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.
Want to save this recipe for later? Click the heart in the bottom right corner to save to your own recipe box!
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.
Roseann says
I’m really impressed how delicious this recipe is. Thank you for sharing
Angry John says
Scr*w you for making me scroll for 30 seconds. Only thing here beyond absolute greed on your behalf so I had to scroll by 300 advertisers is an absolute common sense recipe.
The Chunky Chef says
Oh John… you sure do sound angry, bless your heart. If it’s so common sense, why didn’t you already know how to make it and have to search for a sloppy joe recipe? I’d offer you a refund, but you didn’t have to pay for this recipe, and those ads you seem to hate so much (which are on every other website) are how I can offer my hard work for FREE. By the way, do you get paid for your job? I’m assuming so, so why on earth should I be forced to not be paid for mine? I’m also guessing you missed the big “jump to recipe” button that takes you… wait for it… directly to the recipe. Please have a day just as lovely as your comment 🙂
Kyrsten says
The only thing better than your recipe today was your razor sharp wit replying to that last troll!
You had me @ “bless your heart”!
I hope your day is now filled with the same giggles and smiles I have now 😘
Cheers to strong women!
A new fan.
The Chunky Chef says
Hi Kyrsten! My day is most definitely much better after reading your sweet comment 🙂 Strong women make the world go ’round!
Ashley says
Loved it! We put it on Hawaiian dinner rolls and turned them into sliders. Also loved your comment to the angry ad guy 😂
Kris says
Not only are your recipes amazing you are brilliant in your responses! Anytime I think of something I want to cook I come to your website first and 9/10 you have a recipe for it. Keep up the amazing work
Kat says
Angry rude John … you’re totally an idiot, apparently cannot read or follow directions! Best to stay off social media!
Chesca Barnett says
This is delicious. I made it for dinner tonight. Thank you. Simple and fast.
Elizabeth Rassel says
Love love love this recipe! Takes time to prep with kids under your feet. We quadruple the recipe and freeze! No brainer.
Donna says
It is now my go-to sloppy joe recipe
Tegan says
My household is going crazy right now. We haven’t had sloppy Joe’s in years and all of a sudden I had a craving. So glad I stumbled upon this recipe. It needed no tweaks. These sandwiches are absolutely delicious.
David says
This is an easy recipe that yields a delicious sandwich! The suggestion that the “sloppy joe” was developed by a Sioux City, IA chef is plausible. There’s only a few dozen left these days, but Iowa used to have about a hundred eateries called Maid-Rite, whose signature sandwich is based on loose cooked ground beef (but no tomato sauce). I enjoyed Maid-Rite sandwiches several times when visiting relatives in Clear Lake, IA about 25 years ago. Nothing like it where I grew up (Maryland).
Ula says
Really good! I added some chopped celery, because I like celery in my sloppy joes, but otherwise, I stuck to the recipe. Served it with baked french fries. My only complaint: I wanted more than I made.
Cheri says
Best sloppy joes I’ve ever made/eaten!!!
Lori says
Hi Amanda! I’ve made this and your Mac and cheese SO many times. You deserve 10 stars! Hugs, Lori
Jennifer says
I make this vegetarian with Impossible meat, and it is my family’s No. 1 meal request. Easy to tweak if you like more or less spicy/sweet. Just delicious!
Denise Kegarise says
Best Sloppy Joe recipe, I left out all the spicy items and it was very good!
Amber says
Tried this recipe tonight…DELISH!
Kelly says
Followed this recipe and it came out so good. Very tasty. I used 3lbs of ground turkey so I just tripped all the ingredients.
Jess the Best says
Delicious!!! The only thing I changed was the amount of brown sugar. I added a little less than 1/2 a cup. I find my family likes it better with more of the brown sugar. However, it was perfect before my little tweak. Thank you soo much for sharing! Will be making once a week on sloppy joe night🖤
Kari says
My family loves this recipe! I make it once a week. It’s absolutely delicious!
Linda says
I love this Recipe, I fixed before, & knew how good it was! Thanks 😋
Silvia says
Yummy! It’s a keeper! Made as is my first go about, but tweaked some ingredients to our preferences my 2nd time(used ground turkey instead of beef, 1 tsp of chili powder, 1 tsp of red pepper flakes, 2 teaspoons of brown sugar, and a generous dash of sriracha). Definitely will make it again!
Honz says
This went over very well at a recent potluck, and was asked to share the recipe.
I multiplied it by 4. I made very few changes to the recipe, except I used coconut aminos instead of Worcestershire sauce because I didn’t have any.
Diane says
Tasty tasty. And I’m not a sloppy jo fan ..very
Great taste. Didnt change a thing. 👌