Sloppy Joes

These hearty, messy, delicious classic homemade sloppy joes are the perfect weeknight dinner recipe your whole family will love, all ready in less than 30 minutes!

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Table of Contents

Sloppy Joes Ingredients
Substitutions And Additions
How To Make This Sloppy Joes Recipe
How To Serve
Storing Homemade Sloppy Joes
More Recipes You’ll Love
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These hearty, messy, delicious classic homemade sloppy Joes are the perfect weeknight dinner recipe your whole family will love, all ready in less than 30 minutes!

This homemade sloppy Joes recipe has all the best parts of the classic recipe we loved as kids: perfectly seasoned meat, a toasted hamburger bun, and a little messiness with every bite. It’s an easy favorite for a party or a quick weeknight dinner.

Sloppy Joes Ingredients

Sloppy Joes raw ingredients that are labeled

You’ll need:

1 pound of ground beef
2 tablespoons of butter
½ cup of finely chopped onion
8 ounces of tomato sauce
½ cup of ketchup
1 tablespoon of brown sugar (more to taste)
1 tablespoon of prepared mustard
2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon of white vinegar
½ teaspoon of salt
¼ teaspoon of black pepper
½ teaspoon of garlic powder
½ teaspoon of onion powder
4-6 hamburger buns for serving
2 tablespoons of butter for the buns

Substitutions And Additions

GROUND MEAT: This recipe uses a pound of ground beef. Using ground beef gives this recipe its classic sloppy Joe flavor. Popular substitutions that are still tasty include ground turkey or ground chicken.

VEGGIES: Add chopped green bell pepper or red bell pepper to include a few more hidden veggies in this dish.

SPICY: Give this homemade sloppy Joe recipe a kick by adding a dash of chili powder to the spice mix.

BROWN SUGAR: The brown sugar adds a bit of sweetness to the sloppy Joes, but you can adjust the amount you use in this recipe if you prefer it sweet or not quite as sweet.

How To Make This Sloppy Joes Recipe

OUR RECIPE DEVELOPER SAYS

This sloppy Joe recipe is for 4 to 6 people, but it can be doubled or tripled. Simply make your filling and toast your buns and assemble the sloppy Joes when it’s time to eat.

STEP ONE: Brown the ground beef in a large skillet, drain the grease, and set aside the meat. Don’t skip this part, draining the meat is crucial to stopping your filling from getting greasy.

STEP TWO: In the same skillet, melt 2 tablespoons of butter and sauté the onions over medium-high heat until translucent, about 3 minutes.

butter and onions being cooked in a skillet

STEP THREE: Stir in the remaining sauce ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5 to 7 minutes. The sauce will thicken. As your sauce simmers, it will bubble and start to splatter. Watch for these splatters, and turn your heat down if the sauce is making too much of a mess.

ingredients added to the sautéed onion in the skillet

STEP FOUR: Add the ground beef to the sloppy Joe sauce in the skillet and stir until cooked through.

PRO TIP:

Don’t wait to serve them. Sloppy Joes are best served as soon as they’re made. Adding filling to the buns and letting it sit for more than a few minutes can make your buns soggy. Instead, if you need to make this recipe ahead of time, keep your filling and buns separate until you’re ready to serve.

cooked ground beef added to the sauce in the skillet

STEP FIVE: Butter the inside of the buns and toast them on a griddle pan.

PRO TIP:

For perfectly toasted buns, you’ll need about 2 tablespoons of softened butter for six hamburger buns to make it happen.

STEP SIX: Spoon the meat mixture onto the prepared buns and enjoy.

How To Serve

There are plenty of sides that you can serve with sloppy Joes. We love pairing them with traditional BBQ or picnic-style sides such as cheesy potato casserole, corn pudding, or macaroni salad. You could also serve them with a side salad or Caesar salad.

We have reimagined classic sloppy Joes in so many new ways. Try our sloppy Joe bake or Philly cheesesteak sloppy Joes too.

MORE SANDWICH RECIPES

Chicken Dinner Ideas

Fried Chicken Sandwich

Sandwiches

Steak Grilled Cheese

Storing Homemade Sloppy Joes

IN THE FRIDGE: You can store the sloppy Joe meat mixture in the fridge for up to three days in an airtight container. Reheat in the microwave or in a skillet, and add to a hamburger bun before serving.

IN THE FREEZER: Sloppy Joe filling will freeze well for up to three months. Reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop, and add to a bun to make a sandwich.

overhead shot of a plate of sloppy Joe sandwich with a pickle and chips

Sloppy Joes have been a favorite recipe for decades for good reason — they’re a tasty and easy dinner. This old-fashioned sloppy Joes recipe is a crowd-pleasing family favorite and makes a much tastier dish than using the canned sauce. Its flavors are the best, and it’s easy to make. Definitely worth a little mess!

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Can I make these easy sloppy Joes ahead of time?

This great recipe can be made ahead of time. You could whip up a double batch and store it in the freezer, and you’ll have easy meals for busy nights.

Could I serve this sloppy Joe recipe on a hoagie roll?

Hoagie rolls would be a great alternative to hamburger buns. They are nice and sturdy and would hold up to the saucy meat mixture nicely.

Can I make this recipe into a vegetarian version?

If you have a ground meat alternative you like, you can replace the ground beef to create a vegetarian version.

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Sloppy Joes

5 from 68 votes

These hearty, messy, delicious classic homemade sloppy joes are the perfect weeknight dinner recipe your whole family will love, all ready in less than 30 minutes!

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 20

Total Time 25

Servings

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Ingredients

1 pound ground beef
2 tablespoons butter
½ cup finely chopped onion
8 ounces tomato sauce
½ cup ketchup
1 tablespoon brown sugar, more to taste
1 tablespoon prepared mustard
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon white vinegar
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon onion powder
2 tablespoons softened butter, to toast the hamburger buns
4 to 6 hamburger buns

Instructions

Brown the ground beef in a large skillet, drain the extra grease, remove the ground beef, and set it aside.
In that same skillet, add the 2 tablespoons of butter and melt over medium-high heat, and add the onions and saute until transparent, about 3 minutes.
Stir in all remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 5 to 7 minutes. Watch for bubbling and splattering tomato sauce!
Add the ground beef to the sauce in the skillet and stir together and cook until all is reheated.
Butter the inside of the buns and toast them on a griddle pan.
Spoon the meat mixture on to the prepared buns and enjoy.

Video

Notes

This sloppy Joe recipe is for 4 to 6 people, but it can be doubled or tripled. Simply make your filling and toast your buns and assemble the sloppy Joes when it’s time to eat.
Don’t wait to serve them. Sloppy Joes are best served as soon as they’re made. Adding filling to the buns and letting it sit for more than a few minutes can make your buns soggy. Instead, if you need to make this recipe ahead of time, keep your filling and buns separate until you’re ready to serve.
For perfectly toasted buns, you’ll need about 2 tablespoons of softened butter for six hamburger buns to make it happen.

Nutrition

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Proudly Prepared by the Spaceships Kitchen

This recipe was developed, tested, cooked and photographed by the Spaceships Kitchen. From our dinner table to yours, we hope you think it's out of this world!

Stephanie Keeping Publisher
Layne Kangas Marketing
Rhadonda Sedgwick Creative Director
Lexus Monroe Editorial Assistant
Andra Willits Writer + Editor

Sloppy Joes

Sloppy Joes Ingredients

Substitutions And Additions

How To Make This Sloppy Joes Recipe

How To Serve

Fried Chicken Sandwich

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Storing Homemade Sloppy Joes

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