These quick and easy homemade sloppy joes are made from scratch and done in just 15 minutes. Ground beef is cooked with onions and garlic and finished off with a homemade sloppy joe sauce for a delicious, comforting meal.
This post was originally published in October 2017 and has been updated for content.
Sloppy joes are a classic weeknight comfort food that our family loves to have regularly. These homemade sloppy joes are made with a ketchup based sauce that is slightly sweetened with brown sugar and has the perfect balance of flavors.
Serve these easy homemade sloppy joes with crispy potato wedges, pizza bread or homemade italian sodas!
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🍔 Ingredient notes
- Ground Beef - Ground beef is the typical meat of choice for sloppy joes, however, for a different, lightened up version, try ground turkey or chicken.
- Buns - These homemade sloppy joes can be served on whatever buns you like. Hamburger buns, kaiser rolls, slider buns or hawaiian rolls are all great options!
📋 Substitutions and variations
- Toppings - Try adding sliced cheese, crispy fried onions, bread and butter pickles, crispy bacon slices, sliced red onions or pickled jalapeños.
- Lettuce Wrap - Serve these homemade sloppy joes on pieces of butter or romaine lettuce to make a delicious lettuce wrap sandwich.
- Patty Melt - Serve the sloppy joe mix on garlic toast or texas toast topped with cheese for a patty melt style sandwich.
🔪 Step by step instructions
First, mix together the ingredients for the sloppy joe sauce in a bowl. Then, cook the onions in the oil in a skillet for a couple of minutes, add the garlic and cook a minute more. Add in the ground beef and cook until the beef is no longer pink.
Add in the sloppy joe sauce and cook with the beef for a couple more minutes until the sauce is slightly thickened and cooked through. Serve the sloppy joe mix warm on the buns and enjoy!
If you ever don't recognize a tool or skill that I mention, be sure to look it up in the Glossary of Cooking Terms and Definitions for more information.
⭐ Expert tips
- Make sure to stir the sauce thoroughly so no clumps of sugar or spices remain.
- Cook the beef all the way through so it's no longer pink and registers 160˚ on a kitchen thermometer.
⏲️ Make ahead instructions
The homemade sloppy joe mix can be made up to 3 days ahead of time. Make sure to cook it completely before storing it in an airtight container in the refrigerator. The mix can also be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw frozen meat mixture completely in the refrigerator and reheat in a saucepan on the stovetop over medium low heat or in the microwave.
🥡 Storage suggestions
Leftover sloppy joe mixture will keep for 3-5 days when stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. They don't keep very well when the meat is already on the buns, so it's best to store them separately. Leftovers can be reheated in a saucepan on the stovetop over medium heat or in the microwave.
🥘 More easy dinner recipes
If you love this homemade sloppy joes recipe, check out these other easy dinner recipes that I know you will love too!
📖 Recipe
Homemade Sloppy Joes
Ingredients
- 1 cup ketchup
- 1 teaspoon yellow mustard
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- 2 Tablespoons worcestershire sauce
- 1 Tablespoon pickle juice
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- ½ medium yellow onion diced
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 ½ pounds ground beef
- 6 hamburger buns
Instructions
- In a small mixing bowl, combine ketchup, mustard, brown sugar, worcestershire sauce, pickle juice, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Stir to combine and set aside.
- Preheat a large skillet or saute pan over medium heat on the stove top with the olive oil.
- Once the oil and pan are heated, add in the diced onions and cook, stirring occasionally for 2-3 minutes until they start to soften. Add in the minced garlic and cook for 1 additional minute.
- Add ground beef to the onions and garlic and cook, stirring and breaking up the meat, until it is cooked through and no longer pink, about 5 minutes.
- Add the sloppy joe sauce to the ground beef mixture and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is slightly thickened and heated through.
- Serve sloppy joe mix warm on hamburger buns.
Notes
- Make sure to stir the sauce thoroughly so no clumps of sugar or spices remain.
- Cook the beef all the way through so it's no longer pink and registers 160˚ on a kitchen thermometer.
Substitutions and Variations
- Ground turkey or chicken can be used a substitute for the ground beef.
- Use kaiser rolls, slider buns, hawaiian rolls or lettuce leafs are other alternatives to using hamburger buns.
- Try adding sliced cheese, crispy fried onions, bread and butter pickles, crispy bacon slices, sliced red onions or pickled jalapeños.
- Serve the sloppy joe mix patty melt style on garlic toast or texas toast topped with cheese.
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