The Best Sloppy Joes
Quick and easy, these really are the best sloppy joes ever! The bold, exciting flavors make these a tried-and-true favorite!
When is the last time you found yourself craving a sloppy joe?
If your answer is “next to never,” I can’t blame you.
Thanks to a few Dreaded Dinners of my Youth, sloppy joes made the short list of meals I never planned to introduce to my children.
That is, until I took a chance on this new and improved version, and I was totally won over and amazed by how good a sloppy joe could be!
Over ten years later, and these have become a tried-and-true recipe. They are the only sloppy joes we make! And we make them often.
What makes these sloppy joes different?
When you add the right “stuff” to sloppy joes, they quickly go from average to totally spectacular.
Instead of relying on a strong tomato flavor profile that often results in bland, boring sloppy joes, this recipe goes straight for the flavor jugular.
BBQ sauce builds the foundation of flavor while tomato sauce, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce and soy sauce round everything out.
Choose a BBQ sauce you really, really love. My favorite store bought brands are Sweet Baby Rays and Kinders. This is my go-to homemade BBQ sauce recipe.
The meat is saturated with bold, savory flavors instead of swimming in a thin, wimpy sauce.
Not only will this make your taste buds really happy, it also helps avoid the dreaded soggy bun issue.
Because, soggy bread should have never, ever been invented. It’s the worst.
Quick and Easy
These really are the best sloppy joes. And they are so quick and easy to make.
A few notes:
- the ground beef can easily be subbed out for ground turkey
- serve them on hamburger buns, brioche buns, homemade french bread rolls, or over cornbread with cheese
- the prepared sloppy joe meat can be refrigerated for several days and reheated AND it also freezes great
I’ve made these sloppy joes dozens and dozens of times for our little family, and I’ve also made enormous batches to serve crowds upwards of 150 people.
It’s safe to say that these sloppy joes are always a hit.
This sloppy joe recipe is a fan favorite even among past sloppy joe haters!
Allison: Just made this tonight-and adding it to our growing list of amazing recipes from you! Even though I was nervous about trying sloppy joes, my husband said, “has Mel ever let us down?” Haha they are delicious!
Laurel: Our whole family loved this! (And hubby is not a sloppy joe fan )
Ashley S.: This is on regular rotation in my house. It converted my Sloppy-Joe-hating fiancé into someone who regularly requests this dinner. I also love how quick this is to throw together. Thanks for another winner!
Elizabeth: I love these so much I want to cry and hug you. Odd reaction to a sloppy joe? Maybe. But I love them. They are exactly what I’ve always pictured a sloppy joe to be but it just never was. Thank you!!!
What to Serve With This
- French Bread Rolls
- Coleslaw or Boston Baked Beans
- Fresh vegetables and/or green salad
One Year Ago: Copycat Cafe Rio Sweet Pork Recipe {Pressure Cooker or Slow Cooker}
Two Years Ago: Homemade Canned Spaghetti Sauce {Step-by-Step Tutorial}
Three Years Ago: Cheesy Baked Ziti {Make-Ahead/Freezer Meal}
Four Years Ago: The Best Homemade Salsa {Fresh or For Canning}
Five Years Ago: Portillo’s Chopped Salad with Sweet Italian Dressing
Six Years Ago: Sweet Paprika Skillet Chicken
Seven Years Ago: Sweet Mustard Baked Chicken
Eight Years Ago: Succulent Grilled Pork Tenderloin
The Best Sloppy Joes
Ingredients
- ½ cup diced onion
- 2 ½ pounds ground beef or ground turkey
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- ⅔ cup BBQ sauce (see note)
- ½ cup ketchup
- ¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
- ¼ cup soy sauce, I use low-sodium
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Rolls or buns, for serving
Instructions
- In a 12-inch nonstick skillet set over medium heat, add the onions and beef (or ground turkey). Cook, breaking the meat into small pieces, until the meat is cooked through and the onions are translucent, 7-8 minutes. Drain excess grease.
- Stir in the tomato paste, BBQ sauce, ketchup, Worcestershire, and soy sauce and a pinch of black pepper. Bring the mixture to a simmer ,and cook until the sauce is slightly thickened, 4 to 5 minutes. Add additional salt and pepper, to taste, if needed.
- Serve the sloppy joe meat warm on buns or rolls.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: adapted from Dave Lieberman
That looks really good, I love sloppy joes!
