Homemade Sloppy Joes

Homemade sloppy joes make for a comforting, easy dinner that requires only a handful of simple ingredients. Consider this recipe your new weeknight go-to!

I feel like sloppy joes are one of those overlooked comfort foods. 

I mean, they certainly don’t upstage foods like mashed potatoes or mac and cheese or chicken pot pie (read: carb overload foods), but they do deserve a comfort food mention. 

Your mom probably made them on weeknights while you were growing up, maybe accompanied by some homemade french fries or corn-on-the-cob (depending on the season). Sloppy joes just take me back to my childhood.

And do you know why your mom made homemade sloppy joes on weeknights? Because they are so dang quick and easy. 

Now that I’m a mom, I understand this better than ever. Give me a whole bunch of easy dinner recipes to get me through the week, please!

What are sloppy joe sandwiches?

I feel like a lot of us here in the US grew up eating sloppy joes for dinner, especially if you’re from the Midwest. 

(It’s possible you also grew up eating them for lunch from the school cafeteria, but I know we can do better than that.)

If you didn’t grow up eating sloppy joes, let me fill you in: Sloppy joes are a sandwich typically made with ground beef, tomato sauce or ketchup, worcestershire sauce, and seasonings.

They’re a little different than the loose meat sandwich (aka Maid-Rite) that is really popular in Iowa. Even though both sandwiches are made with loose ground beef, sloppy joes have a tomato-based sauce, while Maid-Rites are made with seasoned ground beef.

I think pretty much every Midwestern mom during the ’90s had their own version of this recipe. My mother-in-law’s leans a little sweet, while my mom’s was always more tomato-y. 

How to make my mom’s sloppy joes

This recipe for homemade sloppy joes is one that my mom made regularly when I was growing up. We’d eat sloppy joes on night one, then she’d stretch the leftovers, turning them into an easy spaghetti sauce on night two. 

Ingredients you’ll need

One of the reasons that these homemade sloppy joes were on our dinner menu regularly is because the ingredient list is so simple. We almost always had what we needed on hand in the pantry and freezer.

To make this recipe, you’ll need:

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 small onion
• 2 large carrots
• 1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce 
• 2 tablespoons rolled oats
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 teaspoon salt

Turns out that sloppy joes are actually a pretty good vehicle for hiding vegetables if you chop them up really well. In addition to an onion (which is pretty common to include), I also like to toss in a couple of carrots. 

Once everything is cooked down, it’s hard to even tell they’re in there. But feel free to omit them if you really want! 

I know, the rolled oats probably seem weird. But they help thicken up the mixture and you really don’t notice them once they’re mixed in with the ground beef.

One ingredient you really cannot skip? Worcestershire sauce. Trust me, it makes all the difference in this recipe! (If you can’t have gluten, make sure you buy gluten-free worcestershire sauce.)

Making this recipe

Start by peeling the carrots and the onions. Cut the vegetables into large pieces, then toss them into a food processor and pulse until finely diced. 

You don’t want to puree the vegetables; you just want them in very small pieces so they mix into the ground beef.

Now add the vegetables to a large skillet with the ground beef. Cook over high heat until the ground beef is browned. If needed or desired, drain the fat and return the mixture to the pan.

Add the tomato sauce, brown sugar, rolled oats, worcestershire sauce, water, and salt. Stir to combined and simmer over medium-low, uncovered, for about 30 minutes or until the sauce is your desired consistency.

Before serving, taste for seasoning and add additional salt and/or pepper as desired.

Recipe variations

Even though homemade sloppy joes are most often made with ground beef, feel free to swap out the beef for ground turkey if that’s what your family prefers! 

I like to throw onion and carrots into my sloppy joe mixture, but you can leave them out if you prefer. You could also swap the carrots for bell peppers. 

If you like a little spice, feel free to add several dashes of your favorite hot sauce or crushed red pepper flakes for some heat.

Serving suggestions

My favorite way to serve homemade sloppy joes is the traditional way: on a hamburger bun. Toast the buns for extra flavor and to keep the meat mixture from make the bread soggy.

My dad always slathered his sloppy joes in yellow mustard (although these days we’re more whole grain mustard people). My husband likes to add pickles and a few dashes of hot sauce to his. Some cheese wouldn’t be out of place either! 

If you’re short on time, you can’t go wrong with serving these sandwiches up alongside some potato chips and a simple salad. 

If you have more time, whip up a batch of homemade shells and cheese, roast some broccoli, or throw some french fries in the air fryer! 

Make-ahead and storage tips

This recipe is great when you’re meal prepping. You can make the sloppy joe mixture at the beginning of the week and keep it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

When you’re ready to eat, just reheat the mixture in a skillet over medium-low heat.

You could also freeze the meat mixture for up to 3 months if you are planning further ahead.

If you want to serve these homemade sloppy joes at a game-day party or other gathering, make the meat mixture and then transfer it to a crockpot set to low or warm to keep it warm during the party.