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.
Kathy says
I made it. Very easy and yummy. I diced 2 jalapeno peppers and add liquid smoke. Definately recommend. A family favorate.
Kathy says
Hubby just added a can of Rotel. Still a hit in our family
Cindy Shoemaker says
I made this recipe and it’s the best I’ve had. Yummy
Brenda Coppella says
Made this tonight for the first time as I was out of sloppy joe sauce and didn’t want to go to the store. I am very happy with the result. Was very easy to put together. Next time I will cut back to 1/2 tsp. salt. I used finely chopped onion instead of the dried flakes and added 1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper, but used the other spices and measurements exactly as written. Easily makes enough sauce for 1-1/2 pounds of ground beef. I only used 1 pound but didn’t add all the sauce or it would have been too much. I think this will be my go to from now on.
Cindy says
I made this recipe and it was very tasty! I wish the recipe didn’t call for only 1 Tbsp tomato paste. What do you do with the rest of the can? Even with buying the smallest can, there is still a waste. Can the tomato paste be omitted? Thanks!
The Chunky Chef says
Glad you enjoyed it! You can omit it, but I buy the tomato paste that’s in a tube, so you can just squeeze out what you need and pop it back in the refrigerator 🙂 You can also freeze any leftover tomato paste in an ice cube tray, and those little cubes are the perfect amount for many recipes.
DianneRose says
I agree with the Chef, use the tomato paste in the tube. It’s the best. Unless you have a dehydrator, and can dehydrate some tomatoes and then grind them down into a powder. Using 1 tsp of the powder to 1 tsp of water will give you about a tablespoon of paste 🙂
Haley says
Made this tonight and my whole family loved it! I used tomato sauce instead of tomato paste, added in a bit extra chilli powder since I found it very sweet without. Ate it with some cheese on a Kaiser bun.
Sue D says
Love it. I added 2 italian sausages to fry up with the hamburger and doubled the spices. Also, I couldn’t see wasting a can of tomato paste, so I used a small can of tomato paste and deleted the ketchup. Added a some more water.
Keri Boyle says
My husband, who is extremely picky, said that these were the best g**d*** sloppy joes he has ever had in his life. So, for whatever that’s worth, haha! We definitely saved this one for repeat meals. <3
Billy says
love it now made this tonight football game
Amy M says
A+ and Picky Husband Approved!
My husband would reluctantly say “ok” when I suggested sloppy joes, because he knows I love them. After surprising him with this recipe, there is none left!
His first comment was… “this is not from the can!” LOL
So glad I found your page.
Diane says
Honestly the best Sloppy Joe I’ve ever made. My hubs loves this recipe. Thanks for sharing!
Joe G says
I was surprised how good this was, I left out the optional ingredients from requests and it turned out very tasty. I will add this to my recipe favorites, much better than other recipes I’ve tried.
Isaac says
I made this for my two teen kids last night, my wife was away for a couple of days. I like adding a little extra vegetable in so I chopped up 1/4 cup of carrot and a couple of tablespoons of finely diced celery and sauteed them with the onion and pepper. And I added a 1/4 tsp beef bouillon with the water. Other than that I followed the recipe. The kids loved it, went for 2nds and 3rds til the skillet was cleaned out. Thank you Chunky Chef!
Becky says
Delicious! This is going to become a regular go-to.
Becky says
Delicious! This is going to become a go-to.
Neal K. says
This is a great recipe if you’re fixing it for people with a tolerance for spicy food. Even without the red pepper flakes, this recipe has real heat and will upset anyone who is born to be mild. I also think putting the butter and olive oil into the pan for the ground beef is a bit of a waste.
Deirdre says
Sloppy Joes were a childhood favorite of mine. My mother passed away suddenly and unexpectedly many years ago (when I was too young to think about asking for some of her best recipes). Over the years I’ve googled sloppy joe recipes always hoping to find “her/the one” recipe. I can’t tell you how many recipies I’ve tried and how many “nopes” they resulted in, but I just tried your recipe last week and it’s “the one!”
Your recipe resulted in fabulous sloppy joes that brought back all the great memories. Thank you 🙂
Lori Shaw says
Loved the recipe. Tripled it for our family
Pam says
This is our go to sloppy Joe recipe. I don’t use as much brown sugar as called for, more like 3/4 of a tbsp. Also no green peppers. We swerve them open faced with shredded cheese and Cole slaw on them. It’s in the regular rotation for us. Yummy.
Joanne Manter says
Haven’t made your recipe yet but I can tell it will be amazing, I am a retired cook and have often found that the “old school” recipes are the best. My question for you concerns complimentary sides, what is your top choice?
The Chunky Chef says
I agree, old school recipes are always delicious and bring back comforting memories 🙂 My kids love to have baked waffle fries with sloppy joes, while my husband and I prefer a roasted vegetable (like broccoli, asparagus or carrots).
Helen says
Great recipe. So flavorful and just enough heat. Will no longer be using a packet to make sloppy joes! Thank you!!