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Home » Recipes & Tips » Easy Sloppy Joe Recipe

Easy Sloppy Joe Recipe

08/21/21 | 30 Minutes or Less, Main Dish, Recipes & Tips

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Sloppy joes are a traditional meal that millions of people grew up with and continue to enjoy because of the flavors and simplicity. This old-fashioned sloppy joe recipe is sure to bring back some nostalgic memories and create new ones with the family.Sloppy joes are a traditional meal that millions of people grew up with and continue to enjoy because of the flavors and simplicity. This old-fashioned sloppy joe recipe is sure to bring back some nostalgic memories and create new ones with the family.

Sloppy joes are a traditional meal that millions of people grew up with and continue to enjoy because of the flavors and simplicity. This old-fashioned sloppy joe recipe is sure to bring back some nostalgic memories and create new ones with the family.

These easy sloppy joes are packed with flavor (and meat). Using simple ingredients we create a dish that’s both complex in flavor and unique. It’s not hard to see why we keep raving about these sandwiches.

This frugal hot sandwich recipe can be both a lunch item or dinner depending on how you feel like serving it. While school cafeterias might serve it for a warm lunch, we usually serve it for the main dinner dish along with some sides.

Side dishes for sloppy joes can include tater tots, chips, french fries (regular, or sweet potato). Other easy sides can include mac and cheese, baked beans, or tomato salad, but almost any picnic-style side dish would work great.

If you’re looking for another great burger recipe, check out these Shrimp Burgers!

Sloppy joe ingredients

  • Meat: You’ll need 1 pound of ground meat but you can use anything from ground beef to ground sausage, turkey, etc. Traditionally sloppy joes are made with ground beef.
  • Onion: To give us a nice flavor, onions are cooked down to bring out their natural sweetness and balance the dish.
  • Garlic: Using some minced garlic will make the sloppy joe sauce develop a deeper flavor to make it richer in taste.
  • Ketchup: Creating our own sauce starts with a sweetened tomato base and what better way to do this than with ketchup? 
  • Brown sugar: Use a little brown sugar to make the sauce taste nicer as a result of the molasses.
  • Worcestershire sauce: This is a great ingredient to use when making your own sauces because it’s tangy, savory, salty, and sweet all at once and creates another layer of flavor.
  • Mustard: Use both regular prepared mustard and dry mustard to give the sauce a little tangy kick to it.
  • Orange zest: Adding in some fresh orange zest is a great way to elevate the dish and make it taste fresher (and smell even better).
  • Salt and pepper: This is going to be added to your own tastes so add more or less depending on what you want to do.

How to make sloppy joes

  1. In a skillet on the stove, brown your ground meat. 
  2. While the meat is browning, whisk together a sauce in another bowl. Whisk together the ketchup, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, dry mustard, salt, and pepper until well blended.
  3. Once your meat has been browned, add in the onions and garlic and cook until the onions are translucent in color.
  4. Add your sauce to the pan and simmer for an additional 5-8 minutes or until thickened.
  5. Add your orange zest and let simmer for another minute.
  6. Serve your meaty sloppy joe sauce on toasted hamburger buns and enjoy.
cooked ground meat in a cast iron with ketchip mustard and other ingredients for sloppy joe sauce
easy sloppy joe meat mixture in cast iron skillet
upclose view of sloppy joe meat
sloppy joe sliders on a cutting board

How to make sloppy joe sliders

  1. Take a 12 pack of dinner rolls (Kings Hawaiian or other variety of choice) and remove them from their container, in one whole piece.
  2. Use a large butter knife to slice the dinner rolls in half along their middles so that every roll has a top and bottom half.
  3. If desired, butter the insides of the sliders and toast on a griddle until golden brown.
  4. Scoop your sloppy joe sauce over the bottom halves of the rolls and then place the top halves on the meat to create a sandwich. 
  5. Slice along the lines of the rolls to separate the warm sandwiches and serve.

Questions and Answers You May Have About Sloppy Joes

What is the difference between Manwich and Sloppy Joes?

Manwich is a branded and trademarked name for a variety of canned sloppy joe sauces that you can purchase in grocery stores. Our sloppy joes are totally homemade from scratch and require just a little more work, but the end results are worth it.

How do you thicken sloppy joes?

If you find that your sauce mixture is a tad too runny for your liking you can easily thicken it up with the help of a cornstarch slurry. Simply mix a little cornstarch with water and stir into the heated sauce to thicken. It will thicken quicker if the sauce is still bubbling hot.

Where did the sloppy joe come from?

Sloppy joes are thought to have been created in Sioux City Iowa in 1930. This loose meat sandwich is decades old and now has different versions in many countries all over the world with many different variations out there too.

What should sloppy joes taste like?

The end result of your meat mixture should be similar to that of a sweeter ragu sauce. With a sweet and tangy (almost sweet n sour) flavor profile, this meaty filling can pair well with side dishes that are both savory, salty, or sweet.

messy sloppy joe slider with meat falling out of the center
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Easy Sloppy Joe Recipe

Sloppy joes are a traditional meal that millions of people grew up with and continue to enjoy because of the flavors and simplicity. This old-fashioned sloppy joe recipe is sure to bring back some nostalgic memories and create new ones with the family.
Prevent your screen from going dark
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Keyword old fashioned sloppy joe recipe, Side dishes for sloppy joes, sloppy joe sliders
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 4
Calories 391kcal
Author Longbourn Farm • Alli Kelley
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Equipment

  • Redmond Real Salt
  • Cast Iron Skillet
  • Wooden Kitchen Utensils
  • Liquid Measuring Cups
  • Measuring Cups + Spoons
  • Santoku Knife
  • Cutting Board

Ingredients

  • 1 pound ground meat
  • 1/2 cup onion diced
  • 1 garlic clove minced
  • 1 cup ketchup
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 teaspoon prepared mustard
  • 1 teaspoon dry mustard
  • 2 teaspoons orange zest
  • Salt and pepper to taste
US Customary – Metric

Instructions

  • Brown ground meat.
  • While meat is browning, whisk remaining ingredients except the orange zest for the sauce.
  • When the meat is almost finished browning, add the onion and garlic and cook until translucent.
  • Add the sauce and simmer until thickened, about 5-8 minutes.
  • Add the orange zest and cook for another minute.
  • Serve on hamburger buns that have been buttered and heated until golden on a griddle.
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Nutrition

Calories: 391kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 20g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 80mg | Sodium: 666mg | Potassium: 548mg | Sugar: 20g | Vitamin A: 310IU | Vitamin C: 5.9mg | Calcium: 43mg | Iron: 2.6mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @longbournfarm or tag #longbournfarm!

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Comments | 3 comments

« Dutch Oven Chili Recipe with Fresh Tomatoes
Easy Caramel Apple Slices »

Comments

  1. Meg says

    February 6, 2018 at 6:58 PM

    We made these tonight for dinner – so good! Definitely a keeper. I didn’t have a whole cup of ketsup so I used honey barbecue sauce to make up the difference. Looking forward to these leftovers.

    Reply
  2. Sammi Windley says

    December 30, 2017 at 7:31 PM

    5 stars
    Sloppy joes are so good! I love this recipe

    Reply

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Hi, Friend!


Alli Kelley is an Agriculture focused entrepreneur. She runs a successful food blog, a consulting and coaching business, and all the social media connected with an online presence.

She also owns and operates a small, diversified farmstead where she enjoys home improvement projects, experimenting in the garden, creating profitable mini businesses on the farm, and of course, riding her big grey horse, Zane.
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