The BEST Homemade Sloppy Joes taste delicious and are quick and easy to make using real ingredients in lieu of a store-bought can of sauce!
There aren’t many dinners that you can get on the table faster than whipping up a batch of 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.
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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.
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, simply brown some ground beef and stir in this homemade sauce. 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!
Helpful 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.
- Be sure to check out the recipe video below to see just how quick and easy this recipe really is!
Homemade Sloppy Joes taste delicious and are quick and easy to make using real ingredients in lieu of a store-bought can of sauce!
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.
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.?
♥More sandwiches for supper…
Slow Cooker Honey Balsamic Shredded Beef Sandwiches
Bacon & Blue Cheese Egg Salad Sandwiches
The ULTIMATE Stuffed Cheeseburger Sliders
Caprese Chicken Salad Sandwiches
I love the flavor and it’s so simple to cook. Thanks for the recipe.
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!
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 !
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! 😉