Step away from the canned sauce and give these homemade sloppy joes a try! They’re truly the best version of a childhood favorite!
As we head into the upcoming holiday season, I’ve been thinking about family-friendly meals. You know, those meals that your kids always want to eat. In our house, this Creamy Baked Mac and Cheese is number one on our list… with these sloppy joes being number 2! With two little ones myself, I know ALL too well how frustrating it is to cook a meal and have them promptly turn up their noses and say it’s “gross”. *facepalm*
I’ve always been a fan of classic sloppy joes. There’s something so innately satisfying about the sweet and savory combination and messiness of it all! And I know you all love them too, since I’ve been getting a lot of requests for sloppy joe recipes.
I’ve made a LOT of sloppy joe recipes lately, trying to come up with the perfect one. Some were too sweet, others too spicy. Well guys, I finally got it. The perfect balance. This sloppy joe recipe is sweet, tangy, zesty and savory, with the perfect texture and consistency.
HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE SLOPPY JOES
Homemade sloppy joes are incredibly easy to make, and come together in one skillet in about 20 minutes or so. Browned beef is mixed with onion and green pepper and simmered in a sweetened tomato/ketchup sauce. The secret is in finding the right seasoning for the sauce!
WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MANWICH AND SLOPPY JOES?
Technically Manwich is a pre-made sauce that’s used to make sloppy joes. I’m not sure exactly what’s in it, and have never tried it myself, so I can’t say that my recipe tastes similar or not. Manwich is marketed as a easy way to make sloppy joes… but in reality, homemade sloppy joes are JUST as easy to make!
HOW DID SLOPPY JOES GET THEIR NAME?
From what I can glean from the good ol’ internet, a cook named Joe in a cafe in Sioux City, Iowa added a tomato sauce to a loose meat sandwich. It must have been a favorite and took off!
WHAT CAN I DO WITH SLOPPY JOE MEAT?
Number one, slap some on a toasted bun!! After that, here are some of my favorite things to do:
- Spoon some over some crispy waffle fries. Bonus points if you also melt some cheese over the fries before adding the sloppy joe meat!
- Add some to a grilled cheese.
- Roll up in crescent roll dough and bake at 375 F degrees for about 12-15 minutes. Cheese makes a great addition to these as well!
- Add some on top of a burger.
CAN YOU MAKE SLOPPY JOES IN A CROCKPOT?
You can! Just brown the beef and add all the remaining ingredients (no buns though), and cook on LOW for about 4-6 hours, or HIGH for 2-3 hours. This will have a softer texture than skillet sloppy joes though.
PRO TIPS FOR MAKING HOMEMADE SLOPPY JOES:
- Before you get started, toast your buns. Toasting the bun makes ALL the difference, and only takes a few minutes. Crank up the heat under the skillet to high, and add a drizzle of vegetable oil. When the oil is hot, add the buns, then place the buns cut side up on a cooling rack after they’re toasted.
- Watch the sauce so that it doesn’t reduce too much. When too much of the sauce reduces, it gives you a dry sloppy joe mixture. Everyone likes theirs a little differently, but for me, I cook it down so that I can see the bits of meat, and when I drag my spoon through the sauce, it leaves a trail where the sauce is parted. If the sauce immediately flows back into that trail, it’s too liquid-y. I want a few seconds before the sauce covers the trail, which gives me a saucy consistency that’s not too liquid.
- Choose your favorite type of bun. I usually go for either a pretzel bun (like I did in these Beer and Chorizo Sloppy Joes!), or a brioche bun.
SHOP THE RECIPE:
- Skillet – I like to use either stainless steel or cast iron for this, as they both give a great sear!
- Wooden plate – I love these for sandwiches!
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @the_chunky_chef on Facebook and Instagram!
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp butter
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1 lb. ground beef
- 1/3 green bell pepper, minced
- 1/2 large yellow onion, minced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 Tbsp tomato paste
- 2/3 cup ketchup
- 1/3 cup water
- 1 Tbsp brown sugar (or less, if you prefer)
- 1 tsp yellow mustard
- 3/4 tsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- dash of hot sauce (optional)
Instructions
- Heat butter and oil in large skillet over MED/MED-HIGH heat. Add beef and brown, breaking apart into crumbles as it cooks, about 5 minutes. Transfer to colander to drain.
