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
Sauce was super bland. I had to really do a lot to give it some zip. Not sure how this had 5 stars.
Hi Matt, I’m sorry to hear it didn’t meet your standards. Did you possibly change any of the ingredients or make any substitutions?
It was delicious. Perfect sweetness and tangy-ness. Brought to a dinner and everyone loved it.
I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for sharing your great review, Vivian!
Couldn’t find the recipe I normally use so I thought I’d try this one. I followed the exact recipe and it tasted like plain tomato sauce. Very bland.
Hi Staci, This is normally rich in flavor, but this is a very simple recipe so every ingredient is important for the best taste. Make sure not to omit any of the ingredients and be sure to season to taste at the end to make sure there is enough salt.
I used to use the canned/jarred sloppy joe sauce but just couldn’t bring myself to eat it anymore. I longed for a great recipe for homemade. I can’t wait to try this! I take dinner to our son’s house every Sunday during football season. Today it’s your Shrimp Fajitas (a HUGE favorite in my household!). Next week it will be this recipe for Sloppy Joe. Can’t wait to give it a try!! Thanks, Natasha!
Sounds like a good plan, Tracy. I hope it becomes a hit!
Tastes fine, but in desperate need of thickening. Had to find a can of tomato paste for that.
Can confirm, best sloppy joe recipe! Made a 3x batch ahead of time then brought on a camping trip to share with friends and it was a hit. Cook time to simmer off the water was waay more than 10 min in my case so I’d add less next time, but was well worth it and came out great!
Hello Tim, wonderful to see your good comments and feedback. I’m happy that you enjoyed this recipe! Thank you for sharing that with us.
Made this today with plant based burger. My family loved it! Thank you.
You are welcome, Melissa. Happy to know that your family enjoyed it!
I failed to plan for dinner today and went looking for a sloppy joe recipe since I had half a package of buns that needed to be used. When I saw Natasha’s Kitchen I knew it was the one I’d try. I have used your Dutch Oven beef stew and meatloaf recipes to rave reviews from my family. And here’s another keeper.
Thank you so much for the awesome review, I’m so glad you and your family loved it!
I have tried a couple of sloppy joe recipes in the past but to be honest have always preferred and gone back to the canned version because I love it, it’s easy & it reminds me of my childhood. But when I went to make dinner tonight I realized I was out & I found your recipe through a Google search. O-M-G was it ever delicious!! I will finally be ditching the canned stuff…this recipe blew it out of the water. Thank you so much and I look forward to trying some of your other recipes in the future.
You are very welcome, Janie. I’m happy to know that you loved this recipe, you finally found your new go-to-recipe!
When we eat our Sloppy Joe’s we always put a scoop on the bun and top with potato chips and then the top of the bun. Also some chips on the side to scoop up the sloppy joe that falls out of the bun. Yum!
Oh wow that sounds delicious. Thanks for sharing!
The all time worst sloppy Joe recipe I’ve found so far. Way to soupy ( definitely skip adding the water), and not much flavor beyond the burger.
Hi Zane, as you can see in the photos, it should not be soupy or water. Make sure your sauce is at a simmer for the full 10 minutes. Also, if you use a smaller or narrower/taller pot, it will require a longer simmering time since there is less surface area. I hope that helps for next time.
Thanks to you, Natasha, we enjoyed your Sloppy Joe recipe on a rainy Florida evening! We haven’t ate this sandwich in years so it was it was like taking a step back in time. And…it even tasted better the next day for lunch. Thanks so much for posting this great recipe.
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it, Connir!
I must try this!
Please let us know how it goes.
Just made this today. Was so quick, easy, and delicious. I love using your recipes because they are simple and not too complicated. I have yet to find a recipe of yours that I do not like. Hoping to make your chicken scampi recipe tomorrow. I’m sure it’ll taste amazing.
Thank you for your wonderful feedback! The Shrimp Scampi is so good, and I hope you love it!
I use ketchup instead of tomato sauce. I don’t use worcestershire but instead a tablespoon of horseradish. Gives it a little kick!
Nice, thanks for sharing that with us, Wendy.
This was much better than the canned variety. I always add noodles and corn to sloppy Joe leftovers top with mashed potatoes and cheese then bake, makeshift Shepherd’s Pie.
That’s a great idea!! Thank you so much for sharing that with me.
The homemade sauce is a game changer. A new family favorite in our house!
It really is the best!!
Hi Natasha Kravchuk
I enjoy your recipes so much,I like your frosting and more I always watch on youtube to see many more…Have a bless day.
Thank you for that wonderful compliment, Nicolette! I’m so glad you’re enjoying my videos!
My kids would love these!! SO GOOD!
That is the best when kids love what we moms make. That’s so great!
We love sloppy joe’s!! Thank you for this easy & delicious recipe!! It’s great any night of the week & all year long!
You’re welcome, Natalie! Thank you for your great review!
I just made this sloppy joe and is delicious with brioche burger buns. Thank you.
Lat week , I did your apple pie and my husband said that this is the best pie he has ever ate.
Thank you again.
Thats so awesome thank you so much!