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
My Hubby’s birthday is tomorrow and I already made my 3 qt.crockpot full of sloppy joe’s I also have a small crock pot which I fill with Bush’s beans and a bowl of cole slaw and a bowl of fruit salad and chips. Later t he get cake and ice cream.
If I have any left-over sloppy joe mixture I just add cans of tomatoes and call it CHILI and it is really good.
I made these last night for dinner using ground turkey breast and they were amazing! My whole family loved them! Super easy and quick too 🙂
I’ve never made sloppy joes before because I don’t like them. But I needed something for dinner, and I had all the ingredients, so I made these. My husband was ecstatic, and said they tasted just like he remembered. Fortunately for me they didn’t taste just like I remembered, and I really liked them. The baby ate all of his, my boys devoured theirs, and my girls, after much coaxing and threatening with no dessert finally took a bite of theirs and loved them! There are very few meals all of the picky eaters in my family like, and I’m so grateful to have another to add to my list. Thank you!
this is very very yummy…loved it.
I must say: I can’t have sloppy joes without beans. Try adding 1 can of maple beans to a half batch of the above recipe. I omitted tomato paste and soy sauce and put in more bbq than ketchup as the maple beans are already sweet. Garlic in with the onions too;) I didn’t bake: just all sautéed as I don’t typically like baked meat and it’s quicker. Yummy and super easy!
Mel, I found your website about a year ago and have been substituting your recipes for mine ever since. I had to quadruple this recipe for a potluck event. I substituted 1 green pepper for the two onions as I had several people that are allergic to onions. It was fantastic and so simple. Thanks so much for the time you spend sharing your food experiences with the world.
My family also really liked this recipe–even the non-sloppy joe fans! I didn’t have 2 1/2 lbs. of hamburger, just one, so I added a can of rinsed black beans and they turned out great. I also added a teaspoon of mustard just for fun and a speck of spicy Korean chili powder. Delicious!
These truly are the best sloppy joes. We’ve had them 4 or 5 times. The first time I made them my youngest daughter who has always declared sloppy joes as gross sat next to me eyeing them as she ate something else for dinner. After a while she says those smell really good. I asked if she wanted a bite, which led to her eating the last half of my sloppy joe. She now requests them about once a week and takes left overs in her lunch to school. Nothing short of a miracle LOL Thank you Mel 🙂
Hi Mel
Made these for lunch today – a success and will never use another recipe for Sloppy Joe’s. These were never a favourite of mine but after today they are definitely on my regular menu. In RSA we are now able to buy Heinz Barbecue Sauce, which is what I used. Many thanks for the fabulous recipes.
Regards
Ros
My wife is not a fan of smokey sauces, so we we substituted Heinz chili sauce instead. Worked just fine as far as we were both concerned. Thanks for sharing this one.
I’ve made these several times already, and I’m making them again tonight. I figured the least I can do is thank you for the awesome recipe! Besides pizza this is the only other food my boyfriend will eat as a leftover!! Thank you!
This is a regular at our house because it’s just so quick and easy. I add diced green bell peppers because that’s just how I like my sloppy joes. I agree with Nicole above, this blog is a winner.
Ok. You’re kidding me right? I made these tonight and the cheesecake chocolate chip cookie squares. That would make the 5th recipe I have used from you. Every taste bite has been a “AHHHHH, this is so freaking good!”
Your blog Mel, is a winner. Might as well just work my way down the list. (We must share similar taste buds or something…)
Made this tonight….delish!!!
I love a good sloppy joe! Where I come from though we call this type of dish a ranch burger because it’s BBQ sauce based. A sloppy joe here is tomato sauce based. Either way you call it, this recipe is a keeper! It turned out so delicious and all the farm hands really enjoyed it with the spicy oven baked fries and creamy coleslaw!
So long sloppy jo spice packets!
I was in the middle of making this recipe for the first time when I realized that I didn’t have any BBQ sauce! So… I used some red enchilada sauce and added a little liquid smoke. It was really good, but next time I’ll try it as you suggest w/ BBQ sauce!
This really is The Best Sloppy Joe recipe! Love the tang the addition of soy sauce gives the sauce. Husband said to keep this recipe close at hand for future reference. Made for many tasty and easy dinners with Perfect Potato Salad. Love your new graphics Mel!
I have been experimenting with some of your recipes and all have been great including this one! I browned the beef , sautéed the onions and threw everything else in my crockpot and let it cook for several hours. Easy and delicious!
Definitely not your regular sloppy Joe!!! I so love this and so did my family even the picky 11 month old… I don’t usually measure son I just threw in the ingredients you listed… Also I used tamari instead of soy!! Thanks for this its a keeper … I planned out 22 meals for this month off your site this month so far so good!!
Hi Mel,
I’ve been using you recipes regularly for the past few months … They fit well with my cooking style and the lifestyle of my family (7 kid ages 9 months to 17 yrs. :-).. Last night my 16 year old son said he wanted sloppy joe bake for dinner (an old bisquick recipe I used to make when my older kids were little). Because of my current habit of making nearly all my meals from your website…. And my obsession with cooking experiments… I used this sloppy joe recipe put it in a 9×13 pan and topped it with the cheddar biscuits from your confetti chicken pot pie recipe … Let’s just say it was A HUGE HIT!!!! I havent bought or used bisquick for ages … Nor do I plan to in the future … This turned out to be a superb re-creation of an old family favorite…. Thanks for the inspiration!!
Ps…. I did add a little brown sugar to the sloppy joe portion… Just for a little more sweetness 🙂
At one of our family holiday events, we bring finger foods and sandwiches. I am always looking for something new…..this was it! A huge hit for all ages…..everyone said something about them! And I am thankful I made a large batch…and have leftovers. Thanks!
