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.
Lianne Edborg says
You can taste the layers of flavor in the sloppy Joe recipe.
One of the best recipes I’ve ever tried.
hannah says
Delicious!!! Perfect flavor, both classic and fresh tasting at the same time. I added cooked black lentils to “healthy” it up just a little and had all the kids at the Super Bowl party gobble them up!
Brittany Suarez says
These are so good!! Definitely worth the extra effort! My husband grew up on Manwich but I’m just not a fan. We both love this recipe though!
John Marshall says
The sloppy joes where a dryed up mess.
The Chunky Chef says
Sounds like the mixture was cooked a bit too long 🙂
Celle says
Was really craving sloppy joes and decided to make it for dinner for two kids and 3 adults! I doubled the recipe and we ate it with some mash potatoes and steamed veggies! (Some chose bread, of course)!
Lovely recipe and a hit with all. Had to omit the red pepper flakes and chilli powder as the kids can be quite fussy but honestly think some Tabasco would be delicious.
Would just say don’t forget to add more oil if necessary to the onion /pepper mixture as mine dried out.
Really lovely and actually quite easy. Thank you so much for this recipe!
Laurie says
I made this tonight on slider buns and it was delicious! The only change I made was substituted Dijon mustard because I didn’t have yellow. I don’t like sweet foods but I decided to follow the recipe and added the full 1 Tbsp of brown sugar, it was the perfect amount. My picky 20 yr old that doesn’t like sloppy joes even liked this recipe! I will definitely make again!
Colleen says
Hi,
This is about your recipe for Broccoli cheddar cheese soup, it was easy and tasted rich and great!
On Friday I am making your recipe for homemade sloppy joes, I will let you know how they turn out also.
Thank you
Colleen
Karla says
Great flavor made Sloppy Joe sliders .
Kp says
Easy, quick, delicious! Also used 1 tsp. of brown sugar. Love it!
Cp says
Excellent! I used 1 teaspoon of brown sugar (1 Tbls too sweet for me)
Brooke says
I love this recipe! I make it at least once a week. My kids love it! Thank you for sharing.
Steelton Mike says
I’ve been a Sloppy Joe fan since the 1950’s. I decided to use the frozen pound of grass fed beef from the freezer and use your recipe with the other ingredients that I could find in the kitchen. The substitutes that I used were red onion, Dijon mustard and New Mexico chili powder. The Sloppy Joe was served on toasted ciabatta drizzled with EVOO. It was a hit!
Stacy says
Agree, it’s the perfect balance of sweet, tangy and spicy. Thank you!
Lindsay says
My family really enjoyed this recipe, especially my husband. I usually grab manwhich but I had all the ingredients for this and it turned out great. Don’t tell my kids but I chopped up the left over brussel sprouts and hid them in the sloppy joes and no one noticed.
Valorie Thomas says
Quick, easy and super tasty!
A Wils says
Absolutely delicious!!! For those that like sloppy joe’s this recipe is a must. I now use ground chicken instead of beef and it is equally (if not even more) delicious.
Elixabeth Jones says
This was a Big Hit. It turned out fantastic. I would recommend this.
Kate says
So delicious! Made this for my roommates and myself and everyone loved it! Super easy to make and super friendly on a college kids budget!
John Schmid says
I have tried and enjoyed some of your recipes, but I have to tell you, yours is not my go to recipe sie. It’s just too hard to find the recipe. I feel the actual recipe should be on top with the extended commentary following
The Chunky Chef says
Hi John, I’m sorry you’re not a fan of the website. The “extended commentary” as you say, is helpful information about the recipe itself, but I do provide (at a monetary loss), a jump to recipe button right at the very top of the page, that takes you right to the recipe itself, bypassing all the additional information. Best of luck to you.
Wendy says
Hi Amanda, I’m going to make these tonight, and they sound fantastic! And I have to say, I’m enjoying your polite, yet slightly snarky restraint when responding to whiners who clearly don’t actually use other recipe sites. Yours is typical of the majority of sites, and I enjoyed your commentary leading up to the recipe itself. ✌🏻
Kenna Ryan says
I appreciate when rating-remarks are focused on the recipe and I don’t have to wade through snippy personal preferences to see if other cooks enjoyed the dish. Since we’re all being frank, John, yours is not my go-to comment.
Kim says
Thank you for making me smile and politely reminding John of his manners. If he’s gonna be negative, he should understand and be familiar with most recipes and how they are formatted because he just made himself look like an idiot. Don’t be sloppy John when your talking about the sloppy joes. FYI…awesome recipe
Ccbeck says
Lol 😆 John you are funny! This website is exactly like most every recipe site I go to, lol!
Say, thank you Amanda and Hit the Jump to Recipe
Julie says
This is hands-down the best sloppy joes recipe I have ever used. I always double it because it makes great leftovers, and generally use chicken broth instead of water. I also usually add one or two chopped fresh jalapeños to the onion/bell pepper step but we like spicy food. Either way, this is an amazing recipe!
Christy says
SOO good! This is one of my favorite things to make and I tell everyone about it! One thing that I like to do differently is use Red bell peppers instead of the green. I like the sweetness a little more. But definitely try it!
Christina says
Delicious! I couldn’t find our chili powder so I added homemade taco seasoning. But it wasn’t overpowering. So, we enjoyed it. Thanks!