This flavorful and easy Sloppy Joe recipe is made in one skillet in just 20 minutes! Made with juicy ground beef and a few pantry stables, this quick and hearty dinner is always a winner.
Why You’ll Love This Easy Sloppy Joe Recipe
- Sloppy Goodness: Embrace the mess! These Sloppy Joes are meant to be savored with a smile and plenty of napkins.
- Quick and Easy: Made in 20 minutes with just one skillet, homemade sloppy joes are as simple as browning the beef and simmering it with the sauce!
- Budget Friendly: Looking to keep your grocery budget down? Sloppy joes are very affordable by using common seasonings and condiments you likely already have on hand.
- Childhood Classic: With tender ground beef in a tangy, sweet, and slightly spicy sauce that’ll make your taste buds dance, each bite will take you back in time!
Looking for more classic comfort food using ground beef? Try our hot dog chili recipe for the best chili dogs around! This easy skillet Frito pie or crockpot chili Mac and cheese will also quickly disappear off your families dinner plates.
What You’ll Need
If you are a fan of a classic homemade sloppy Joe, these are for you. Quick, one skillet and most of the ingredients can be found in the pantry! Scroll down to the recipe card for exact amounts.
- Ground Beef: We used lean ground beef, if using a fattier cut, drain the excess grease after browning the meat. Ground turkey or chicken will also work well!
- Veggies: We’ll use a green bell pepper, an onion, and fresh garlic for the veggie base.
- Tomatoes: You will need both tomato sauce and tomato paste.
- Condiments: You will need ketchup, yellow mustard and Worcestershire sauce to create that classic sloppy Joe sauce.
- Beef Broth: Bone broth would also be amazing. You could also sub veggie or chicken stock if that’s all you have.
- Brown Sugar: While optional, just a pinch of brown sugar will add that classic sweetness.
- Seasonings: We used chili powder, salt and pepper.
- Hamburger Buns: Optional, for serving.
How to Make Sloppy Joes
We love recipes that allow us to get dinner on the table in under 30 minutes. This one is a winner on taste and on preparation! Check out the recipe card for detailed instructions.
- Cook: Cook the ground beef and veggies in a large skillet, until the meat is nicely browned and the veggies are soft. If there’s too much grease in the pan, drain some out.
- Combine: Add the remaining ingredients and simmer for about 10 minutes. The sauce should be nice and thick and sloppy at this point!
- Serve: Season the sloppy Joe meat mixture with salt and pepper, to taste. Serve warm on your toasted hamburger buns and enjoy!
Cook’s Tips and Tricks
This simple recipe for sloppy Joes is so easy, we don’t have too much ‘secret sauce’ to share. See what we did there?!
- Veggies: We used an onion and green pepper to give our Joes good flavor. We’re not normally green pepper fans, but it does make it taste like the nostalgic classic! Feel free to use a red or yellow pepper if you’d like a milder flavor.
- Toast the Buns: It just takes a minute under the broiler, but buttery toasted buns will take your sloppy Joe sandwiches over the top!
- Skip the Bun: You can also serve this saucy ground beef over toasted garlic bread, on top of mashed potatoes (yum!) or over fries topped with cheese. We also love to stuff it in baked potatoes with some cheese melted on top under the broiler. So good!
- Crockpot: Keep your sloppy joes warm in a slow cooker if you are serving a crowd over warm or low, stirring occasionally. If you would prefer to let the crockpot do all the work, try our crockpot sloppy joes instead.
How to Store Leftover Homemade Sloppy Joes
We always double or even triple this homemade sloppy Joes recipe to freeze for an even easier dinner another night. The leftovers store wonderfully and we love getting to take a night off in the kitchen!
- Fridge: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- Reheat: We usually reheat a single serving in the microwave for 1 minute and 30 seconds, stirring half way through. Reheat a large portion on the stovetop in a skillet over medium heat.
- Freeze: Transfer cooled leftovers to an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months. For best results, thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.
- Freeze Individual Servings: Freeze the sloppy Joe mixture in a silicone muffin tin and freeze them overnight. Pop them out of the muffin tin and place them into a freezer safe container. Then you can heat up just enough for one sloppy Joe at a time. This is a great idea if you have kids.
Yield: 6 servings
Sloppy Joes
This quick and easy Sloppy Joe recipe is made in one skillet in just 20 minutes! Made with juicy ground beef and a few pantry stables, this classic hearty dinner is always a winner when served on warm toasted buns.
Ingredients
- 1 lb lean ground beef, or turkey
- 1 small green bell pepper, finely chopped
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
- ½ cup ketchup
- ½ cup beef broth
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
- 1 tablespoon light brown sugar, optional
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 6 buns, optional, for serving
Instructions
- In a large skillet, cook the hamburger meat, bell pepper, onion and garlic. Cook the meat breaking it apart as it cooks, until it is no longer pink, about 8 minutes. (If you have a lot of grease in the skillet, drain it before proceeding.)
- Add the tomato sauce, ketchup, beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, tomato paste, mustard, brown sugar and chili powder. Stir to combine and simmer until the sauce starts to thicken, about 10 to 12 minutes.
- Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Serve warm on your favorite toasted hamburger buns.
Notes
Store: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Reheat: We usually reheat a single serving in the microwave for 1 minute and 30 seconds, stirring half way through. Reheat a large portion on the stovetop in a skillet over medium heat.
Freeze: Transfer cooled leftovers to an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months. For best results, thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.
Freeze Individual Servings: Freeze the sloppy Joe mixture in a silicone muffin tin and freeze them overnight. Pop them out of the muffin tin and place them into a freezer safe container. Then you can heat up just enough for one sloppy Joe at a time. This is a great idea if you have kids.
Veggies: We used an onion and green pepper to give our Joes good flavor. We’re not normally green pepper fans, but it does make it taste like the nostalgic classic! Feel free to use a red or yellow pepper if you’d like a milder flavor.
Skip the Bun: You can also serve this saucy ground beef over toasted garlic bread, on top of mashed potatoes (yum!) or over fries topped with cheese. We also love to stuff it in baked potatoes with some cheese melted on top under the broiler. So good!
Crockpot: Keep your sloppy joes warm in a slow cooker if you are serving a crowd over warm or low, stirring occasionally. If you would prefer to let the crockpot do all the work, try our crockpot sloppy joes instead.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 sloppy Joe, Calories: 336kcal, Carbohydrates: 47g, Protein: 23g, Fat: 6g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g, Monounsaturated Fat: 2g, Trans Fat: 0.3g, Cholesterol: 47mg, Sodium: 891mg, Potassium: 584mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 14g, Vitamin A: 497IU, Vitamin C: 17mg, Calcium: 40mg, Iron: 13mg
this is so good!!!