Super Easy Homemade Sloppy Joes

READY IN JUST 30 MINUTES! These Super Easy Homemade Sloppy Joes are PERFECT with their sloppy joe sauce that you can make from scratch in no time!

Why This Recipe Works

• Fast
• Easy
• Ready in 30 Minutes
• Uses Ingredients you have at home
• You KNOW what’s in there!

Here’s How You Do It…

STEP 1. Cook onions, celery and garlic till translucent and fragrant!

***Smells so good***

PRO TIP:  It’s fine to use frozen celery and onion mix, pre minced garlic for this step if you want to hurry things up. 

STEP 2. Add the ground beef. 

***Need some info about browning ground beef? Here’s everything you need to know in this Ultimate Guide to Ground Beef!***

STEP 3. Add all the other ingredients, put the lid on and let it simmer. 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s)

ARE SLOPPY JOES HEALTHY?

• You only want to put the best things in your body, I get it!
• As I usually point out, how healthy sloppy joes or anything else is depends what kind of diet you are trying to follow. Are you following a Keto Diet? Then, you might want to exchange some of the ingredients in this recipe for their Keto relatives.
• Are you on a “all natural foods diet”? If so, then this might not be the recipe for you.
• Do you like to feed your family sloppy joes where you know what all the ingredients in the recipe are? Then this is your healthy recipe for sloppy joes! See how that works?

How To Make Sloppy Joes Thicker? 

If you like thicker sloppy joes, simply allow them to simmer longer at the end. The longer they simmer, the thicker they will become. 

What’s the Difference Between Sloppy Joe and Manwich? 

The difference between these homemade sloppy joes and manwich is that you are making these yourself and you will know exactly what is in the mix!

What is in Sloppy Joe Mix? 

These homemade sloppy joes are made of all WONDERFUL ingredients that you probably have at home, celery, onion, garlic, hamburger, tomato sauce, ketchup, barbecue sauce, etc. 

HOW TO MAKE SLOPPY JOES FOR 20, 30, 40, 100?

You can increase this recipe for homemade sloppy joe sauce very easily by multiplying the ingredients. This recipe for homemade sloppy joe sauce expands very well. You will want to allow ⅓ lb of ground beef per person and increase the other ingredients accordingly.

The basic recipe for homemade sloppy joe sauce makes 6-8 sandwiches. Therefore, if you want to feed 30 people, you will want to use 5 lbs of ground beef, 10 stalks of celery, 5 small onions….etc.

Of course, if you need help figuring this out, contact me.

HOW LONG CAN SLOPPY JOES STAY OUT?

Serve this dish hot and then put in the fridge when it has cooled to room temp. Don’t leave it out longer than 2 hours.

HOW LONG ARE SLOPPY JOES GOOD FOR IN THE FRIDGE?

As long as you have kept these in the fridge since making them, they will be good for about 5 days.

WHO INVENTED Homemade Sloppy Joes?

According to my friend Wikipedia, no secrets, it’s over there you can check it out. Sloppy Joe sandwiches began in the 1930’s as a reference to a loose meat sandwich and developed further over time to add the tomato based sauce. It’s a whole thing. Go read it!

WHAT GOES GOOD WITH SLOPPY JOE?

You can have a RIGHTEOUS meal if you serve these sloppy joes with….

Fried potatoes and Onions

Fried breakfast potatoes

Cowboy Baked Beans

Pinto Beans

Tennessee Onions

Banana Pudding

Oh  man, now I’m hungry and have to go fix myself something to eat!

TIPS AND TRICKS FOR HOMEMADE SLOPPY JOES

• When browning the ground beef, don’t overcook it. Simply cook the beef until the pink is gone then add the other ingredients. This helps the beef to taste more moist and flavorful rather than overcooked.
• Chop the onion small. Most of the time I recommend leaving onions in a substantial size chop so that people can pick it out if they want. In this sandwich however, the onion should almost disappear into the meat.
• If you have someone eating with you who really doesn’t like onion, just leave it out and substitute 1 tsp of onion powder instead.
• If you have hung around here any time at all, you’ll know that I think garlic is the herb of the Gods. I went easy on the garlic in this recipe, but it can stand a whole lot more. Feel free to add more. I like mine with 2-3 Tbs of garlic, but that’s just me. You be you.
• If you don’t have cider vinegar, it is ok to substitute white vinegar or even lemon juice.
• You cover and simmer this recipe to the consistency that you like. If for some reason it isn’t as loose as you would prefer, simply add some water, cover and simmer.

