sauce.
So glad you loved it! Thanks for sharing, Kaycie.
I made this last night per the recipe. While the flavor was good it was way too thin and watery. I will try again leaving out the half cup of water and use less tomato sauce. I even cooked it longer in hopes of thickening it some, but to no avail.
This recipe was really good! After making it per instructions, it needed a little more jazz for my tastes. I threw in a dash of powdered mustard, onion powder, garlic powder, oregano, and and extra tablespoon of brown sugar. I also simmered it for about 20min longer so it was thicker. Great starter recipe! (My husband ate 3 in one sitting LOL)
Too soupy…far too much tomato sauce. And it does need more than just salt and pepper for seasoning.
Depends on what tomato sauce you use because many sauces cook down well, which is great for this recipe. I add a bit of cheese towards the end to bind it all together. Delicious Valentina! Spot on
Probably the best Sloppy Joe recipe I’ve ever tried. It’s super easy and the family loved them. I’m not a fan of Sloppy Joes but these were really good 😊
That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review, Yvonne!
Meh. Just meh. My hubby and I live sloppy Joes but will not make this again.
Hi Janine, I’m sorry to hear you didn’t love it. This has been a popular recipe on our site.
My lord people leave such hateful comments 😞 this was one of the easiest I have ever found! I added a little extra brown sugar, some onion powder and a little tomatoe paste just based on some other suggestions in comments and it turned out amazing! Everyone’s tastes are different, bland to one may not be to another, there is so little kindness left out here apparently. I think it was a fabulous recipe and I will absolutely be making again. Thank you!
Thank you for your kind and thoughtful review, Anna!
H-m-m…I have read many comments by readers who didn’t care for the recipe for one reason or another, but I’ve not read one that I would consider hateful.
I wanted to add a comment. For those with a negative comment that had an “off taste” that is the Tomato Soup.
I loved this recipe because it was so dang fast. But when I needed to make it for a birthday yesterday this is not the one I grabbed. I looked back and wondered why.
Well, it was because of the “different flavor” people are talking about. And that is the tomato soup that you choose. Make sure you buy a nicer one in a box or just don’t use this recipe if you don’t like tomato soup.
This one is great for kids though. If you are in a hurry and just need to get something on the table.
And then add sugar at the end if needed because tomato soups have that in them.
Enjoy.
The reason peeps say an “off taste” is because it does NOT call for SOUP ! Its tomato SAUCE!! BIIIG difference 🤦♂️
I made this last night and the only change I made was a few splashes of rice vinegar and maybe a little more of sauce ingredients. My guests were very happy with their sandwiches which was served with homemade mac&cheese.
That’s great news! Thank you for sharing, so happy to know that this recipe was a huge hit to your guests!
Oh my goodness, what an awesome combo…sloppy joes and mac n’ cheese. Now there’s some comfort food!
Dull. Sorry but it lacked flavor. I dumped a sloppy joe packet in to save it.
Hi Marvin! I’m sorry to hear that, did you make any substitutions or changes in the ingredients or the process? We enjoy this recipe but you’re welcome to add more seasoning to your preference.
it was ok – I didn’t add the green pepper and did not use all of the sauce so maybe that is why it tasted bland. We are hoping it will have more taste tomorrow.
Hi CJ, I haven’t tried those substitutions, so I can’t speak to that. Substitutions may hinder the recipe outcome. I always suggest making a recipe as written the first time around.
“I always suggest making a recipe as written the first time around.” Excellent advice Natasha and I follow the same advice as well.
Lacked flavor. Added additional spices and tomato paste but even with additions it was bland. Sorry but prefer the canned manwich flavor over this.
Absolutely delicious! So yummy. Made no changes.I’d never made them by scratch before. Scratch is the BEST. Thank you for sharing. Looking forward to making this on a regular basis. Love, love your recipes
You are so welcome! Great to hear that you loved our sloppy joe recipe!
Made no changes. Absolutely delicious! So yummy. I’d never made them by scratch before. Scratch is the BEST. Thank you for sharing. Looking forward to making this on a regular basis. Love, love your recipes
Thank you, Darla. We appreciate your good comments and feedback!
Appreciate this recipe, we usually add a scoop of vegetable stock and some extra vegetables and serve it over potatoes or rice. So good!
Sound like a delicious combo! Thank you for the review, Ashley. 🙂
It’s a good base recipe.
I cooked it exactly as it came. Tried a bite, and decided it needed a bit more seasoning.
