Sloppy Joe Sauce Recipe (2024)

There’s nothing better than a hearty and Homemade Sloppy Joe Sauce that is sweet, savory and delicious!

This easy recipe combines simple ingredients with hearty ground beef for a delicious combination that is perfect served on top toasted buns or bread. It’s an easy recipe to whip up, and with all that tangy sauce, it disappears as quickly as it was made! It also can be added to casseroles or noodles for a hearty and filling meal.

Sloppy Joe Sauce Recipe (1)

Sloppy Joe Sauce

  • Making a homemade sloppy joe sauce is almost as easy as opening a can of ready-made, but so much more rich and flavorful!
  • Less messy and kid-friendly ‘sloppy joey’s’ can be made by scooping out the center of a dinner roll and filling it with sauce.
  • Sloppy Joes are so versatile and can be added to other recipes. Create a cheesy casserole, try sloppy joe spaghetti or even baked sloppy joe tacos!

Sloppy Joe Sauce Recipe (2)

Ingredients & Variations

SAUCE: Sloppy joe sauce is simple to make. It has a tangy tomato-based sauce made with tomato sauce, ketchup, brown sugar, mustard, and some cider vinegar for some zest. Add some bbq or hot sauce, or experiment with different kinds of mustard to create your own signature brand!

MEAT: Ground beef is best for this sloppy joe’s recipe. But the sauce is also delicious combined with leftover meat and chopped veggies! Try cooked lentils, black beans, or cauliflower rice for a vegetarian version, if desired.

How to Make Sloppy Joes

  1. Prepare sauce ingredients.
  2. Scramble fry ground beef.
  3. Add sauce ingredients with water and simmer until thickened.

PRO TIP: For a thicker sauce, just simmer a little bit longer. Serve over toasted buns.

Sloppy Joe Sauce Recipe (3)

How to Serve Sloppy Joes

Unlike hamburgers, these hearty sammies don’t need condiments, but toppings are welcome! Offer small bowls of sliced jalapenos, shredded cheese, coleslaw, or French-fried onions! A squeeze of mustard is a zesty way to top this ‘bunwich’.

Serving a crowd? Cook up a large batch and keep warm in the slow cooker so guests can serve themselves! And don’t forget the toasted buns! Choose sturdy buns like kaiser rolls, onion rolls, or ciabatta bread.

Sloppy Joe’s are a tasty main dish that will go well with a side of creamy potato salad or some air fryer frozen fries. Or use it as a condiment itself for omelettes, tacos, burritos, chilli dogs, or nachos!

Best Shortcut Tip

Cook Sloppy Joe Sauce and keep it in the refrigerator for 4-5 days, perfect for a quick dinner or lunch all week.

To freeze, store in containers or in zipper bags, for 4-6 months. Freeze sauce in individual sized, or family sized, freezer bags then pop out and reheat for a quick dinner. Or use the sauce in other tasty recipes like .

Thaw meat sauce in the refrigerator and reheat over low heat on the stove, or covered with foil in the oven.

Sloppy Joe Sauce Recipe (4)

Easy Meals With Ground Beef!

  • Cheeseburger Casserole – easy and delicious
  • Cheesy Ground Beef Pasta – ready in 30 minutes!
  • Ground Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry – skillet recipe
  • Creamy Beef Mushroom Stroganoff recipe – a favorite
  • Texas Toast Sloppy Joes – served all at once

Sloppy Joe Sauce Recipe (5)

4.98 from 43 votes↑ Click stars to rate now!
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Homemade Sloppy Joe Sauce

These Sloppy Joes are the best! With it's tangy, bbq flavor, this hearty meat sauce is perfect served over toasted buns and makes a quick, easy and delish dinner.

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Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 25 minutes minutes

Servings 4 servings

Author The Shortcut Kitchen

Equipment

Ingredients

Sloppy Joe Sauce

  • ¾ cup tomato sauce
  • ¾ cup ketchup
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
  • 1 ½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 teaspoon yellow mustard
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 pound lean ground beef
  • cup water

For Serving

Instructions

  • Whisk all sauce ingredients (except ground beef and water) in a bowl. Set aside.

  • Cook ground beef in a medium skillet until no pink remains.

  • Add the sauce and water, then simmer 5-7 minutes or until it reaches desired thickness.

  • Spoon meat mixture over the toasted buns and serve.

Notes

  • Refrigerate leftovers for 4-5 days. Freeze in covered containers or individual sized, or family sized, freezer bags for 4-6 months.
  • Thaw sloppy joe sauce in the refrigerator, then reheat over low heat on the stove, or covered with foil in the oven.

4.98 from 43 votes↑ Click stars to rate now!
Or to leave a comment, click here!

Nutrition Information

Calories: 360kcal | Carbohydrates: 43g | Protein: 30g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.4g | Cholesterol: 70mg | Sodium: 1251mg | Potassium: 743mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 20g | Vitamin A: 433IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 97mg | Iron: 5mg

Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.

Course dinner, Main Course

Cuisine American

©The Shortcut Kitchen. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited.

