My poor daughter recently said to me, “Mom I keep reading all these books that talk about Sloppy Joes, and I’ve never had one before. Can you please make some so I can finally try it like everyone else??” Gosh, she is so deprived! Seriously though, if that’s her biggest problem this week I will gladly take it. Not to mention it was a “problem” easily solved with this recipe below. And just for the record both kids went back for seconds. I hope your family enjoys it as much as mine did! :)
Sloppy Joes
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 cup onion, diced
- 1 rib celery, diced
- 1 carrot, peeled and diced
- 1 pound ground beef, grass-fed recommended
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- pepper, to taste
- 1 can tomato sauce, plain, 15 ounce
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon yellow mustard
- 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon, Optional: This was the "secret" ingredient that reminded me of the Sloppy Joes from my childhood, but I realize it's out of the ordinary so decide for yourself if you like this addition!
- whole-wheat buns, toasted, for serving (for sliders use small buns or dinner rolls!)
Instructions
-
Heat the oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add the onion, celery and carrot and cook until they begin to soften but not brown, about 2 to 3 minutes.
-
Add the ground beef and garlic, and cook while breaking up the meat with a spatula. Season with the salt and pepper. Continue to cook until the meat has browned all the way through. Drain the excess fat and discard.
Recipe Notes
We recommend organic ingredients when feasible.
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Myself and our four and two year old made this for dinner tonight. We substituted venison for beef and it turned out excellent. I added some fresh diced tomatoes simply because they needed eaten. It was a win… the husband and one year old loved it as well. I made your Asian Coleslaw as our side and it worked great.
My family absolutely loves this recipe! We skip the buns altogether and serve it on beds of shredded cabbage…yum! Thank you!
Could I make this in the slow cooker? If so, any recommendations on time or method? Thanks!
Hi there. I am sure you can. You can use Lisa’s recipe and then use this one for guidance on time and such: http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/slow-cooked-sloppy-joes.
I make this in the crock pot…I brown the ground beef, and throw all the ingredients into the crock pot, stir it up, and let it do it’s thing!
Oh Lisa I am so happy to have found this recipe!! Sloppy Joe’s are one of my all time comfort foods. I’ve been thinking about Sloppy Joe’s for weeks now and have been thinking about how I can do it without breaking the rules. Luckily I have all the ingredients on hand so we will be having SloppyJoes’ this weekend.
I’ve been craving Sloppy Joe’s and made this tonight. Sloppy Joe’s are my ultimate comfort food and I have missed them this past year I’ve been eating real food. This recipe is amazing, my daughter and I both agreed these are the absolute best Sloppy Joe’s. I was out of cinnamon so we didn’t add it
I made these last night and they were delicious! Definitely making these again. I add just a pinch of cayenne because I thought it needed just a little heat. Also, the cinnamon was a great addition. Don’t leave it out!
I LOVE your blog. I was in search of a sloppy Joe recipe and was so excited to find yours. I made it tonight. Made just a few adjustments/additions. I added some bell pepper and added 1/2tsp cumin. Also I used ground Turkey. I usually make our own sloppy Joe sauce but it is still full of stuff we shouldn’t eat,so I was excited to taste this recipe full of good and real food. I did add the cinnamon and I love the flavor it adds. Thanks for my New go to Joe recipe.
Do you have a recipe you recommend for whole-wheat buns?
Hi Michelle. Here is Lisa’s whole wheat recipe for whole wheat bread: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2011/08/17/recipe-honey-whole-wheat-sandwich-bread-for-bread-machine/.
Thank you, I have seen that recipe but I don’t have a bread machine. I live abroad and they aren’t available here. Is there another recipe you can recommend? I have a whole wheat bread recipe that doesn’t need a bread maker, but it is not good for buns.
Ah, sorry. Lisa does not have a specific bun recipe. She typically buys her buns from Great Harvest. :)
LOVE this recipe! My husband and I like it BETTER than the canned stuff! We have eaten it more times than I can count. Easy recipe, too. I was wondering though, I’m trying to lose weight and do you know the nutritional info?
Hi Lori. We do not provide nutrition information. This post helps explain our philosophy: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2013/01/04/healthy-eating-defined/.
We’ve made this recipe multiple times and we love it! I just made it again tonight and I was thinking that if you put the veggies in the food processor, no one would really be able to tell that there are vegetables in this! And I leave out the celery and double the carrots because my husband hates celery.
I make this all the time. I usually use ground turkey (we have Better access to better turkey). I rarely have celery around but I usually add 2 or 3 carrots instead of 1 because we looove carrots.
These are fantastic! I am Paleo so i just put the “Joes” on top of a cooked sweet potato – yum!
My family LOVES these!!!
I grew up eating lots of sloppy Joes because my father loved them. We always spread thin layer of yellow mustard on bottom half of bun, sloppy Joe mix, then a bit of slaw on top of sloppy Joe mixture.
IF eating with fork, we omitted top half of bun.
We loved these! My kids had never had them either. 2 out of 3 liked it. I’ll take that ;)
I made this tonight and it was really good. I served it with your macaroni casserole and it was a big hit. Actually, if you mix the sloppy jo into the mac n cheese, it’s really yummy! We call it ‘Sloppy Mac’. :)
Whole family ate dinner tonight…for once ! YaAY!
Made it again for lunch today since everyone was home. Toasted the buns (I’d love it if I could find a good recipe for buns) topped with Monterey jack cheese ! Yum yum !
I think it would. You would need to brown the ground beef first.
I tried this recipe in the crockpot, and it worked great. I quadrupled the recipe for a crowd, and everyone loved it. I did not add the cinnamon. :)
When you say 1 can of plain tomato sauce. How many ounces/mls?
Hi. 15oz.
Hey what’s all this new age talk about while grain and wheat not made for human consumption. I am that our digestive systems were not made to eat grains because we do not have 4 stomachs to digest it properly. Am I getting this confused. Please help me with some clarity on this issues. The reason I ask is because I see your an advocate of whole grain/ whole wheat buns and breads
Hi there. Yes, Lisa’s family enjoys wheat and other 100% whole grains and sees no reason to avoid them unless you have a sensitivity or intolerance for them.
Can you tell me what organic brand whole wheat buns too use!
Hi there. Lisa often buys buns from Great Harvest Bread Company. You can also find Ezeikial buns in the frozen breads section of most stores.
That’s funny! I had purchased the Ezekiel buns yesterday!!! Thnk you!!
Can the leftovers be frozen?
Yes. :)
We’ve loved this recipe for a while, but I am gluten free now. Made it last night and served it over butternut squash ‘rice’ – it was delicious!
Do you have nutritional information for this recipe?
Just made it tonight…. delicious!!
Made this sloppy joe recipe for the first time. It was great. I added some diced red pepper.
This recipe is my go to Sloppy Joe recipe. It’s very good and easy. It can be served over rice.
Very good sloppy joe recipe.Made it today for super bowl.Seved them with fresh vegetables and dip. Was enjoyed by all.
My family loved these! The cinnamon isn’t detectable but I think gives it a little warmth and nice flavor.