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.
Dawn Duemmel says
So good. I didn’t know I didn’t have enough ketchup so we did 1/4 cup of ketchup and 2/3 open pit barbecue sauce
Beverly says
A total 5 star…Delicious. Will make again. Used only 1/8 tsp of pepper flakes bit next time probably will use full 1/4 tsp.
Melanie says
This was delicious. Even the picky kid ate it. I cooked the onions and green pepper first and then browned the meat in the vegetables and then added the other ingredients. I used a little red wine and subbed mustard powder for mustard. I also added some paprika.
Valerie says
Easy to make not to sweet or spicy. Will make again.
Carol Stannard says
We loved and it has been added to a weekly meal. Love your recipes.
L. Johnston says
Such a great Sloppy Joe recipe! I have made it several times now. I am doubling the recipe and having my adult kids and spouses over for dinner this week. They are excited for this meal 🙂
Elaine Connell says
I made it for my husband since we didn’t have canned sloppy joe sauce. He said he likes it better! Will be making it again.
Debi says
A huge hit with all the family! Delicious with coleslaw and kettle chips!
Mary Ann Heaton says
Hi Amanda. Is the yellow mustard dry in the spice section or wet in the condiment section?
The Chunky Chef says
The wet condiment 🙂
Clair says
This was soooo good , omit a few things but it was to die for!!!!
Lee says
YUM!
Carol says
Oh my heavens! This is delicious. I will NEVER use Manwich again. This sauce is easy and uses pantry staples. It is spot on with sweet, tangy, and a little heat. I did sub a red bell pepper for the green bell as it’s what I had on hand. My husband is going to be sooooo happy with dinner tonight. I made it earlier in the day so the flavors really meld together. This sauce would be good on other things, baked chicken even. It’s tangy, it’s not bbq sauce. And absolutely a kid friendly taste too. Yummy!! Thank you for sharing. And to that really horrible jerk with the nasty comment about your page, I hope he made this and choked on it! Some people have no life skills.
EM says
Pretty good for a quick google search on sloppy joes. Omitted the cooked onions and green peppers and used onion powder seasoning instead due to crazy people in my house that don’t like cooked onions!
Otherwise followed directions!
Gigi says
I’ve always hated sloppy joes because I don’t care for the canned so I decided to try homemade with your recipe and GAME CHANGER!!!! Definitely onboard with it now!!
Courtney says
My husband usually does all the cooking so I decided I wanted to try and impress him by making sloppy joes and not from a can. It was so delicious and easy to make!!! The whole family enjoyed it!!! Thank you for the recipe!
Michelle says
Hello
Thank you for recipe. I was out of canned sauce. Now I’m glad I was!
Stephanie says
This is by far THE BEST Sloppy Joe recipe ever! Not difficult and worth doing it from scratch. My family loves it and have had rave reviews when I served it at a party. Only change I made was that I used ground chicken as we are trying to cut down on red meat. It still was delicious!
Kimberly Baker says
Seriously so good. This recipe made sloppy joe lovers out of sloppy joe haters! And it comes together so fast too!
Dawn says
Excellent! recipe never going back to Manwich. Yes its really easy.
Brandon says
Put the ingredients and recipe at the top and bump your gums on the bottom. Absolutely infuriating that I need to read your autobiography to get to the imprortant parts.
The Chunky Chef says
I’m gonna go out on a limb here and assume you were never taught any manners, as that’s not how a decent person would ask someone to do anything… but I digress. I could go into the various reasons why I write my posts the way I do, since it’s not just to, as you say, “bump my gums”… but that would involve reading, which apparently you can’t be bothered to do. I’m guessing you missed the big “jump to recipe” button that literally takes you right to the recipe itself. Best of luck navigating the world wide web 🙂
Diana says
Right on!!!! I made it tonight, and it is fabulous! Thank you for your “autobiography”. I liked it very much. People are d*cks, but what can ya do?🤷❤😊
cheryl says
Great comeback.
Twilla says
Bravo
Mac says
Brandon,
If you are so infuriated about the recipe don’t read it. Pretty simple, like your reading skills!!!
Diana says
🖕
Dimwits on the internet says
You clearly have no clue how the internet works. The only reason this recipe appears at the top of google in the first place is because of the commentary above the recipe. It’s how a search engines algorithm works. The author does it intentionally to increase their chances of popping up when you google “xyz recipe”. If you don’t want commentary, use the allrecipes website.
If you regularly searched for recipes you would understand this. Luckily, all recipe blogs worth their salt will have a “jump to recipe” button at the top of the page.
Maureen says
That is just plain rude. Geez, how long does it take to scroll down to the recipe, it is her recipe and she can line it up the way she wants it. You need to chill out and learn some patience Brandon!!
Amber says
My go to recipe for joes