Easy Sloppy Joe Recipe

close-up of homemade Sloppy Joe sandwich on a white plate with pickles

4.84 from 25 votes

This is truly the best Sloppy Joe recipe! It's quick and easy comfort food that makes extremely tasty sandwiches that are perfect for busy weeknights. Our version has a special ingredient to take it over the top.

Prep Time10

Cook Time25

Total Time35

Course: Main Course, Sandwich

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Homemade Sloppy Joes, Sloppy Joe Recipe

Servings:

Author: Natasha Bull

Ingredients

1 pound lean ground beef
1/2 medium onion chopped
1/2 green bell pepper chopped
3/4 cup tomato ketchup
1 teaspoon yellow mustard
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon smoked paprika see note
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes optional
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon white or apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup beef broth or water
Salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

Add the ground beef to a skillet over medium-high heat and break it up a little bit with your spoon, leaving large chunks. Let it cook, undisturbed, for about 8 minutes, or until it forms a nice browned crust. Give it a stir/flip it and cook for another 5 minutes or so. If there's a lot of excess fat in the skillet, spoon it out (leave about a tablespoon or so in there).
Stir in the onions and green bell pepper and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, for another 5 minutes. As it cooks, break the beef up into smaller pieces with your spoon.
Reduce the heat to medium. Stir in the ketchup, mustard, garlic powder, smoked paprika, red pepper flakes, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, and beef broth. Let it cook for another 5 minutes or so, stirring often, until the sauce thickens up to your liking (don't let it get too dry).
Give it a taste and season with salt & pepper as needed. If you want really sweet Sloppy Joes, add in some brown sugar (I don't add any since I think the ketchup is sweet enough).
Serve in toasted buns. To toast the insides of the buns, heat a tablespoon or two of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat, then add the buns and watch them closely until the insides have browned nicely (you'll need to do this in batches).

Notes

I add smoked paprika to these Sloppy Joes to give them a nice smoky flavor. You can leave it out if you prefer.
If you want a shortcut or prefer not to add the onion and green bell pepper, you can leave them out.
Recipe serves 4-6 depending on how much you stuff the sandwiches.
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy only and should be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. Ingredients can vary and Salt & Lavender makes no guarantees to the accuracy of this information. Buns are not included (calories vary a lot depending what you buy).

Nutrition