Name: Homemade Sloppy Joes
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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Forget the canned mix and make homemade sloppy Joes for a delicious easy meal.

This recipe uses simple ingredients and can be made in 30 minutes.

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

This sloppy joe recipe is inexpensive and budget friendly.

It is a quick, easy meal that does not skip on flavor or comfort.

Try making them for busy nights or evenings you want to relax and not do too much at the end of the day!

Sloppy Joe video tutorial

Ingredients

This is the list of ingredients for homemade sloppy Joes.

ground beef- Traditionally you would use 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 pepper fan, you can omit this. For a milder pepper flavor, you can substitute with a yellow pepper.
onion- white or yellow
brown sugar
vinegar- The acidity from the vinegar balances the sweetness from the sugar and ketchup.
ketchup
yellow mustard

Steps

Follow these simple steps to make 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.

Toppings

I personally like my sloppy Joe's simple with mustard and pickles. However you can add other toppings. 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?

Manwhich uses a store bought canned sauce to make sloppy joes rather than a homemade sauce.

Homemade sauce tastes much better than the canned 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.

Ways to use sloppy joe meat

There are several fun ways to use sloppy joe meat. Try some of these:

The traditional way- on a bun with your choice of toppings.
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 hers a little different from the typical 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.

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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!