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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The addition of baking soda to the Sloppy Joe recipe was not good. It changed the flavor and texture of the hamburger and messed with digestion of those that ate it.
Delicious! So easy and has a lot of flavor. Another winning recipe.
Really, really good. I changed some things to suit what I had on hand: diced tomatoes with chilis, added some marinara because I didn’t have tomato paste, and added some guajillo chile powder for a kick.
Love this!
The last time I had a Sloppy Joe was as a teenager–Manwich, of course! Definitely elevated with this version! Perfect weeknight meal!
Made this today as written and it was a hit! Leagues better than Sloppy Joes I’ve had in the past, most of which came from packages or cans 🙁 Pretty easy to prepare, as well. The spices blended together very well, with no one spice dominating (I was concerned about the cumin). I even toasted the ciabatta bread as written and it worked really well. Thanks again, Jenn.
I always make your recipes exactly as is and unfortunately, this is the first and only of the 30+ I’ve tried that was not a hit. I think it was mostly because it didn’t taste like grandma’s recipe that was a sweeter sloppy Joe (even with the brown sugar) and the other reason was it was just too wet, too tomatoey for our taste. Perhaps too much liquid from using the food processor for chopping the veggies or perhaps the tomato sauce didn’t cook down enough. But I thank you for putting this one out there as we love your family friendly meal ideas! We also made the pumpkin bread that day and the boys said it’s even better than Starbucks 🙂
Can’t fault this dish, its one we keep going back to. Simple and easy to prepare. Plus, delicious.
Made this last night along with the slaw recipe and it was a big hit. Only tweak I made was to the slaw – no oil and no honey – carrots were sweet enough.
Will be making this regularly. Thanks Jenn
1000% agree with the last reviewer – this is another excellent recipe! Prepared it for dinner tonight and it was perfect. The balance of seasonings is spot on. Follow this exactly as Jen says, and you (and your family) will be very happy! Perfect for a chilly night.
Thank You Jen for yet another delicious and easy to follow recipe. A few personal changes: left out the hot sauce and added the brown sugar. Yummy! Served with sweet potato fries. Will absolutely make again!!
Do you think Impossible Burger could be substituted with success? If so, would you still use the baking soda?
Hi Judy, I’ve never worked with Impossible burger before so it’s hard to say for sure, but I suspect it will work (and you wouldn’t need to use the baking soda). Please LMK how it turns out if you try it!
Can the meat “rest” for longer than 25 minutes? It often takes me longer to prepare the rest of the ingredients. Just wondering if this was time sensitive. Thanks!
Yes that’s fine, Andrew. Enjoy!
This is my go to recipe for sloppy joes. It appeals more to my adult taste buds than the ketchup based recipe I used before. I’ve added nothing nor changed anything. It’s great!
I forgot to add 5 Stars.
This recipe is a home run. We have two of our grown sons staying with us and when they raid the pantry, it looks like a biblical plague hit our house. I used toasted ciabatta sandwich buns and we all devoured it. It was just enough and everyone got full. I’ve said it before, my wife’s cooking and Jenn’s recipes are the reasons I have a gym membership. Awesome recipe!
So good nobody would think its also healthy
I used to make ground beef BBQs with a lot of sugar so I was a little skeptical when I made this recipe. One teaspoon of sugar? Really? Yes! Great flavors with the right textures.
Hi Jenn,
Any chance I could make this in a slow cooker? If yes, would I need to change anything?
Thanks.
Sharron
Hi Sharron, I think it should work with no changes other than the cook time.
I have made this recipe many times and it is always a hit. Super easy weekday dinner. I love the low sugar content and I usually swap 1/4 lb beef for about a half a cup of cooked lentils, which totally absorb the bold flavor.
Just looking at making the Sloppy Joes for visitors this weekend. Looks fantastic. What is the equivalent of canned tomato sauce in Australia? I’m thinking tomato soup or passata?
From what I see online, I think that the closest equivalent to canned tomato sauce in the US would be passata. Hope that helps!
I made this last night and it was excellent as written although I didnt use the baking soda.
After tasting it I seasoned it to my liking with a touch of cinnamon which I find adds warmth and another layer of flavoring.
Won’t go back to store bought! Thank you!
I loved the flavors and how easy it was to put together! Thanks for a great weeknight dish!
Excellent! Family loved, so glad I doubled the recipe! Once again a keeper!
I’ve been searching for the perfect sloppy joe recipe, and this is it! Loved the smoky flavor and the fact that it doesn’t use ketchup or any sugar. I paired it with homeade, pillowy hamburger rolls, which took it over the top. Next time, I’ll try the coleslaw recipe with it.
These were delicious as is, but my mom always made sweeter sloppy joe’s so I’m glad there was the option to add sugar if you want. The added sugar definitely made the recipe more nostalgic for me, but either way this is way more elevated than your traditional sloppy joe. I am totally making this again.
