Homemade Sloppy Joes
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Hands down the best homemade sloppy joe recipe made from scratch! So saucy, so hearty, and comes together so fast. And it’s freezer-friendly!
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WHY you’ll love homemade sloppy joes
- Lightning fast. Skip the canned sloppy joes! This homemade version comes together in lightening speed in one single pan for the easiest clean up ever. Not to mention, it’s so much better (and healthier) than the canned stuff!
- Absolute crowd-favorite. Sloppy joes are not just kid-friendly. They are a guaranteed family-favorite for everyone, especially when we’re talking saucy, tender ground beef with just a hint of sweetness sandwiched on toasted brioche buns!
- Budget-friendly. Using ground beef, a dinnertime staple, this is just one of those budget-friendly weeknight heroes that is loved by both kids and grown ups.
- Completely customizable and flexible. You can add in as little or as many veggies (carrots, mushrooms, zucchini, or leafy greens) for a heartier sloppy joe. Or double or triple the recipe as needed for a large crowd, perfect for a big party or tailgating season.
What is a sloppy joe?
A sloppy joe, known as messy comfort food, is a popular American sandwich typically made with ground beef, onions, tomato sauce or ketchup, brown sugar, mustard, and garlic.
Key Ingredients
Meat (base)
85-90% lean ground beef, though ground turkey or chicken work well as substitutes
Vegetables
Sweet onion and green bell pepper (or use red, yellow, or orange)
Aromatics and seasonings
Tomato paste, garlic, paprika, chili powder, and cayenne pepper
Sauce
Beef stock, ketchup, Dijon mustard (or yellow mustard), Worcestershire, and brown sugar
How to make homemade sloppy joes
- Brown the beef. Heat a splash of vegetable oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Add the ground beef and cook, breaking it up into small crumbles, until browned. Drain off any excess fat and grease.
- Sauté the aromatics. Stir in the onion and bell pepper until the vegetables begin to soften. Then stir in the tomato paste, garlic, paprika, chili powder, and cayenne pepper until fragrant. Pro tip: dice the vegetables finely to avoid large chunks in the sauce.
- Deglaze the pan. Pour in the beef stock, lifting up the caramelized browned bits (fond) stuck to the bottom of the skillet.
- Simmer. Stir in the ketchup, Dijon, Worcestershire, brown sugar, salt, and pepper. Reduce the heat and let it simmer until the sauce is thick and rich, about 15-20 minutes. Pro tip: the longer it simmers, the more it will thicken.
- Serve. Serve in your favorite buns – toasted brioche buns, pretzel buns, or even hot dog buns for less mess!
Sloppy joe variations
- Meat: swap out the ground beef for pork, chicken, or turkey
- Vegetables: add different vegetables such as mushrooms, celery, or carrots
- For serving: serve in hot dog buns, pita bread, garlic bread, or naan instead of traditional burger buns
Storing, freezing, and reheating sloppy joes
Storage
Leftover sloppy joes (without the buns) can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Reheat
Gently reheat on the stovetop over medium-low heat with a splash of water or stock, stirring occasionally, until heated through.
Freeze
Let the sloppy joes cool completely. Portion into plastic freezer bags in individual servings, squeezing out any excess air before sealing. Lay the bags flat in a single layer in the freezer (this will help them freeze quickly). Label, date, and freeze up to 3 months.
Reheat (from frozen)
Thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until warmed through. Add a splash of water or stock, if needed, to loosen.
WHAT TO SERVE WITH SLOPPY JOES
Tools For This Recipe
Homemade Sloppy Joes: Frequently Asked Questions
Ground pork, chicken, or turkey can be used instead of ground beef. Ground lentils are also a great vegan option.
It is best to drain most of the fat to avoid greasy sloppy joes, leaving just enough for flavor.
Zucchini, celery, carrots, mushrooms, and leafy greens (such as kale or spinach) would be great additions. The vegetables cook down so the kids won’t even know they’re in there!
Simmer for longer over low heat, uncovered, allowing the liquid to evaporate until the desired consistency is reached.
I personally love toasted brioche buns or homemade hamburger buns that I can pull out of the freezer in a pinch!
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days, gently reheating on the stovetop with a splash of water or beef stock (to help loosen) until warmed through.
Yes! You can freeze the leftovers up to 3 months in individual freezer bags, thawing overnight and reheating on the stovetop until warmed through (adding a tablespoon of water as needed).
Homemade Sloppy Joes
Video
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 ½ pounds lean ground beef, 90/10
- 1 small sweet onion, diced
- 1 small green bell pepper, diced
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 ½ cups beef stock
- 1 cup ketchup
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Heat vegetable oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Add ground beef and cook until browned, about 3-5 minutes, making sure to crumble the beef as it cooks; drain excess fat.
