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
I served this over homemade cornbread with a light sprinkle of shredded cheddar cheese, and my 9 year old loved it! I didn’t have tomato sauce on hand, so I used a small can of tomato paste and a can of diced tomatoes. Super tasty!
That’s great, Renee! That’s nice to know your 9-yr old loved this recipe too!
I just made this, and it was very good. I used a whole green pepper-instead of one half and added about a 1/2 tablespoon of crushed red pepper. I like that it doesn’t use ketchup-since I do not want the salt. This will be my sloppy joe recipe from now on!
Yay that’s perfect! I’m glad you found your new go-to recipe!
I had a can of fire roasted tomatoes and used that and added catsup, 1/2c ?, otherwise same recipe. Yummo!!
Delicious!! I doubled the recipe and the only things I changed was the amount of brown sugar and I added 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper and 1 tbsp brown sugar instead of 2, personal preference. We loved it!
This is a fantastic recipe! I did add 1/4 C ketchup, in addition to the tomato sauce, and 1/4 C apple cider vinegar at the end to get the tangy note that I remember and that did the trick! It was a bit runny, but we had time to cook it down and it was perfect! Thank you!
I was trying to recreate the sloppy Joe flavor I fell in love with as a child and although this recipe was good, it didn’t blow me away. It was missing something for me. I hunted in my fridge and found a bottle of Bachan’s Japanese BBQ sauce and added a generous portion in and it really gave me that missing flavor I was looking for.
I’d give this 5 stars, but I made so many alterations it’s not really fair to do that. But BECAUSE it was so forgiving, and the flavor combo was great, this recipe is a definite keeper. Changes I made because I threw it together after work at 2 am (which still worked perfectly!): ground turkey instead of beef; no bell pepper; Splenda brown sugar mix; a can of stewed tomatoes instead of tomato sauce (in fact, I’d keep the tomatoes) and squeezed in ketchup and tomato paste. I browned the turkey and onion in the instant pot, deglazed with the can of tomatoes, and cooked it for 3 minutes. I served it over white rice and it was GREAT! I can’t wait to try it with tomato sauce, but even if you don’t have the exact right ingredients, this is an easy and delicious recipe to play around with!
I’m so glad you enjoyed our version, Niki!
It is delicious much better than the can stuff. Easy to follow directions and even people that do not like sloppy joes like this.
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us, Patti!
Easy to follow and delicious! My daughter asked for Sloppy Joe’s after she saw them on a tv show and I have never made them – they were a hit!
This recipe looks delicious! Is this recipe good with ground turkey?
Hi Leah! Yes, you can use ground turkey too! I hope you love it.
By “tomato sauce” you mean tomato puree or passata or sauce to make a pasta type sauce, not what Americans would call “ketchup”? Here in New Zealand we call the type of sauce Americans call ketchup “tomato sauce”. I’m confused! I’m going to try making this with tomato puree.
Hi Annemarie, tomato sauce comes in a can in the US. It is not ketchup. Tomato sauce is the concentrated product prepared from the liquid extracted from mature, sound, whole tomatoes, made into a puree.
I made this Sloppy Joe recipe for dinner tonight. I did add a small can of tomato paste. The recipe was easy and time friendly. It was very good and I’ll be making it again. One of the best Sloppy Joe recipes I’ve ever tried. Yummy!!
This TRULY is the best sloppy joe recipe. I have been wanting a recipe that didn’t use ketchup. This has similar ingredients to my mother’s meatloaf topping.
Love this recipe!!! Tried another one and it was a big fail, I should have know by just looking at the list of ingredients… the other called for chilly powder, it turned out so yucky 🤮 I am only keeping this one pinned now so not to get
Confused 🫤
I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed it, Wendy!
Can this be made ahead and frozen or at least reheated later in the day?
Hi Judie! Yes- see my note in the blog under the “make ahead” section.
This recipe turned out delicious. I did not use the 3 cloves of garlic but sprinkled in garlic salt instead. I did add some ketchup to it and made sure that I added water as I did not want it too thick……the toasted buns were a great add on. My husband loved them. I would definitely make this again. I have tried many sloppy joe recipes over the years, but this one is definitely a winner!
I was use to making Sloppy Joes using a powered mix but this was delicious and easy. I will make this again!
Absolutely delicious! Instead of regular onions, I used scallions and a little bit of cornstarch to help thicken the mixture while cooking in a cast iron pan. Soooo scrumptious!!!
I use no other sloppy joe recipe since I found this one. I never have to use water. The other day when I made it, I was also making Bloody Mary’s. Bloody Marys — why not? Carry that tomato theme through. I use just a bit of liquid smoke in a batch of Mary;s, so I thought why not add a dash to the Joe’s. Well, it made your fantastic recipe even better. Everyone was so happy with Joe and Mary and Smokey. But just a tiny bit because Smokey is a very strong character
.
This tasted just like when I was a kid only without the packet. Easy and a hit with the family.
That’s great, Pia! I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe.