Homemade Sloppy Joes
🧡🙌🤤 The BEST and most flavorful homemade Sloppy Joes that the whole family will ADORE! So EASY, ready in 20 minutes, and can be made with either ground beef or ground turkey to keep them HEALTHIER! Perfect for get-togethers, parties, or a fast family dinner on busy weeknights!
Servings: 8 servings
Calories: 121cal
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 to 3 tablespoons olive oil*
- 1 pound lean ground beef can be made with ground turkey, ground chicken, or ground pork
- 1 small white or yellow onion diced small
- ½ cup small diced green bell pepper
- 8 ounces tomato sauce basic tomato sauce, not spaghetti sauce or anything fancier needed
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 tablespoon ketchup
- 1 tablespoon light brown sugar packed; or more to taste
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt or to taste
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper or to taste
- Hamburger buns for serving
Instructions
- To a large skillet, add the oil, ground beef, onions, green peppers, and cook over medium-high heat to brown the beef and soften the vegetables. Crumble the beef as it cooks and stir mixture frequently to ensure even cooking, approximately 5 to 8 minutes.
- Drain the mixture very well** (see Notes).
- Add the tomato sauce, paste, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, salt, pepper, stir to combine, and bring to a simmer.
- After mixture is simmering, reduce the heat to medium-low or low, and allow it to simmer for about 5 to 8 minutes, or until it's thickened a bit and is as thick as desired (mixture will also thicken up as it cools).
- Serve immediately in buns. Sloppy Joe's meat mixture will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Notes
*If you're using ground turkey or ground chicken, I recommend adding 2 to 3 tablespoons since they are very lean proteins that tend to dry out; with ground beef or ground pork, you can get away with less oil.
**Because I personally prefer sloppier Sloppy Joe's with more moisture and sauce, I drain the mixture well, but I don't squeeze out every last drop of natural juices and oils. Suit yourself and your preferences with how well you drain it, ranging from well to very well.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 121cal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 35mg | Sodium: 416mg | Potassium: 376mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 241IU | Vitamin C: 11mg | Calcium: 19mg | Iron: 2mg
