Name: Homemade Sloppy Joes – Saucy & Messy in the Best Way
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 25 min
Ingredients: 2 pounds ground beef; 2 green bell peppers (diced); 1 onion (diced); 2 teaspoons white vinegar; ¼ cup brown sugar; 1½ cups ketchup; 2 teaspoons yellow mustard; salt and pepper to taste

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Ditch the can! These homemade Sloppy Joes come together in under 30 minutes with ground beef simmered in a sweet, tangy sauce-perfect on a soft bun for a hearty, budget-friendly meal.

homemade sloppy Joe on white plate with potato chips and pickles to the side

"This recipe is a little different than what I remember from childhood but was so much better. The flavors were well balanced and I loved the addition of the green bell pepper. My family gobbled these up; I will definitely be making them again..."

★★★★★ -Jessica

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🔍 Quick Look: Homemade Sloppy Joes
Ingredient notes and substitutions
How to make homemade sloppy joes
Watch how to make
Bun Tip
Toppings for sloppy joe sandwich
What is the difference between Manwich and Sloppy Joes?
Can you freeze sloppy joe meat mixture?
What can I do with Sloppy Joe meat?
About the recipe
📖 Recipe
💬 Comments

🔍 Quick Look: Homemade Sloppy Joes

⏱️ Prep Time: 10 minutes
🕒 Cook Time: 15 minutes
👥 Servings: 10
📊 Calories: 299 per serving
🍔 Main Ingredients: Ground beef, green bell peppers, onion, ketchup, brown sugar, mustard, vinegar
🌿 Flavor: Sweet, tangy, savory, rich, and hearty
⭐ Difficulty: Easy

This easy sloppy joe recipe is inexpensive and budget friendly. It is a quick meal that does not skip on flavor or comfort.

Try making them for busy weeknights or evenings you want to relax and not do too much at the end of the day! The whole family will love it! Xoxo -Katie.

ingredients for homemade sloppy joes-ground beef, bell pepper, onions, ketchup, mustard, brown sugar, vinegar

Ingredient notes and substitutions

This is the list of simple ingredients for homemade sloppy Joes. Ground beef is cooked in a delicious homemade sloppy joe sauce for an easy meal!

ground beef- Traditionally you would use lean ground beef, but ground chicken or ground turkey work also really well as a substitute.
green bell pepper- This adds a nice flavor, but if you are not a green pepper fan, you can omit this. For a milder pepper flavor, you can substitute with a yellow pepper or red bell pepper.
onion- white or yellow
brown sugar
vinegar- The acidity from the vinegar balances the sweetness from the sugar and ketchup. I use white vinegar, but you can also use apple cider vinegar.
ketchup
yellow mustard-You can substitute with dry mustard.

*Find the full recipe with ingredient measurements at the bottom of the post in the recipe card.

How to make homemade sloppy joes

Follow these simple steps to make the best homemade sloppy Joes.

Brown ground beef in a skillet over medium high heat. Drain any extra fat.
Add diced bell pepper and onion. Cook until completely softened.
In a mixing bowl, mix ketchup, brown sugar, vinegar, and mustard.
Add sauce to the ground beef and cook on low heat an additional 10 minutes. Serve.

Watch how to make

Bun Tip

Toast your buns before adding the loose meat. It will help prevent your sandwich from becoming soggy!

Toppings for sloppy joe sandwich

I personally like my sloppy Joes simple with mustard and pickles. However you can add other toppings to this loose meat sandwich. Here are some recommendations:

American or cheddar cheese slices
pickles
red onions
jalapeno
mustard

Sloppy Joe on a white plate with chips and pickles to the side.

What is the difference between Manwich and Sloppy Joes?

They are both sandwich consisting of ground beef, however a Manwhich uses a store bought canned sauce to make sloppy joes rather than a homemade sauce.

Homemade sauce tastes much better than the can of Mancwich store bought version.

Can you freeze sloppy joe meat mixture?

Sloppy joe meat freezes very well. I suggest doubling a batch and freeze half for a later use.

To freeze, add meat to an air tight freezer bag. Spread the meat evenly in the bag so that it can lay flat in the freezer easily. When ready to cook, thaw meat and heat.

What can I do with Sloppy Joe meat?

There are several different ways to use sloppy joe meat or leftover sloppy joe meat. Try some of these for an easy weeknight dinner:

The traditional way- Serve these classic sloppy joes on hamburger buns, pretzel buns, or brioche buns.
Layer over tater tots- Add meat mixture to cooked tater tops, add cheese, and toppings of your choice for loaded tater tots.
Top meat over spaghetti pasta or macaroni for a simple pasta meal.
Layer over tortilla chips-Add meat mixture to cooked tater tops, add cheese, and toppings of your choice for loaded nachos. You can make your chips from scratch using this tortilla chip recipe.
Top a baked potato-Add sloppy joe mixture to cooked tater tops, add cheese, and toppings of your choice for loaded nachos.

About the recipe

This recipe came from my sister-in-law, Melanie Crenshaw. She makes these a little different from the typical traditional recipe.

I honestly was not a big fan of sloppy Joes before I tried hers. They were always kind of plain and boring in flavor.

I was blown away on how delicious her sloppy Joes were and knew I had to share with my readers.

Buffalo Ranch Chicken Pie and Triple Chocolate Nutella Stuffed Cookies are also recipes she has shared with me! You should definitely check them out.

These ground beef recipes are tasty too!

Please leave me a comment below if you make these sloppy joes and tell me what you thought about it. I would love to hear back, and so would my readers.

Also post your picture of your sandwiches on Instagram or Facebook, and tag @aforkstale with #aforkstale hashtags! I will share with my followers! xoxo!

📖 Recipe