Homemade Sloppy Joe Recipe
Published January 8, 2020. This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
Homemade sloppy joes are much easier to make than you may have thought, so learn how simple it is to do right from your own kitchen.
If you’re like me, you grew up eating sloppy joe sandwiches as it’s a great simple weeknight meal for the family. Instead of popping a can of who knows what’s in there, learn how to make it from scratch. It’s way more delicious and easier than you’re thinking, and if you love cooking with ground beef, then definitely check out my meatloaf recipe or my loco moco.
Why is It Called Sloppy Joe?
It’s been around since the 1950s and was created by a cook named Joe at a restaurant in Sioux City, Iowa, who put a bit of tomato sauce onto some ground beef and served it up on a bun, and simply called it a “sloppy joe.”
Ingredients
A homemade sloppy joe consists of a few ingredients, including:
- Ground Beef
- Tomato Puree
- Tomato Paste
- Mustard
- Brown Sugar
- Worcestershire Sauce
- Vinegar
- Chili Powder
- Salt and Pepper
You most likely have most of these ingredients already in your pantry, making it really easy to pull off.
Is Manwich The Same Thing?
Manwich is a processed and canned sauce that has attempted to replicate the original sauce with its own take. It can be purchased from the grocery store, but I can promise you the homemade version is far superior to this.
How to Make a Sloppy Joe
Follow along below for quick how-to steps for making this recipe.
- Sweat some garlic and bell peppers in some oil in a large pot.
- Add in your beef and cook until all the pink is gone.
- Stir in the tomato puree, tomato paste, mustard, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, and chili powder and simmer over low heat for 25-30 minutes.
- Finish with salt and pepper and serve on a bun.
My recommendation is to take this a step further and add on all the delicious toppings I did, such as cheese, caramelized onions, and pickles.
Is It Healthy?
I’m not sure I would classify this recipe as “healthy” because it has a high sodium content, but there are ways to reduce that in this recipe by not using Worcestershire sauce and going light on seasoning with salt.
Make-Ahead and Storage
How to Reheat: Simply add the desired amount of sloppy joe into a saucepan and cook over low heat until hot. You can also heat it in the microwave until hot.
How to Store: Keep covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
How to Freeze: Keep it covered in the freezer for up to 2 months. Thaw for 1 day in the refrigerator before reheating it.
chef notes + tips
- This recipe makes a lot of sloppy joes, so please scale down or up to fit your needs. Simply place your cursor over the servings amount in the recipe card and slide up or down to scale.
- Try serving this with Southern Potato Salad or Pasta Salad
More Beef Recipes
Be sure to follow me on Facebook, Youtube, Instagram, and Pinterest, and if you’ve had a chance to make this, then definitely drop me a comment and a rating below.
Video
Homemade Sloppy Joe Recipe
Ingredients
For the Sloppy Joe:
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- 2 each seeded and small diced red and yellow bell peppers
- 6 finely minced cloves of garlic
- 4 pounds ground beef
- 2 cups tomato puree
- 3 tablespoons yellow mustard
- ¼ heaping cup light brown sugar
- 4 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 4 tablespoons distilled vinegar
- 3-4 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- Sea salt and cracked pepper
- 10 buns
For the Toppings:
- caramelized onions
- dill or bread and butter pickles
- Colby jack cheese
- pepper jack cheese
Instructions
- Add oil to a large pan over low to medium heat and sweat the peppers and garlic for 5-7 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Add in the ground beef, turn the heat to medium and cook until all of the pink is gone, about 7-9 minutes.
- Next, pour the tomato puree, mustard, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, tomato paste, and chili powder and simmer over low heat for 25-30 minutes.
- Finish by stirring in salt and pepper and serve on buns with optional toppings.
So much better than any other SJ. Billy, your pickled red onions are perfect with this SJ!
awesome!
Haven’t made these yet, but I am sure we will love them. I put in to the servings for 6 and just how much is 0.15 heaping cup of light brown sugar. I have never heard of this measurement before. Thank you for all your great recipes.
roughly 2 teaspoons. Figure 16 tbsp per cup.
I made these last night as my husband asked specifically for it. He hates the pre-canned version but absolutely devoured this!
Easy to make doesn’t even come close to describing this recipe. I will absolutely be making it again!
perfect!!
Just used this recipe at a church fundraising event and fed about 60 people. Some even came back for seconds. Several people remarked on how good they were. Thanks for the great recipe.
thanks for giving it a shot!!
Made this recipe today. Delicious! I topped it with Carmelized onions and smoked Gouda cheese.
fantastic!
By far the best sloppy Joes I have made. In laws loved and asked for more to take home.
Husband loved taking it for lunch and co-workers loved.
All ingredients from my daily pantry use.
appreciate you trying it
Love your food!
thank you so kindly!!
