Saucy Sloppy Joes in 25 min
Memories of growing up on the ranch brings me back to craving our saucy sloppy joes recipe. We had a cattle ranch and always a freezer full of beef. Out of everything we’d make with beef, sloppy joes was my favorite. I loved it so much I’d often grab a spoonful of the leftover chilled sloppy joe mix from the fridge and eat it straight up. It was like the sloppy joe version of cold pizza. These sloppy joes still are in my top 5 ground beef options. Ranking may vary depending on mood or cravings, but I’ll never turn down a batch of sloppy joes. Here’s our good batch for you to try. – Todd
Quick One Pot Sloppy Joe Recipe
The best part about this recipe is that it’s all made in one pot and the only thing you need to chop are the onions. Cook the onions, add the beef and brown that, then stir in the sauce & seasoning ingredients. We like to give it a little simmer help the flavors all settle in. And for our preference, stir in a couple cups of grated cheese. I know, some don’t like cheese in their sloppy joes. We do, but you do you. Make a big batch. It keeps well in the fridge and you can put it on so many different things. Tacos, pasta, with rice, add beans and make a quick chili… The options go on & on.
Video: One Pot Sloppy Joes Recipe in 25 min
Tips on Making Easy Sloppy Joes without a lot of fuss
- Toast or at least warm your buns because warm, toasty buns just makes sloppy joes taste so much better.
- We like to add grated cheese into the meat mixture for a cheesier, creamier meat mix. But if you like less, you can add whatever amount you like. Or you can always save the cheese for topping the sandwich. We like to do a little of both.
- For a little extra tang you can add some pickles. Or to add more tang to the sloppy joe mix, use more ketchup and less tomato sauce.
- Adding some fresh cabbage slaw on top of the sloppy joe sandwiches add a nice, fresh element to the sandwich.
- Check out our saucy sloppy joes recipe box below for full step-by-step recipe photos.
Types of Ground Meats for Sloppy Joes
- Lean ground meat (around 85%-93%) releases less oil and minimizes the greasy texture and flavor.
- Fattier ground meat will release a lot more oil and you’ll need to skim off the fat. But fat is flavor, so do as you please with your choice of ground beef.
- We’ve enjoyed ground chicken or ground turkey sloppy joes too. It’s leaner and nearly as flavorful.
- Using ground pork is another good option if you like the flavor of pork.
- A plant based or vegan sloppy joe version is using plant based meats like beyond meat or impossible meat. Use vegan cheese and rolls to complete the plant based sloppy joes meal.
Perfect Saucy Sloppy Joes (in 25 Minutes)
Some have very strong opinions on whether or not sloppy joes should have cheese in them. I grew up with them that way and love it. Choose the way you like them. You do you. Sloppy joes have a nice sweet tang which comes from the ketchup, but if you prefer them more tomato-y then up the amount of tomato sauce, and reduce the amount of ketchup.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds (907. g) ground beef (preferably a leaner meat, 85-93% lean)
- 1 Tablespoon (15 ml) vegetable oil , or preferred cooking oil
- 1 medium onion , diced
- 1 cup (240 g) ketchup , *see head note
- 1/2 cup (120 g) tomato sauce
- 2 Tablespoons (30 ml) mustard
- 2 Tablespoons (30 ml) fish sauce , soy sauce, or Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml) Kosher salt , or to taste
- black pepper , to taste
- 2 cups (226 g) shredded cheddar cheese , optional
FOR THE SANDWICH:
- 8 burger buns , warmed or toasted
- shredded cheese optional, (if you didn’t add to sloppy Joe mixture already)
- Pickles , optional
Instructions
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the 1 Tablespoon (15ml) of oil then add the diced onions. Cook the onions, stirring regularly until soft and fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Add the 2 pounds (910g) of ground beef and, stirring regularly, cook for about 3 minutes or until the beef is lightly browned. If you like it chunkier, don't break up the beef too much. Just stir it enough that the sections of ground beef cook evenly and the bottom doesn’t burn.
- Mix in the 1 cup (240g) ketchup, 1/2 cup (120g) tomato sauce, 2 Tablespoons (30ml) mustard, 2 Tablespoons (30ml) of your choice of fish sauce/soy sauce/Worcestershire sauce, 1 teaspoon (5ml) garlic powder, 1 teaspoon (5ml) chili powder, 1/2 teaspoon (2.5ml) salt (or to taste), and black pepper to taste. Mix until evenly combined.
- Continue to simmer for about 10 minutes. If your beef is on the fattier side, skim off some of the excess fat.
- Optional: Stir in the shredded cheese. Cook for about 1 minute or until cheese is melted.
- Cool slightly before serving on sandwiches. It will help it firm up a little.
- Serve the sloppy joe mix on warmed or toasted buns with any toppings you like.
Video
Nutrition Information per Serving
Calories: 584kcal, Carbohydrates: 33g, Protein: 31g, Fat: 36g, Saturated Fat: 15g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g, Monounsaturated Fat: 13g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 109mg, Sodium: 1363mg, Potassium: 558mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 11g, Vitamin A: 581IU, Vitamin C: 4mg, Calcium: 297mg, Iron: 4mg
Other Ways to Enjoy Saucy Sloppy Joes Recipe Meat Mix
Beyond the traditional sandwich, here’s some other ways to enjoy any leftover meat mix:
- Sloppy Joe tacos or burritos: we’ve made tacos on many occasions and it’s delicious! Just add your favorite taco toppings on top of the meat and it’s a great sloppy joe taco Tuesday or Thursday. Or go big and roll them up in a burrito.
- Make quesadillas! Wow they’re so good. And always add some of our homemade sriracha hot sauce or chili crunch recipe on top.
- Sloppy joe nachos. Yes please!
- Adding the meat to pasta is always a hit. Kids love pasta with the sloppy joe meat mix.
- Rice with the meat mix is great or you can even make a sloppy joe rice bowl.
- A sloppy joe grilled cheese sandwich is the best ever!
- Add some to your morning scrambled eggs. A sloppy joe scramble is delicious!
- Do what I used to as a kid, straight from the tupperware in the fridge, grab a spoonful and enjoy. It’s like the sloppy joe version of cold pizza.
- Stir in a can of beans and you have a quick chili.
- Here’s a great history of sloppy joes
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