The VERY BEST Homemade Sloppy Joes is a sloppy joe recipe that’s not only delicious but quick & easy to make using real ingredients instead of a store-bought can of sauce. 100s of reviews agree!
There aren’t many dinners that you can get on the table faster than whipping up a Sloppy Joes. And while the store-bought sauce that rhymes with San-wich might make this meal even quicker, it’s got some less-than-ideal ingredients. After all, I tend to avoid high fructose corn syrup in my sweets, much less my dinner.
So what’s a Sloppy Joe-lovin’ family to do? Why, put together your own quick and easy, all-natural sauce, of course! It only takes a couple of minutes, it tastes soooo much better (in fact, you get to control how sweet and/or salty you want it), and you don’t have to worry about any unnecessary additives.
How to Make Sloppy Joes
I shared my Slow Cooker Chicken Sloppy Joes awhile back, which feature this same sauce, but sometimes you don’t have the forethought (or time) to toss something into the crock pot first thing in the morning.
So if you still want an effortless, family-pleasing meal come 5 o’clock, make this tried-and-true Homemade Sloppy Joe recipe! Simply brown some ground beef (or turkey), stir together a simple sauce, and then combine the two. Allow the mixture to simmer on the stove for a few minutes and then slap it on some buns. Easy peasy!
There’s really not much more to say about this recipe, folks. Kids adore it, but adults love it, too. It’s so simple but oh-so-good. A side salad, some baked beans, and — of course — some thickly-sliced pickles on top of your Sloppy Joes, and…dinner is served!
Homemade Sloppy Joes Tips, Tricks, & Equipment
(some affiliate links below)
- If you’re making your own Sloppy Joe sauce in order to avoid processed ingredients, be sure to use all-natural ketchup.
- This Sloppy Joe sauce is intended to be slightly sweet, but it’s really a matter of taste. If you prefer a more savory sauce, feel free to use less brown sugar. Additionally, you may use unrefined sugar (or even a squeeze of honey) in place of the brown sugar, if you wish.
- If you like your Sloppy Joe meat with onions and peppers, you may dice up half an onion and half a bell pepper and cook them in a tablespoon of olive oil until softened (about 5 to 10 minutes) before browning the beef. Remove the onions and peppers from the pot and proceed with the recipe, cooking the meat and then stirring the onions/peppers back in at the same time you add the sauce.
- Along those same lines, if you’d like to make this meal even healthier by packing in some extra veggies unbeknownst to your kids (or your hubby), be sure to check out my How to Get Your Kids to Eat Their Veggies post, which specifically addresses Sloppy Joes.
- My family loves Sloppy Joes so much that I’ve also come up with a zesty Tex-Mex version…olè!
- If, like me, you make a lot of ground beef (or ground turkey) recipes, this tool is pretty darn handy for breaking up your meat.
Sloppy Joe Recipe
Homemade Sloppy Joes
Ingredients
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 pound ground beef (OR turkey)
- 8 ounces tomato sauce
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 2 to 4 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon prepared mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- Hamburger buns
- Sliced pickles
Instructions
- Set a large pot over medium-low heat. Add a few drops of extra-virgin olive oil, and saute the garlic for a minute or two until just fragrant and very light golden brown. Add ground beef, increase heat to medium/medium high, and cook until no longer pink, breaking apart and stirring as meat cooks. Drain grease from meat.
- While meat is browning, make sauce. In a medium bowl, stir together tomato sauce, ketchup, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, garlic powder, onion powder, and freshly ground black pepper, to taste, until well combined. Pour over browned meat, stir, and simmer for a few minutes until heated through (or longer, if you have time, to allow the flavors to meld).
- Serve on hamburger buns or rolls with sliced pickles on top.
Notes
- This Sloppy Joe sauce is intended to be slightly sweet, but it's really a matter of taste. If you prefer a more savory sauce, feel free to use less brown sugar. Additionally, you may use unrefined sugar (or even a squeeze of honey) in place of the brown sugar, if you wish.
- If you like your Sloppy Joe meat with onions and peppers, you may dice up half an onion and half a bell pepper and cook them in a tablespoon of olive oil until softened (about 5 to 10 minutes) before browning the beef. Remove the onions and peppers from the pot and proceed with the recipe, cooking the meat and then stirring the onions/peppers back in at the same time you add the sauce.
Post originally published on January 13, 2015…back when my two-year-old couldn’t keep her little marker-stained mitts away long enough for me to snap a few pictures.
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Lisa says
I love the flavor and it’s so simple to cook. Thanks for the recipe.
