How To Make Classic Sloppy Joes
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
One of the number one childhood favourite meals for most people is Classic Sloppy Joes.
This may not be the world’s best sloppy joes recipe, but it’s mine, and it’s pretty darn delicious and straightforward to make.
Ditch The Can Of Sloppy Joe Mix
A good sloppy joe recipe doesn’t come from a can. It comes from mixing up common pantry ingredients and minced beef.
I was going to grill burgers last night but decided to turn my burgers into a simple sloppy joe recipe.
When I was living in the UK, I didn’t eat Sloppy Joes, and it wasn’t until I moved to Canada that my wife introduced me to them.
What Else Can You Use Sloppy Joe Meat For?
- Mix it with cooked pasta.
- Make a Sloppy Joe Cottage Pie
- Top it on Homemade Potato Waffles.
How To Make Homemade Sloppy Joes
This recipe makes 8 Sloppy Joes, and trust me, they will be gone, especially if you have hungry friends or family.
I’ve made my Sloppy Joes with Ketchup and tomato paste as I feel it gives it the deep flavor reminiscent of childhood.
A must when making Sloppy Joes is white vinegar and brown sugar, so don’t miss these critical ingredients.
How Much Does It Cost To Make Sloppy Joes?
The cost to make these Sloppy Joes is around $0.95 each, depending on the season and beef prices.
Typically, I stock up on ground beef when it goes on sale so I can make some of our family favorites;
- Homemade burgers
- Mexican Taco pie
- Keto Meatballs
- Keto Cottage pie
Can You Make Sloppy Joes In A Crockpot or Instant Pot?
YES, you can easily use your Instant Pot or Crockpot to make homemade sloppy joes simply by adding all the ingredients and turning it on.
The instant pot will be done in a flash, but if you use the Crockpot, you can cook it on low for 6 hours. Your house will smell amazing.
Classic Sloppy Joes From Scratch
How To Make Easy Sloppy Joes
- Author: Mr.CBB
- Prep time: 15 mins
- Cook time: 20 mins
- Total time: 35 mins
- Serves: 8
Making Sloppy Joes is easy and perfect for a fast weeknight dinner or an on-the-go weekend meal.
Sloppy Joe Ingredients
- Eight fresh Hamburger Buns or any Round Bun
- 1 can of Tomato paste 6 ounces
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 2 tablespoons white distilled vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 teaspoon of dry mustard
- 1 teaspoon dry oregano
- 1 teaspoon of dry basil
- 1/2 cup of Tomato Ketchup
- 3/4 cup of water
- 2 yellow onions chopped
- 1 large green pepper chopped ( or any colour you like)
- 4 cloves of garlic chopped fine
- 4 tablespoons of brown sugar packed
- 1lb of Lean ground beef (or whichever you prefer, can be chicken or turkey etc)
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
Instructions
- In the frying pan, add olive oil if you use very lean ground beef to help it brown for about 5 minutes on medium heat.
- Then add the onions, garlic, and green peppers you chopped earlier and saute for 5 minutes or until the meat is no longer pink.
- Add the water and can of tomato paste and stir until dissolved in the frying pan.
- Then stir in the vinegar, Worcestershire Sauce, and ketchup.
- Once that is all mixed in, add all the spices, including the brown sugar, and let it simmer on low for about 10 minutes so the flavors have time to concentrate and the liquid thickens.
Toast a Sloppy Joes Bun with butter for crunch, or you can keep your buns moist.
Add some sloppy joe mixture and some cheese, and enjoy.
It won’t be anything more than a mess, so enjoy the Sloppy Joe experience.
Mr.CBB
How To Make Classic Sloppy Joes
Making classic Sloppy Joes that are meaty and full-flavoured is easy and perfect for a fast weeknight dinner or an on-the-go weekend meal.
