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
Not sure what everyone is raving about with this recipe. I found it very bland. Had to add BBQ sauce, horseradish and finally some Peri Peri sauce to get things going. If you like very bland food this is probably for you.
I just made this myself and there is no taste/flavor. I followed the instructions perfectly as it’s very easy. I’m not sure my husband will like it. Needs something else but I can’t put my finger on it.
Same thing with us. Everyone in my family was pretty disappointed with it. It didn’t taste bad, it just didn’t have any taste at all, not sure where everyone is getting a ton a flavor from. Haven’t done sloppy joes in forever though this would be a nice change, sadly it was not. We’re having Manwich next time.
Correction, the review is now posted again with a reply. My apologies😑
No worries. 🙂
Great basic sloppy joe recipe. For whatever reason, the tomato sauce? The beef?, it needed a little something. Remedied it with tomato paste, a splash of vinegar and a little more brown sugar. 👍🏻
Thank you so much for sharing that with me.
I freeze the sloppy Joe mixture in muffin pans than I take them out and put in a freezer bag. This way I can have a quick sandwich.
That’s a good idea, Sue! Glad you always make it ahead.
Looks so yummy. I will try it. My husband loves Sloppy Joe’s.
I hope you both love it, Pam!
This is not recioe I’ve used for years with 2 exceptions ….. for one I use 1 cup catsup instead of tomato sauce …. I also use 2 tbsp mustard and worsteshire sauce and at the very end I add 2 to 3 tbsp of white vinegar ☺️
Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Lynn! I hope you love our version!
This is my new favorite sloppy joe! Made a lot of different ons and happy I found this one. Thanks!
Wonderful! I am happy you have found a new favorite. Thank you for sharing.
Natasha’s Kitchen is my “go to” for simple and delicious recipes and this Sloppy Joe recipe is no exception! Was able to find all organic ingredients, including the buns. I toped these babies off with my homemade cole slaw and that took it up a notch. Toasting the buns are a must. My husband is already asking me to make this again!
Hello Angela, thank you so much for your trust. I hope you and your family will love all the recipes that you will try.
This is the best sloppy joe recipe I have made. Delicious. Thank so much
I’m so glad you enjoyed that, Elsa! Thank you so much for sharing that with me.
My husband likes the canned stuff. Me? I can live without it. I decided to make this for him tonight. Easy, since every ingredient is always in our house. He asked me to write it down and put it in the recipe box, so that he could make it too. That is a ringing endorsement right there.I cut the recipe in half, since there are only two of us. Tasty!
I’m so glad it was a hit, Linda! That’s so great! Thank you so much for sharing that with me.
This is so easy, and so delicious. I actually ate three and I’m sleeping it off. You have to try these.
She’s right. This stuff kicks ass. Apparently this comment was too short, so it really, Really REALLY kicks ass. Really.
Made this tonight and it was delicious! I did add some jarred spaghetti sauce and a little more brown sugar and it was perfect! Not watery at all, perfect consistency!
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us, Pamela!
Based on the ingredients, I can’t understand why the sodium levels are so high.
Does this really contain 1197 mg sodium/serving?
If so, is there any way to drastically reduce that?
Hi Bruce, we will look into the accuracy of that. My suggestion is that you look for no salt added or low sodium tomato sauce and reduced-sodium Worcestershire sauce to help reduce the amount of sodium in this recipe.
This was the perfect meal for a snow day! It was simple, inexpensive and delicious. Plus, you can control the salt intake rather than buy the sauce from a jar or can.
Thank you!
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us, Gloria!
If I double this recipe, should I change the amount of the ingredients? Thank you. I am looking forward to making this for my grandchildren.
Hi Alma, you may go to the recipe card and click servings to adjust the ingredients too.
I made “The Best Sloppy Joe” recipe tonight. Although I have tried many different Sloppy Joe recipes, this one is the best, my husband loved it! Thank you!
That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite, Patricia!
Brioche hamburger buns knock any sloppy Joe out of the park !
That sounds like a great choice! yum!
This sounds really good. Do I need to drain the grease from the meat?
Hi Michele, it really depends on your preference but for a healthier version you can drain the grease.
I wanted to find a recipe that I could make ahead and leave in the crockpot the next day. I grew up with a mother who made this from scratch and was so happy to find a similar recipe. It tastes like home! 🙂 This can be used over fries, spaghetti, potatoes… I could have it on anything. It’s delicious!!! Thanks for sharing, Natasha.
Aww, I love that this tastes like home! That’s so great, Brittany! Thank you so much for sharing that with me.