Sloppy Joes
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Effortlessly delicious and universally loved, Sloppy Joes are the tasty (and yes, slightly messy) champion of quick dinners and game day feasts.
A Sloppy Joe is a beloved American sandwich made from ground beef cooked in a tangy and slightly sweet tomato-based sauce and served on a hamburger bun. The name “sloppy” aptly describes the sandwich’s messy nature, as the filling tends to spill out of the bun. My homemade Sloppy Joes, which my kids have playfully nicknamed “Sloppy Jenns” (although I’m not a fan of that name!), is an upgrade on the classic recipe. Instead of using ketchup or seasoning packets, I create a smoky sauce entirely from scratch. The recipe is quick and always a crowd-pleaser, and it can easily be scaled up to feed a crowd or frozen for another meal.
To serve, I suggest toasting buttery brioche buns and pairing the sandwiches with either my sweet and tangy citrus slaw or classic coleslaw, crispy potato chips, and some refrigerator pickles on the side.
Table of Contents
“The last time I had a Sloppy Joe was as a teenager–Manwich, of course! Definitely elevated with this version! Perfect weeknight meal!”
What You’ll Need To Make Sloppy Joes
- Ground Beef: 90% lean ground beef is ideal due to its lower fat content, which not only ensures the dish is not too greasy but also eliminates the need to drain fat after browning.
- Baking Soda: Tenderizes the beef.
- Onion, Red Bell Pepper, Garlic: A flavorful trio that forms the aromatic foundation of the filling.
- Smoked Paprika, Cumin, Oregano, Dry Mustard: These spices add a spectrum of flavors from smoky to earthy to tangy.
- Canned Tomato Sauce and Tomato Paste: Used to make the sauce; the tomato sauce offers a tangy, liquid base, while the paste thickens and intensifies the tomato flavor.
- Worcestershire Sauce and Hot Pepper Sauce: These condiments add umami and a heat, deepening the flavor of the dish.
- Hamburger or Brioche Buns: The vehicle for the Sloppy Joe mixture, offering a soft and slightly sweet contrast to the flavorful beef filling.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Ingredients
To begin, combine the beef and baking soda in a medium bowl. The baking soda raises the pH of the meat, helping to lock in moisture and keep the beef tender. (I use this technique for many ground beef recipes, including beef enchiladas, stuffed peppers, stacked beef enchiladas and chili.)
Mash with your hands until well combined, and then let sit on the counter for 20 to 25 minutes to tenderize.
While the beef rests, chop the veggies. I use a food processor to speed this process along, but it’s fine to chop by hand.
If using a food processor, be sure to pulse only until the vegetables are finely chopped, not puréed.
When the meat is just about ready, melt the butter in a large skillet.
Add the onion, bell pepper, and garlic.
Cook, stirring frequently, until softened, 4 to 6 minutes.
Add the beef, salt, pepper, smoked paprika, cumin, oregano, and dry mustard.
Cook, breaking up meat with wooden spoon, until mostly brown, about 3 minutes.
Add the tomato sauce, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, and hot sauce.
Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, until the sauce is thickened, about 10 minutes.
While the sauce simmers, butter the inside of the buns and place on a baking sheet, butter side up.
Toast in the oven until warmed through and lightly crispy, about 5 minutes.
Taste the sloppy Joe mixture and adjust seasonings. (If you like your Sloppy Joes sweet, feel free to add 1 teaspoon of brown sugar.) Spoon the mixture onto the toasted hamburger buns and serve. Enjoy!
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, the meat mixture can be made up to 3 days ahead of time and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. It can also be frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop over medium heat until warmed through.
Yes, you can use various types of ground meat for Sloppy Joes, including turkey, chicken, or pork. If going this route, skip the tenderizing step with the baking soda.
Baking soda raises the pH level of the meat’s surface, making it more alkaline. This change in pH disrupts the protein structure in the meat, making it more tender. Baking soda also accelerates browning, which boosts the flavor of the dish.
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Sloppy Joes
Effortlessly delicious and universally loved, Sloppy Joes are the tasty (and yes, slightly messy) champion of quick dinners and game day feasts.
Ingredients
- 1¼ pounds 90% lean ground beef
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for buns
- 1 medium yellow onion, finely diced
- 1 small red bell pepper, finely diced
- 3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1½ teaspoons smoked paprika
- ¾ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¾ teaspoon dry mustard
- 1 (14-oz) can tomato sauce
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
- ½ teaspoon hot pepper sauce, such as Tabasco or Frank's, or to taste
- Hamburger buns
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, using your hands, mash the beef with the baking soda. Let it sit on the counter for 20 to 25 minutes to tenderize.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and set a rack in the middle position.