Ingredients
- Eight fresh Hamburger Buns or any Round Bun
- 1 can of Tomato paste 6 ounces
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 2 tablespoons white distilled vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 teaspoon of dry mustard
- 1 teaspoon dry oregano
- 1 teaspoon of dry basil
- 1/2 cup of Tomato Ketchup
- 3/4 cup of water
- 2 med yellow onions chopped
- 1 large green pepper chopped ( or any colour you like)
- 4 cloves of garlic chopped fine
- 4 tablespoons of brown sugar packed
- 1lb of Lean ground Beef ( or whichever you prefer can be chicken or turkey etc)
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
Instructions
- In the frying pan, add olive oil if you use very lean ground beef to help it brown for about 5 minutes on medium heat.
- Then add the onions, garlic, and green peppers you chopped earlier and saute for 5 minutes or until the meat is no longer pink.
- Add the water and can of tomato paste and stir until dissolved in the frying pan.
- Then stir in the vinegar, Worcestershire Sauce, and ketchup.
- Once that is all mixed in, add all the spices, including the brown sugar, and let it simmer on low for about 10 minutes so the flavors have time to concentrate and the liquid thickens.
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Love the sounds of this recipe would love to print it out to take to the kitchen, but don’t need the how to photos how do I do that? Nedra
Hi Nedra,
I just emailed you the recipe so check your junk mail. Unfortunately free wordpress blogs don’t allow me to add a recipe plugin so you can print them. However my blog will be moving shortly and I WILL have a recipe plugin so you can print my recipes. You can print it right from the email I sent you or here it is.. you can copy paste it into word and print it.
Tools
Large frying pan
Spatula
Ingredients
8 fresh Hamburger Buns or any Round Bun
1 can of Tomato paste 6 ounces
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
2 table spoons white distilled vinegar
1 table spoon Worcestershire Sauce
1 teaspoon of dry mustard
1 teaspoon dry oregano
1 teaspoon of dry basil
1/2 cup of Tomato Ketchup
3/4 cup of water
2 yellow onions chopped
1 large green pepper chopped ( or any colour you like)
4 cloves of garlic chopped fine
4 tablespoons of brown sugar packed
1lb of Lean Beef (or whichever you prefer can be chicken or turkey etc)
1 tablespoon of olive oil
Preparation
•In the frying pan add a bit of olive oil if you are using a very lean beef just to help it brown for about 5 minutes on medium heat.
•Then add in the onions, garlic and green peppers you chopped earlier and saute for 5 mins or until the meat is no longer pink.
•Add in the water and can of tomato paste and stir until dissolved in the frying pan.
•Then add in the vinegar, Worcestershire and ketchup then stir. Once that is all mixed in add in all the spices including the brown sugar and let it simmer on low for about 10 minutes so the flavours have some time to concentrate and the liquid thickens up.
Once they are done scoop some inside of a fresh bun and enjoy!
Made this last nite, everyone loved it, couldn’t believe it was all from scratch, even the buns.
Thank you for the great recipe!
Your welcome Candy! We love it as well and made it the other day but with lentils! Recipe coming soon!
My family loved Mr. CBB’s Sloppy Joe’s! They were so easy (and cheap) to make and even my 20 month old toddler liked them! I will definitely make these again! (and I’m a picky eater!) lol
Thanks Jen for making my Sloppy Joes!!! I’m glad you and the family love them as much as we do. The best part is you know everything you are putting in to them and you don’t have to rely on a packet or a can!! Cheers and thanks for reviewing this recipe. Mr.CBB
Hmm Ill have to go spice shopping and give this a go. I <3 me some sloppy joes.
Give them a try Melissa they are so good. Some of our fans have made them numerous times. I’m happy with the results, it’s the vinegar that takes them to a whole different level. Cheers Mr.CBB
I’ve always wondered what sloppy joes were, I thought they were some kind of meatball in sauce. We don’t have them in Australia but I will be trying them out this week 🙂
They are great and I’m British. Yes we don’t make these back home. Let me know what you think… the Mrs. made it from a canned sauce so I made my own. Love it. Thanks for your comment.Mr.CBB
OMG! This is sooo going on the menu for next week!!!
Yay.. they are really good.. I’ve made them numerous times for the wife and my mates.