Sloppy Joe
Ingredients
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- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 cup yellow onion – finely chopped (~1 medium yellow onion)
- 1/2 cup green bell pepper – finely chopped (~0.5 medium green bell peppers)
- 3 cloves garlic cloves – minced
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 8 ounces canned tomato sauce
- 1/4 cup ketchup
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tsp yellow mustard
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter – softened
- 4 each hamburger buns – split
- pickle chips – for serving
Instructions
1. Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the yellow onion and green bell pepper and cook, stirring, until softened, 4–5 minutes; add the garlic and cook until fragrant, 30 seconds.
2. Add the ground beef, kosher salt, and black pepper. Cook, breaking the meat into small crumbles, until browned with no pink remaining, 5–7 minutes; drain excess fat if needed.
3. Stir in the canned tomato sauce, ketchup, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, yellow mustard, apple cider vinegar, chili powder, and red pepper flakes. Simmer over medium-low, stirring occasionally, until thick, glossy, and spoonable but not runny, 10–15 minutes.
4. Spread the cut sides of the hamburger buns with the unsalted butter and toast in a skillet over medium heat until golden at the edges, 2–4 minutes. Spoon the beef mixture onto the toasted buns and serve with pickle chips, if using.
Sloppy Joe is a saucy, sweet-tangy ground beef sandwich piled onto a soft bun. The filling is meaty and richly tomatoed, with balanced notes of brown sugar, vinegar, and Worcestershire for depth. Aromatics like onion and green bell pepper give gentle sweetness and texture, while mild warmth from chili powder rounds it out. Toasted, buttered buns add a little crunch to contrast the juicy, spoonable filling. It’s comforting, family-friendly, and easy to scale for crowds.
The dish traces back to early-20th-century American lunch counters and the Midwest’s “loose meat” sandwiches. By the 1930s, versions called “Sloppy Joe” were being served in places like Sioux City, Iowa, and the name stuck as the tomato-sauced style spread nationwide. Canned sauces later popularized it in home kitchens, especially from the late 1960s, but the core idea—seasoned ground beef simmered in a tangy tomato base and heaped on a bun—remains a nostalgic American staple.