I bought boneless skinless chicken breast and ground it up for the meat. I sprinkled with beef soup base for more of a beef flavor. These were delicious!
Made these last night, including the french bread rolls. They were a big hit! Thanks Mel! I must say though that they are best eaten when the rolls are fresh out of the oven. They are much softer. I had a few leftover rolls from the other day when I made some and just heated them up in the microwave. Not nearly as enjoyable as the uber-soft fresh rolls out of the oven!
These turned out great! I made a triple batch so I could take meals to three families with new babies (and saved a bit for us). That much meat required browning in two batches, but otherwise was a super-easy recipe with a great flavor. I paired it with the cheesy au gratin potatoes (again, tripled is a LOT of potato-washing/peeling/slicing, but so tasty) on your site. I’ve never been much on sloppy joes but these turned me into a fan.
i tried this recipe, this is amazing! i added jalapeno for some kicks with spicy habereno bbq sauce. will do this every once in a while! thumbs up! i skipped the soy sauce because there’s a allergy in the family but it still tasted good!
I’m a little obsessed with your recipes right now. I feel like I’ve stumbled onto a goldmine!!
These sloppy joes were so tasty! I do like Manwich from a can, but this was a whole other level (for a more refined palette – ha!!). Awesome flavor! Don’t know that I will ever buy Manwich again. This was too good – no turning back now!
I did not brave your french bread rolls, but will be trying them later this week when I make the pulled pork bbq sandwiches. A little obsessed.
Another winner! Even my non-sloppy joe eating husband liked it!
My husband and I LOVED these! I made my bbq sauce a little sweeter and spicier just a tad by adding a very little brown sugar and very little Pace Picante hot salsa, and followed everything else, and we absolutely loved em. When I tasted the meat mixture I used a lettuce leaf and fell in love with them on that so on the side of our sandwiches I made us little sloppy joe lettuce wraps. Sounds weird I know but we loved them! Haven’t tried your rolls you serve them with yet but that’s on my list!
My 19-year-old daughter is home from her first year of college and just made these delicious sloppy joes for dinner and we all completely loved them. She made one slight change, instead of the 2 tablespoons of tomato paste, she used an 8 ounce can of tomato sauce since I’m a huge fan of tomatoes. Then also made the french bread rolls and used your tutorial on forming the rolls, which turned out perfectly. We added a few pickle slices to each roll with the hearty sloppy joe mixture. So, so good! We can hardly wait until she makes them again in about a week! This will be an excellent, inexpensive recipe for her to use when she moves into her first apartment with a kitchen for her sophomore year this fall. Thank you, as always, for sharing your talents with us!
These were yummy-o!!!! Made them for the fam + our neighbor who just had surgery; they were a hit!! No leftovers for us, we ate it all!! Thanks for sharing your great recipes! I love following your blog!!!
We had this for dinner tonight – it was a huge hit with my 3 year old finicky boy, my 2 year old twin girls AND my husband – thank you so much for a great meal that everyone enjoyed – finally!
My family didn’t like this as well as the one I have always made. They thought it had too much Worcestershire sauce in it. I did think that it was better a few days after.
Another hit! I used ground turkey, since that’s what I had on hand, and I shredded a zucchini and sauteed it with the onion. I love “sneaking” veggies in. 😉 Delicious on whole wheat slider buns. My husband commented that he’d never had homemade sloppy joes, and I realized I probably hadn’t either. We’ll certainly never go back to the canned stuff now! Thanks!!!
Mel,
I made these tonight. I made a 1/2 recipe because there are only 3 of us, but I can tell you the whole pan is gone! I was a little skeptical because I’m not a huge sloppy joe fan, but they were delicious. I’m glad because I had already failed on a black bean soup recipe that I slow cooked yesterday! Thanks again for your great blog.
To make sloppy joes a little less sloppy you might try serving them in a hot dog bun…it really cuts down on the mess! I have 5 kids and it works like a charm!
Now I have to say I loved sloppy joe’s growing up but I’m so with you on the Shepard’s Pie thing – gross!!! But this looks yummy.
these are delicious! and my kids loved them. thanks for the recipe : )
Wow .. wow … wow. Amazing!
The sloppy joes were yummy. I made them with your Cheesy Au Gratin potatoes, also yummy. Comfort food to the max. Thanks!
Yum yum. Made these and the rolls on Friday night. We never go back to my old Sloppy Joe recipe again. Delicious.
