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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Nichole V
March 8, 2015 at 9:00 pmMyself 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.
Liz S
March 11, 2015 at 8:39 pmMy family absolutely loves this recipe! We skip the buns altogether and serve it on beds of shredded cabbage…yum! Thank you!
Shannon
April 10, 2015 at 1:07 pmCould I make this in the slow cooker? If so, any recommendations on time or method? Thanks!
Amy Taylor (comment moderator)
April 13, 2015 at 10:44 amHi 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.
Sadie
May 12, 2015 at 3:50 pmI 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!
Jennifer
May 30, 2015 at 5:56 pmOh 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.
Jennifer
June 2, 2015 at 12:28 amI’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
Leah
June 3, 2015 at 9:56 amI 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!
Rena
August 18, 2015 at 6:58 pmI 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.
Michelle
September 5, 2015 at 5:07 amDo you have a recipe you recommend for whole-wheat buns?
Amy Taylor (comment moderator)
September 9, 2015 at 9:01 amHi 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/.
Michelle
September 9, 2015 at 11:47 amThank 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.
Amy Taylor (comment moderator)
September 15, 2015 at 4:21 amAh, sorry. Lisa does not have a specific bun recipe. She typically buys her buns from Great Harvest. :)
Lori
October 20, 2015 at 1:02 pmLOVE 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?
Amy Taylor (comment moderator)
October 21, 2015 at 9:36 amHi Lori. We do not provide nutrition information. This post helps explain our philosophy: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2013/01/04/healthy-eating-defined/.
Anastasia
January 19, 2016 at 7:58 pmWe’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.
Sally
January 27, 2016 at 9:08 amI 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.
Eliza
February 1, 2016 at 8:45 pmThese are fantastic! I am Paleo so i just put the “Joes” on top of a cooked sweet potato – yum!
jm
February 14, 2016 at 5:05 pmMy family LOVES these!!!
Judy
February 26, 2016 at 11:35 amI 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.
Kathleen
May 1, 2016 at 8:41 pmWe loved these! My kids had never had them either. 2 out of 3 liked it. I’ll take that ;)
Lori
May 4, 2016 at 6:25 pmI 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’. :)
Sarah Dickison
August 22, 2016 at 10:42 pmWhole family ate dinner tonight…for once ! YaAY!
Sarah Dickison
October 10, 2016 at 5:46 pmMade 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 !
Amy Taylor (comment moderator)
February 22, 2017 at 12:22 pmI think it would. You would need to brown the ground beef first.
Rhonda
February 22, 2017 at 12:33 pmI 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. :)
Nicole Bertram
May 11, 2017 at 6:24 pmWhen you say 1 can of plain tomato sauce. How many ounces/mls?
Amy Taylor (comment moderator)
May 22, 2017 at 1:34 pmHi. 15oz.
Ryan Jones
May 18, 2017 at 3:16 pmHey 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
Amy Taylor (comment moderator)
May 22, 2017 at 2:16 pmHi 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.
Lulu045
March 29, 2018 at 11:35 pmCan you tell me what organic brand whole wheat buns too use!
Amy Taylor (comment moderator)
March 31, 2018 at 8:23 amHi there. Lisa often buys buns from Great Harvest Bread Company. You can also find Ezeikial buns in the frozen breads section of most stores.
Lulu045
March 31, 2018 at 9:07 amThat’s funny! I had purchased the Ezekiel buns yesterday!!! Thnk you!!
Kerry Backes
January 9, 2018 at 6:45 pmCan the leftovers be frozen?
Amy Taylor (comment moderator)
January 12, 2018 at 1:36 pmYes. :)
Sue Duff
January 30, 2018 at 8:43 amWe’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!
Lisa Donahue
February 5, 2018 at 8:13 pmDo you have nutritional information for this recipe?
Megan Hartten
June 20, 2018 at 6:42 pmJust made it tonight…. delicious!!
Tina
January 8, 2019 at 7:55 pmMade this sloppy joe recipe for the first time. It was great. I added some diced red pepper.
Rosie
January 28, 2019 at 8:36 pmThis recipe is my go to Sloppy Joe recipe. It’s very good and easy. It can be served over rice.
Jean
February 3, 2019 at 6:34 pmVery good sloppy joe recipe.Made it today for super bowl.Seved them with fresh vegetables and dip. Was enjoyed by all.
SV
March 18, 2019 at 1:29 pmMy family loved these! The cinnamon isn’t detectable but I think gives it a little warmth and nice flavor.
Heather T.
June 10, 2019 at 3:46 pmWe love these! But my family will not do chunks of veggies easily ;) so we puree cooked carrot or use one 4 oz container of baby food carrots and we add it when we add the tomato sauce. Just a tip in case anyone needs it ;)