Sloppy Joes

Recipe Ingredients

Sloppy Joes are made with ingredients that most people already have on hand—which makes them extra easy to whip up on a weeknight. Here’s what you’ll need:

Ground Beef: Perfect for Sloppy Joes because it soaks up all the saucy flavor and makes each bite hearty and satisfying.

Tomato Sauce: This is a key ingredient in classic Sloppy Joes because it adds rich, tangy flavor and helps bring all the ingredients together in a delicious, messy bite.

Yellow Mustard: This adds the perfect amount of acidity to balance out the sweetness.

Other ingredients: Ketchup and brown sugar add sweetness, Worcestershire sauce adds richness and umami, and vinegar adds tang. Green bell pepper/celery and onions give the dish color and texture—plus an easy way to add in a few extra veggies!

How to Make Sloppy Joes

Some reviews mentioned that our original recipe was too sweet, so we’ve updated this recipe to use a combination of ketchup, mustard, vinegar, and garlic powder to help balance out the sweetness.

1. Brown the Meat

Start by cooking your ground beef, bell pepper or celery, and onion until the meat is fully cooked and brown and the veggies are tender. A cast iron or nonstick pan is your best bet—if you use stainless steel, there’s a greater chance your meat might stick or burn.

2. Make the Sauce

To that same skillet, mix the sauce ingredients into the meat and veggies. The sauce is made with super simple fridge and pantry staples: brown sugar, ketchup, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, tomato sauce, and seasonings.

3. Simmer the Sloppy Joe Mixture

After everything is nice and combined, let it simmer for a full 15 minutes. This allows the water to evaporate and the sauce to thicken. If you cook for less time, your sauce will be too runny. Once the mixture is hot and saucy, serve it on your favorite buns or Pillsbury™ Biscuits.

How to Store Sloppy Joes

Sloppy Joes make a great lunch the next day—or, you can make a double batch, freeze the leftovers, and enjoy it for dinner on a night when you don’t have time to cook!

Refrigerator

Store leftover Sloppy Joe mixture in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Freezer

If you’d prefer to eat the leftovers later on, you can freeze your Sloppy Joe mixture in an airtight container for up to 6 months.

How to Reheat

If your leftovers are in the fridge, you can reheat them in a skillet or saucepan over medium-low heat or in the microwave in 1-minute increments until the mixture is heated through.

If your leftovers are frozen, you can reheat them directly from frozen using the same methods—it just might take a little longer.

Variations and Serving Suggestions

One of the things we love about Sloppy Joes is how versatile they are. It’s easy to swap ingredients for what you have on hand, or to fit your family’s preferences.

If you don’t want to use ground beef, you can use ground turkey or ground chicken—as long as the meat is ground, it will cook up the same and stay true to the classic Sloppy Joe texture.

If your family isn’t a fan of mustard, you can replace it with the same amount of ketchup—your Sloppy Joes will just turn out a little sweeter. And if you’re looking for something a little more smoky and sassy, you can replace the ketchup/mustard combo with BBQ sauce.

Sloppy Joes are delicious served on traditional hamburger buns, but we also love eating our Sloppy Joes on soft, fluffy Pillsbury™ Grands!™ Biscuits. They’re the perfect size and give extra-special homemade vibes.

Complete your meal with our top-rated Texas Two-Step Slaw or easy Air Fryer French Fries.