Many years ago, dad used to make Manwich sandwiches for us for an easy dinner. It was one of my favorite meals as a little girl. Since Manwich isn't gluten free, I decided to create my own homemade sloppy joes to pass down the tradition to my family.
Sloppy Joes, which are based off of the popular Midwest loose meat sandwich, are cooked meat served in a tangy sauce. While you can buy canned sauce at the store, making it with real ingredients is so easy and I dare say it even tastes better! I love to serve mine on slices of garlic bread Texas toast either opened face or as a sandwich. It's the perfect quick dinner for busy weeknights!
If you're looking for more family friendly, easy dinner ideas, I recommend my frito taco casserole or my copycat hamburger helper potato stroganoff recipes.
Ingredient Notes
This homemade version is made with a handful of simple ingredients that can be found in any grocery store. It's a naturally gluten free dinner that everyone can enjoy.
- Ground Beef - I recommend lean ground beef, 90/10, for this recipe. If you don't want to make the recipe with beef it will also work with ground chicken, ground turkey, or even meat alternatives.
See recipe card for full ingredient list and quantities.
Substitutions & Variations
- Make it Spicy - You can add a diced jalapeno along with the onions and green peppers to up the spice level.
- Meat Swap - Swap the ground beef for ground turkey, ground chicken or even vegetarian meat alternatives.
- Add BBQ - If you like a bit of BBQ flavor in your sloppy joes, you can swap out half of the ketchup with BBQ sauce. You may want to reduce or omit the brown sugar if your BBQ sauce is very sweet.
- No Yellow Mustard - You can substitute a pinch of dry mustard. You may need to add 1-2 teaspoons of extra water to compensate.
How to Make Homemade Sloppy Joes
You're going to love the simplicity of this dish. Its a quick meal that takes about 25 minutes from start to finish, which is perfect for a weeknight.
STEP 1: Add the oil to a 10-inch skillet over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add in the diced onions and green pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are softened. It should take about 7-10 minutes.
STEP 2: Add the ground beef, minced garlic, salt, black pepper and red pepper flakes to the skillet. Break the meat up and cook until all the pink is gone.
Drain off any excess grease from the beef and return the pan to the stove.
STEP 3: Add the ketchup, water, brown sugar and yellow mustard to the meat mixture. Stir well to coat the beef.
Cook for a few minutes until the sauce is thickened and bubbling.
Storage
If you have leftover sloppy joe meat, you will get the best results by storing it separately from the bread. Place the meat in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Reheat the meat and add it to your favorite buns or Texas toast.
More ground beef recipes to try:
If you try this recipe, please leave a 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 star rating and let me know how you liked it in the comments below.
Recipe
Homemade Sloppy Joes
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- ½ Cup Yellow Onion diced
- ½ Cup Green Bell Pepper diced
- 1 pound Ground Beef 90/10
- 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Black Pepper
- ¼ teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes optional
- 2 cloves Garlic minced
- 1 Cup Ketchup
- ¼ Cup Water
- 2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons Yellow Mustard
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Once the oil is hot add in the diced onions and bell peppers. Cook until softened and translucent, about 7-10 minutes.2 Tablespoons Olive Oil, ½ Cup Yellow Onion, ½ Cup Green Bell Pepper
- Add ground beef to the pan with the vegetables. Season with salt, black pepper and red pepper flakes, if using. Also add in the minced garlic. Cook until the ground beef is browned, breaking it into small pieces.1 pound Ground Beef, 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt, ¼ teaspoon Black Pepper, ¼ teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes, 2 cloves Garlic
- Drain the fat from the meat and return the pan to the stove.
- Add the remaining ingredients: ketchup, water, brown sugar and mustard. Stir well.1 Cup Ketchup, ¼ Cup Water, 2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar, 1 ½ teaspoons Yellow Mustard
- Allow the mixture to simmer until the sauce is thickened. Season to taste.
- Serve on gluten free hamburger buns or open faced on garlic bread texas toast.
Notes
Tiffany is the recipe developer, stylist and food photographer behind Well Fed Baker. As a lifelong baker who had to go gluten free and dairy free in 2016, Tiffany strives to share allergen friendly recipes that never feel like they are free from anything.
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