I added some onion and garlic powder, basil, paprika, ground mustard, salt & pepper, and a pinch of cayenne. It’s delicious! Our family likes our herbs and spices. I don’t use a lot, maybe 1/4 tsp each, and 1/2 tsp of the onion powder and salt.
Overall, it’s a sound recipe on it’s own, and easy to put a bit of your own spin on and make your own.
Thank you for the great recipe!
Thank you for the feedback, Summer!
I made this however I left out the green pepper because I didn’t have any available and added another tbsp of brown sugar because I like mine a little sweeter. Great quick recipe and tastes great. Definitely will keep.
Hi Bren, that sounds good. We’re glad that you enjoyed this recipe!
Made this tonight, Since the motto in my kitchen There is no such thing as too much garlic, I added a few more cloves. It is a very tasty recipe. Better than opening that can and almost as quick,
Hi Debra, that’s a good motto and always feel free to adjust the garlic in each recipe that you will try!
Very easy to make. Taste great. My only thought is to leave out some of the sugar next time and have chips and coke on hand. :0)
I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Just finished making these!! I used my 12″ skillet and it was too thin for my liking after 10 min simmer time. I just added 20 more min and it thickened up beautifully!! I didn’t read comments until it was simmering longer and was afraid these were going to be bland. Not the case at all!! Delicious!!
Good to know that it worked, Julie!
I just made it and definitely was not my favorite-so disappointed!
Sorry to hear that you didn’t enjoy it. Can you share what you specifically didn’t like about the recipe?
I made the recipe exactly as written, except I did drain my hamburger grease, and I did not care for it. It tasted bland, or just “off” to me. I couldn’t figure out what it needed, so I added in some garlic powder and ketchup. That made it better, but still not great. I will not be using this recipe again.
I followed the recipe to the letter…. It was bland, I added salt and pepper. I will not try this again.
This was fabulous!!! I’ve never made sloppy joes from scratch. Never again will I buy a can of manwich!!
So glad to hear that you enjoyed this recipe! It really is so much better made from scratch! 🙂
I’ve made this many times and my family loves it!! (I even love it and I don’t like Sloppy Joes!!). They’re asking for a bit more spice. What would you suggest I add? Thanks!!
Hi Tracey! I’m so glad your family loves this recipe. Red pepper flakes would work, or some hot sauce. 🙂
Will the flavor change a lot if I don’t add the brown sugar?
We usually love this recipe with brown sugar, you can try without it first and see if you still like it!
Awesome recipe!!! Only question I have is how would you thicken this up? I think me not draining the hamburger made it to runny.
Cheers
Hi! I don’t have a problem with this being too runny but I suppose you could try a cornstarch or flour slurry.
I agree. It’s really watery if you don’t drain the liquid off the beef. It got a considerably better when I used ground chuck instead of hamburger and drained it.
Drain the lean Ground Beef (I use Ground Chuck) before adding the other ingredients.
I just made this sloppy Joe recipe and it is so good. Way better than from the can. 👍 I will be sharing this with my friends.
I’m so glad this was a hit, Linda! Thank you so much for sharing that with me.
I simply don’t understand the few negative comments. When something (especially Natasha’s recipes) don’t turn out I reread the recipe or rewatch the video to see what I did wrong. I have a sloppy joe recipe that my grandkids love which is very similar; however this one is going to get a try. Mine uses ketchup instead of tomato sauce and the sauce contains apple cider vinegar. I am in my late 70s and I got my recipe from a neighbor. I have yet to use a recipe of yours We did not like. My family always asks if the recipe is Natasha’s. Thank you for many delicious meals.
There’s nothing wrong with people saying they don’t like something. That’s not negative in my opinion.
Nobody subbed KATSUP for tomato sauce, but I did, also, I browned One #ground chuck, drained and then added 1# of ground steak. Followed the recipe exact, except for using the Katsup.
It was wonderful💖
Did not like at all. The taste was not like a normal sloppy joe, which by the way is my favorite type of sandwich. I will not be making this recipe ever again and will be throwing the stuff away.
Hello, I haven’t tried this yet, but am looking forward to it.
Does the recipe call for *prepared* yellow mustard (wet mustard from a bottle), or do you use dried, powdered mustard, please?
I’m hoping to make this in half an hour, hoping someone might be able to give me a quick answer 🙂
But would appreciate an answer when anyone sees this.
Thank you!
Also, due to limited pantry space, for wet, bottled mustards, I only buy brown mustard and Dijon. I also keep dry mustard powder on the spice rack.
