Roll up your sleeves and get ready to get messy with these saucy and meaty Old Fashioned Sloppy Joe Recipe! While Sloppy Joes are known for their simplicity, they’re even more popular for the mouth-watering flavors of the browned ground beef combined with a rich tomato sauce.
An absolute winner for a knock-out family meal!
Jump to:
❤️ Why you'll love this recipe
- This Old Fashioned Sloppy Joe recipe calls for simple pantry staple ingredients that are extremely budget-friendly.
- It’s easy to feed a large crowd with this recipe. The meaty mixture goes a long way which means that you may even have leftovers to add to other dishes throughout the week!
- You will have your Sloppy Joes ready in a flash - this is a super quick recipe with no fancy cooking skills or techniques required.
What better way to make use of that stored frozen ground beef than by making these addictive Old fashioned Sloppy Joes?!
🛒 Ingredients
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Note: The full list of this recipe ingredients with their amounts and options are listed in the recipe card below.
- Olive oil
- Butter
- Ground beef
- Green bell pepper
- Yellow Onion
- Cloves garlic
- Tomato paste
- Ketchup
- Water
- Brown sugar
- Yellow mustard
- Chili powder
- Worcestershire sauce
- Kosher salt
- Red pepper flakes
- Black pepper
- Hot sauce optional
🗒 Instructions
Note: This is an overview of the instructions. The full instructions are in the recipe card below.
- In a large skillet over medium-high, heat the oil and butter.
- Brown the ground beef, breaking it up into smaller pieces with a wooden spoon. And then drain and set aside in a separate bowl.
- Add the minced onion and bell pepper to the same skillet and cook for about 2-3 minutes until the vegetables soften.
- Transfer the beef back to the skillet together with tomato paste.
- The ketchup and brown sugar goes into the pan next. Mix.
- Add the chili paste and mustard and mix.
- Add the rest of the ingredients. Stir and mix well.
- Cook over medium heat for 10-15 minutes more.
- When the sloppy joe mixture has thickened remove it from the heat.
- Prepare the toasted buns.
🔪 Equipment
The following are affiliate links. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
You’ll need the following items to make this recipe successfully.
🤔 FAQs
These are the questions we are most frequently asked about making (recipe name)
A traditional Sloppy Joe sauce consists of tomato sauce, ketchup, brown sugar, yellow mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and seasoning. It has a sweet, savory, and tangy flavor!
The American Sloppy Joe is the invention of a restaurant owner (Joe) who added a new sandwich to the menu consisting of loose ground meat and sauce. It instantly became a hit and is now a very popular recipe, served on fresh bread buns.
No. The Sloppy Joe is a homemade meaty sauce whereas Manwich is the commercially marketed version that’s available in most stores. Manwich is not nearly as delicious as the homemade original.
Sloppy Jane is simply the lighter version of a Sloppy Joe in sandwich form. It consists of fewer calories which makes it a popular choice for those dieting.
👩🏻🍳 Tips
- Make sure to drain the browned beef as this helps the meat to soak up the saucy flavors and seasoning to make a delicious mixture.
- For a thicker consistency in the meaty mixture, allow it to simmer for a little longer. Otherwise, add 1 teaspoon of cornstarch and water to the sauce for thickening.
- Toast the inside of the bread buns in the oven or in a toaster before adding the Sloppy Joe mixture - it offers a delicious crunchy texture.
- Use any leftover homemade bolognese sauce with ground beef to make easy Sloppy Joes.
- Leftover Sloppy Joe mixture can be used during the week to make loaded fries, grilled cheese sandwiches, pizza, chili dogs, and baked potatoes.
📚 Variations
- Using lean ground beef (85-90% lean) means less excess fat to skim off or drain once the meat has cooked. If you do opt for fattier ground beef, make sure to drain excess fat so that the meat can absorb the other ingredients added.
- Sloppy Joe recipes add green peppers to the mixture. You could use a different color if you’d prefer.
- For a spicy Sloppy Joe, add hot sauce or sriracha to the sauce.
- Get creative with any toppings that you’d enjoy when assembling these old-fashioned Sloppy Joes. Shredded cheese, sliced tomatoes, and crispy lettuce are all fantastic.
🥫 Storage
Store leftover Sloppy Joe mixture in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or freeze it for up to 3 months.
📗 Related Recipes
If you love that hearty and saucy ground beef loaded onto fresh buns then you’ll definitely be excited to try Hamburger Steak, Easy Goulash, or this Bolognese sauce to load onto your favorite pasta!
🍽 Serve with
Enjoy these Old Fashioned Sloppy Joes with a serving of fries, onion rings, veggies, creamy coleslaw, or even some homemade soup!
📞 Chiacchierata (chat)
You know that saying “they don’t make them how they used to”?! Well, these Old Fashioned Sloppy Joes are proudly true to some of the earliest Sloppy Joes that first appeared on the scene. While simple, they’re incredibly delicious and have always been loved by anyone I serve them to!
Tutti a tavola, è pronto!
Tutti a tavola, è pronto!
What's new? Check out my All Our Way Store on Amazon. We'll be adding more items we love and use or wish we had to make cooking fun and easy.
📝 Recipe Card
This Sloppy Joe recipe calls for tender and juicy browned ground beef with sauteed green peppers and onion, in a rich and hearty tomato-based sauce. They’re served on fresh bread buns with the option of additional toppings.
If you love this recipe please give it 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.
📖 Recipe
Old Fashioned Sloppy Joe Recipe
Equipment Needed
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon Olive oil
- 1 Tablespoon Butter
- 1 lb. Ground beef
- ⅓ cup Green bell pepper minced
- ½ Yellow Onion mincd
- 3 Cloves garlic minced
- 1 Tablespoon Tomato paste
- ⅔ cup Ketchup
- ⅓ cup Water
- 1 Tablespoon Brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon Yellow mustard
- ¾ teaspoon Chili powder
- ½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon Red pepper flakes
- ¼ teaspoon Black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon Hot sauce optional
Instructions
- In a large skillet over medium high, heat the oil and butter. Add the ground beef and cook, breaking apart into small pieces with a wooden spoon. Cook about 5 minutes until it browns. Transfer the meat to a colander and drain over a plate with a paper towel.
- Add the minced onion and bell pepper to the same skillet and cook about 2-3 minutes until the vegetables soften. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Return the beef back to the skillet and add tomato paste. Mix well.
- Add the rest of the ingredients. Stir and mix well.
- Cook over medium heat for 10-15 minutes. When the mixture has thickened remove from heat and serve over toasted buns.
Notes
- Make sure to drain the browned beef as this helps the meat to soak up the saucy flavors and seasoning to make a delicious mixture.
- For a thicker consistency in the meaty mixture, allow it to simmer for a little longer. Otherwise, add 1 teaspoon of cornstarch and water to the sauce for thickening.
- Toast the inside of the bread buns in the oven or in a toaster before adding the Sloppy Joe mixture - it offers a delicious crunchy texture.
- Use any leftover homemade bolognese sauce with ground beef to make easy Sloppy Joes.
- Leftover Sloppy Joe mixture can be used during the week to make loaded fries, grilled cheese sandwiches, pizza, chili dogs, and baked potatoes.