- Add onion and bell pepper to same skillet and cook 2-3 minutes, until soft. Add garlic and cook 30 seconds or so, until fragrant. Add beef back to the skillet and add tomato paste. Stir well.
- Add ketchup, water, brown sugar, mustard, chili powder, Worcestershire sauce, salt, red pepper flakes (if using), and black pepper. Stir well to combine.
- Cook over MED heat for 10-15 minutes, until mixture has thickened to your liking. Remove from heat and serve over toasted buns.
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Chef Tips
- Cool the mixture completely, then add to freezer containers and freeze for up to 4 months.
- Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and reheat before serving.
Video
Nutrition Disclaimer
The Chunky Chef is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
M Scheuermann says
I found this recipe when my son wanted me to make sloppy Joe’s I told him let’s go to the grocery and find a recipe we can make from scratch. We stumbled across yours that was probably five years ago. It’s my go to. We are obsessed.
Kathy M. says
It’s what’s for dinner tonight!
Kathy M. says
This is my go to sloppy joe when I have a craving. Thank you for sharing!
Kasanita Vi says
It’s a hit every time, added to the regulars
Stephanie says
These really ARE the best sloppy joes! We love them so much I always double the recipe so I can freeze some for later. I follow the recipe exactly except I use ground chicken to make them a bit healthier.
Diane says
My family really likes this recipe. I make it often but I don’t know why you say to toast the buns first, I toast them last so that they stay warm.
The Chunky Chef says
Glad you all enjoy it! I say to toast the buns first, because a lot of my readers like to limit their dishes, and that way they can toast the buns in the same skillet as the sloppy joes will be cooked in. But as with most things when it comes to cooking, you can always tweak things to work best for you.
Olivia M. says
I wonder if you could make this sauce with everything but thw meat and then can it so when it is time for sloppy Joe’s you can just pull out a jar and add it to your meat…
The Chunky Chef says
Good idea! I haven’t tested that so I can’t say for certain. I feel like it would work though, and it should freeze well 🙂
Valinda says
Not a good sloppy Joe at all. Way too sweet and I didn’t use brown sugar.
The Chunky Chef says
That’s a shame, but unfortunately no singular recipe will make everyone happy since we all have different tastes and preferences. Best of luck with your search.
Nadina Collins says
The sauce I gotta say is wayyy better than any other! Love it and will only use this recipe 😍 A little sweet heat had us all wanting more. Instead of toasting the buns first we added the meat to the buns topped with cheddar/ mozzarella cheese and baked for 10 min then broiled for a few seconds. Soo delicious.🤤..
Thank you for the awesome recipe 😁☺️
KAREN HARNDEN says
The best!
Jess says
I wasn’t a huge fan unfortunately. I found it to taste nothing like my childhood. Not very strong flavours either. I was expecting that nostalgia taste and I never got it.
Kerry says
Quick to make, very tasty
Connie says
I tried several sloppy joe recipes before finding this one. My husband has declared it the best of all, so this recipe is the only one I use. Buttered, oven-toasted buns add great flavor, and help prevent the bun from getting too soft and sticky. Thanks Amanda, for a terrific recipe!!
Debra says
This was the best recipe for our family. I lived in Kansas until I was 10 and then we moved to Colorado. My mom, being a diehard Midwest girl, made sloppy joes every week. After growing up and moving to Virginia, I found sloppy joes weren’t too much of a thing and although all of my children ate them, because they loved to eat, my man being raised in the South, not so much. Determined to make sloppy joes again, I tried your recipe, based off of your comment on not too sweet. This was a hit, and I now have a sloppy joe eating man! Thank you so much!!
Edgar Rayman says
Why do you people need my name and email just to read a recipe!!!!!
The Chunky Chef says
I don’t? The name and email is there if you’d like to subscribe to my newsletter, but there’s an “x” in the corner, or you can just keep scrolling. I see you managed to find the comment section… and the recipe card is above that, so you scrolled past it.
Annette Brunton says
My new favorite!
Arthur T. says
This is a great recipe for a nostalgic, delicious, and quick weeknight meal! You can easily adjust the sugar to make it less sweet, but I found it to be spot on as is. (The parents thought it was perfect; kid strangely enough said it was too sweet!) We didn’t even need the full simmer time to tighten up the sauce, but that might have been my temperature management. Definitely a keeper and a recipe we need to add to the weeknight rotation!