the BEST Homemade Sloppy joes recipe (2024)

FAQs

How to make sloppy joes better? ›

Add Veggies: Diced bell peppers, zucchini, spinach, or shredded carrot, can easily be added to this recipe and your kids won't even notice a difference. Hawaiian Sloppy Joes: Substitute more BBQ sauce for the ketchup and add 8 oz., drained crushed pineapple.

What is the difference between Manwich and Sloppy Joes? Sloppy Joes are the sandwich, while Manwich is the store-bought canned sloppy joe sauce, produced by ConAgra Foods and Hunt's. While the brand markets this product as a quick and easy one-pan meal, I strongly recommend you make the sauce from scratch.

Sloppy Joe Tips

We suggest draining the browned beef, because excess grease serves as a barrier to sloppy joe seasonings. You'll want the beef to absorb these wonderful flavors as it cooks.

Give your Sloppy Joe a unique spin by replacing hamburger buns with taco shells and adding a little cumin, crisp lettuce, shredded cheese, and juicy tomatoes.

The stuffed pepper sloppy joe is another combo that mixes the sandwich with another popular dish, swapping buns for bell peppers. If you're aiming to eat a lower-fat diet, then consider fixing yourself a sloppy jane. This variant on the sloppy joe swaps out regular ground beef for leaner beef.

Another account states that Jose Abeal Otero began serving a sloppy joe in his Havana, Cuba restaurant in 1910. While the original dish was inspired by ropa vieja or picadillo, the name itself is believed to be derived from the condition of the eatery.

If you like sloppy joes, or cheese, or both, you'll love this easy recipe for Cheesy Sloppy Joes! A touch of cheddar and Velveeta makes a standard sloppy joe sandwich absolutely mouth-watering!

You can use canned tomatoes, tomato sauce or even ketchup when you don't have tomato paste.

There are minor variations depending on the deli, but it is always a double-decker thin sliced rye bread sandwich made with one or more types of sliced deli meat, such as turkey, ham, pastrami, corned beef, roast beef, or sliced beef tongue, along with Swiss cheese, coleslaw, and Russian dressing.

What is the fancy name for sloppy joes? ›

Manwich, slush burger, yum yums, dynamite, spoonburgers, tavern sandwich; a Sloppy Joe can be called by many other names. The most well-known however is Manwich.

Try serving your sloppy joes with their own toppings such as slaw, melty cheese, grilled pineapple, or Hatch green chile. Even just adding a pickle gives extra flavor and crunch, transforming it from a bland sandwich into something great, like the recipe below!

What is the sloppy joe sauce made of? It's made with ketchup, brown sugar, tomato paste, Worcestershire, chili powder, garlic, dry mustard, and a little Tobasco (if you want). That sauce coats the ground beef, onion, and bell pepper to make the filling.

Balance Out the Flavors

If your dish is a little too sweet, try rounding out the sweetness by adding flavors or ingredients that are sour, bitter, or spicy. It may be obvious not to add more sweet ingredients, but you should also stay away from salty ones since they actually bring out the sweetness in food.

If you like Sloppy Joes a little less sweet, you can reduce the brown sugar to 1 teaspoon. If you keep the mustard at 2 teaspoons, the result will be a tangier Sloppy Joe.

For this reason, ketchup is best used as a swap in recipes that already feature a degree of sweetness. Still, in a pinch, it can be used as a 1:1 substitute for tomato sauce in a variety of dishes—just use your judgment and be sure to taste as you go and adjust the seasoning accordingly.

Spread Mayo or Miracle Whip over toasted hamburger buns top with sloppy joe mix, sliced pickles and sliced cheese.