Okay, so I’m putting the truth out there; I like sloppy joes. It’s kid food at its finest and I personally think that it is some mighty fine fair. A sloppy joe with a little crudité and some potato chips–perfectomundo. It makes you feel that all is right with the world.
I had to experiment with the recipe somewhat before I found a combination of ingredients that I like. The first few ingredients were easy–hamburger, onion, garlic, salt, pepper….and then what? It was surprising how tricky the “then what” ended up being. I messed it up a couple of times, but then suddenly yesterday everything just seemed to come together.
Sounds silly, doesn’t it, chasing after a good sloppy joe recipe. I believe, however, that just because something has a funny name, doesn’t mean that it should be taken any less seriously, people included. As a nurse, I get to see some very interesting names and for some of them, I have to work hard to keep my mind from wandering down some twisty paths.
These sloppy joes are pretty straight forward, however. Just good old American food that makes you glad to eat them. Replace the potato chips with a potato or pasta salad, and life is nigh unto perfect.
If you would like to make your own hamburger buns, try these Perfect Hamburger Buns. So awesome and easy!
Sloppy Joes
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 medium onion, small dice
- 1/2 medium green pepper, small dice
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 3/4 cup ketchup
- 1/4 cup tomato paste
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon yellow mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- pinch red pepper flakes Optional: skip the pepper flakes all together or replace them with a dash of your favorite hot sauce such as Tabasco, Tapatio, etc.
- 1/2 cup water
- 6 hamburger buns
Instructions
- Chunky hamburger meat is not a good idea in sloppy joes.
- Add ground beef, onion, green pepper, garlic, salt, black pepper, and pepper flakes to a large skillet. Cook over medium heat until vegetables are tender and meat is no longer pink. Be sure to break up the hamburger as it cooks.
- Add the remainder of the ingredients: ketchup, tomato paste, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, cider vinegar, yellow mustard, and water. Stir to combine. Put lid on skillet and simmer sauce over low heat for 20-30 minutes, stirring often, until at desired consistency.
- Serve on hamburger buns.
Nutrition
This is a really good sloppy joe sauce. It should get an award or something.
I normally do not leave comments on the food blogs I frequent, but my kids told me I should let you know how much we all loved this recipe! So much better than the canned sauce. Thank you for a great recipe 🙂
P.S. My 13 year old usually hates sloppy joes, but he LOVED these! No more canned sloppy joe sauce for us!
Ashley, thank you so much for leaving this comment! Blessings on your children for encouraging you to do so. It means a lot to me when someone takes the time to reach out with kind words. I’m so glad that your family enjoyed the recipe! ~Terri