I just wanted to let you know, another good option to spice up your sloppy joes is to sub half of the meat with chorizo. It adds a zing and a spice. My husband LOVES these.
My husband and I LOVE these. We’ve made them for a year or so. We’ve never been disappointed with a recipe from this site (I’ve been reading for 2+ years) And we know that when you say it’s the best, it probably is.
I made this tonight and my kids loved it! It worked really well on the homemade rolls.
LOL @ Kevin’s response to Chuck!
Definitely NOT salty. In fact, my family thought it was not salty enough (they are total salt addicts *sigh*). There is a HUGE difference in saltiness with soy sauce brands though so that is probably the cause for the too-salty taste.
@ Chuck….wasn’t salty at all when I made it, and I’m quite sensitive to salt, so either your ingredients were somehow saltier than the norm, or you screwed it up.
Just made this recipe, thinking I was going to impress my wife when she gets home from work. I used 1-1/2 lbs. ground turkey instead of 2-1/2 lbs. ground beef, thank G for that! I cut the rest of the ingredients in half, so it’s not my fault this tasted like it was full of salt! That’s all I tasted was salt, probably from the soy sauce in the recipe. I used Sweet Baby Ray’s Barbecue Sauce, which wasn’t full of salt, because I’ve made Sloppy Joes before with just that barbecue sauce, which tasted a whole lot better than this recipe! I noted people’s delight with this recipe… why I don’t know, unless you are so use to having food smothered with salt, like fast food is! I’ve liked recipe’s from this web site before, but definitely not this one!
Made this for dinner tonight along with Rhodes rolls, fantastic!!!! My kids loved it!!
This was absolutely delicious!! Friends who claimed to hate Sloppy Joes were so sorry I made only one batch! Next time I will most certainly double the quantity to feed a crowd!
This is my favorite recipe for Sloppy Joes! I make them with ground turkey and they are so delicious. I found that the Famous Dave’s Rich and Sassy BBQ sauce makes them taste even better.
Thanks for the recipe!
I’m not a sloppy joe person but the hubby and my kiddos LOVED them! Thank you for another great recipe! 🙂
Made this recipe tonight (with the french bread rolls) and TWO members of my family complained that they didn’t like sloppy joes….. until they tried these!!! YUMMO!!! Everyone gobbled them right up! Thanks!
THESE are the sloppy joes my family asks for….none other…’nuf said.
Thanks Mel!
Great, thanks much for the quick and helpful response! That makes sense on tripling it, and on making it ahead and just keeping it warm in the slow cooker. That will actually work perfectly since our group is coming over at 1. I can make it around 10 am and then keep it warm while I do other things!
Tamara – I’d triple the sloppy joe mixture for a crowd that big. I’ve kept it warm in the slow cooker before (up to 4 hours on low) but I’d suggest making it as the recipe directs on the stovetop and transferring it to the slow cooker just for warming purposes. Good luck!
I’m making this for a crowd of 16-18 on Sunday. Since your recipe calls for 8-12 rolls, I’m guessing it serves 8-12, so I should probably double it… does that sound about right?
Also, do you think I could make it in a slow cooker?
Thanks so much, it looks awesome!
Shelley: I just halved the recipe last night and it turned out delicious! I didn’t have any troubles at all.
My husband loved it! We will definitely be doing that meal again!
Shelley – I’ve never halved this recipe so I’m not sure how it would fare but my guess is that it would be just fine.
Has anyone ever tried this recipe but cut it in half? Some recipes work well that way some not so much. Sloppy Joes always looks so good but I have never tasted one that tasted as good as it looks. I am anxious to try this one but would like to try a smaller version first.
This recipe is very similar to what my mom would make for us growing up, except she called them “BBQs”. I much prefer this to the traditional SJ recipe, which my husband loves but I find exceptionally bland. So we rotate…when I’m in charge of the meal, it’s BBQs, and when he cooks, he makes sloppy joes his way. The kids enjoy both!
The BBQ sauce I used is my everday one. I woudn’t consider it spicy so I’m guessing that it was the worcestershire sauce. I shall use less. Thanks for the tips!
Excellent but next time I would use low sodium soy sauce. I love salty but it was a bit much.
I tried your sloppy joe recipe and it was delicious! I loved the BBQ flavor, thanks for sharing all your wonderful recipes!
Sharon – was your BBQ sauce spicy? If that wasn’t the culprit, perhaps it was the Worcestershire. If you think that’s the case, cut it down to 2 tablespoons next time and see how it goes.
OK, I made these and they were a bit too spicy for my liking. The kids weren’t fussed. Would it be the worcestershire sauce or soy sauce? I liked them but found the more I ate the hotter my mouth got. How can I ammend?
So good! My family loved it! This is the only Sloppy Joe I’ll be making from now on. Thank you!
Hi Mel. I’m having trouble with printing. When I click onto the Printable version with photo, there doesn’t seem to be a link where I can actually print from. Any ideas?
This was absolutely delicious, and was made in about 30 minutes, so it would make a great weekday meal.
One tip, and please forgive me if someone has already said it in these comments as I didn’t read all of them: If your BBQ sauce isn’t smoky, and perhaps even if it is, add 1/4 tsp of liquid smoke. I looooooved the additional flavour this supplied.
Your blog is awesome! Thanks!
My husband hates sloppy joes and I love them. I made these for dinner last night and I finally won him over! These are AWESOME! He even said we could add them to the rotation. Thanks SO much!