This Sloppy Joe recipe is a family-friendly meal that never goes out of style.
Ground beef is simmered in zesty tomato sauce and spooned over toasted hamburger buns for a saucy favorite. Best of all it’s ready in under 30 minutes!
You’ll Love These Sweet and Savory Sloppy Joes Because…
- Homemade Sloppy Joes are just as easy to make as the canned version, and they taste so much better.
- It’s an easy way to sneak in extra veggies and perfect to spoon over hamburger buns or even rice or noodles.
- This Sloppy Joe recipe uses staple ingredients, so you likely have everything you need!
- Double up the batch and enjoy it all week, or freeze it for future family meals.
What You’ll Need For Sloppy Joe Sauce
Brown a pound of lean ground beef and simmer it in a tangy sauce that is easy to make!
- Tomato Sauce: This is the base of this recipe; a bit of tomato paste adds richness and tang.
- Ketchup: Adds sweetness and tang.
- Green Bell Pepper: Optional; it adds a bit of freshness and crunch (and stretches the beef further).
- Brown Sugar: I use brown sugar for sweetness; you can replace it with white sugar if needed.
- Apple Cider Vinegar: This balances the sweetness and adds a little tang along with yellow mustard.
- Worcestershire Sauce: Adds savory flavor.
Buns: I use hamburger buns to soak up the tangy sauce, but it’s also great spooned over rice, pasta or garlic bread.
Variations
- Sloppy Joes are a great recipe for sneaking in veggies. Shredded zucchini, sweet potatoes, carrots, and even Brussels sprouts can be added to the sauce in Step 2.
- Stretch the beef a bit further and add drained black beans or finely chopped mushrooms.
- Top your joes with shredded cheese or sliced jalapenos.
How to Make Sloppy Joes
- Brown meat: Brown the ground beef with garlic.
- Add sauce: Stir in remaining ingredients (recipe below) and simmer until thickened.
- Toast buns: Broil the buns until golden and top with the beef mixture.
So easy!
Storing Sloppy Joes
- Keep leftover sloppy joe filling in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat on the stove or in the microwave.
- Freeze portions in zippered and thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
- Leftovers can be added to a hearty soup or on top of mac and cheese.
More Quick Ground Beef Dinners
Did you make these Sloppy Joes? Leave us a rating and a comment below!
Sloppy Joe Recipe
This easy recipe for homemade Sloppy Joes has the best savory sauce.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- ½ onion finely diced
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder or 2 cloves garlic, minced
- hamburger buns
- 2 tablespoons butter or olive oil for brushing
Sloppy Joe Sauce
- ⅔ cup water
- ½ cup tomato sauce
- ½ green bell pepper finely diced
- ¼ cup ketchup
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 ½ tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon yellow mustard
- ½ teaspoon salt more to taste
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- In a 10-inch skillet, over medium-high heat, cook beef, onion, and garlic, breaking it up with a spoon until the meat is cooked and no pink remains. Drain any excess fat.
- Add water, tomato sauce, bell pepper, ketchup, tomato paste, brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, salt, and pepper. Stir and bring to a boil.
- Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook uncovered for 15 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened.
- Optional: While the sauce is simmering, preheat the oven to broil. Brush the inside of the hamburger buns with butter or olive oil and place on a baking sheet. Broil for 2 to 3 minutes or just until lightly browned.
- Spoon ½ cup meat mixture over the toasted buns and serve.
Notes
This Sloppy Joe recipe can easily be doubled or tripled. It reheats well for meals throughout the week.
To freeze, cool the mixture completely and place in a freezer bag. Keep frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight and reheat on the stove or in the microwave.
Nutrition Information
Calories: 392 | Carbohydrates: 33g | Protein: 18g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 64mg | Sodium: 763mg | Potassium: 481mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 418IU | Vitamin C: 13mg | Calcium: 95mg | Iron: 4mg
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Beef, Dinner, Main Course
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I used red bell paper instead of green and I added grated carrot for extra veggies. I found that the flavour was a little bland so I added more salt, garlic powder and also chili powder which made it much tastier. I ladled it on toasted buttered buns and topped it with shredded marble cheddar cheese. Yummy!!