- Add onion and bell pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 3-4 minutes.
- Stir in tomato paste, garlic, paprika, chili powder and cayenne pepper until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Stir in beef stock, scraping any browned bits from the bottom of the skillet.
- Stir in ketchup, Dijon, Worcestershire and brown sugar; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Bring to boil; reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened and flavors have blended, about 15-20 minutes.
- Serve immediately.
Equipment
Notes
- Use lean ground beef. 85-90% lean ground beef is ideal for sloppy joes – more fat will make it too greasy, too lean will make it too dry.
- Finely dice the vegetables. The onion and bell pepper add texture to the sloppy joes but be sure to dice them finely so that they can properly melt in the sauce (and to avoid large chunks).
- Let it simmer. Let the mixture simmer for at least 15-20 minutes for that “sloppy” consistency – thick, rich, and perfectly saucy.
- Adjust the consistency. For a thicker consistency, simmer for longer. If the sauce is too thick, thin it out as needed by stirring in 1 tablespoon of water (or stock), adding in more as needed.
- Toast the buns. Toasting the buns beforehand will make a huge difference, preventing the buns from becoming soggy and the sandwich from falling apart.
- Freeze in individual servings. The leftovers can keep in the freezer for up to 3 months, ideal when frozen in single-serving portions for easy thawing and reheating.
Did you make this recipe?
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This is such an awesome recipe! But as you can tell by the comments everyone has a different flavor preference. For us – the recipe as is is way too sweet and spicy – especially for kids. We omit the brown sugar and cayenne. And we use chipotle chili powder (slightly less spicy). We also use ground turkey or chicken and it’s amazing.
haven’t made it but looks nice
I used 2 lbs. of ground beef for this recipe, and there was none left after 5 of us ate dinner. A little sweet for me. Next time I’ll cut the sugar and mustard in half or leave out altogether.
Thanks. I was planning to omit the brown sugar. I’m not averse to sugar or sweet things, I just prefer savory.
I just served 40 hungry junior swimmers with this recipe
It was all gone in minutes
Delicious
Lots of requests for the recipe
We love hearing that, Judeth! Thank you so much for sharing.
Oh my god, made this dish tonight and it was a hit..Hubby says pack it up for my lunch.
“Babe, this is a repeat for sure” , Hubby’s comment on the first bite.
Excellent!!!!!!! I’m not a huge fan of sloppy joes but made this exactly as written and also made the home made buns, and I stand corrected! So glad I stumbled onto your site. I will be back for more recipes!
Amazing and very much foolproof!!
OMG! Thank you for sharing this recipe..brought back good memories.
When my children were young I made my own sloppy joes and our five children loved them!
I tried winging it after 30 years & could not replicate the taste. Your’s is spot on!
So easy and fool proof!! I was multitasking and messed up the steps after browning beef and softening onions and peppers – essentially requiring me to add everything together at the same time. Totally didn’t matter and tasted amazing!
Also omitted cayenne (still had a small kick but better for kids) and most of brown sugar. I see the note below about vinegar. Will try that next time. It’s VERY sweet as written. I would definitely try it before adding brown sugar at all. And then gradually add it.
Made this! Will never buy Manwich again. Added a splash of balsamic vinegar and did not add brown sugar – we’ve always added vinegar to Manwich because it was too sweet. This is *excellent*. Thanks!
This has become a go to meal for our family, and it freezes so well!!
Excellent!!!!
Omg!!! It was a total hit. Absolutely delicious
I made the recipe as is, and both kids and adults alike seemed to enjoy it! We were up at a cabin for the weekend, and everyone asked to have the leftovers for lunch the next day. Given how much everyone liked it, I’m also making it for a neighborhood Halloween party!
Good flavor, a keeper recipe with modifications. Brown sugar not needed. I would cut the Dijon Mustard down to 1Tbsp, and add an additional Tbsp of Worcestershire. I slow cooked for an additional 45 minutes to incorporate the flavor.
We were looking for a homemade sloppy joe recipe and this one was out of this world! It tastes just like I remebered. I would definately reccomend this recipe for anyone looking for that memorable taste!
These turned out awesome! I did use 2 lbs of burger. Thank you!
I made this and my husband absolutely loved it! Can I make this and can it for a later date? If so, should I water bath or pressure can? Thanks.
Great question. I would also like to know about canning.
You MUST Pressure Can any meat. This would work GREAT to can! A quart would most likely be 90 min at 10 lbs pressure once it has vented for 7 min or so. Make the recipe, jar up hot and pressure can.
It truly is that delicious … even with the substitutions … it came out great! Thank you!!!
We love hearing that, Tiffany!
Fabulous!