Lori Lorenz says
Finally, a sloppy joe recipe without peppers! I did add the onion, and I doubled the recipe because my husband can eat 4 sandwiches in the blink of an eye, and I wanted some! This is a keeper for me. He loves sloppy Joe’s and he’s been asking for them. This fit the bill!
alethia shambaugh says
Ok seriously love this ! I’ve made it twice and I won’t stop but mine never comes out dark like yours ! Why not ?!
A friend gave me this recipe when I asked about how she made hers and hers was also very dark in color compared to mine . I even saw t and eat it in person . Yum !
Samantha at Five Heart Home says
I’m so glad you enjoy this recipe, Alethia! I’m not sure why yours isn’t coming out as dark, though…I can only imagine it has to do with the specific brands (and colors) of the ingredients you’re using? At any rate, as long as it tastes good, it doesn’t matter what color it is! 😉
DD says
Mine got darker the longer I simmered it, and also added an extra tsp. brown sugar. Hope that helps.
Linda says
I love Sloppy Joe sandwiches and I’m with you on the fact that I hate the canned stuff. Too much high fructose and other additives for me. This is a delicious looking and great quick and easy meal that everyone in the family will love. Just looking at all that mouthwatering goodness is making me hungry!
Jessica Formicola says
These really are the best sloppy joes! My whole family loved them and I can’t wait to make them again!
Monique says
Delicious! Instead of pickles I just added a little pickle juice to the meat mix. My go to recipe now. Thanks for sharing.
Samantha at Five Heart Home says
Great idea, Monique…we always put pickle slices on our Sloppy Joes but I never thought to put pickle juice in the meat!
Kat says
Awesome recipe! I am very picky and typically go for recipes with dozens of reviews rather than one with few…. but this seemed promising; it was! The only change I made was to include real white onion and omit onion powder 🙂 I saw a question about the color. The darkness definitely comes from Worcestershire sauce. Variation may be due to brand? Either way, great recipe! Will probably use 1.25 lb beef next time 🙂
Samantha at Five Heart Home says
So happy to hear these Sloppy Joes were a hit, Kat! I very recently changed to a recipe card that allows ratings, so while this recipe was originally posted several years ago and has over 100 positive comments, it only has a few ratings so far. So I very much appreciate you taking the time to leave one! 🙂
Habi says
I really like it, its taste is great. Thank you for your recipe.
Smith says
So easy to make. Thank you so much!
ANNETTE Escalante says
Thank you for the awesome sloppy Joe yummy. Can I freeze left over sloppy Joe?
Samantha at Five Heart Home says
You’re so welcome, Annette. And absolutely! Any leftover sloppy joe mixture will freeze and thaw beautifully. 🙂
EK says
I doubled the recipe for my family and did all of it in my Crock Pot Instant super cooker. First by browning ground chicken (that’s what we had on hand) along with minced garlic and oil all together. Then I added the sauce mixture and switched the setting to simmer for about 30 minutes to reduce all the liquid. I put it on warm and the family can eat it when needed. (I did add a bit of salt….)
Samantha at Five Heart Home says
Sounds fantastic…thanks for sharing! 🙂
Rene says
The best Sloppy Joe recipe by far! Hubby could not stop raving about them. A definite keeper 🙂
Samantha at Five Heart Home says
Wonderful to hear that, Rene! 🙂
lasesana says
I agree that kids and adults love it. Thanks for sharing.
April says
Hi. What does prepared mustard mean? Is that powdered mustard?
Samantha at Five Heart Home says
Just regular mustard…like the condiment that comes in a bottle. 🙂
Rae says
What if you don’t have tomato sauce? Is there anything else I could use instead?
Samantha at Five Heart Home says
Hi Rae! Since tomato sauce is the primary ingredient in this sauce, I don’t really think there’s a substitute that will give you the same results. Sorry!
Jimmy B says
Recently I was making a casserole which called for tomato sauce and I realized I was out. I looked on line for substitutions and found one 6 oz can of tomato paste blended with 8 oz of water. I tasted it and could not believe how close it was to tomato sauce! Your recipe for Sloppy Joes sound terrific and I plan to try it tonite or tomorrow night. Thanks for sharing.
Samantha at Five Heart Home says
Thanks so much for sharing that, Jimmy! 🙂
Andrea Doom says
I actually took a can of diced tomatos, drained and then blended them until it was basically sauce.
Adrianne says
Try using Ragu or some other jar sauce.
Alisha says
Our family has been enjoying this recipe for years! Thank you for sharing!
Samantha at Five Heart Home says
Makes me so happy to hear that, Alisha! 🙂
Sandy says
Can I substitute soy sauce for the Worcestershire Sauce?