I’m hoping to either be able to use the mustard powder or the brown wet mustard, and would appreciate some direction so it will taste great. Thanks!
Brown mustard would work, as would dijon, or a tsp of powdered and 1/2 tsp of vinegar. Less is more, put a little in, taste, you can always add more at the end when it’s ingredients that don’t need to cook.
Hi Alice! I used yellow mustard from a bottle. I hope you get a chance to try this recipe and love it! 🙂
It’s always a waste to toss out. Be creative and make it into something else.
What did you not like about it?
Now if you really want outstanding sloppy joes, and a much simpler recipe look no further. 1 1/2 # ground beef, onion, green pepper, 14 oz Heinz ketchup, 12 oz Heinz chili sauce. That’s it, and they are wonderful. Give it a try, you will be hooked.
No lie… the Heinz Chili Sauce is actually the key ingredient for little bit extra kick of flavor.
Pretty good but way too much liquid. Also, a bit too much one none tomato sauce. I added a bit more mustard, Worcestershire sauce and even a little oregano to make it more flavorful.
Thanks for your comments and feedback, Michael. I hope you enjoyed it!
I’ve never posted a response before on a recipe I’ve tried, but this one was so surprisingly delicious, I just had to say thank you! My family agrees that this the best sloppy joes we’ve ever had. And this will become a permanent part of our meal rotation. So yummy!😊
So glad to hear that, Sonia! Thank you for sharing!
I, usually, make my sloppy Joes totally different from this. I found your recipe and it’s getting made for dinner. It looks delicious and love the happy reviews! Yum
I hope you love this recipe as well, Lisa. 🙂
Authentic Sloppy Joe’s!!! Just like my mom used to make in the 1950’s and 60’s. I’d completely forgotten about Sloppy Joe’s until I came across this recipe. I don’t understand how anyone could choose canned “Manwich” over this
yummy goodness.
I’m so glad you loved it, Mary! THank you for your wonderful review!
Yum! This is my new Sloppy Joe recipe. Love it. The only changes I made were to omit the green peppers because my family doesn’t like them, and to use Chili Sauce in place of tomato sauce. Just adds a little zip I think.
Sounds great, thanks for sharing Sandy! 🙂
WOW! THIS is how Sloppy Joe’s are supposd to taste! Not only is this The BEST ever Sloppy Joe’s recipe I have tried…. it even tastes fabulous when you replace the ground beef with TVP (Textured Vegetable Protein a vegan meat substitute you can get at the health food store). I couldn’t believe it! The secret is this sauce, y’all! This is a treat everyone can enjoy. Thanks, Natasha! This made its way onto my 21 meal 3 week rotation plan!
That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite, Jaylyn!
I love your recipe. The only thing I do differently is drain the fat. It’s always a winner. Very simple, and extremely tasty. Thank you.😋👌
Yes, that’s way healthier too! I’m happy to know that you liked this recipe.
Hi Natasha! I LOVE your recipes but never comment – sorry! Can I substitute Ground turkey? Thank you so much!!!
Hi Suzanne! Yes, that would be fine.
This is a pretty good recipe. I added a bit of liquid smoke. And doubled up on the spices. After letting the sauce cook down, we ate. Not one complaint. Probably some of the best sloppy Joe’s we have had.
That’s great to hear! Thank you, Derek. So glad you enjoyed this recipe.
About to try this recipe because the website is clear and informative! However, my head is spinning over all of the changes and personal preference comments. It’s amusing though, as that is life! I’m happy Google directed me to this recipe page. Thanks Natasha, for not giving up on your dreams and creating this website!
I’m happy you found us too! I hope you’ll love all the recipes that you will try, Lori.
Made this for the first time and it was delicious – sooo much better than anything store-bought!
Homemade is best! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
This was a pretty good recipe… I definitely had to add more seasonings though ! A lot more of pretty much everything besides the onion and pepper.. And I also added onion powder
Thank you for the feedback, Dominique.
This is the first of Natasha’s recipes I would tweak next time. I would not add as much brown sugar and I would add some tomato paste to it. I used Contadina sauce and did not need to add any water.
I thought the same thing about sugar. Tomato paste is a good idea.
Delicious, my husband loved it. I tried others but this one was just right.
Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Cheryl!
These were the best sloppy Joes that I have ever had! I used a teaspoon of honey instead of brown sugar.
So glad you enjoyed this recipe!