The Best Sloppy Joe
A family classic, the best Sloppy Joe recipe is our favorite thing to make with a pack of ground beef. Made with whole ingredients, this is a simple, quick dinner the entire family will love.
Best Sloppy Joe
We love a Sloppy Joe Sandwiches because theyโre quick and easy to make for busy weeknights. The canned sauces are ok but I made the best homemade sloppy joes in about the same amount of time and now I can never turn back.
These Sloppy Joes are the best thing to make when you want to know what to make with a pack of ground beef. Theyโre simmered in a savory, tangy sauce that comes together in minutes.
We love to use this sloppy Joe mix for sandwiches but itโs also amazing to make stuffed potatoes, quesadillas, pizza and more. The limit does not exist as to what you can do with this recipe.
How To Make Homemade Sloppy Joe
This easy Sloppy Joe recipe comes together in minutes. You can easily make this is the slow cooker for parties or to make dinner time even easier.
- Prep the ingredients. Cook the onions, bell pepper and garlic until softened.
- Enhance the flavor. Stir in the chili powder and tomato paste.
- Brown the beef. Add the ground beef and cook until browned.
- Make the sauce. Whisk together the sauce ingredients and stir it in with the beef.
- Simmer. Allow the sauce to simmer until thick and saucy.
- Serve. Top a roll with your Sloppy Joe mix and serve.
The Very Best Sloppy Joe recipe is super easy to make and is ready in less than 30 minutes. Itโs great to make ahead since the flavors have more time to develop and it freezes beautifully too! Itโs wonderful piled on a soft fluffy hamburger bun.
How to Store Leftovers
Store leftovers in an airtight container, refrigerated, for up to 5 days. Reheat in a saucepan or the microwave until warmed through.
Best Sides for Sloppy Joes
Some of our favorite side dishes for Sloppy Joes.
- Caprese Tortellini Pasta Salad Recipe // Video
- Zesty Italian Pasta Salad
- How to Steam Broccoli
- Lemon Parmesan Sauteed Green Beans
- Parmesan Zucchini Fries
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Get the Recipe: The Best Sloppy Joe Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and finely diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 lb lean ground beef, 85%-90% lean
- 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 1/2 tsp yellow mustard
- 1 Tbsp brown sugar
- 15 oz can tomato sauce
- ยฝ tsp salt, or to taste
- ยผ tsp ground black pepper, or to taste
- Hamburger Buns
Equipment
- 1 skillet
Instructions
- In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat oil until shimmering. Cook onion and bell pepper, stirring occasionally, until softened and slightly golden, 10 to 15 minutes.
- Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute until fragrant.
- Stir in the chili powder and tomato paste cooking until the mixture has turned a deep burgundy color.
- Add the ground beef to the pan and cook until browned and no longer pink, approximately 5-7 minutes.
- In a bowl, whisk together the Worcestershire sauce, apple cider vinegar, yellow mustard, brown sugar dan tomato sauce.โจPour the sauce mixture over the ground beef and stir to combine.
- Turn the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Divide beef mixture among buns and serve.
Video
21 Comments on โThe Best Sloppy Joeโ
Made this last night with ground chickenโฆ Excellent!
So, so good! Iโm glad you liked it!
This looks delicious!!! Do you think you can use ground turkey? If so what spices would you use?
You can absolutely swap the beef for ground turkey without changing anything else about the recipe.
Yโall, if youโre reviewing a recipe, it would be great if you actually made the meal. All this, โIt looks so tasty!โ is not helpful.
Anywayโฆ
I actually made this recipe and, while it WAS very tasty, it CANNOT be prepared in under 30 minutes. The amount of prep time alone was about 30 minutes just to chop all the vegetables. Plan for at least an hour if you donโt have help with prep. The author mentioned in another comment to mince the mushrooms to the point of being almost like mashed potatoes (especially if you have picky eaters). Next time I might try actually using a potato masher on the raw mushrooms to speed up the process. So much mushroom choppingโฆJust a thought. Another thought, I felt the final product was a little under-sauced. I had to add some extra tomato paste and Ketsup along with more Worsterchire and Dijon at the end to feel like the meat and veg were fully coated (and hidden from the picky eaters!). The flavor of the sauce is phenomenal though. Very true to Manwich style sloppy Joeโs sauce. I love how light I felt after eating this as well! A better name for these would be Guiltless Joeโs! Will definitely be making this again.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for all your helpful tips. Iโm a silly fast chopper because I do it all the time. Sometimes the food processor can help speed things up or if your kids are old enough put them to work. Anyway, Iโm so glad you loved it and I agree that maybe it could use some extra sauce. I love your little additions. Thanks so much for your helpful comments!!!
Sloppy Joes are a seriously favorite of mine! I love that you made this from scratch vs. out of a can. LOVE!
Thanks! I love that Iโm tricking my kids into eating loads of veggies!
I havenโt made sloppy joeโs in years! My husband will be so excited when I tell him this is what I am making for dinner, lol.
My family LOVES this recipeโฆ.they have no idea what Iโve done to it. Bwaahhaaahaa!
Sloppy Joeโs have always been a favorite family meal around here. Your recipe looks very tasty. I also notice that you have a new site design and logo. Very nice!
Thanks, Renee! I did get a new site design last fall! Glad you love it!
I love mushrooms, but Iโm the only one in the household. I need to try chopping them up really small and sneaking them into sauces. This sloppy joe recipe sounds amazing!
Really, really smallโฆlike almost mashed. ๐ They just vanish into the sauce and nobody will ever know.
My kids obble up sloppy joes, Iโll definitely be giving this recipe a try!
*Gobble
This is perfect for hiding those veggies. I love recipes like this. My husband swears he doesnโt like mushrooms but I hide them in so many recipes! Canโt wait to try this one!
This looks amazing and I love that you snuck all those veggies in!
I havenโt had this since I was a little girlโฆbrings back memories.
Man, I havenโt had sloppy joeโs in AGES and thatโs got to change because these look and sound fabulous!
I grew up on sloppy joeโs! My kids would go crazy for these!