- Heat the butter in a large skillet over medium heat until bubbling. Add the onion, bell pepper, and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, 4 to 6 minutes.
- Add the beef, salt, pepper, smoked paprika, cumin, oregano, and dry mustard and cook, breaking up meat with wooden spoon, until mostly brown, about 3 minutes. Add the tomato sauce, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, and hot sauce. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, until the sauce is thickened, about 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, butter the inside of the buns and place on a baking sheet, butter side up. Toast in the oven until warmed through and lightly crispy, about 5 minutes.
- Taste the sloppy Joe mixture and adjust seasonings. (If you like your Sloppy Joes sweet, feel free to add 1 teaspoon of brown sugar.) Spoon the mixture onto the toasted hamburger buns and serve.
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The meat mixture can be frozen for up to 3 months and reheated in the microwave om on the stovetop until hot.
Pair with
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (5 servings)
- Serving size: 1 sandwich
- Calories: 406
- Fat: 18 g
- Saturated fat: 8 g
- Carbohydrates: 32 g
- Sugar: 8 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 29 g
- Sodium: 887 mg
- Cholesterol: 86 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Supposedly, sloppy joes (aka Taverns) were “invented” simultaneously in two cities including my small hometown of Sioux City, Iowa. Sloppy Joes are a big hit there. I’ve tried a lot of recipes for Sloppy Joes over the years, and I have sampled a lot of recipes. This concoction is the best by far. Thanks.
My husband and son loved these! I thought they were delicious too- and great the next day as well. This recipe is a keeper! Thank you!
Hi Jen, I’m from Australia and I’m not familiar with tomato sauce. I see it in a lot of recipes. What we call here tomato sauce is the equivalent to ketchup in the US. Do you know what would be a good substitute for tomato sauce in this recipe? Here we have something that’s called pasata but I’m not sure if this is what you call tomato sauce. Thank you
Hi Mim, Canned tomato sauce is simply cooked puréed tomatoes, sometimes with added spices. I think passata is raw? But even if so, it will work. Hope that helps!
This was so yummy. I made it with the citrus slaw and it was the perfect match. Thank you for all your great recipes. I can’t wait for your book to come out
Just thought I’d pop in to say…
I’m an American who lives in Australia and I’ve found that just whizzing tinned tomatoes in the blender gives you close enough to American “tomato sauce”. The consistency is a little different but it never seems to make a difference. Passata works too but it’s got to be the unseasoned kind 🙂
I❤️ChefJenn! As usual, another excellent recipe from Jenn! In fact, so satisfying was her Sloppy Joe’s recipe, I have added it to my menu plan! Most importantly, my husband loves it too! Thanks again, Jenn!
😊
My family loved it! I also left out the hot sauce.
family loved them, left out the hot sauce
I just made this,
It is excellent, followed the recipe exactly as written, I used chicken instead of beef because that is what I had on hand.
Thx, Jenn
I made this recipie “as is” for a dinner with friends. The adults and children all loved it! I’m a vegetarian so I love recipes that are simple for me to prepare for my meat loving friends and family. I served these with your sweet & tangy citrus Cole slaw. The entire meal was a hit, thank you, Jenn!
Will this recipe work with ground turkey?
Sure, Bonnie, but no need to treat the turkey with baking soda. I’d use a mix of white and dark meat, if possible.
Made this as written except I discovered I was out of dry mustard so added a squirt of yellow mustard. This was delicious. My husband loved it so much he printed it out so I’d be sure to make it again. Loved a sloppy joe that wasn’t sweet.
Somehow I missed out on sloppy joe’s growing up…. and have been making up for lost time! I like all the veg. mixed in. This was super easy to make and tasted delicious!
I had planned to make these for a neighborhood get-together this weekend but needed a quick meal after returning from an out of town trip. That was the first great thing about this recipe–simple ingredients that I had on hand. Minutes later my husband and I were amazed that something so simple and quick to prepare tasted so good. Like all of Jenn’s recipes, this is a “keeper.” Will be making these again for the neighbors–there aren’t any leftovers.
I would call this adult sloppy Joe. Myself and my husband loved this recipe. I really liked that it didnt include sugar or ketchup like most sloppy Joe recipes do. I bought an 8oz of tomato sauce instead of 14oz but just added a bit of water to make up the difference and it was fine, also added a bit extra hot sauce. Quite tasty!
