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
Great Recipe. We loved it. Continue your great work. Yours is our go-to site to get recipes.
Thank you so much, Donna. I’m happy to hear that.
Definitely deserves a 5 star ! Thank you for quick easy recipe!
I LOVE IT! I’ve been looking for a simple Sloppy Joe recipe from scratch for years. I checked my cookbooks but I’m surprised at what little there is, especially in the church, factories, & etc cookbooks. I found this recipe & it has the simple ingredients I like. I don’t like Sloppy Joes to be too sweet & this has enough sweetness for me. I made a double recipe the first time. This time, I just made the one batch for an 10 x 10 inch dish for my Sloppy Joe casserole from one of my cookbooks. I didn’t have a Sloppy Joe package or can/jar of it. I decided to make this recipe again but I used the rest of my leftover roast beef instead of hamburger. I use mini colored, baby peppers instead of a green pepper since usually have it on hand. The Sloppy Joes tasted really good. I like using up leftover meat in my recipes and Sloppy Joes is a good way to use it up.
That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite, Darlene! Thank you for your great review!
Thank you! Sloppy joe recipe without ketchup. Turned out good, thank you!
I’m glad you liked it, Jay! Thank you for sharing.
I use this recipe and double the peppers and onions (though may also add diced/shredded carrot next time after seeing someone recently adding that) to stretch the meat a little for a crowd – but the sauce in this Sloppy Joe recipe is PERFECT!! Feeds a crowd, and completely kid-friendly! It re-heats/holds well for a BBQ in a crock pot, too, so perfect for make-ahead without tasting like it was instant food! If you have time to simmer in the crock pot on low overnight after mixing, it only gets better.
Ok Natasha I have been following you for awhile now! I’m from south Louisiana and we have good food! But I have to admit every recipe of yours that I have tried was spot on! I’d like to cook crawfish ettouffe with you!🥰 or give you my recipe!
Thank you, I’m super glad that you have enjoyed the recipes that you have tried! I love recipe suggestions, feel free to send it to me via the contact form on my website. Thank you!
Your recipes are always so good and this one is hands down my favorite Sloppy Joe recipe. The brown sugar, bell pepper adds so much flavor! No more canned Sloppy Joe for me!!
Thank you for all the yummy recipes! I didn’t change a thing, SO GOOD!
Also if you like a little zing, we are feom NM originally, and i add a cup of green chile..and if the kiddos believe they dont like green bell peppers use the frozen bag of red and yellow pepper slices from the grocery store..they become (stealth) peppers!!
Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Mark!
Very good and easy. Family thoroughly enjoyed it. Will make again.
That is the best when the family love what we moms make. That’s so great!
Wonderful Sloppy Joe recipe! Thank you!!! I cannot eat green pepper so I substituted finely dice carrot instead. Turned out great! Quick question…does the Nutrition Information include the calories of the hamburger bun? Thanks much!
You’re welcome, glad you enjoyed it! Yes it should be included already.
Turned out great !!!!…..and way less than manwhich.
Can we have more economical recipes please. Beef and chicken. I buy family packs them individually freeze. I’m looking for under 5.00 ingredients without the meat of course
Thank you so much for that suggestion, Eileen! I’m happy you loved this recipe.
I was looking for a recipe without tomato sauce, because I’m out. Turns out the only mustard I have is Dijon. Will this work??
Hi Riley, while I haven’t tried that, one of my readers mentioned trying it with dijon.
Yes, Dijon does work. I only cook with Dijon and have never encountered an issues substituting Dijon for yellow mustard. 🙂
I used Dijon, as well, and it turned out great! I was worried it would be too sweet, but found it had just the right balance of sweet and tangy for us. Will definitely add more veg next time-more peppers and grated carrots (genius!).
I’m so glad it worked out well, Deb! Thank you so much for sharing that with us.
Ketchup works well. Reduce the brown sugar by 1/2 or add 1 tbs of cider vinegar..
I have a question. I’m limited on sodium, where does the sodium come from? I would be using No Salt brand.
Hi Liz, various ingredients in this recipe have sodium, but we also have 1.2 tsp salt for flavor. I hope that helps.
Made this recipe today and my husband and I absolutely love it and flavor was so delicious. Directions were so easy to follow and so easy and quick dinner! Thank You 🫶🏼
That’s wonderful to hear, Maribel!
I’ve made this before and it’s amazing. I wanted to add something my sister shared with me. Regarding the browning of the hamburger. Instead of using oil to brown it. She adds water to it. Breaking up the hamburger while the water is still Luke warm and easy to handle. Unless a person prefers large chunks of hamburger. Drain well when done. My sister got this trick when she was working in a grocery deli. Works everytime. My personal preference is. Smaller chunks of hamburger. TIA. For sharing this fabulous recipe. It’s a keeper.
Thank you so much for sharing this trick wit hme, LuAnn!
The Best really is an accurate title for this recipe! It really is delicious. Family Fav forsure!
A little too sweet. We added a bit more salt and Worcestershire sauce to help. Also added some onion powder on top of the recipe. Very good with mozzarella. Giving 5 stars specifically bc this finally got my toddler to eat a little ground beef.
Thank you for sharing that with us, Leah!
Love this recipe. It makes enough for several meals. Most time I double the recipe.
well, it had been years since I made this for my young’uns. Wanted some for me (that’s all there is here now) YUMMY! I put more onions in it and probably more Worcestershire sauce as I love both. Thank you for the recipe!
You’re very welcome!
Super delish recipe just made this today! Also a bit off topic but I absolutely love your hair colour in your photo do you mind sharing the colour and if they are highlights? 🙂
I make this recipe once or twice a week to hit my protein goals. For a twist, I add All spice and Cayenne pepper. It’s fantastic in a protein wrap.
This recipe turned out great! My whole family loved it! Now I would like to make it for a party that I am hosting and would need to use 14 pounds of meat. I’m just wondering if I need to multiply the rest of the ingredients by 14? What do you think?
Hi Chris! I’m so glad it was enjoyed. Yes, you’d increase all the ingredients evenly. You can use the tool at the top of the recipe card and change the number of servings until you reach the desired amount (56 servings would be 14lbs of meat). This will convert the ingredients list for you.