I made this and it was great! It’s definitely going in my rotation. Thank you!
excellent!
This is one great tasting recipe . We had it on open face Texas Toast and it was a hit with the family. Thanks Chef Parisi for sharing.
My pleasure!
This was so good! Easy, easy, easy and delicious!!!
Thank you for sharing and thank you for teaching techniques! It’s is greatly appreciated. I hope you and your family have a blessed weekend!
thanks for giving it a shot!!
I grew up on sloppy Joe’s. This recipe is fantastic and elevates the old family recipe! Thank you, Chef Billy!
Thank you!
My pleasure!
I made this last week and it was sooo good, husband and in laws loved. It was just gorgeous. This is going to be and staple for now on!!!
Amazing!
This is a great recipe! I make this a couple of times a month! very yummy! I often replace the bell peppers with Anaheim Peppers. Always turns out amazing!
Awesome
Was delicious
Thank you!
Love this recipe, I took one reader’s suggestion below and added a tablespoon and a half of tomato paste, wow, made a huge difference. I also added onions and pickles to the recipe instead of at the end. Incredible goodness yum!
Nice
Best sloppy Joe’s I have ever made and I have tried a lot of recipes!!
Love it!
This recipe popped up on FB, so I had to make it. Glad I watched the video as it needed the tomato paste. Onions added a great crunch and flavor, wife says this is a keeper
Amazing!
Delicious, easy… unfortunately, no leftovers- they cleaned the pot out, every drop! Shouldn’t the ground beef be drained after browning?
Love it. If you’d like, you can. I don’t.
We have one of our best friends who is currently undergoing Chemo Thermotherapy Treatments for Cancer. We asked if she had a favorite comfort food we could bring by? She requested Sloppy Joe’s with tatar tots! Made your recipe to a T. we all loved it. Getting towards the end of her treatment we invited our friends over for dinner.
Any requests?
“Yes, can you do a repeat of your Sloppy Joe’s!”
Her husband took out his phone and took a picture of your recipe!
Thanks for sharing this story, glad everyone enjoyed it!
This also makes a great hot dog topping.
Great idea!
This recipe is great! My husband even likes it. I’ve made this a couple of times. I half the recipe since it’s just the two of us. Only had it out of a can growing up. Delicious.
Delicious! Butter pickles, caramelized onions cheese and brioche buns ! Kid approved ! Two thumbs up!
I made this recipe of yours tonight Chef Billy Parisi and it was outstanding!
I made a few tweaks (I can never just let a recipe ‘be’). But they were minor tweaks. I diced onion and sautéd it with the bell pepper. I cooked the meat separately (drained off the fat) then added back in the sautéd peppers and onions then added the garlic. The grocery was out of tomato puree. So I pureed a can of diced tomatoes. I added some tomato paste. But what I really liked was the addition of white vinegar, Worcester sauce and mustard. It was these additions that made it taste like sloppy joes.
I can’t do chili powder so instead I used dijon mustard instead of regular. And besides black pepper I added some Lawry’s Garlic Salt made with course salt (I think it’s sea salt). This spice is a favorite of mine. And I plated it on 2 halves of browned brioche slider buns. It was perfect!
I only used 1 lb of meat so of course I used less of all of the other ingredients too. And now I have several days of leftover sloppy joes that isn’t overly salty and filled with extra preservatives, etc that I don’t need.
This recipe is a keeper! Thanks so much!
Two days ago I froze my sloppy joes leftovers in three small containers i tried it for lunch yesterday on a toasted piece of sourdough bread. The bread was too tough to cut with a fork.
Today I ate 1 small container of it while I waited 20 min for some puff pastry to cook. Then I made a sandwich with the last small container and a small piece of cooked puff pastry. It was EVEN BETTER than previously. With some really good locally grown bread and butter pickles in a side dish. SO GOOD!
Again, THIS RECIPE IS A KEEPER!
Good chance I will make it again soon.
Thanks once more! Keep your tasty recipes coming!!!
Your video shows you adding tomato paste, but it’s not in the ingredients?
it’s optional, and only if it needs to be thickened.
I just love all your recipes Thank you!
You are an interesting and excellent chef. I enjoy your ingredients and methods. Your personality makes watching you so much ffun. I’m so happy i found you. Can’t wait to see you again.
So delicious with the onions on top ! Very yummy!
I just made this today and it is delicious. I made the full recipe with four pounds of meat. I plan to freeze the leftovers for an easier dinner down the road. That is if we have leftovers. So glad I found your site. Next I am going to make your Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup. Cold and rainy here and I think this chicken soup is what we need. Thanks again for all your wonderful recipes.
the best sloppy joes ever!
Delicious! And super easy. Who thought sloppy joes could be like this? I’m never making it with canned tomato sauce + ketchup again – this has a great depth of flavor + texture!
This is so much better than anything from a can! My family gobbled it up in a flash!