Tanya – your comment reminds me I need to make these. It’s been a few months since I made them last. I’m glad they were a hit!
I thought these were way yummy! I made them last night for dinner using your recipe for homemade bbq sauce and your french bread rolls. They were definitely a hit and will become part of our “favorites”.
Carlin – thank you! I’m so glad you liked these!
Erinn – glad you liked these!
I made these & they are amazing! Thanks!
Jill – I have started making my own (I posted it at this link: http://www.melskitchencafe.com/2010/03/the-best-barbecue-sauce.html) but when I buy it, I always buy KC Masterpiece because it’s my husband’s favorite.
I haven’t found a BBQ sauce that I love….what kind do you use?
Sonya – I'm glad that this meal fit the bill for your family (albeit a few changes). Thanks for letting me know!
Melanie once agian you came through for me. I was having a hard time trying to figure out a meal for ballet night. I checked your blog and came across your sloppy joe recipe. It was a huge hit and fast to toss together. I changed a few things (one kid likes BBQ sauce and one doesnt') to fit our family, but it was great. Thanks again.
Jordan – I was thrilled to read your comment – so glad these were a hit with your husband!
Best Sloppy Joe recipe ever! My husband has always like them but I never found a recipe I’ve liked til this one! He kept saying all night, “Those sloppy joes were soooo good!” Thanks again!!!
I am also not a big sloppy joe fan. I made these the other night for us and to take over to a neighbor. You’re right, it does make a ton. They were a HUGE hit. My pickiest child had four sandwiches and ate more the nest day. I like the BBQ flavor twist. Thanks once again.
Hey Danielle – I always forget that this would be a good meal to take to someone so thanks for the reminder. I’m glad you liked them, thanks for letting me know!
Lauren – I’m excited you are trying these – let me know how they turn out!
what, no manwich? i kid, i kid. this is my kind of sloppy joseph, the ol’ manwich can’t even hold a candle to it. 🙂
Hey, I’m glad to see BEST in front of a sloppy joe recipe since the last SJ recipe I tried was a major flop! I’ll bookmark this one to try next time.
I love a good easy sloppy joe.Looks good.
These are definitely not the sloppy joes I grew up with (um, those would be the McCormick packet!). My family would love these, and it would be a great recipe for a crowd! Yum!
I love sloppy joes, they’ve been my favorite since I was a kid! These look sooo good!
We had these last night and they were sooo good! Kids loved them. So did our company. My husband (picky eater of the universe) told me to make them again. Thanks so much for a delicious, easy, family pleasing recipe!!
I have to confess I’ve always liked sloppy joes, if they are made well. I’ve had plenty that have NOT been good, but I like a well made sloppy joe. I can’t wait to try this. Yum.
I love sloppy joes, but this version sounds even better to me. I’ll have to try this one out.
Anonymous – you are right about this recipe – the flavor is different than a traditional sloppy joe, which is why I like it because I’m not a huge fan of traditional sloppy joes. Sorry it didn’t turn out so great for you. Sloppy joes are one of those things that people have their “favorite” recipe and you either love it or you don’t. Sorry this one didn’t work out for you!
Those sloppy joes look good. It has been too long since I last had sloppy joes.
mmmmmm! I can’t wait to try this one!
Mmmm, this is so funny. I have been begging Nate to let me make sloppy joes but he says he “hates” sloppy joes. Maybe these are rooted in your shared childhood experiences? Anyway, I think I am going to try this out and tell nate to eat a corndog 🙂 haha
Natalie – thanks for letting me know you tried them. I’m glad you liked them! That is always a relief instead of you commenting that they were terrible. 🙂 They are a huge fan of my kids, also.
I’m finally getting the chance to make these tonight. Im so excited!! all of the reciepes i have tried from you are wonderful! Thank you 🙂
Maybe I just didn’t have the most flavorful BBQ sauce, but my family thought this recipe was pretty bland. It definitely doesn’t have the traditional Sloppy Joe flavor (which is probably why you liked it), but I think we will stick with a more traditional recipe next time.
So…I am anxious to try this recipe. I also have a family who are not too keen on sloppy joes and I keep trying to find “the one” because I love sloppy joes. I will let you know what they think. Thanks Debbie
I loved sloppy joes as a kid but could never get my kids to eat them – it’s been years since I tried so think I will give it another try with your recipe – thanks!
I loved sloppy joes as a kid but could never get my kids to eat them – it’s been years since I tried so think I will give it another try with your recipe – thanks!