Sloppy Joes
I’ve gone super “Americana” on us with this recipe. There’s hardly a more classic American meal then good ol’ sloppy joes! I don’t know a kid that would ever turn these down for dinner.
And just when you may want to roll your eyes at a dish as simple as sloppy joes, I’m here to tell ya, this recipe is GREAT! It can’t even be compared to the horrible stuff you buy in the can.
It has the perfect sauce/beef ratio and it’s packed with flavor. I love the extra boost of flavor that the BBQ sauce adds to it. Not to mention how incredibly EASY this recipe is.
How to make sloppy Joes:
Start by browning the ground beef in a large skilley. Then add the onion and garlic and cook until the onion is tender and translucent.
Add the rest of the sauce ingredients, and allow everything to simmer together for 30 minutes. (The simmering time is a crucial part of the recipe because it allows the flavors to meld together).
After letting the sloppy joe mixture simmer, serve it warm on a toasted hamburger bun!
To make sloppy Joes healthier:
Try making turkey sloppy joes by substituting ground turkey in place of ground beef. You can also sneak veggies into your sloppy joes! You could easily add some chopped bell peppers, zucchini, spinach, or shredded carrot, and your kids wouldn’t notice a difference :-).
To cut down on carbs, serve your sloppy joes open face, with a piece of cheese placed on top, and broiled in the oven for 2 minutes. YUM!
Sides for Sloppy Joes:
- Baked potato wedges
- Side salad
- Steamed Corn
- Potato chips
Consider trying these kid-friendly recipes:
- Gourmet Baked Mac and Cheese with Bacon
- Chicken Noodle Casserole
- Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos
- Spaghetti Pie
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This delicious sloppy joes recipe makes the perfect quick, easy, and inexpensive dinner your family will really enjoy. It's packed with flavor and ready, fridge to table, in 30 minutes!
- 1 pound ground beef
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup yellow onion , chopped
- 2 cloves garlic , minced
- 8 ounces tomato sauce
- 1/3 cup ketchup
- 1/4 cup barbecue sauce
- 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauces
- 1 teaspoon prepared yellow mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 5 hamburger buns
- Add beef to a large pan over medium heat. Season with salt and pepper.
- Cook, crumbling and stirring, until browned. Drain grease.
- Add onion and garlic and cook for a few minutes.
- Add remaining ingredients to the pan.
- Simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Serve warm, inside a hamburger bun.
Recipe Video
Have you tried this recipe?!
RATE and COMMENT below! I would love to hear your experience.
Peggy says
December 25, 2018 at 10:20 amMy family liked this variation of an all-time favorite. I recently substitued a small can of tomato paste for the tomato sauce, because that is what I had in the pantry. I added enough beef broth to get the consistency I wanted. This recipe works well in a slow cooker – on low for 4 – 5 hours.
Lauren Allen says
December 25, 2018 at 10:48 pmThanks for sharing Peggy–love to hear that it worked well in the slow cooker for you 🙂
Alicia says
January 3, 2019 at 9:04 pmLoved the recipe didn’t have the exact ingredients but I had ones close enough! Everyone said this was the best Sloppy Joe recipe I have ever made!!
Anne says
January 13, 2019 at 10:52 amDelicious! I made them for dinner the other night. Doubled the recipe so we would have leftovers. The next day the elderly lady across the street died so guess what food I took over???!!! They have grandchildren so I figured they would all like it. They were thrilled.
Any way, I’m making another batch today for our freezer!
Jetta says
January 19, 2019 at 6:06 pmI wasn’t a huge Sloppy Joe fan until I made this one for my husband. Excellent!
Lauren Allen says
January 20, 2019 at 1:24 pmI’m glad this recipe made you a believer! Thanks so much 🙂
Susie Gute Wall says
January 24, 2019 at 9:19 amI’m really trying to make more foods as natural as possible and from scratch now. I believe natural foods will make me feel better. I used a great natural bourbon bbq sauce with no high fructose corn syrup. I also used organic ketchup which has twice the antioxidants than regular ketchup. My finace and 3 teenage boys all ate it and loved it. That right there says a lot for my picky eaters. I doubled the recipe and there was only one portion left for lunch today. Yum. I’m too am so happy I found this website.
Brooke says
January 30, 2019 at 6:40 pmLoved it wouldn’t change a thing! My 5 year olds favorite meal now ?
Lauren Allen says
January 30, 2019 at 9:51 pmThanks Brooke–it’s always a win when the kids like it!
Sophia Arias says
February 9, 2019 at 12:55 pmExcellent recipe! I liked how balanced the sauces were in this.
My family loved it and it now goes in the rotation. I love that your recipes are generally the ingredients I have on hand and lend themselves to being modified to specific tastes. Your custom meal plan option is genius! Thanks for taking the time to help those who want to cook from scratch do it more easily!
Lauren Allen says
February 11, 2019 at 12:19 pmThanks for your kind comment! I’m so happy you’ve enjoyed some of my recipes <3
Tim says
March 27, 2019 at 4:41 pmGood and simple, about like moms version before stores had Manwich in a can. I like the mustard in powered version and the main missing ingredient is the sugar. At the very end you should balance the salty tartness out with white or brown sugar to taste. That’s what puts it over the top!
Nick says
April 22, 2019 at 11:39 amPretty solid recipe. It’s a good base. I added some chopped mildly spicy green peppers, a splash or two of liquid smoke, a few big shakes of cayenne pepper powder, a few drops of Thai fish sauce and a teaspoon chinese numbing pepper oil which besides imparting a slight numbing sensation also give a slight lemony citrus kick. Came out really nice. 7 happy friends for dinner!
Kim Walker says
May 7, 2019 at 5:31 pmHands down best sloppy joes ever!! Love that there is NO Sugar! I used our favorite brand of Kansas city style bbq sauce which gave it a nice kick. So nice to be able to make something so good so easily after a long day at work.
Thank you, thank you!
Lauren Allen says
May 8, 2019 at 11:56 amThanks for the positive feedback–I’m so glad you liked it!