Easy Sloppy Joes Recipe (2024)

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This is a simple dinner idea. Sloppy Joes Recipe has only 3 ingredients and there are no excuses to not try this family friendly dinner idea that everyone will love.

This 3 ingredient Sloppy Joe recipe taste so much better than the can sloppy joe mix. The best part it is so easy to make and delicious too. You probably already have most of the ingredients to make this easy stovetop recipe for the best sloppy joe recipe.

My family loves this meal. We will often plan on eating this for lunch on the weekend. It is so easy to put together and we have a homecooked meal for lunch in between our basketball games.

Table of Contents

  • Why This Recipe Works
  • Ingredients
  • How to Make Sloppy Joes
  • Recipe Tips
  • Can I Double The Recipe?
  • Serving Suggestions
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Try these other Sloppy Joes
  • Sloppy Joes Recipe Recipe

Why This Recipe Works

In under 30 minutes, you can have this quick, easy classic dinner idea that your family will love. You can probably cook this in 20 minutes. The sloppy joe mixture is really easy to modify for what you have on hand and so versatile.

We have even added a tiny bit of Worcestershire sauce and garlic powder to the ground beef mixture. You can try using chili powder, red pepper flakes, bbq sauce, olive oil or whatever you prefer.

It really is such a great recipe and we all love sloppy joe meat. It never gets old and we enjoy this recipe so much. Try toasted buns next time to make a delicious sandwich. It is really good!

Ingredients

Besides ground beef, you only need three ingredients to make this delicious Sloppy Joes recipe.

  • Yellow Mustard
  • Ketchup or tomato sauce
  • Brown Sugar

Yep! That is all you need to make a fast sloppy joes for your family. What makes it even better is one of my kids does not like the traditional sloppy joes, but loves this recipe!

Once you make this, you won’t ever buy that store bought stuff again. This has so much more flavor than the canned sloppy joes. For the full recipe, scroll to see recipe card.

How to Make Sloppy Joes

  • Step 1 – Brown the ground beef in a large skillet on medium heat until no longer pink. You can use ground turkey too. Once browned, drain the excess grease from the beef. I like to season with salt and pepper while the beef is cooking.
  • Step 2 – Add in brown sugar, mustard, and ketchup. Stir to combine.
  • Step 3 – Reduce the heat and allow the meat mixture to simmer on low for about 5 minutes to combine the flavors.
  • Step 4 – Serve on hamburger buns and with your favorite sides.

Recipe Tips

  • Make Ahead – The prep time is very easy on this recipe, but you can prepare ahead of to save even more time.
  • Ground Beef – Before mixing in the sauces makes sure to drain the meat to remove any grease.
  • Simmer – Allow the mixture to simmer on low to combine the ingredients.
Easy Sloppy Joes Recipe (5)

Can I Double The Recipe?

Yes, this is a great recipe to make a double or triple batch and freeze the left overs. It does not take anymore work to make extra. We love to cook once and eat twice or more. This is such a huge help during busy weeks.

It really isn’t any extra work to double the recipe and you have a super easy dinner for another night. I try to do this as much as possible and keep a few quick meals in the freezer.

Serving Suggestions

Here are a few of my favorite side dishes for sloppy joes.

  • Easy Homemade French Fries Recipe
  • Deep Fried Pickles
  • Baked Mac and Cheese Recipe
  • Check out our full post on What to Serve with Sloppy Joes
  • Top a baked potato for a complete meal idea.
  • Potato Chips

It’s really good served withGrilled Corn on the Cob andOven Baked Sweet Potato Fries. These are both so easy and really delicious side dishes. Just keep it simple. This meal can easily be ready with hardly any work at all.

Try adding green bell pepper or onion to the ground beef while cooking. Onion and green pepper really give it an amazing flavor.

Frequently Asked Questions

How to Store Leftovers

Store the leftovers in an airtight container and place in the fridge. Leftovers will stay great for up to 4 days.

Can I Freeze Sloppy Joe Sauce?

You can freeze the sloppy joe sauce in a freezer bag. We also like to freeze them in silicone cupcake pans, Then pop them out and place in a freezer bag. Now you can have a lunch or dinner for 1 in no time. This is such an easy dinner idea, but when you freeze them it makes it an even faster dinner idea.

How to Reheat

When you are ready to reheat, place in a crockpot or in a pan for an even faster dinner idea. Trysloppy joe recipe slow cooker version and come home to dinner ready to enjoy. This is great for reheating what you put in the freezer and makes dinner so simple. If you have a smaller portion, just thaw in the fridge overnight and then reheat in the microwave.

Try these other Sloppy Joes

  • Quick and Easy BBQ Sloppy Joes Recipe
  • Big Mac Sloppy Joes Recipe
  • Ultimate Sloppy Joes
  • Homemade Sloppy Joes
  • Easy Crock Pot Sloppy Joes Recipe
  • Bacon Cheeseburger Sloppy Joes Recipe
  • Easy Philly Cheesesteak Sloppy Joes
  • easy Buffalo Chicken Sloppy Joes recipe

We love to hear from you. If you make this homemade sloppy joe sauce recipe, please leave us a comment or star review.

Easy Sloppy Joes Recipe (8)

Review

Pin Print

Sloppy Joes Recipe

4.94 from 590 votes

This Sloppy Joes is so easy to make and taste way better than sloppy joes in a can. How to make sloppy joes with ketchup and just two more ingredients.

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 15 minutes mins

Servings 6

Cuisine American

Course Main Course

Calories 354

Author Carrie Barnard

Equipment

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Brown the ground beef in a skillet.

  • Once browned, drain.

  • Add in brown sugar, mustard, and ketchup. Stir to combine.