Try Out These Other Recipes Using Ground Beef Too!

Hangry Hamburgers

Easy Hamburger Gravy

Biggest Best Hamburgers

15 Minute Beef Rice and Corn Burritos

Easy Weeknight Stroganoff

YA’LL HELP ME OUT, OK?

It always helps me out when you give my recipes 5 STARS! At the comment section below, you can leave a comment and choose 5 STARS with your comment!

I LOVE to hear from you, so go ahead and leave me a comment, I answer every single one!

Homemade Sloppy Joes

This recipe is for homemade sloppy joe sauce and includes all kinds of other great info!

5 from 4 votes

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Course: main

Cuisine: American

Keyword: sloppy joes, sloppy joe sauce, manwich

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes minutes

Servings: 6 servings

Calories: 275kcal

Author: Wendi Spraker

Ingredients

• 1 Tbs vegetable oil
• 2 stalks celery chopped small
• 1 small onion chopped small
• 1 Tbs minced garlic
• 1 lb of ground beef 80/20
• 1 8 oz can tomato sauce
• ¼ Cup Ketchup
• ¼ Cup BBQ Sauce
• 1 Tbs Brown Sugar
• 1 tsp Dry Mustard
• 1 Tbs Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 Tbs Cider Vinegar
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Instructions

• In a large frying pan over medium heat, heat the oil until the surface is ripply and then add the celery and onion. Cook till the onion is translucent (about 2 minutes).
• Add the garlic and heat for another minute until the wonderful smell of garlic fills the air.
• Pull the ground beef into quarter sized pieces and brown the ground beef until just past pink. Break the ground beef up into the smallest pieces possible with a wooden spatula while cooking. If there is a lot of grease/fat in the pan, drain the fat off.
• Reduce the heat to medium low and add the tomato sauce, ketchup, BBQ sauce, brown sugar, mustard, worcestershire and vinegar. Add salt and pepper to taste.
• Place a lid on the frying pan and reduce the heat to low. Allow to simmer and stir frequently. Simmer until the sloppy joes are the consistency that you prefer. The longer they cook the thicker they will get. If you want yours looser, add water by the ¼ cup at a time.

Notes

• When browning the ground beef, don’t overcook it.  Simply cook the beef until the pink is gone then add the other ingredients.  This helps the beef to taste more moist and flavorful rather than overcooked.
• Chop the onion small.  Most of the time I recommend leaving onions in a substantial size chop so that people can pick it out if they want.  In this sandwich however, the onion should almost disappear into the meat.
• If you have someone eating with you who really doesn’t like onion, just leave it out and substitute 1 tsp of onion powder instead.
• If you have hung around here any time at all, you’ll know that I think garlic is the herb of the Gods.  I went easy on the garlic in this recipe, but it can stand a whole lot more. Feel free to add more. I like mine with 2-3 Tbs of garlic, but that’s just me.  You be you.
• If you don’t have cider vinegar, it is ok to substitute white vinegar or even lemon juice.
• You cover and simmer this recipe to the consistency that you like.  If for some reason it isn’t as loose as you would prefer, simply add some water, cover and simmer.  

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts

Homemade Sloppy Joes

Amount Per Serving

Calories 275 Calories from Fat 162

% Daily Value*

Fat 18g28%

Saturated Fat 8g40%

Cholesterol 54mg18%

Sodium 517mg22%

Potassium 453mg13%

Carbohydrates 15g5%

Fiber 1g4%

Sugar 11g12%

Protein 14g28%

Vitamin A 262IU5%

Vitamin C 6mg7%

Calcium 33mg3%

Iron 2mg11%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Tried this recipe?Mention @loavesanddishes or tag #loavesanddishes!

***This recipe originally appeared on the pages of Loaves and Dishes in 2016 and has been updated with “why this recipe works, step by step photos, video, nutrition information, updated recipe card and FAQ’s***

A VERSE TO SHARE

Although the sun is shining outside here now, my big dog is in the living room hiding under the desk and my other little dog is following me close on my heels everywhere I go. They are terrified. It reminds me…

Romans 10: 8-13

But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,”that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.