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Our easy Sloppy Joes recipe delivers the best messy sandwich with savory ground beef in a sweet and tangy homemade sauce, ready in just 30 minutes.
When I Need Dinner Fast, I Make Sloppy Joes
They're easy enough for busy weeknights, loved by kids and adults, and I usually have what I need already sitting in my pantry. My family devours sloppy joes, and sometimes I sneak extra veggies into the sauce without anyone noticing (like shredded carrot, diced zucchini or spinach). If I make these in the cooler months we will serve sloppy joes with sides like corn on the cob, baked beans, french fries or roasted veggies. In the summertime we like to serve sloppy joes with cucumber salad, fresh fruit, coleslaw, or a crisp green salad.
Check out all of my 30-minute meals, like Hawaiian Haystacks, Instant Pot Fettuccine Alfredo, Chicken Avocado Wrap, Baked Tacos, and Mongolian Noodles!
How to make Sloppy Joes:
Cook Beef: Use a meat chopper or wooden spoon to cook the ground beef in a large skillet, breaking into small pieces as it cooks. Remove grease then add onion and garlic and cook until tender.
Add Ingredients: Add the rest of the ingredients and stir to combine. Bring the sloppy joe mixture to a simmer for 30 minutes so all of the flavors blend together.
Serve: Place a scoop of the beef mixture on a warm, toasted hamburger bun and enjoy!
Homemade Sloppy Joes Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 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, , or more, to taste
- 1/4 cup barbecue sauce
- 1 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon prepared yellow mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 5 hamburger buns
Instructions
- Brown ground beef: Add beef to a large pan over medium heat. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, crumbling and stirring, until browned. Remove grease.1 pound ground beef, salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Season: Add onion and garlic and cook for a few minutes. Stir in remaining ingredients.½ cup yellow onion, 2 cloves garlic, 8 ounces tomato sauce, ⅓ cup ketchup, ¼ cup barbecue sauce, 1 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce, 1 teaspoon prepared yellow mustard, ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- Simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Serve warm, inside a toasted hamburger bun.5 hamburger buns
Notes
- Add Veggies: Diced bell peppers, zucchini, spinach, or shredded carrot, can easily be added to this recipe and your kids won’t even notice a difference.
- Hawaiian Sloppy Joes: Substitute more BBQ sauce for the ketchup and add 8 oz., drained crushed pineapple.
- Asian Sloppy Joes: Add 1 tablespoon ground ginger and substitute 1 tablespoons hoisin sauce for the Worcestershire sauce. If desired mix in thinly sliced cucumber slices, chopped water chestnuts or shredded carrot.
- Turkey Sloppy Joes: Substitute ground turkey in place of ground beef and add chopped veggies.
- Low Carb Sloppy Joes: Serve in a lettuce leaf, or serve open-face on a low-carb bun, with a piece of cheese placed on top, and broiled in the oven for 2 minutes.
- Green Salad, Cucumber Onion Salad, or Fresh Corn Salad
- Cold Cut Veggies and dip, Roasted Vegetables or Corn on the Cob
- Baked Beans or Potato Salad
- Mac and Cheese or Macaroni Salad
- French Fries, Potato Wedges or Sweet Potato Fries
- Potato Chips
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I originally shared this recipe January 2018. Updated March 2022 and February 2026.
One of my sister’s favorites is sloppy Joes. She said these were really good.
I just made this. I have tried a few, and this is easiest by far, and tastiest in my opinion. I added peppers and it is perfect. A keeper in my opinion!
This one is very tasty. My family is divided. My nephew and his boys like sandwich better, butt that didn’t stop them from eating like they were starving.
These were SO good! I like the baking before the sauce step because it keeps the tortillas crispy. Making it again next week!
This is a huge hit with my husband – it is his favorite meal for lunch and your recipe (I make it exactly as written and usually double it) reminds him of his childhood. Thank you for this treat!!
Fantastic, loved it but always do thank you. I did add a little smoke flavoring that is just my tastebuds.
I usually make up my own sloppy joe recipe according to ingredients I have on hand and the number of people I’m feeding. I decided to try this recipe because I had several pounds of ground chicken and beef that needed to be cooked before it spoiled, and needed some extra guidance on proportions. I mixed the meats together in this recipe and it worked very well. I adjusted a few things according to my family’s likes/needs. First, I used some spicy cajun seasoning (Cajun Two Step – Fire) instead of regular salt and pepper. The barbecue sauce I chose was sugar free (G. Hughes Original). I let it simmer about 30 minutes and added a little more yellow mustard at the end to brighten it up a bit. I like how easy this recipe is to adapt to your personal likes.
It was just okay, but quick to make and would serve as a backup if I didn’t have ingredients for another recipe I use. I think the biggest issue I had was the particular BBQ sauce I used, but this is a real problem with the recipe as is. BBQ sauces come in so many variations that they will all affect the flavor in very different ways. If the intention is to have people use the linked sauce, the recipe loses its ease.
Like I said, not bad, just okay.
What kind of tomato sauce do you buy for this recipe? The 8 oz of sauce (not ketchup). Is it crushed tomatoes canned? Thank you! Would like to try it. The seasonings make all the difference in this recipe.
Excellent. My family loved it. ***** Thank you Lauren for making my family enjoy your recipe.