  • Allow it to simmer on low for about 5 minutes to combine the flavors.

  • Serve on buns and with your favorite sides.

Recipe Video

Recipe Notes

3 ingredients, that is all you need to make a fast sloppy joes for your family. You are going to love this recipe!

Nutrition Facts

Calories 354kcal, Carbohydrates 31g, Protein 17g, Fat 16g, Saturated Fat 6g, Cholesterol 53mg, Sodium 507mg, Potassium 334mg, Fiber 1g, Sugar 11g, Vitamin A 105IU, Vitamin C 1.4mg, Calcium 98mg, Iron 3.1mg

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About the Author

Easy Sloppy Joes Recipe (17)

Hi, I’m Carrie. Welcome to Eating on a Dime!

I’m on a mission to help you cook delicious meals without busting your budget. Together we are going to cook real food… for real families!

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Easy Sloppy Joes Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What can I add to sloppy joes to make them taste better? ›

Try serving your sloppy joes with their own toppings such as slaw, melty cheese, grilled pineapple, or Hatch green chile. Even just adding a pickle gives extra flavor and crunch, transforming it from a bland sandwich into something great, like the recipe below!

What is the Sloppy Joe sauce made of? ›

What is the sloppy joe sauce made of? It's made with ketchup, brown sugar, tomato paste, Worcestershire, chili powder, garlic, dry mustard, and a little Tobasco (if you want). That sauce coats the ground beef, onion, and bell pepper to make the filling.

How many pounds of ground meat per person for sloppy joes? ›

In general, we call for 1 pound of ground beef to make 6 sandwiches in our sloppy joes recipes. That works out to 3 ounces of ground beef per sandwich. Depending on the size of your bun and how meaty you like your sandwich, you can increase or decrease that amount an ounce or two either way.

What's the difference between Manwich and Sloppy Joe mix? ›

Sloppy Joes are the sandwich, while Manwich is the store-bought canned sloppy joe sauce, produced by ConAgra Foods and Hunt's. While the brand markets this product as a quick and easy one-pan meal, I strongly recommend you make the sauce from scratch.

What if I forgot the tomato paste in the Sloppy Joes? ›

You don't have to dash out to the store if you're out of tomato paste; tomato sauce and tomato puree are both an excellent substitute. For every 1 tablespoon of tomato paste needed, use 3 tablespoons of tomato puree or sauce.

How do you thicken up sloppy joe sauce? ›

  1. Flour can be used similar to corn starch.
  2. Other thickeners used are bread crumbs, potato flakes and oats. ...
  3. Go gradually with these. ...
  4. Use oats to thicken sloppy-joes as to absorb the excess but it will be thicker the next day.
  5. Barley can be used but is more expensive.
Oct 29, 2021

What is Sloppy Joe seasoning made of? ›

A sloppy joe seasoning packet is just a combination of spices like chili powder, paprika, dry mustard, garlic powder, and minced onion. They also include dried green pepper flakes, cornstarch, and (¼ teaspoon) celery seed.

Can you use tomato sauce instead of tomato paste for Sloppy Joes? ›

Making sloppy joe sauce, like Manwich, from scratch involves a blend of tomato sauce, ketchup, onion, green pepper, and spices.

What is a New Jersey style Sloppy Joe? ›

There are minor variations depending on the deli, but it is always a double-decker thin sliced rye bread sandwich made with one or more types of sliced deli meat, such as turkey, ham, pastrami, corned beef, roast beef, or sliced beef tongue, along with Swiss cheese, coleslaw, and Russian dressing.

How many people does 2 lbs of sloppy joes feed? ›

My mom always made sloppy joes with sauce from a can. Remember that stuff? If you use that, you have to try this easy homemade version that is so much tastier! This recipe uses 2 lbs of ground beef and serves about 8 people.

What toppings go on sloppy joes? ›

Garnish with shredded lettuce, chopped tomato, shredded pepper-Jack cheese, chopped avocado, pickled or fresh jalapeño slices and chopped cilantro, if desired. Hawaiian Variation: Prepare recipe as directed above, substituting 1/2 cup sweet barbecue sauce for tomato sauce and omitting Worcestershire sauce.

What is a fancy name for a Sloppy Joe? ›

Manwich, slush burger, yum yums, dynamite, spoonburgers, tavern sandwich; a Sloppy Joe can be called by many other names. The most well-known however is Manwich.

Are you supposed to drain sloppy joes? ›

Cook beef in large skillet over medium-high heat 7 minutes or until crumbled and no longer pink, stirring occasionally; drain.

Should you drain the grease from ground beef for sloppy joes? ›

Sloppy Joe Tips

We suggest draining the browned beef, because excess grease serves as a barrier to sloppy joe seasonings.

What do people add to Manwich? ›

Tweaks
  1. I used red pepper instead of green. ...
  2. More garlic is better! ...
  3. I really wanted something for my slow cooker but couldn't find a manwich copycat specific to slow cooker recipes. ...
  4. Add chopped green, red bell pepper, hot sauce or cayenne and some white vinegar along with 1 tsp of msg....

How do I make my Sloppy Joes less sweet? ›

If you like Sloppy Joes a little less sweet, you can reduce the brown sugar to 1 teaspoon. If you keep the mustard at 2 teaspoons, the result will be a tangier Sloppy Joe.

What is Sloppy Joe supposed to taste like? ›

Once you've gathered the ingredients, it's basically like making Bolognese. And the flavour is somewhat reminiscent of it too, except Sloppy Joes taste a bit more like BBQ Sauce. The one big difference is that the sauce is cooked right down so it's really thick and not saucy at all.

Is mayo good on a Sloppy Joe? ›

Happy thoughts: You CAN apply mayonnaise in copious amounts to your sloppy Joe!

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