Samantha at Five Heart Home says
I think that would be fine, Sandy. 🙂
Dennis Morel says
Now this was good, definitely a keeper.
Jeff says
Instead of prepared mustard I used 1 tsp of dry mustard and I also added 1 tsp of cumin and 1/4 a tsp of cayenne pepper came out great didn’t use the onion powder not a fan of onion kids loved it.
Denise omitt says
Added grated carrot, onion and yellow bell pepper. “Best sloppy joes yet”. Thanks for recipe.
Melissa says
This was SO GOOD. My ridiculously picky 6 year old had sloppy Joe’s for the first time at camp this summer and declared he loved them. Never having made them myself I resorted to Pinterest for a recipe! I didn’t have tomato paste and was ecstatic to find this recipe (though looking back now i realize i straight up forgot ketchup!). Son announced “Whoa. Mom. This is WAY better than the sloppy Joe I had before.” #winning (Only sub was that I forgot to add ketchup and i added sauteed onion and green pepper because I’m sneaky and my kid hates veggies.)
Christal says
Do you know the approximate serving size?
Samantha at Five Heart Home says
Hi Christal! This whole recipe makes four generous servings. So the nutrition information calculates 1/4 of this recipe as one serving. Does that help at all?
Anna says
Greetings from Texas ! The best sloppy Joe!! Ever!! I toasted the Texas size buns and it was so amazing !!! Thank u!! Anna
Dominique says
Always wanted to make Sloppy Joe’s for dinner…finally found a recipe that looked right. The only change I made was put in 1 1/2 tablespoons of brown sugar as we don’t like things too sweet. This recipe is fabulous and a keeper.
Susan says
I made this last night and it was fantastic, no leftovers ,,no more canned sloppy joe mix for us,,this will be our go to recipe from now on…..thanks so much for a easy and simple but delicious recipe…
Kelli says
This is a great recipe. I tweaked it a little for my personal tastes but if I had followed it exactly it still would be a winner. Thank you for a truly outstanding meal! I’ll be trying more of your ideas soon….
Chelsea says
Delish. I used Arrabbiata sauce instead of plain tomato sauce because I already had an open jar in the fridge and I like spicy things! With the other ingredients, this has just the right kick. Without arrabiata I would probably add some cayenne or diced jalapeño or something to spice it up. Used only 2 T brown sugar.
phyllis says
really is the best sloppy joe recipe i have found . my go to . thank you!
Marla Bowen says
No more canned sloppy joe sauce/powdered seasoning mix for me! Just made for lunch for my husband and me, very easy, quick and very good! Toasting buns takes it to an even better level of goodness!
colette Sawyer says
Just made this with our ground deer burger. (Listen, I thought I had a few cans of the canned stuff, but , alas I did not. When I went to my pantry, was also out of tomato sauce) I substituted a can of diced tomatoes with olive oil and garlic, and added a teaspoon of tomato paste so it wouldn’t be too runny. I also opted for a tablespoon of spicy brown mustard to offset the brown sugar.
This is so tasty. I can’t wait to use this concoction of cocktail meatballs.
Lisalishus says
This recipe is great! Didn’t have fresh garlic so I added a little more powdered, added a teaspoon cayenne, and it was delicious! This was my 1st time making homemade Joe’s. Thank you for sharing!
Gloria Ochoa says
Tried many sloppy Joe recipes in the past but this one was the best. Delicious! thank you for the recipe!
Karen says
Similar to the sloppy joes recipe I’ve been making for years. To take it to the next level, try adding ground cloves, my secret ingredient, (although not any more)!
Kim Owens says
This is a delicious and easy weeknight meal. It’s become part of our regular rotation. Thanks!
Kathy says
This was the BEST sloppy joe ever. I had to sub a couple ingredients since I didn’t have them on hand, and also added a little Apple cider vinegar as we like a slightly tangy tasting sauce.
Canned sauce is ‘awful’…….this homemade was tasty & super easy to make.
Jan k says
Try adding cooked bacon to the mix it’s great
Pam Gades says
Everyone in our family loved them! Will be making this again. Thank you for the recipe.
Rebecca Goodwin says
I’ve made this once for my daughter-in-law’s birthday. I have always offered to make whatever the family wants on their birthday. When she requested sloppy joes, this recipe saved the day!! By popular demand, it will be served again this weekend. I double the recipe and add 1 green bell pepper sliced into big chunks – I like the flavoring of them but don’t like biting into them. 😀 I went low on the brown sugar and used some honey. I also let it sit in a crock pot on low for a while to let the flavors meld. It turned out great! Some folks ended up adding a little bit of cheese on the top with their pickles. I tried that with the (very) small amount of leftovers that we had and it was fun. Thank you!!