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This is a simple dinner idea. Sloppy Joes Recipe has only 3 ingredients and there are no excuses to not try this family friendly dinner idea that everyone will love.
This 3 ingredient Sloppy Joe recipe taste so much better than the can sloppy joe mix. The best part it is so easy to make and delicious too. You probably already have most of the ingredients to make this easy stovetop recipe for the best sloppy joe recipe.
My family loves this meal. We will often plan on eating this for lunch on the weekend. It is so easy to put together and we have a homecooked meal for lunch in between our basketball games.
What's in this post: Easy Sloppy Joes Recipe
Why This Recipe Works
In under 30 minutes, you can have this quick, easy classic dinner idea that your family will love. You can probably cook this in 20 minutes. The sloppy joe mixture is really easy to modify for what you have on hand and so versatile.
We have even added a tiny bit of Worcestershire sauce and garlic powder to the ground beef mixture. You can try using chili powder, red pepper flakes, bbq sauce, olive oil or whatever you prefer.
It really is such a great recipe and we all love sloppy joe meat. It never gets old and we enjoy this recipe so much. Try toasted buns next time to make a delicious sandwich. It is really good!
Ingredients
Besides ground beef, you only need three ingredients to make this delicious Sloppy Joes recipe.
- Yellow Mustard
- Ketchup or tomato sauce
- Brown Sugar
Yep! That is all you need to make a fast sloppy joes for your family. What makes it even better is one of my kids does not like the traditional sloppy joes, but loves this recipe!
Once you make this, you won’t ever buy that store bought stuff again. This has so much more flavor than the canned sloppy joes. For the full recipe, scroll to see recipe card.
How to Make Sloppy Joes
- Step 1 – Brown the ground beef in a large skillet on medium heat until no longer pink. You can use ground turkey too. Once browned, drain the excess grease from the beef. I like to season with salt and pepper while the beef is cooking.
- Step 2 – Add in brown sugar, mustard, and ketchup. Stir to combine.
- Step 3 – Reduce the heat and allow the meat mixture to simmer on low for about 5 minutes to combine the flavors.
- Step 4 – Serve on hamburger buns and with your favorite sides.
Recipe Tips
- Make Ahead – The prep time is very easy on this recipe, but you can prepare ahead of to save even more time.
- Ground Beef – Before mixing in the sauces makes sure to drain the meat to remove any grease.
- Simmer – Allow the mixture to simmer on low to combine the ingredients.
Can I Double The Recipe?
Yes, this is a great recipe to make a double or triple batch and freeze the left overs. It does not take anymore work to make extra. We love to cook once and eat twice or more. This is such a huge help during busy weeks.
It really isn’t any extra work to double the recipe and you have a super easy dinner for another night. I try to do this as much as possible and keep a few quick meals in the freezer.
Serving Suggestions
Here are a few of my favorite side dishes for sloppy joes.
- Easy Homemade French Fries Recipe
- Deep Fried Pickles
- Baked Mac and Cheese Recipe
- Ranch Carrots Recipe
- Check out our full post on What to Serve with Sloppy Joes
- Top a baked potato for a complete meal idea.
- Potato Chips
It’s really good served with Grilled Corn on the Cob and Oven Baked Sweet Potato Fries. These are both so easy and really delicious side dishes. Just keep it simple. This meal can easily be ready with hardly any work at all.
Try adding green bell pepper or onion to the ground beef while cooking. Onion and green pepper really give it an amazing flavor.
Frequently Asked Questions
Store the leftovers in an airtight container and place in the fridge. Leftovers will stay great for up to 4 days. See Leftover Chili Recipes for even more ideas.
You can freeze the sloppy joe sauce in a freezer bag. We also like to freeze them in silicone cupcake pans, Then pop them out and place in a freezer bag. Now you can have a lunch or dinner for 1 in no time. This is such an easy dinner idea, but when you freeze them it makes it an even faster dinner idea.
When you are ready to reheat, place in a crockpot or in a pan for an even faster dinner idea. Try sloppy joe recipe slow cooker version and come home to dinner ready to enjoy. This is great for reheating what you put in the freezer and makes dinner so simple. If you have a smaller portion, just thaw in the fridge overnight and then reheat in the microwave.
Try these other Sloppy Joes
- Quick and Easy BBQ Sloppy Joes Recipe
- Big Mac Sloppy Joes Recipe
- Pepperoni Pizza Sloppy Joes
- Ultimate Sloppy Joes
- Homemade Sloppy Joes
- Easy Crock Pot Sloppy Joes Recipe
- Bacon Cheeseburger Sloppy Joes Recipe
- Easy Philly Cheesesteak Sloppy Joes
- easy Buffalo Chicken Sloppy Joes recipe
We love to hear from you. If you make this homemade sloppy joe sauce recipe, please leave us a comment or star review.
Sloppy Joes Recipe
Equipment
- 1 skillet
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1/8 cup brown sugar
- 1/8 cup mustard
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- hamburger buns
Instructions
- Brown the ground beef in a skillet.
- Once browned, drain.
- Add in brown sugar, mustard, and ketchup. Stir to combine.
- Allow it to simmer on low for about 5 minutes to combine the flavors.
- Serve on buns and with your favorite sides.
Definitely one of my family’s go to. Love the basic recipe. We love using spicy brown mustard every so often.
I have made this recipe so many times! It is tasty and flavorful while being easy. The fun part is experimenting with different brands and kinds of ketchup and mustard. I have served this on buns, but most often I serve it in a bowl with some cut corn or chopped veggies. Last night, I served it with edamame in the shell. Easy peasy.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Christine. Thank you so much for sharing and I love the idea of trying different kinds of ketchup and mustard. What a wonderful idea! Thank you so much for the positive review.