Made as written and husband and I really enjoyed this. Will kick it up next time with more heat (we like spice). Definitely in my meal rotation. Thank you 🙂
Made this today. I had to adjust the quantities of everything because I made a bigger batch, but this turned out great. I used 80/20 and skipped the baking soda. Everyone really like it.
Great recipe!
It’s easy to make and taste delicious. I highly recommend adding this one to your repertoire.
I love this recipe. Instead of adding sugar I add a grated carrot. It provides the sweetness but adds nutrients.
I’ve made this twice now, and it was wonderful both times. Hadn’t made sloppy joes in years but was oddly craving them. These were terrific. We use slider buns with them, and the buttered, toasted buns make them even better. Thanks for sharing this!
I just made this recipe with ground chicken, skipping the baking soda step. These are the most delicious sloppy joe’s I’ve ever eaten! I have now made this recipe with ground beef, ground turkey and ground chicken. All delicious, but chicken is my personal favorite. I also used brioche buns and skipped the buttering step. Perfect! Thank you, Jen!
We are not big fans of sloppy Joes here but this is great! I often make it with lentils instead of beef and it’s always a hit. I sometimes make it with 1/2 ground beef (or whatever I have handy) and 1/2 riced cauliflower (more veggies and it also saves me some money). My kids both like all versions, although they are not into sandwiches much (weird, I know…). Hubby enjoys it too!
Thanks for another great recipe!
PS: when using riced cauliflower I add it at the end, just to cook it through, so it doesn’t get mushy. I buy it frozen.
Also, the great thing everyone loved was the bun! I always toast buns under the broiler, but baking them was amazing! The outsides were crusty and didn’t get soggy once the meat was spooned on the bun!
A Winner!!! I prepared this by the recipe…only adding brown sugar. I planned on freezing the left-overs, but dad took all of them to a friend!!! Guess I’ll be making a double batch next week! Everyone thought they were delicious!!!
I just made this with ground turkey (combination of turkey breast & thigh meat, skipping the baking soda step) and it is delicious! I’ve made the beef version before, but my family might prefer the turkey to beef – the sauce really shines.
Fantastic. Better than a store-bought sauce.
I was thinking of trying this with ground turkey. Have you ever tried it? Would you still have the baking soda? Thank you.
I do think it would work with ground turkey (although I wouldn’t go too lean), and you can skip the baking soda. Please LMK how it turns out!
I HATE Sloppy Joes…….oh wait……if it’s a sloppy Jenn, I’m completely changing my mind. This was delicious. I did add a bit of brown sugar, as my family likes some sweetness, but made just as described. Wonderful
Really delicious and easy last-minute meal. Thanks, Jen!
Excellent recipe! Made it tonight and everyone loved it!!
Best Sloppy Joe Recipe ever!! I have never liked sloppy joe because it is sweet. this recipe is not sweet! It is savory and delicious! Wish I found it years ago.
This is a FABULOUS recipe! I made it with ground bison, best Joe’s ever! I can totally see using this on nachos 🙂
I end up making these a decent amount. It’s a really basic tasting comfort food dinner. Somehow it’s a bit better that your regular recipe. Toasting the buns makes a nice difference too.
Another family favorite! Loved the Smokey spicy flavor. Another of your recipes added to dinner rotation. Your blog is first place I look for dinner ideas. Thanks for sharing!!
I used to make a recipe with ketchup. This is so much more complex tasting and delicious. My family just gobbles them up!
This was delicious! I used 80/20 ground beef and did not tenderize it with the baking soda but I still thought it had great flavor. Would highly recommend using a food processor to finely dice the veggies. Also, this recipe made a lot more food than I was expecting. I doubled it so we would have leftovers for several days and we probably have enough to make 14 sloppy joes! Once we finish the buns we plan to serve it over white rice as an easy meal.
We are in the middle of a kitchen remodel and right now I have a crock pot, electric skillet, and electric griddle to work with. These Sloppy Joes sounded so good (and quick and easy) that I couldn’t wait to make them for dinner last night. Food processor is packed up, so I chopped everything very fine (which took the most time) and made these in the skillet. They turned out marvelous. Very flavorful and I love the idea of no “package” mix. I “toasted” the buns on the griddle with a little butter… Took no time to put everything together. Thanks, Jenn, for another “winner”.
I love Once upon a Chef, have used it many times. Unfortunately this was disappointing for me. I always make the recipe the first time using the exact recipe, I don’t change a thing. I saw cumin in the recipe and was a little leery because it adds that Southwest taco taste. While the flavor was ok it reminded me too much of taco beef and not sloppy joe. Sorry, not my favorite
These sloppy joe’s are absolutely perfect and definitely a keeper! My only modification was to substitute ground turkey. Delicious on leftover homemade sourdough english muffins.
Yum!! Omitted green peppers (family not fans), added garlic (family loves garlic), and 1/2 teaspoon of brown sugar. What a hit! Thanks!
Just made these tonight along with the recommended slaw and both were amazing! Felt like a gourmet meal at a high-end bbq spot! Loved the flavor. I added a bit of maple syrup for the sweetness. Yum. Will definitely make these again. Yummy!