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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Not a sloppy joe fan at all until now. Even though I’m not fond of them my husband loves them so I still will make them. I refuse to use any of those pre-made sauces in the can. I’ve tried several recipes online, I still was not a sloppy joe lover. But this recipe knocked my socks off. I finally get why people love this sandwich. This had the perfect components in this sauce to make it sloppy good.
I am finally a sloppy joe lover. Best I’ve ever tasted.
Omgosh!! Delightfully delish! My picky eater was head over heels for this recipe, thank you for helping a mama out!!
Very good, even better the next day.
OMG! This is a delicious recipe. Very easy to make with pantry items. I followed the recipe exactly and wouldn’t change a thing although I could actually skip the bun and just eat it with a spoon! Will definitely be making this again….and again….and again!
Absolutely spot on Delicious!
What can I say…I was speechless.
I used toasted artisan buns and wow just amazing! Thank you.
Made this tonight. This was so so good!!!
I’ve cooked this numerous times since finding this recipe absolutely outstanding I usually use elk or venison Burger with a little more garlic and cayenne .
Daddy said “Don’t lose that recipe” !! It’s definitely damn delicious !!
I can totally see why! Cheers.
Absolutely awesome! Had to print it out to put in volume 2 of our recipe book.
Excellent recipe made with venison.
I will definitely be making this once a week from now on! My husband who is a sloppy Joe fan and picky says it’s every bit as good as what his mom use to make. I made it exactly as recipe shown.
This was incredible!! Had to make a quick diy ketchup when I discovered mid-cooking that I was just about out (used tomato paste, water, apple cider vinegar, and sugar), but otherwise followed the recipe. The balance of flavors was awesome. Definitely a keeper!
Keeper recipe! By far, the BEST one I’ve tried. My search is over 🙂
I add finely shredded cabbage to my sauce, the last few minutes. Stretches the recipe and adds a great texture.
Love this recipe and I even cut back on worcestershire, mustard, and ketchup because my husband doesn’t like them. Still tasted great. We both had seconds!
I make my Shepards pie with sloppy Joe! My kids love it!!! Layer of sloppy Joe then corn layer then add layer mashed potatoes covered with salt, pepper and cheese and bake for 30 minutes!
My husband has been diagnosed with CKD so I am making almost everything from scratch so I can control the amount of sodium in our meals. This is way better than the canned stuff. Two thumbs up from us!
I looked at several recipes before choosing this one. Instead of using beef, I used lentils! I am a vegetarian. I sauteed finely chopped carrot, celery, onion, and then added garlic. I toasted the spices before i added the remaining ingredients. I cooked the lentils in vegetable stock, with half the amount of water (I use the paste stock, here I used roasted veggies) until they were half way done. I added the lentils to the sauce with the stock they cooked in. I let them simmer in the sauce until soft. This really thickened the mixture. I used barbecue sauce instead of ketchup. It was delicious, but a bit sweet for me. I added more tomato sauce, red wine vinegar, and Worchestshire sauce. I will making this to take to cook outs, as an option for vegetarians.
I followed the recipe to a tee and we loved it. I wish I had added the pickles at the end but forgot about that part, which is odd because I love pickles. The only thing I had to change was I started using the largest cast iron skillet we have but it still wasn’t deep enough and I ended up pouring it into a larger, non-stick skillet that could handle the recipe without it spilling over every time I went to stir it. I’m definitely keeping this recipe.
I’ve made a few different recipes of sloppy joes but this one will be my go to. I don’t have to try anymore recipes and add my spin on them bc this is delicious. Thanks for sharing!!!
This was delicious! I doubled it for a larger get together with family and it was a hit. We ended up serving the sandwiches open face with a fork and found it a lot easier to eat that way. It was nice and filling too – many people in my family usually go for seconds but one was enough with this. Leftovers are delicious as well. Even the people who claim to dislike sloppy joes (and ketchup) thought this was tasty. I would definitely make this again! A previous commenter suggested serving it over roasted bell pepper, which sounds amazing too, so I might try it that way next time.
Delish as usual – I have learned that if it’s from DD, I can count on it being a great recipe. Super easy and the family loved it. Served in roasted bell pepper halves for the low carb-ers and it was a win there, too!