Wow, this recipe completely rocks! A very balanced melange of spices. No sugar needed (for us), and garnished with a touch of fresh thyme and parsley since it was in the refrig. My kids gave it a double thumbs up. Will definitely make again and again.
I made this and the tangy citrus slaw this weekend for a family dinner with my Dad. Everyone loved the meal!! I have to say these are the best sloppy joes I have ever had, delicious comfort food! The slaw is flavorful, refreshing as well as healthy and both dishes together are good enough for company or a dinner to take to someone! I used ground beef as I was curious about the baking soda effect , and it really made these moist next time I will try ground chicken!!
The recipe was simple and at tge same time very yummy ! They turned out one of the famous in my family ❤️
Keeping the recipe for future too !
Thanks for sharing
Made these last night and my child who is convinced he didn’t like sloppy joes ate it up! Favorite sloppy joe recipe I have ever tried.
OMG, I made these last night, following your recipe to a T. (It did not need a splash of cider vinegar or anything else for that matter.) This is the perfect Sloppy Joe’s recipe. It transported me back to my childhood–in a good way. My mom used to call them Wimpies.
This was the first recipe I have tried from your blog that hasn’t blown me away. I made it as written, but next time I will definitely use regular paprika in place of smoked and play around with the seasoning mix more. Certainly a good base recipe for homemade sloppy joes from scratch, which I have been searching for. Thank you, as always!
Excellent recipe! I made it exactly as written and the sloppy joes were delicious. It was almost more like a chili.
The seasoning was perfect (and you could build the heat to your preference). It was juicy and tasty! I wouldn’t add the sugar.
These are what Sloppy Joe’s should be; tangy, flavourful, the right amount of spice and heat, and just a wee bit sloppy!
We used our favourite butter tray buns and they were perfect (for us, at any rate). I see where Celeste used brioche slider rolls – brilliant!
I also notice that substitutions for the beef include chicken and turkey, I may try these with ground pork but they are so delicious it will hard to deviate from the recipe.
Thanks Jenn!
I made these exactly as written and they were So SO good. Definitely a little spicier than what my mother made (That is a good thing!) Also, she called them wimpies. Thank you, Jenn, for a blast from the past.
I made this sloppy Joe recipe this week. It was fantastic! I have also made your bolognse sauce, also outstanding. You are my go to spot for great recipes. Thank you!
Pam
Made it tonight for family dinner. Was just right for 4, 2 of whom are on low carb diets so skipped the hamburger bun.
Wonderful flavours, even sophisticated, and no need for sugar unless like too many people you are addicted.
Hi,
I made your recipe for company tonight and everyone loved them! I followed the recipe and only had a little left over. I made the slaw to go with the sloppy joes and it was a perfect side. Thanks for all the good recipes.
Mary
Cooked the sloppy joes for supper tonight. I left out the salt and used no salt tomato since I am on a low salt diet. Very Good! Nice Sunday night supper.
I just made this recipe today for lunch and served it on little slider brioche rolls and have to say absolutely amazing! This is another one to add to my working mother weeknight dinner recipe repertoire. Thank you so much Jenn for your great recipes!
Love it. It is the best I’ve ever tasted. Could eat it every night.
Hi Jenny(my favorite chef)
Thank you for sharing your knowledge and skills with rest of us. I look forward to your subscription. My bugging question is : can baking soda be used to tenderize cheap cut beef if yes ,please advice ratio and duration for effectiveness.
I made sloppy Jo this morning , substituted with ground turkey , it also worked very well.
Hi Nikki, Sometimes baking soda is used as a tenderizer in Asian cooking for tougher cuts like flank steak. Here’s a tutorial on how to use it.
Just as an addition to my last comment: I used regular paprika and did add the tsp of sugar.
Thanks again!
Once again your recipe came just when I needed it! We made these last night for dinner and now I FINALLY have the Sloppy Joe taste I’ve been looking for! I left out the hot sauce for everyone to add later and that was fine. The dry mustard and Worcestershire sauce gives it enough spice for me. Next time I’ll double the recipe, though; the portions were a little small.
And to think that I thought the packet Sloppy Joe mix was good. This was SO MUCH BETTER and so simple. I am beginning to enjoy cooking again since all of Jenn’s recipes are delicious and easy to follow.
Amazing! I followed recipe exactly as written except omitted tomato paste. I did not add the optional sugar. This was the Best sloppy joes we ever had. My son who has traveled all over the country stopped by and commented he normally is not impressed with sloppy joes but these were amazing. He ended up having a second serving. Thanks so much.
