Flavorful Homemade Sloppy Joes recipe! This sandwich consists of minced beef simmered in a seasoned tomato-based sauce and it’s cooked in a skillet. The homemade Sloppy Joes sauce is made from scratch, without Manwich! The sauce is pretty similar to BBQ sauce but much lighter. It just has the perfect touch of sweetness and tanginess.
Sloppy Joes are a classic American sandwich recipe. This super easy Homemade Sloppy Joes recipe makes for a comforting meal. It can be ready in less than 30 minutes and is the perfect sandwich for a crowd or just as a quick meal on a busy weeknight. This ground beef dish is an easy one-pan meal for the whole family.
Sloppy Joe sandwiches are a little messy but also very tasty. The loose meat in a tomato-based sauce on a bun is one of my favorite burgers. It’s so easy to make, inexpensive. and made from ingredients that you can find in your pantry! It’s delicious for my kids and my husband always wants seconds, too.
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- Instant Pot Beef Stroganoff
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- Ground Beef Quesadilla with Chipotle Seasoning
- Instant Pot Brisket aka Pulled Beef for Sliders!
Homemade Sloppy Joes Ingredients:
To make old fashioned Sloppy Joes you will need the following ingredients:
- Ground Beef / Minced Beef
- Green Bell Pepper
- Onion
- Garlic
- Ground Mustard
- Worcestershire sauce
- Brown Sugar
- Ketchup
- Canned Tomato Sauce
- Chili Powder
- Red Wine Vinegar
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- Hamburger Buns (or any bun of your choice) for serving
How to Make a Tasty Homemade Sloppy Joes:
To make a Sloppy Joes Sandwich is super easy and takes less than 30 minutes.
- First, you need to brown the beef in a skillet for a few minutes.
- Second, you need to add the solid ingredients and cook for a few more minutes.
- Third, you need to simmer the meat in a tomato-based sauce for about 15-20 minutes.
- Finally, just serve the Sloppy Joe Sandwiches on a bun. Easy-peasy!
Storing Your Sloppy Joes Leftovers:
A Sloppy Joes Sandwich is one of those recipes that you can thankfully make in advance. If cooked and properly stored in an airtight container, this cooked ground meat will last up to 4 days in the refrigerator.
You can also further extend the shelf life of cooked ground beef like that in a Sloppy Joe by freezing it. Just be sure to cool the Sloppy Joe meat completely in the fridge before you freeze it. Then put it in covered airtight containers or freezer bags. It should last up to 3-6 months. You can find more info about when to throw leftover out here
Sloppy Food and Kids
As mentioned my kids really enjoy this one, they both like meat and the sauce on this one is definitely to their liking as well. They’re getting better about not making a complete mess while eating Sloppy Joes, too.
I love stuffing these sandwiches pretty high and coached my kids on how to best hold the sandwiches (their first instinct is to hold it with just one hand and that doesn’t end well!).
From my standpoint, if Sloppy Joes spill that’s fine, just as long as it lands on their plate. They’re at that age when they sometimes devour food and don’t have the best table manners, but I take advantage of every meal (fancy or casual, clean or messy) to try to instill some better table manners while keeping our meals fun. This is a good one for that!
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Homemade Sloppy Joes
Ingredients
- 1 pound minced beef or ground beef
- 1 cup chopped yellow onion
- ¼ cup chopped green bell pepper
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- 8 oz canned tomato sauce (unsalted)
- ½ cup ketchup
- 1 tbsp light brown sugar
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 tsp mustard powder
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp chili powder
- ¼ cup water
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
To Serve:
- 6-8 Sandwich Buns
Instructions
- In a large skillet over medium-high heat, brown the ground beef for about 1 minute on one side undisturbed. Then flip, continue cooking, and using a wooden spoon or heatproof spatula to break up the meat into equal-size pieces as it cooks for about 1-2 minutes.
- Add onion, garlic and green bell pepper, cook for about 2-3 minutes.
- Add tomato sauce, ketchup, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, mustard powder, chili powder, water, red wine vinegar, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine, and simmer over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally for about 15-20 minutes or until the mixture has thickened to your liking. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper if needed.
- Serve on a bun. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Alli Smith
I grew up eating sloppy joes and now my mouth is watering over your homemade version. The family will love these and I can’t wait to make them. That bun looks amazing too!
Jenn @ EngineerMommy
I used to have sloppy joe’s often as a kid. This sounds like such a delicious recipe. I would love to make this for us this weekend.
Amber Myers
I admit, I make sloppy joe’s from a can. I might have to branch out and try this out. I’m sure it tastes SO much better.
Jeanette
I love making Sloppy Joes! I will try any new way I can find them so that I can have a variety. These looks divine!
Joanna Clute
This is how you make a sloppy joe! I would really love to try your recipe out soon!
Theresa
I admit, I’ve always used the canned sauce. However, I am itching to try this recipe. I bet it tastes soooo much better than store bought!
Brandy
I have tried a few homemade sloppy joe recipes without much success. This one is a little different and so I shall try again. I love sloppy joes and so do my kids, except that one picky eater, so this is a great dinner idea.
Chef Dennis
These sloppy joes looks really delicious. Would love to savor all of the flavors used
Lynndee
I have never tried preparing homemade sloppy joes. But now that I know that it is so easy to prepare, I’m going to prepare some soon. Thanks for the recipe!
Kathy
I love making home made sloppy joes. They are the best. I’ll have to try out your recipe as well. Looks delicious.
Ruth I
We do not have Sloppy Joes here so I have never tasted it in my life. That it why I want to try this recipe more. So curious of the taste. It looks so delicious!
Dhemz
oh, my goodness! That looks really good. It’s been awhile since I had one. That bun though! Thanks for sharing!
Beth
Sloppy joes always seem like the perfect Sunday game day food, I’ll have to try this recipe. It looks delicious!
Catalina
Sloppy Joes is my favorite easy weeknight dinner! I will try your recipe!
Rachel
After making homemade sloppy joes I can no longer add the canned stuff. It just doesn’t have the same flavor.
Amy H
I love sloppy joe sandwiches. I will have to try this recipe. I’ve made mine similar to this -but did not use red win vinegar.
Melissa
I love homemade sloppy joe’s! Your recipe is slightly different than mine but looks yummy. This is one of my favorite easy dinner recipes that I can make in less than 30 minutes!
Sally
Excellent, easy recipe! Enjoyed by all. Thx.
Rika Livingston
Hi, Sally
I am happy to hear that! I really appreciate you taking the time out to share your experience 🙂
Best,
Rika
Lisa Saullo
Do you drain the meat before adding the rest of the ingredients?
Rika Livingston
Hi Lisa,
If you are using medium ground beef, you need to drain the grease to reduce the fat and calorie content. The extra lean ground beef doesn’t need to be drained after browning but if you see grease, feel free to remove to make it even a healthier dish. You can tilt the pan and use a paper towel to absorb much of the fat from cooked ground beef. A little fat goes a long way with flavors but it’s your choice and it will taste great even without the extra fat.
Please let me know if you still have any other questions.
Rika
Carol A Keller
I’ve made “joes” for 50 years but thought I would change my old tried and true recipe (tomato soup) ….These were delicious. I do add celery instead of green pepper. Only change is I knew I would never get 6 servings out of 1# of beef so I doubled……thanks!
Rika Livingston
Hi Carol,
Thanks for the awesome review! I am glad that you enjoyed this recipe!