This was a great recipe!! I substituted an equal amount of your Zesty Homemade Chili Sauce for the tomato sauce and tomato paste. It was yummy. The next time I make it that way, I will reduce the sugar a little, since the chili sauce has some as well.
Thanks again for allowing us to use your recipes. Yummy
This was perfect! I was looking for a homemade sloppy Joe recipe like my grandma’s (lost it) and this one is very similar. Thank you!
Excellent recipe as written. I tripled the recipe with a 10 lb roll of beef. I used two stockpots on the stovetop and an instant pot to brown the meat. Then combined everything into the two stock pots. It turned out delicious. I’m feeding 35 tomorrow. I hope they love it.
This was so easy to make and delicious! My husband says it’s a keeper. No more canned Sloppy Joe sauce!
A perfect, quick weeknight meal; a tasty combination of sweet and savoury. This meal brings back such fond memories of my childhood. It was always a treat to be served Sloppy Joes by my Mama!
Definitely part of my meal rotation. 10/10
So happy to hear that, Lori! I love recipe with a little nostalgia. ❤️
I am not sure what happened here. I usually love your recipes! But hardly anyone in our family would eat this! I’m not sure if it was too acidic and not enough sweet. We have never made Sloppy Joe’s before amd weren’t sure what to expect. Maybe the tomato sauce base should have been the indicator that this wouldn’t be for our family. But this was definitely not for us. Thanks, anyways! Now the pumpkin Cinnabon recipes, and the pumpkin cookies with spiced icing – those my family can’t get enough of!
Thank you for trying our recipe, April! I am sorry it wasn’t quite what you expected. I am glad you enjoyed the pumpkin recipes though ❤️
Holly is my favorite, her recipes are great.
I totally agree with you, Pat. Holly’s recipes are always so full of flavour, simple directions to follow and often consist of items that we will find in our own fridge and pantry! I have had success with every one of Holly’s recipes that I’ve tried!
Thank you Lori! So glad you’ve loved them!
This has become my go-to recipe for Sloppy Joes. Ingredients that can MOSTLY be found in your fridge and pantry, and simple directions. So much more flavour to this dinner item when you make from scratch as opposed to an envelope that says “Sloppy Joes”; tear open, dump in with the ground beef, and done? Not the same!
Delicious. I doubled the recipe to have quick meals available for a few days. I prefer to refrigerate this meal before serving and then reheat. Provides a thicker sauce which is key. Very Tasty. I have found quite a few nice recipes on this site with good success. Thank you.
I am so glad you have been enjoying the recipes Chuck!
I love this recipe very much. Thanks for posting.
So good! I’ve been wanting to make Sloppy Joes for awhile. When I asked my two sons and husband if they wanted 1 or 2 (we had kinda small buns), they each said: I’ll try just one for now. Each one of them went back for another. Will definitely make this again.
Really delicious recipe. I love it yummy!!! It’s really awesome. Will surely try this.
How woud this be as whole wheat? I try not to eat white bread.
Hi Ted, you can serve this sloppy joe mixture over your bread of choice! Still equally as delicious!!
I cannot understand why and how the rating was at a 4.9!! I followed the recipe step by step and the exact amount of ingredients. Mine did not look the the picture – It was not even close. The sauce was not colourful like the picture, and tasted too sweet.
I’m very curious how everyone else made it to taste good?
We love it as written but you can reduce the sugar if you’d like.
Or increase the mustard just a little bit. I tasted my sauce before adding the mustard and it was too sweet for us but I tasted it again after adding the mustard. It was perfect. Just a suggestion because Holly’s recipes are my go to recipes. Her cookbook is full of them including this one. So yummy!
I just made this! It was so good! And easy!
This is one of the best recipes for Sloppy Joe’s. Most sauces are solely ketchup based making it too sweet. The ratio of tomato products called for in this recipe are perfect!
Thank you!!! My family has enjoyed every wonderful recipe I have made for them from from your website. Best sloppy Joe’s!
Thank you! So happy you are enjoying our recipes!
This was the best sloppy joes I gave ever had. Very easy