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.
Lora Martin says
This recipe is awesome!! I tripled all the ingredients hoping I would like it and would have a lot, thank goodness I did, I’m wishing now I had even more! I will never use canned sloppy joe mix again, the flavors in this recipe were so good! I have this recipe saved on my home screen, I will be making this on a regular basis from now on!
Bethany says
I have always hated Sloppy Joes until I found this recipe! Now it’s a family favorite!
Judy says
Was perfect blend. Used a bit more meat so used a bit more of everything delicious.thanks judy
Toni L Millard says
Best ever! Please try it, you won’t regret it!
Henrietta says
Very tasty recipe and easy to make.
Austin says
Delicious! The only change I made was to add about 2 tablespoons of liquid smoke. This works really well with ground turkey as well as beef.
Amy says
Oh my goodness, this was so good!!!
I had no complaints, even from picky eaters!
Rasmus says
Too sweet and not enough flavour to my liking.
Looking at your recipe i imagined some sweet and hot bbq, but it wasn’t quite what i got.
I added 1-2 tbsp of Sweet Baby Rey’s original BBQ sauce to spice it up and a good dash of extra worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper.
With a few quick adjustments it got quite good. A solid 3 star recipe in my book.
Cheers from Denmark! (And can’t wait to try out some of your melted cheese recipes)
Melanie says
I did a little tweaking. Using my food processor I chopped up three carrots, two stalks of celery, the onion and green pepper. I do each type of vegetable alone in the food processor because some types are tougher than others. I put the chopped vegetables into my insta pot with a cup of water and cooked for three minutes and released the steam immediately at the end of cooking. The beef was brown and already in the colander by then so you can take the cooked vegetables and dump them over the beef in the colander and then add them all to the skillet. I actually use a stock pot because I don’t like the splatter all over and it gives me lots of room to stir a double batch. Now I proceeded with the recipe (I used garlic powder instead of garlic) as written. I did not add any water because the vegetables added moisture. It was delicious and had those hidden vegetables that we are always trying to get the family to eat.
April says
This is awesome!!..so much better than the canned stuff. Made it with Impossible grounds..delish 🙂
Sonomamom says
Made exactly as the recipe is written. It was easy to prep, and was really good! Also a hit with husband and son. Had to add a tad more water during the final cooking time to make sure it didn’t get too dry/stick to my pan. I’m definitely making this again, no changes
Em says
I made this tonight with ground chicken and it was a hit!!
Anna says
Delicious! I’ve made them twice now and they are the best!
Vickie Gerdes says
Made it like the recipe (had about 1 1/3 lb of burger tho) including the hot pepper flakes and hot sauce. Oh, so yummy!!!
My husband loved it. Had just the right amount of sauce. Quick fix & so much better than canned.
Vickie Mauro says
I made your recipe but used cooked brown brown lentils and Beyond Beef crumbles in place of the beef. Turned out so good on a Hawaiian bun! I will be making this recipe again.
Lisa G. says
This recipe was delicious, I didn’t have the green pepper but everyone loved it. The pepper flakes to taste added just the right touch of heat and the recipe had the perfect consistency.
Josh Y. says
I found the original recipe too sweet, so I added double the amount of both mustard and Worcestershire sauce, and some extra franks red hot, for the acidity. The second time I made this, I cut the brown sugar down to half and kept all my original modifications.
5/5 this has become our new go to recipe for sloppy joes!
Linny says
I saved this recipe to my favorites!!
The only thing that I do differently is to add a slash of Nakano rice vinegar. Gives the sloppy joes a nice tangy flavor…
Diana Tell says
This is my go to recipe always!😍 I have made them countless times using this recipe. Love Love. If you have a cast iron skillet use it here. It really is good eating!!!
Leah says
Made this today, exactly as written and I will never buy another can of the name brand “stuff”! This was amazing! Some may not appreciate the bite of the red pepper flake and the hot sauce, but I loved it! Normally, I’m a one and done with sloppy Joe, but I had a 2nd! Excellent recipe!
Lisa Bilak says
Forth time making this and each time it’s absolutely delicious. I Follow the recipe exactly and it’s absolutely perfect every time. You are spot on with the toasted buns does make a difference. Thank you for the recipe.