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
This is delish! I made it exactly as your recipe… I made all your recipes exact and haven’t found any that wasn’t over the top…. I served it on a split open baguette that I toasted under the broiler brushed with a little olive oil and then put mozzarella cheese on it and broiled it until it was all melted… like a french bread pizza piled with sloppy joe! Thanks for all your wonderful recipes!!!
Hi Lyle! Thank you for sharing with us. I’m so glad you loved it.
I searched for a recipe that didn’t use ketchup as a main ingredient, and found this one. It came out very tasty. Like some others, I left out the quarter cup of water. I also added a tsp of chili powder and a dash of liquid smoke. This will be my go-to recipe from now on. Thanks!!
Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Gary! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
I’m confused because people are commenting to not to add the water. I don’t see water anywhere in this recipe? Am I missing something?
Never mind! I see it now! I really must be tired because I totally missed the water in both the ingredients and instructions! Ha! I’m going to make these this weekend, and I will follow the recipe. You’ve yet to steer me wrong! Love all of your recipes so dad!! Keep them coming!
I added some smoked Paprika to my recipe and it really was good. Not too much, just a little Smokey flavor.
Thank you so much for sharing that with us!
This was really watery and tasteless… thankfully my friend helped me out by adding BBQ sauce and onion powder to it.
First, thank you for sharing this recipe. I loved Sloppy Joe sandwich days in elementary school, hosted by the PTA. They usually provided the number of sandwiches you desired, with a side of carrot and celery sticks and then there was an ice cream sandwich for dessert.
Second, there’s a grammatical error in paragraph 3 of the instructions:
As reads: Saute the beef for about 5 minutes until cooked through and longer pink…
Should be: Saute the beef for about 5 minutes until cooked through and no longer pink…
Hi Kurt, thank you so much for letting me know about this error. We’ll definitely make the changes. We’re glad you’re liking our recipes!
for years I have always made sloppy joes with either Manwich or sloppy joe seasoning mix packets. being a diabetic I’m always looking for new ways to make healthier old favorites like this. I made a few tweaks to the salt and brown sugar ingredients to make it more diabetic-friendly and added more water, but otherwise, I made it exactly. I will be making it again.
I’m so glad you loved the recipe, Amanda! Thank you for the review.
Simple and amazing! I tasted the sauce prior to mixing it, and it was “meh”….but I trusted it, and continued along. It was excellent.
So glad you loved it! 🙂
Made sloppy joes for the first time using this recipe and it was delicious! I have never eaten a sloppy joe before but feel like I may need to add it on a monthly rotation. I followed the recipe exactly, except omitted the onions (subbed onion powder) as my kids are not a fan. After simmering for 10-15 minutes the sauce was the perfect consistency once it cooled. This would also be great with a slice of melted cheese on top, over fries or fries, or scrambled with some eggs for breakfast.
I’m so glad you loved it! Thank you for the review.
I made the recipe as listed but really don’t like it. It was kind of flat.
Compared to other sloppy Joe recipes I’ve tried, this is on the blander side. There’s also a lot of liquid if you follow the recipe as stated. I had to add cornstarch to thicken it for sandwiches. Don’t add any water, drain the beef after cooking. You might also substitute tomato paste for sauce, about half the ounces called for, as I don’t think that’ll be enough ingredient swaps alone.
I thank you for your recipe. I change only a couple of things (we like it spicy) so I used Jalapeno peppers instead of green, I added Cilantro to the mix as well. Basically I sautéed the onions, peppers, garlic, cilantro in the olive oil. Then added the hamburger, the rest I did as the recipe called for. Excellant!!
Sounds good, great to know that you enjoyed this recipe!
I used 2 lbs meat-instead of the 1lb in the recipe.
A couple of things–you are better off draining the browned meat. Too much liquid otherwise.
2nd-I am glad I did not double the tomato sauce or add water.
Added a bit of paste to make it thicker. This was simply lackluster.
This recipe is delicious, but I’ll never understand why people sauté their veggies in the meat. Doing so STEAMS the veggies and they do not caramelize at all. Sauté your meat first, ALWAYS, then remove, sauté onions by themselves, then add in bell pepper and cook down, then garlic last. That is the order of operation by every chef and the one thing I’ve learned over the years. Makes a big difference. Other than that, this recipe is very good and we enjoy it often. Thank you.
Read this review: Great recipe as far as the seasonings combinations go. But here are the changes you need to make: Only add about 2/3 of the tomatoe sauce and then add more if you see the need.
Do not add any H2O.
Hi Aaron, it can also depend on your pan size – a larger pan with more surface area might need more liquid.
I used ground deer and beef!!! Added all other ingredients. It’s SO GOOD!!!!
Glad you enjoyed this recipe, Hanna!
I use this recipe many times over the years. Sometimes it’s add diced carrot, sometimes sliced olives, I tend to double up the spices and not add water. I like to experiment with different items like today made it and added maple bourbon spice. Its a great recipe!
Thanks, Travis! I’m glad you love it!
This is very tasty! I didn’t have tomato sauce, so I used pizza sauce in a jar. I also sautéed my onion and peppers before the hamburger. I toasted the buns with butter and garlic, too! Great recipe!
Hello Tory, good to know that the pizza sauce worked too! Thank you for sharing that with us.
Recipe came out very tasty! I used pizza sauce since I didn’t have tomato sauce. I also sautéed the onions and green peppters first. Not watery at all.
So glad you enjoyed this recipe!
This was extremely watery and bland. Do not think the water is needed with the tomato sauce. Had to drain some sauce, add more mustard, brown sugar and hot sauce to make it even slightly palatable. Something is way off with this recipe. Normally your recipes are great, but this was a huge miss.
Just tried this today. All of your recipes are perfect, but this one?
It is pretty watery and thin. I’ve gone over this and can’t see how yours was so thick. Everything was correct. I will add a small can of tomato paste maybe next time. I’m stumped. I am not a fan of supernspicy but used a little chili pepper to it..No water next time. 🙁
My mistake!! It thickened up nicely. I used the slow cooker on high for 2 hours! I added some spices and used died chilis instead of peppers.
Big hit!
No worries, good to hear that it was a hit, Cindy!
This is a very good base recipe.
I believe it was the famous chef, James Beard, who once said something like all recipes are just a starting point and you base each on ingredients at hand and individual taste. This is so true here and forgotten, or unknown, by many commenters.
The major change I made was to sauté the green peppers and onions beforehand and then add the beef.
I agree with a commentator who said most of the comments here are vicious. Add stupid. You cannot use tomato soup (the recipe calls for paste) and think the result is too watery. And to the fool who posted that the recipe only calls for two spices, salt and pepper, I would like to point out that Worcestershire sauce is a secret blend of sauces, and garlic, and onions are usually thought of as the
same. Green bell peppers also add plenty of sauces (I did add turmeric seasoning) because I am a health freak.
Good job for a recipe.
I used a can of tomato paste and added a chopped up jalapeño. Added a little water to get it to the consistency we likes, but it was amazing and made the kitchen smell wonderful. Thanks!
sorry I should clarify, that should read: tomato paste instead of sauce.
So glad you loved it! Thanks for sharing, Kaycie.