Easy Homemade Sloppy Joes
Published
Published
Ditch the canned sloppy Joe sauce! This is the best homemade sloppy Joes recipe, made with real ingredients and the perfect balance of flavors and texture. A quick and easy 20 minute dinner!
Pin this now to find it later
Pin ItThis post may contain affiliate links. If you click on one and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only recommend products we genuinely love.
5 STAR REVIEWS
When you’re tired and hungry with mouths to feed, it’s hard to beat a classic like Sloppy Joes! Always a family-friendly option. These easy Sloppy Joes, along with my Philly Cheese Steak Sloppy Joes and Chopped Cheeseburgers are requested all the time by my family.
I’ve made a lot of versions over the years, but this sloppy joe recipe is by far my family’s favorite. It’s sweet, tangy, rich, with a little zip; the perfect balance of flavors and thick consistency. Nothing fancy, just simple pantry ingredients and just plain tasty. Skip the store-bought canned sauce and make them from scratch. So much better and still so easy. Meaty, messy, and delicious in every bite!
Sloppy Joe vs. Manwich?
Manwich is the brand name of a canned seasoned sloppy joe sauce. It came to market in 1969 and was pitched as a quick, easy meal for the entire family, because you simply add it to cooked ground beef in a skillet. I’ve actually never had it, so I can’t compare my recipe to that sauce. But I do know that anything from scratch is going to be better than anything from a can.
Helpful Tips & Possible Variations
- Best buns. Buttery brioche hamburger buns pair nicely because their natural sweetness balances the tangy meat mixture. Soft, fluffy rolls also hold up well to the meat mixture without getting soggy.
- Make it leaner. Use ground turkey instead of beef.
- Try it with BBQ sauce instead of ketchup.
- Too sweet? Cut back on the brown sugar.
- Like it spicier? Stir in some chopped jalapeños.
- Want it richer? Use beef or chicken broth instead of the water.
- Hate vegetables? Omit the onion and bell pepper.
- Top with melty cheese. Fill a hollowed out bun with sloppy Joe meat, top with cheese, and stick it under the broiler for a couple minutes.
- Ditch the bun and top a baked potato with the sloppy Joe mixture! Yummy!
- Need extra? If you’re serving a crowd or want leftovers for the next day, this recipe easily doubles.
Sloppy Joes
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 small sweet onion, diced
- 1/2 small green bell pepper, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 1/3 cup water
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 teaspoons yellow mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 4 toasted buns, for serving
Instructions
- Warm olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add beef, onion, and bell pepper; breaking up the meat into crumbles with a wooden spoon. Cook for about 5 minutes until beef is cooked through and vegetables are tender.
- Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 20 seconds. Drain off grease.
- Stir in tomato paste until thoroughly combined.
- Add in ketchup, water, brown sugar, Worcestershire, mustard, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Stir well to combine.
- Gently simmer over medium heat for 10 minutes until mixture has thickened.
- Remove from heat and serve on toasted buns and enjoy!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information given is an automatic calculation and can vary based on the exact products you use and any changes you make to the recipe. If these numbers are very important to you, I would recommend calculating them yourself.
Did you make this? Leave a rating below!How To Make Homemade Sloppy Joes Step By Step
Gather your ingredients.
Sauté the beef and veggies. Warm 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 pound lean ground beef, 1 small diced sweet onion, and 1 small diced green bell pepper; breaking up the meat into crumbles. Cook for about 5 minutes until beef is cooked through and vegetables are tender. Stir in 2 cloves minced garlic and cook until fragrant. Drain off grease.
Add other ingredients and simmer. Stir in 1 tablespoon tomato paste until thoroughly combined. Then add in 1/2 cup ketchup, 1/3 cup water, 1 tablespoon brown sugar, 1 tablespoon Worcestershire, 2 teaspoons yellow mustard, 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper red pepper flakes. Stir well to combine.
Gently simmer over medium heat for 10 minutes until mixture has thickened.
Enjoy. Remove from heat and serve on toasted buns and enjoy!
Serving Suggestions
My favorite sandwich sides are also the best sides with sloppy joes for a quick and easy lunch or dinner. A crisp and tangy KFC coleslaw is great to balance the richness, while a creamy macaroni salad adds comfort to the plate. For something fresh and slightly sweet, a classic pea salad pairs so well. And if I’m really in a rush, a simple handful of potato chips always does the trick, too.
