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
I’ve tried a lot of different sloppy joe recipes but this is one is clearly the best I have tasted. It is my go to recipe for sloppy joes, none better.
Hi Joan! That’s wonderful to hear. 🙂
Hi! We have made this recipe as is and have loved it. Can you make it was ground chicken if trying to limit beef?
Thanks!
Hi Melanie! I don’t see why not. The only thing is that chicken is leaner so it can be more dry.
Why don’t you add mayonnaise to this like you do in the cheeseburger recipe
Hi Donna, I haven’t tried this recipe with mayonnaise, traditionally, it’s not made with mayonnaise.
Well I made this for my wife and it crashed and burned. She uses her mother’s recipe which uses apple cider vinegar instead of garlic to give it a tang. Maybe give it a try see what you think.
Interesting – I haven’t tried with cider vinegar. Thank you for the tip!
Excellent recipe! Good flavor. I didn’t simmer it, not sure if that would have made a difference, but it was fine without doing that.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Shaun!
I am so confused by the write up about Valentina’s corner. Especially after reading your about me where you say that all of the recipes on your blog have been made by you and tested by your family????
Hi Rebekah, Valentina is a friend who guest-posts on our site from time to time. It helps her site grow and I trust her taste in food. We do make it a point to test the recipes on our site and the recipes I develop myself are tested repeatedly before posting. I have a meticulous process behind the scenes.
We really enjoyed this sloppy joe. It was very delicious. Tonight I plan on making it with a baked potatoe.
Oh, yum! I bet that would be great. So glad you enjoyed the recipe.
Best sloppy joe recipe ever tried & definitely bookmarking! We added a tsp of Sriracha to sauce and some chili powder & red pepper flakes to mixture for a little heat then melted some Colby jack cheese and served open-faced. Super Yummy!
Sounds amazing, MJ! Thank you for sharing. 🙂
Delicious sloppy joes on a cold snowy day! Added a stalk of diced celery and after I tasted it I added a bit of horseradish like one of the other reviewers suggested.
The perfect snowy day recipe! I’m so glad you loved it, Patty!
Based on the reviews I had high hopes for this recipe but it is very blah tasting. It’s missing something.
Hi Joe, did you change anything about the recipe? One of the most common things we see is under-salting. I always like to taste at the end and add more salt to taste.
Instructions don’t include “mince the garlic” which makes me curse at you when step 4 calls for the “minced garlic”. Please do better. Step 1 finely chops the pepper/onion so why no line for the garlic?
Hi Frank! I apologize for any confusion. The ingredient list on the recipe card above mentions 3 garlic cloves (minced), so it is not included in the instructions to mince the garlic since this is already mentioned in the ingredient list.
I lost my favorite sloppy joe recipe so I tried this. Did not add water because it was so bland. I ate one sandwich with the recipe as written. Added a bit more sugar and a dash of apple cider vinegar and it tasted a bit better… I definitely preferred my old recipe that had ketchup in it. I wanted to love this because it seems healthier but it was not “the best.”
PERFECT! Followed the recipe to a T! Added smoked paprika as suggested. Great for a football get together!
Hi Peggy! Thanks for the feedback, glad you loved it!
Reminds me of childhood. I made it as instructed, except that I added some horseradish just because I love it. YUM! Thanks for a delicious treat!
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us, Zendegy!
Sloppy Joes were quick, easy and really, really good. I used ciabatta buns – everyone loved them. Thank you!!
Wonderful to hear! Thank you for sharing.
just made this. a little bland. thought it needed that little kick of vinegar you get from catsup. I added about 2 tbsp and…. just right.
Hi Bruce! Thank you for the feedback.
Really enjoyed this! Quick and easy for a weeknight meal and really tasty.
Thank you for sharing, Lauren! I’m glad you loved this recipe.
This recipe is great! I am in the process of making it for my second time. I love how simple it is and this recipe has great fl!
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us, Hallie!
I am so sorry that I did not read the comments before making this. It’s been simmering now for almost a half an hour and if I simmer it for maybe another hour it might be thick enough to go on a sandwich. I did trust my own thoughts enough to drain the grease from the hamburger, but two cans of tomato sauce, and water produces soup! I believe I’ll be going back to my old method of adding tomato paste and just enough water to get the thickness you desire.
Hi Paul, this recipe calls for just 1 can of tomato sauce. Also, make sure you are using a large skillet. If you use something like a saucepan with a smaller surface area, it will take a little longer to simmer it down.
It’s a bell ringer! This is a perfect base sloppy joe recipe…add whatever spice or cheese or bread type that suits your taste. I, for one, added some ‘heat’ because that’s what I like.
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us, Marty!
This one was kind of bland, as others have pointed out. I jazzed it up with extra W sauce, red pepper flakes, garlic and onion powder, extra brown sugar, a ton of black pepper, and a dash of fish sauce (yes!). Then it was delicious! I skipped the water and mine thickened up very nicely. This is a good (3-star) base recipe, but it definitely needed some love.