The VERY BEST Homemade Sloppy Joe recipe is not only delicious, but it's quick and easy to make using real ingredients instead of a store-bought can of sauce. Hundreds of raving reviews agree!
There aren't many dinners that you can get on the table faster than whipping up 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.
Ingredients
So what's a Sloppy Joe-lovin' family to do? Why, put together your own quick and easy, all-natural sauce, of course! Once you make homemade Sloppy Joes, y'all, you won't go back.
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.
- Tomato sauce.
- Ketchup. I prefer using an all-natural recipe without too much added sugar, because as you'll see below, I like to control that. 😉
- Brown sugar. Use as much or as little as you like. Some people prefer totally savory Sloppy Joes while others like these sandwiches on the sweeter side. You can also substitute a squeeze of honey in place of any brown sugar (which I often do).
- Worcestershire sauce.
- Mustard. Believe it or not, a little squirt adds depth of flavor.
- Garlic powder + onion powder + fresh black pepper.
How to Make This Sloppy Joe Recipe
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 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
- If you're making your own homemade Sloppy Joes in order to avoid processed ingredients, be sure to use all-natural ketchup.
- The sauce in this Sloppy Joe recipe 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 recipe 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.
More Yummy Sandwiches
- Slow Cooker Honey Balsamic Shredded Beef Sandwiches
- Bacon & Blue Cheese Egg Salad Sandwiches
- The ULTIMATE Stuffed Cheeseburger Sliders
- Caprese Chicken Salad Sandwiches
Sloppy Joe Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 pound ground beef (OR turkey)
- 8 ounces tomato sauce
- ½ cup ketchup
- 2 to 4 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon prepared mustard
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ 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.
EQUIPMENT NEEDED
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 a certain two-year-old couldn't keep her little marker-stained mitts away long enough for me to snap a few pictures) and updated on November 2, 2017, and January 5, 2021.
Donni
Excellent! I used 20 oz ground beef, 2 T. brown sugar and a very generous T. of yellow mustard. All else as written. There are many great sloppy joe recipes but I think this one will be my go to recipe. Really, really good.
Suz M
This recipe is delicious! I was looking for something quick to make for my boyfriend. He’s never had a sloppy Joe before, but he loved these. I did the less amount of sugar because he doesn’t like “sweet meat” 😉 I’ve already made this a second time at his request. He loved it with Frito scoops. Thanks for a great recipe!
Lisa Bell
It's the only homemade SJ recipe my family will eat. Thanks for the recipe!
Jen
I love your sloppy joe recipe and want to make it for a crowd of 160 people. What’s the best way to covert the recipe to accommodate this many people?
Samantha Skaggs
Oh goodness, Jen...I've never made this recipe for that many people! I have doubled it before, though, and multiplying everything equally (meat and sauce ingredients) seems to work just fine. So I would recommend just multiplying the recipe by 40!
If you have a super big pot, you may be able to get away with four batches of the recipe X 10 (10 pounds of ground beef). If your pot is smaller, perhaps start with the recipe X 5 and do eight total batches. If your mixture seems extra saucy, just cook it down longer to let it thicken. Hope that helps and good luck!
Carol A.
Loved the recipe but next time I will add a teaspoon of brown sugar instead of a tablespoon.
Nan
Like everyone else agree a delicious recipe. Will use 2 T. Sugar instead of 3 next time.
Vanessa
Came home after a long day out thinking I had a sloppy hour packet, but didn't. I found this recipe and my whole family and I absolutely love it! I've tried others before but this takes the cake! Thanks for sharing some of your Litton love!
Jenny
I agree! This is a wonderful recipe!
Geraldine Wright
This is the best recipe! Love it
Erika
I have to admit, I was super skeptical when my husband and I were making this, but it turned out way better than I imagined. I have 4 children ages 4 to 12 and two of them are BEYOND picky eaters. They absolutely LOVED THIS RECIPE!! Thank you so much for this recipe!! We will be making this again soon. It was such a hit that we didn't even have leftovers, which is very rare due to my boys never wanting to eat. God bless you!!
Tania
This will be on our table this evening, I've tasted it and it's delicious, though I used ground turkey and mine seems a little more "sloppy" but that's Okay because we eat it like an open faced sandwich with a knife and fork that means we eat less bread too. Thanks for sharing this, my husband is going to be very happy to see this on his plate.
Kim
I used less sugar, chopped onion instead of onion powder. Delicious 👍🏼
Fredward Glump
I had planned to make this recipe last night, but I did not have any sliced pickles. The grilled cheese I made instead was equally as fantastic though. Well done!
Linda
This is my go to sloppy joe recipe. I do tweak it a bit by adding onion, red & green bell peppers and about a 1/8t cayenne pepper. It's not enough to make it spicy just gives it some warmth.
Ashley Lee
how much onion and red/green bell peppers do you add
Pam
We really like this recipe and have made it several times. I use 3 tablespoons of brown sugar but we like it sweet. I love that this recipe does not use green peppers. We used grilled Texas toast tonight for open faced sandwiches with a side of hash browns.
Cheryl
Thank you for sharing! very easy and yummy.
Ash
I have been using this recipe since it was first published and its been a staple in our home for lazy nights😍 I throw in a can of beans in tomato sauce to stretch it and YUM! Thank for sharing!
Karen
This recipe is awesome! I’ve made this multiple times and my family loves it. I have to double the recipe so we can have leftovers. Even doubling the recipe I only use 2 Tbsp of sugar, otherwise it’s just to sweet for us. I also add the green pepper and onion right to the hamburger and find that it’s perfectly cooked, when the burger is done. Thank you for such a great recipe!
Karen
Great recipe! I don't know why anyone even buys the canned version (I don't want to use the name but it starts with manwi..) 😉 It just takes a tomato based product and most everything else is in our pantries. So easy to make. I didn't want to waste half of a can of tomato sauce so I used a small can of tomato paste and one can of water and it turned out great. Oh, I did use about 1/3 cup of bbq sauce because hubby likes it sweet.