More Sloppy Joe Recipes To Try:
- Philly Cheesesteak Sloppy Joes are the best recipe mash-up where sloppy joes and Philly cheesesteak collide!
- Sloppy Joe Pasta is my favorite messy ground beef sandwich and tender cooked pasta for a one-pot, 30-minute meal.
- These Buffalo Chicken Sloppy Joes are a tasty, easy twist on the classic sandwich with ground chicken and just the right amount of heat.
I hope you love this delicious and easy recipe – be sure to give it a review below! Also don’t forget to follow Belly Full on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube!
My Homemade Sloppy Joes recipe was originally published 5/20/20. It was retested and republished to be better than ever 1/27/26.
I made this and it was delicious. I couldn’t believe how easy it was. You will never find another recipe as good as this one.
This recipe was easy and has excellent flavor.
Made the recipe as written, was very good. This will be my go to recipe for Sloppy Joes.
Husband wanted sloppy Joes from when we were kids and said.he would be happy with Manwich. I said no, too many ingredients that are not good for us, but I would find a recipe. Your recipe hit the mark!!! What a treat,.wonderful flavor! This will be on rotation for hubby!!!! Absolutely loved this!!!
The only thing I changed was replace a red pepper for the green. It was a huge hit. Def keeping this recipe. Best manwich I’ve ever had!
I was skeptical….ketchup?? But it was delicious!! I am making it again to take to my son’s house for dinner. It is the only recipe I will use from now on! Thank you.
I made your sloppy joes for the confirmation class at my church. I had to sample first, of course, and I hoped there would be leftovers. Kids and parents enjoyed it, and l was able to bring some home, which I shared with young grandchildren. Still some left just for me. I haven’t cooked much the last several years, but enjoyed putting this together.
Wow! Certainly a keeper. I usually use the package mix but no more. Thank you.
I made these last night and they transported me back to my childhood. I was the weird kid who actually enjoyed my school cafeteria food lol! The proportions in the recipe were spot on although next time I might use a little less yellow mustard. This one is a winner, Amy! Thanks!
Love this recipe! It’s so easy and delicious, I have made it twice now and we love it.
So good and easy! I highly recommend!!! Ty
I haven’t even tried your recipes yet but so excited to. My husband sent me your recipe for French onion soup. We first tried this while living in Germany and since then, I’ve tried many recipes. Looking forward to trying your’s. And many others. We love soup year round and it’s just so easy to have soup simmering on the stove because I’m in my garden most of the day starting really soon. I live in the south so we can get an early start. And I love using my fresh veggies, and get my own fresh herbs to add to the new recipes I’ve saved from your website.
Thank you for sharing! I love trying new recipes.
We used the sauce part of the recipe with shredded chicken and added sweet corn at the end. Wow! We loved it! Thank you! Your recipes are great. Thank you!
Perfect snowy, Friday night dinner.
Wonderful. Such good flavor. Thank you Amy. Another terrific recipe.
As are all of your recipes, this one is delicious. It was so quick and easy to follow. I am so tired and bored with making the same recipes. Since I have followed your page, it’s been exciting to pick out something new to try.
Thank you.
Made exactly by recipe and just like your other recipes,it came out fantastic. It wasn’t even too spicy with the red pepper flakes. Thanks for another great recipe
made this today. It is delicious and easy, thanks for sharing
Love these homemade sloppy joes! They were absolutely amazing—hands down the best I’ve had. They had a perfect little kick (and I’m usually not a spicy person), and I couldn’t resist going back for seconds. Highly recommend!
I made this last night for my husband and I..it was out of this world.. and I’m super picky about Sloppy’s. This will be a Super Bowl goodie next weekend. I made the double batch and I’m so glad I did!! Enjoy Enjoy!! ( I made it exactly but did add 2 TBSP of chili sauce to the cup if ketchup).
This was a hit! I’m a vegetarian that makes meat meals for my family…. I always ask for objective reviews of new recipes to know if I should keep things in the rotation. This is a keeper!
I made this as written except for reducing the red pepper flakes by half. One family member is sensitive to them, the other loves them. The ingredients are things I usually keep on hand and it was simple enough to throw together. Family says it’s SOOOO much better than the canned stuff.
Thanks for another great recipe Amy!
I could taste each ingredient, the flavor was really just perfect! This was a great sloppy joe recipe, I’ll make again for sure.