I was so excited to see a sloppy joe recipe in my inbox that didn’t use tons of ketchup/sugar so we made these today. The recipe was extremely easy to make. I followed the recipe exactly & we did add the 1 tsp of brown sugar since I thought my family would prefer it in there for our taste. Our thoughts during our meal was that they were good but not the sloppy joe taste we are used to. This recipe was nice but we didn’t love the smoked paprika. But in saying that my kids preferred this version over the sugary ketchup one I normally make so it’s a winner in my books – lol.
Hi Tracy, Feel free to replace the smoked paprika with regular paprika next time. And for a more typical Sloppy Joe flavor, you might replace the tomato sauce and tomato paste with 1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce and 1/2 cup ketchup. Hope that helps!
Jenn, I love your site and recipes! In fact this is the only foodie site I look forward to reading and trying the new recipes on a regular basis!! The Sloppy Joe’s are delish and I Loved learning about the use of soda which I will now incorporate in other recipes. Thank you!
These Sloppy Joes are the best I have ever had! So quick and easy to make too. I served them on toasted Hawaiian Rolls to add a little sweetness. Served Jenn’s fantastic Curried Roasted Carrots as a side dish for a total finger food dinner. Everyone at my football game night dinner begged for the recipes!! SCORE!
I’ve always made Sloppy Joes with white vinegar to give it some bite, but love this recipe without it! Adding baking soda to tenderize the beef was new to me – it worked great! I plan to try it with other beef dishes!
Thank you for your great ideas! I love receiving your recipes. It takes the boredom out of cooking!
I used to love Manwich Sauce for Sloppy Joe’s (I know, shoot me), but the last couple of times I used it, it seemed blah. I’m going to try this when I pick up some ground chuck at Coop this week. Will report back!
loved the sloppy joe recipe could not find smoked paprika so I just used the regular kind my family was okay wit that served it with citrus salad which was also very good. would make this again
Can you freeze this?
Yes, Cathy, it freezes nicely!
Really good! Not overly sweet like some recipes. I thinks it’s a new favorite and can’t wait to try it out on the grandkids!
I love all your recipes, and I’m sure this one is as delicious as the rest. Please pardon me…as a grammar & punctuation fiend: no apostrophe….SLOPPY JOES. Apostrophe S (‘s) is the possessive form, not the plural. That being said, I love your website.
Oops! Thank you, Kathy — I missed that one but it has been corrected :).
I have been “converted” from using the packet! Easy and delicious!
I made the Sloppy Joe’s / Sweet & Tangy Citrus Slaw (with cilantro.) It was amazing! like a party in your mouth! The Sloppy Joe’s are very easy to make and freeze great for an easy delicious meal on those nights you don’t have a lot of time to cook!
I’m going to thaw the remainder Sloppy Joe’s in my slow cooker on the 24th for the Pat’s game and serve them tortilla chips and guacamole! Can’t wait!
Oops, one question: No vinegar? It seems to cry out for a splash of maybe cider vinegar, or is that overkill with the worceshire?
I don’t think it needs it, Lisa – there’s already quite a bit of tang from the tomatoes and Worcestershire, and since there’s no sugar you don’t need vinegar to balance the sweetness. But if you think it’s missing something, there’s no harm in adding a little cider vinegar.
Any suggestions on how to make this vegetarian? tofu or beans?
Hi Sandy, perhaps this could be made with tofu, but I don’t have any experience cooking with it, so I’m not a great resource there! I do think that beans would work. I’d add them at the same time you would add the beef. (And I’d suggest cutting back on the salt in the recipe if you’re using canned beans.) LMK how they turn out!
Sometimes I think you read my mind. I was just recently looking for a Sloppy Joe’s recipe and all of them seemed way too sweet (or called for Ketchup–big No). I will report back when I make these.
Hi. I noticed that you said it would be great with ground chicken, but didn’t mention ground turkey in either of your replies. Would it be OK with that? And I usually just use white meat but would it need some dark turkey in the grinding or am I fine with just white meat? Thanks!
Hi Jane, I prefer ground chicken to ground turkey, but I do think a blend of white and dark meat turkey would work too. Please lmk how it turns out if you try it that way.
How do you think these would be with either ground turkey or ground chicken?
Thank you.
Hi Mary, I think it’d be wonderful with ground chicken – and no need to treat it with baking soda if you go that route.
Hi Jenn…question. Have you tried this recipe with ground turkey or chicken instead of beef? If so, would you make any modifications to the other ingredients or leave everything as is?
Thanks!
April
I haven’t April but it would be great with chicken. And you can omit the baking soda step if not using beef.