Need a quick lunch or dinner idea? This childhood favorite is an American classic sandwich and sure to please the kids! My homemade Sloppy Joes recipe is quickly made from scratch and is BIG on flavor!
Sloppy Joes
The Classic Sloppy Joe sandwich is an American loose meat sandwich, made using browned ground beef, tomato sauce, mustard, Worcestershire sauce and other seasonings served on a toasted hamburger bun.
This Sloppy Joes recipe is a great one that can be made in mere minutes, feeds a large crowd by easily doubling or tripling it and freezes well for those times when unexpected people come over and you’d rather chat then spend lots of time in the kitchen.
This is also great for potlucks, picnics and camping, too.
I love to butter and toast my hamburger buns, with sesame seeds but that’s optional, and get them golden and crunchy for added texture.
This gets all sweet and savory with the ground beef, or pork if you prefer, getting browned in a skillet with brown sugar and Montreal Seasoning. My touch in updating the classic other than just using salt and pepper.
Some diced onion hit the pan and everything gets covered with tomato sauce, mustard, Worcestershire sauce and red wine vinegar.
To keep it thick I add tomato paste and let it simmer away. Some people use catsup in lieu of the tomato and paste, but I find it gets too sweet to my liking.
To load the sandwich up I break out my trusty ice cream scoop and pile that bun high with that luscious, thick and tasty sloppy joe mixture.
Serve it up with a tall glass of milk and bring back those childhood memories, though feel free to drink whatever beverage you prefer!
If you like sandwiches, try my Teriyaki Pork Bahn Mi Sandwich, Pineapple Chile Pulled Pork Sandwich, or this Pulled Pork Grilled Cheese Sandwich. Enjoy!
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Sloppy Joes Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs ground beef sirloin
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 tsp Montreal Seasoning
- 1 medium onion diced
- 2 tbsp mustard
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 15 oz tomato sauce
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 6 hamburger buns toasted, and lightly buttered
Instructions
- Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add ground beef and start to brown, breaking it up as you stir. Add brown sugar and spice seasoning, stirring to mix in.
- When ground beef has browned, add onion, reduce heat to medium and cook onions until translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in mustard, vinegar and Worcestershire sauce, tomato sauce and tomato paste, stirring to combine. Reduce heat to simmer and cook 5-8 minutes longer. Sauce should thicken up and meat mixture is tight.
- Butter the buns and toast until golden brown under broiler.
- Using a ice cream scoop or spoon pile meat onto toasted bun bottoms and cover with bun tops.
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist's advice.
My store didn’t have Montreal Seasoning , so I tried substituting Emeril’s steak seasoning and everyone liked it. I wish I had toasted the buns and will do do next time.
Kevin, This is the best Sloppy Joe recipe ever! I used ground pork because I have 75 pounds in my freezer from an FFA pig I purchased. I am a sourdough bread baker , can’t even describe how delicious this was on freshly baked buns! Thanks for sharing!
I bet that was delicious! That is a lot of pork! Have you checked out my Ground Pork Tacos? If not you should! Here is the link-> https://keviniscooking.com/ground-pork-tacos/
Kevin…. this recipe has quickly become one of our favorites! It makes for a super easy weeknight meal and puts “that canned mix” to shame haha! Thanks for another fantastic recipe!
So appreciate the kind words and for you enjoying this one Krysti. Made my day! 🙂
You rock with your writing!! Spectacular one for sure.
Thank you!
Thank you, Kevin! I made this tonight and my husband said it was delicious, much better than sloppy joes I have made before with a mix. I was so excited when I saw this today and had all the ingredients already at home! Very tasty and will definitely be making again and often!
Hi Lynn! Thank you for stopping in to let me know! I am so glad you enjoyed it! Hope you try some more recipes!
This recipe was out of this world delicious!!!! Sweet and savory! My 9 year old son LOVED it!!! Perfect blend of flavors! This one is going on the family favorite list!
So happy you guys enjoyed it. Go Mason! 🙂
I’ve only tried making sloppy Joes once and they weren’t a huge success, the recipe was nothing like yours so I think I should try them again but use yours as they look great!
Definitely give this one a go Caroline. Hope you enjoy and thanks for taking the time to come here and comment! Cheers! 🙂
Oh yeah! sloppy joes! I haven´t had a sloppy joe in years, love that you used tomato paste instead of ketchup, this looks amazing
I’m with you Albert, NO ketchup! By the way, your Hake with Clams and White Wine looks incredible. I need to look for that fish at my local fish market. Cheers!
Saw the picture on Foodgawker and was like “WHATEVER THAT IS I NEED IT”. Can you believe I’ve reached the age of 36 and never tried a sloppy joe? Sheesh, what is wrong with me?
Hahaha! Wow, never had a Sloppy Joe before? Well I am thankful to be the one to share with you a D-lish sandwich. Perfectly messy and tastefully done. Hope you give it a go Jessie and CONGRATS on the book accolades. Anyone seeing this go read about it and check out her latest book, Stuff Unicorns Love. Cheers!
This one is pure nostalgia for me, Kevin! I haven’t had a sloppy joe in…decades! That needs to change because these look mouthwateringly good!
Thanks Marissa! I was thinking of childhood classic recipes and this one checks one more off the list. So good and feeds a crowd easily. 🙂