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Sloppy Joe Sauce Recipe (7)

Sloppy Joe Sauce Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the sloppy Joe sauce made of? ›

What is the sloppy joe sauce made of? It's made with ketchup, brown sugar, tomato paste, Worcestershire, chili powder, garlic, dry mustard, and a little Tobasco (if you want). That sauce coats the ground beef, onion, and bell pepper to make the filling.

Is there a difference between sloppy joes and Manwich? ›

Sloppy Joes are the sandwich, while Manwich is the store-bought canned sloppy joe sauce, produced by ConAgra Foods and Hunt's. What is this? While the brand markets this product as a quick and easy one-pan meal, I strongly recommend you make the sauce from scratch.

What can I add to sloppy joe to make it taste better? ›

Try serving your sloppy joes with their own toppings such as slaw, melty cheese, grilled pineapple, or Hatch green chile. Even just adding a pickle gives extra flavor and crunch, transforming it from a bland sandwich into something great, like the recipe below!

What's the difference between a sloppy joe and a sloppy Jane? ›

If you're aiming to eat a lower-fat diet, then consider fixing yourself a sloppy jane. This variant on the sloppy joe swaps out regular ground beef for leaner beef. It also places a higher focus on vegetables and other low-calorie ingredients.

What is a New Jersey style Sloppy Joe? ›

There are minor variations depending on the deli, but it is always a double-decker thin sliced rye bread sandwich made with one or more types of sliced deli meat, such as turkey, ham, pastrami, corned beef, roast beef, or sliced beef tongue, along with Swiss cheese, coleslaw, and Russian dressing.

Can I use tomato sauce instead of tomato paste for Sloppy Joes? ›

You can use canned tomatoes, tomato sauce or even ketchup when you don't have tomato paste.

What is a fancy name for a Sloppy Joe? ›

Manwich, slush burger, yum yums, dynamite, spoonburgers, tavern sandwich; a Sloppy Joe can be called by many other names. The most well-known however is Manwich.

Does mayo go on sloppy joes? ›

Spread Mayo or Miracle Whip over toasted hamburger buns top with sloppy joe mix, sliced pickles and sliced cheese. Yield: 4-6 sloppy joes.

Why are sloppy joes so sweet? ›

Most Sloppy Joe recipes call for lots of ketchup—1/2 cup to 1 cup—which makes the sandwiches overly sweet.

How do you thicken up sloppy joe sauce? ›

  1. Flour can be used similar to corn starch.
  2. Other thickeners used are bread crumbs, potato flakes and oats. ...
  3. Go gradually with these. ...
  4. Use oats to thicken sloppy-joes as to absorb the excess but it will be thicker the next day.
  5. Barley can be used but is more expensive.
Oct 29, 2021

How do you doctor up sloppy joes? ›

Canned chiles can also add loads of flavor and texture to your sloppy joes. Mild Hatch chiles are perfect for people who don't want their sloppy joes too spicy, while chipotle chiles add some heat and some lovely smokiness. You could also opt for fresh chiles like fruity (and super spicy) habaneros or milder Anaheims.

What do Americans call sloppy joes? ›

History. Early and mid-20th century American cookbooks offer plenty of sloppy joe-type recipes, though they go by different names: Toasted Deviled Hamburgers, Chopped Meat Sandwiches, Spanish Hamburgers, Hamburg a la Creole, Beef Mironton, and Minced Beef Spanish Style.

What does sloppy joe mean in slang? ›

a man or youth whose appearance is habitually slovenly.

What's the difference between Tavern and sloppy joe? ›

It more closely resembles a sloppy joe, without the tomato-based sauce.

What exactly is a Sloppy Joe? ›

Notorious for being 'messy' to eat, a sloppy joe is a sandwich filled with a saucy meat mixture (typically using Ground Beef) with a sweet, tangy or spicy flavor profile, with seasonings and vegetables tucked in. It's fun to eat and is a crowd pleaser for kids and adults alike!

What are the ingredients in Hunt's sloppy joe sauce? ›

Ingredients. Tomato Puree (Water,Tomato Paste), Water, Sugar/Glucose-Fructose, Vinegar, Corn Syrup, Salt, Spices, Dehydrated Green Pepper, Red Pepper Flakes, Tomato Fibre, Guar Gum, Xanthan Gum, Maltodextrin, Dehydrated Garlic, Citric Acid, Flavour, Spice Extracts.

Is Manwich just the sauce? ›

Manwich, a portmanteau of man and sandwich, is the brand name of a canned sloppy joe sauce produced by ConAgra Foods and Hunt's, introduced in 1969. The can contains seasoned tomato sauce that is added to ground beef cooked in a skillet. It is marketed as a quick and easy one-pan meal for the whole family.

What is the origin of the Sloppy Joe recipe? ›

Many believe the Sloppy Joe is the namesake of a Sioux City, Iowa cook, who in 1930, combined the regionally popular loose meat sandwich with tomato sauce. It's less messy predecessor, the loose meat sandwich is a Midwestern favorite of steamed or sauteed ground beef, onions, mustard and pickles.

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