Saucy, beefy, and so satisfying. We’re convinced this is the best recipe for homemade Sloppy Joes. Ground beef in a hearty tomato sauce, served on toasted hamburger buns, is a great option for lunch or dinner. Everyone needs a great and nostalgic Sloppy Joe recipe 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 ★★★★★
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.
The Best Sloppy Joe Recipe
This delicious Sloppy Joe recipe is a simple and inexpensive way to make a budget-friendly family dinner. It’s essentially a loose meat sandwich with 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 Ground Beef Stir Fry, Goulash, 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 Joe Ingredients
- 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 any color. If you like things spicy, add jalapenos. You can also substitute with 1 grated carrot (about 1/2 cup).
- Onion & Garlic – these aromatics add great flavor to the sauce.
- Homemade Sauce – just a few simple pantry ingredients create a sauce better than any store-bought version. Combining 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 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 and to keep the buns from getting soggy. Spoon the saucy beef mixture on toasted buns and serve as sandwiches.
What to Serve with Sloppy Joes
Complete the meal by pairing it with crunchy potato chips and dill pickle spears. My kids especially love this combination. It’s also delicious served with a side of creamy potato salad, coleslaw, or macaroni salad. Baked Mac and Cheese is another great option, especially for birthday parties.
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.
How to Use Leftover Sloppy Joe Filling
There are so many different ways to enjoy leftover sloppy joe filling. Here are some great ideas for sloppy joes without the bun:
- Sloppy Joe Grilled Cheese – Add the meat mixture when making a Grilled Cheese
- Sloppy Joe Sliders – substitute meat sauce in my cheeseburger sliders.
- Sloppy Joe Pizza – Add on sourdough pizza or overnight pizza dough and top with cheese..
- Loaded fries – top your air fryer French fries with cheese and sloppy joe filling.
- Sloppy Joe Hot Dogs – Add the meat sauce to your hot dogs.
- Baked potato – fill baked potatos, or air fryer baked potatos with meat sauce.
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
- Refrigerating – Cool to room temperature, cover and refrigerate up to 3 days.
- Freezing – transfer the cooled meat sauce to freezer-friendly containers or freezer bags and freeze for up to 2-3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight.
- Reheating – It’s best to reheat a recipe the same way it was cooked. Warm the meat sauce in a pan over the stovetop until hot. You can microwave, but cover to catch messy splatter.
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
Easy Ground Beef Recipes
- Slow Cooker Beef Chili
- Meatloaf
- Spaghetti and Meatballs
- Bolognese Sauce
- Lasagna
- Ground Beef Stroganoff
- Mexican Beef and Rice Skillet
- Beef Burritos
I made the recipe exactly as written, except I did drain my hamburger grease, and I did not care for it. It tasted bland, or just “off” to me. I couldn’t figure out what it needed, so I added in some garlic powder and ketchup. That made it better, but still not great. I will not be using this recipe again.
I followed the recipe to the letter…. It was bland, I added salt and pepper. I will not try this again.
This was fabulous!!! I’ve never made sloppy joes from scratch. Never again will I buy a can of manwich!!
So glad to hear that you enjoyed this recipe! It really is so much better made from scratch! 🙂
I’ve made this many times and my family loves it!! (I even love it and I don’t like Sloppy Joes!!). They’re asking for a bit more spice. What would you suggest I add? Thanks!!
Hi Tracey! I’m so glad your family loves this recipe. Red pepper flakes would work, or some hot sauce. 🙂
Will the flavor change a lot if I don’t add the brown sugar?
We usually love this recipe with brown sugar, you can try without it first and see if you still like it!
Awesome recipe!!! Only question I have is how would you thicken this up? I think me not draining the hamburger made it to runny.
Cheers
Hi! I don’t have a problem with this being too runny but I suppose you could try a cornstarch or flour slurry.
I agree. It’s really watery if you don’t drain the liquid off the beef. It got a considerably better when I used ground chuck instead of hamburger and drained it.
Drain the lean Ground Beef (I use Ground Chuck) before adding the other ingredients.
I just made this sloppy Joe recipe and it is so good. Way better than from the can. 👍 I will be sharing this with my friends.
I’m so glad this was a hit, Linda! Thank you so much for sharing that with me.
I simply don’t understand the few negative comments. When something (especially Natasha’s recipes) don’t turn out I reread the recipe or rewatch the video to see what I did wrong. I have a sloppy joe recipe that my grandkids love which is very similar; however this one is going to get a try. Mine uses ketchup instead of tomato sauce and the sauce contains apple cider vinegar. I am in my late 70s and I got my recipe from a neighbor. I have yet to use a recipe of yours We did not like. My family always asks if the recipe is Natasha’s. Thank you for many delicious meals.
