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.
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.
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
A very solid base. Others have said the flavor is “bland” but in my
opinion, all the base flavors are on point and the recipe can be easily adjusted to ones own taste. I doubled the worchestershire, mustard, and also added 1 tbsp tomato paste and 2 tbsp vinegar. Excellent…!!!!
I imagine that the reason that it wasn’t bland was because of your adjustments to the recipe/ I’ll give them a try.
This recipe is so good! Thank you for sharing.
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it, Erin!
My family wanted sloppy joes for lunch but I am not a fan of the stuff in the can.. I found this recipe and made it and it was fantastic. Truly the best sloppy Joe I have ever had. It also works really well with ground chicken.
That’s great to hear, Melody!
Delicious!!! Turned out exactly how I had hoped!
I found the recipe to be bland and lacking in depth of flavor. I cooked in the slow cooker to reduce the sauce well. I tripled the Worcestershire and mustard, added a splash of vinegar, and even a bit of hot sauce. Still bland and lacking in flavor. Would not make again.
Hi Carbetty, I wonder if it could be due to making it in the slow cooker – the caramelizing in a skillet does add some flavor, but also make sure to increase the recipe proportionally if you are multiplying it.
Best Sloppy Joe recipe everrrrrrrrrrrr! I feel silly using the powdered mix before.
Great recipe. I use mini red,orange and yellow peppers for a sweeter pepper tast instead of sugar. Drain meat even if lean for sure.
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us!
Great recipe !
I add half cup of our favorite BBQ sauce
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Yum. Great recipes. Your recipes always come out great
I made this couple of nights ago and it was really good. But next time I will cut the amount of tomato sauce in half because it was way too runny for us. Yes I drained the grease off after browning the meat as well and I added a few splashes of Louisiana Hot Sauce to give it a little bite and I used about 5 garlic cloves because we love garlic.
I made these terriffic Sloppy Joe’s last night. Our family loves spicy so I added Rotel diced tomatoes with chili, jalapeno pepper and a splash of Crystal Hot Sauce. It was fabuloso!! I enjoy your recipes, thank you.
Well, I didn’t have a green pepper on hand so I used celery, but I can see where the green pepper would have been better. Otherwise I followed the recipe as written with the addition of a sprinkling of red pepper flakes. It was a little too sweet for my taste so I added more mustard and some prepared horseradish. Next time I’ll use less brown sugar and have a green pepper on hand.
This recipe was absolutely delicious! We were craving sloppy joes, and this hit the spot perfectly. I didn’t change a thing, and it turned out amazing!
Absolutely LOVE this recipe! My son is a picky eater and hates sloppy joes but he scarfed this down and went back for seconds! Definitely a “go-to” recipe in my household!
This recipe made up quickly and easily, but, to our taste (including my spice averse daughter), this lacked flavor, and seemed a bit bland and one-note. It needed something more. Then, I noticed that this recipe was, in fact, not developed by Natasha at all, but someone else. That may explain it, as Natasha originals consistently hit the mark!
Hey Natasha, a lot of other commenters are finding this bland as well, but the basic idea is so terrific as a quick, economical family meal. If you have time, why not revisit this recipe and make a new version? Me, and many other readers, would appreciate an updated version of this family classic
Hi Jane, unfortunately the reason for this was using the wrong persimmon. they are very different form fuyu persimmon which is what the recipe calls for. I hope you give it another try with the correct persimmon variety.
Thanks for your reply, Natasha, but I’m a bit confused. The sloppy Joe recipe doesn’t call for any persimmon!
Oh sorry that was intended for another comment. Thanks for letting me know!
Persimmon? I think you must be thinking about another recipe and not the sloppy joes.
Oh sorry that was intended for another comment.
This had no flavor. It doesn’t say to drain the ground beef but definitely do. I had to add more mustard, some vinegar and pepper flakes. I wouldn’t make this again
Hi Amy, I’m sorry to hear this didn’t work out as expected for you. If using a ground beef with a higher fat content, then draining the extra fat is a very good idea.
This was very good as is although I did add some ketchup for additional flavor. Will put this recipe in rotation. Delicious!
I typically love Natasha’s recipes, my go to, but this sloppy Joe was missing some thing as I compare, are the recipes… red pepper flakes, chili powder, ketchup, apple cider vinegar maybe.
We felt it didn’t have enough flavor like a bite or a kick?
Did you do the homemade sauce? Feel free to add more seasoning according to your preference.
I agree. It was missing a depth of flavors, so I added a teaspoon of paprika and thyme. Problem solved!
So delicious- I threw mine in a crockpot to let the flavors meld. I love your recipes! Always perfect.
Thank you, Courtney!
This recipe is so very good! We make it all the time! If you haven’t tried it you should for sure! Recommend 100%!