Sloppy Joes are comfort food on a bun, that everyone loves. Ground beef browned, simmered with spices in a ketchup base, then served on a toasted bun make this sandwich so popular.
Sloppy Joes are perfect to serve at a summer cook-out, along with the usual sides of potato salad, deviled eggs, macaroni salad, etc. or just with chips.
In the fall, they are great for tailgate parties, football watching, or before trick-or-treating. They are a great addition to a winter meal with a bowl of soup. My husband even makes a double recipe of this at their deer hunting camp.
My mother frequently made us Sloppy Joes as a meal, because it was budget friendly, and easily served a large family. Recipes with ground beef were perfect for us, as my parents butchered cows.
Over the years, I have seen many variations with preparing sloppy joes. In our hometown, years ago, was a department store, GC Murphy, that sold a sandwich like this called a crumble-burger. The meat on it was more finely crumbled. It was always my favorite.
The grocery stores sell a mixture in a can that you can just add the cooked meat to. They also have packages of the seasoning mix. This homemade recipe is so easy though, and tastes much better.
My recipe uses ground beef, but ground turkey can also be used.
INGREDIENTS:
*Ground Beef
*Onions, diced
*Green Bell Pepper, chopped
*Garlic (fresh or minced from a jar)
*Chili Powder
*Dry Mustard
*Red Pepper Flakes
*Black Pepper
*Kosher Salt
*Worcestershire Sauce
*Brown Sugar
*Ketchup
*Water
*Toasted Brioche Bun
*Yellow Mustard
*Dill Pickles
These are just the toppings my family likes, but feel free to use whatever your family likes.
HOW TO MAKE SLOPPY JOES:
*Brown ground beef in a large dutch oven, drain grease.
*Add the onions, peppers, garlic, chili powder, dry mustard, red pepper flakes (start with 1/2 teaspoon and add more as desired after cooked), pepper, salt, and brown sugar.
Stir ingredients together, cook over a medium heat, 5-7 minutes, stirring frequently.
*Whisk together the ketchup, water, and worcestershire sauce. Stir into the meat mixture, cook over a low heat for 15-20 minutes, stirring frequently.
Toast the brioche bun and top with the meat mixture and desired toppings.
This sloppy joe mixture tastes better if prepared a few hours before serving or the previous day for the seasonings to blend better.
It also freezes well, so sometimes I make a double batch and freeze part of it.
Recipe was shared on Weekend Potluck on Sweet Little Bluebird
My Homemade Hot Dog Sauce recipe is another ground beef recipe that everyone loves. It can also be served so many different ways and occasions.
SLOPPY JOES
Notes
**If your family does not like spicy heat, add less of the red pepper flakes, like 1/4 teaspoon. My husband always wants more.
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 LB ground beef
- 1/2 cup onion, diced
- 1/2 cup green bell pepper, chopped
- 1 teaspoon garlic, minced (I use garlic from the jar)
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon dry mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1/4 teaspoon coarse black pepper
- 1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
- 1 cup ketchup
- 1/2- 1 cup water (start with 1/2 cup and more as needed if too thick)
Instructions
- Crumble and brown the ground beef in a dutch oven, or large saucepan, over a medium heat. Drain the grease.
- Add the onion, green peppers, garlic, chili powder, dry mustard, pepper flakes, black pepper, salt, and brown sugar. Stir to combine well. Simmer over a low heat 5-7 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Whisk together the worcestershire sauce, ketchup, and 1/2 cup water. Stir into the meat mixture, and simmer on low for 15-20 minutes. Cook uncoverered and stir frequently. If mixture seems too thick, add more water, small amount at a time.