There’s nothing wrong with people saying they don’t like something. That’s not negative in my opinion.
Nobody subbed KATSUP for tomato sauce, but I did, also, I browned One #ground chuck, drained and then added 1# of ground steak. Followed the recipe exact, except for using the Katsup.
It was wonderful💖
Did not like at all. The taste was not like a normal sloppy joe, which by the way is my favorite type of sandwich. I will not be making this recipe ever again and will be throwing the stuff away.
Hello, I haven’t tried this yet, but am looking forward to it.
Does the recipe call for *prepared* yellow mustard (wet mustard from a bottle), or do you use dried, powdered mustard, please?
I’m hoping to make this in half an hour, hoping someone might be able to give me a quick answer 🙂
But would appreciate an answer when anyone sees this.
Thank you!
Also, due to limited pantry space, for wet, bottled mustards, I only buy brown mustard and Dijon. I also keep dry mustard powder on the spice rack.
I’m hoping to either be able to use the mustard powder or the brown wet mustard, and would appreciate some direction so it will taste great. Thanks!
Brown mustard would work, as would dijon, or a tsp of powdered and 1/2 tsp of vinegar. Less is more, put a little in, taste, you can always add more at the end when it’s ingredients that don’t need to cook.
Hi Alice! I used yellow mustard from a bottle. I hope you get a chance to try this recipe and love it! 🙂
It’s always a waste to toss out. Be creative and make it into something else.
What did you not like about it?
Now if you really want outstanding sloppy joes, and a much simpler recipe look no further. 1 1/2 # ground beef, onion, green pepper, 14 oz Heinz ketchup, 12 oz Heinz chili sauce. That’s it, and they are wonderful. Give it a try, you will be hooked.
No lie… the Heinz Chili Sauce is actually the key ingredient for little bit extra kick of flavor.
Pretty good but way too much liquid. Also, a bit too much one none tomato sauce. I added a bit more mustard, Worcestershire sauce and even a little oregano to make it more flavorful.
Thanks for your comments and feedback, Michael. I hope you enjoyed it!
I’ve never posted a response before on a recipe I’ve tried, but this one was so surprisingly delicious, I just had to say thank you! My family agrees that this the best sloppy joes we’ve ever had. And this will become a permanent part of our meal rotation. So yummy!😊
So glad to hear that, Sonia! Thank you for sharing!
I, usually, make my sloppy Joes totally different from this. I found your recipe and it’s getting made for dinner. It looks delicious and love the happy reviews! Yum
I hope you love this recipe as well, Lisa. 🙂
Authentic Sloppy Joe’s!!! Just like my mom used to make in the 1950’s and 60’s. I’d completely forgotten about Sloppy Joe’s until I came across this recipe. I don’t understand how anyone could choose canned “Manwich” over this
yummy goodness.
I’m so glad you loved it, Mary! THank you for your wonderful review!
Yum! This is my new Sloppy Joe recipe. Love it. The only changes I made were to omit the green peppers because my family doesn’t like them, and to use Chili Sauce in place of tomato sauce. Just adds a little zip I think.
Sounds great, thanks for sharing Sandy! 🙂
WOW! THIS is how Sloppy Joe’s are supposd to taste! Not only is this The BEST ever Sloppy Joe’s recipe I have tried…. it even tastes fabulous when you replace the ground beef with TVP (Textured Vegetable Protein a vegan meat substitute you can get at the health food store). I couldn’t believe it! The secret is this sauce, y’all! This is a treat everyone can enjoy. Thanks, Natasha! This made its way onto my 21 meal 3 week rotation plan!
That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite, Jaylyn!
I love your recipe. The only thing I do differently is drain the fat. It’s always a winner. Very simple, and extremely tasty. Thank you.😋👌
Yes, that’s way healthier too! I’m happy to know that you liked this recipe.
Hi Natasha! I LOVE your recipes but never comment – sorry! Can I substitute Ground turkey? Thank you so much!!!
Hi Suzanne! Yes, that would be fine.
This is a pretty good recipe. I added a bit of liquid smoke. And doubled up on the spices. After letting the sauce cook down, we ate. Not one complaint. Probably some of the best sloppy Joe’s we have had.
That’s great to hear! Thank you, Derek. So glad you enjoyed this recipe.
About to try this recipe because the website is clear and informative! However, my head is spinning over all of the changes and personal preference comments. It’s amusing though, as that is life! I’m happy Google directed me to this recipe page. Thanks Natasha, for not giving up on your dreams and creating this website!
I’m happy you found us too! I hope you’ll love all the recipes that you will try, Lori.