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CROCK POT SLOPPY JOES are the answer to your busy weeknights! Tender beef in a sweet and tangy sauce that you can set and forget in the slow cooker! Our whole family loves this simple recipe.
It’s no secret that I looooove a good sloppy joe. I mean, that sauce is to die for.
The stuff in the can is fine. I certainly won’t turn my nose up at it.
But homemade sloppy joes will just always be better and trust me, they aren’t all that difficult to make! Especially if you prepare them in advance and then let it cook all day in your crockpot. Makes dinner time so easy and I know we all love that!
Before I share the recipe, I just have to answer a question…
What is a sloppy joe?!
Okay, okay. My guess is that the vast majority of you grew up eating sloppy joes and know exactly what they are.
However, we lived in WI for a bit and it seemed that no one knew what a sloppy joe was. Instead, they called these BBQ! So we’d get excited and expect pulled pork and out would come a sloppy joe. So funny!
Anyway, a sloppy joe is basically a loose meat sandwich that has tomato sauce added to it. That tomato sauce is usually doctored up to be a bit sweet and tangy.
They’re messy to eat, but so much fun!
Sloppy Joe Sauce:
Sloppy Joes start with a tomato base. You’ll need both tomato sauce and ketchup for a robust flavor.
We’ll season the sauce with brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, apple cider vinegar, salt, and pepper.
That’s it! The sauce just gets stirred into the meat and the crockpot does the work from there.
Slow cooker sloppy joes:
The meat and vegetables will need to be browned on the stove, but then things get REALLY easy!
Drain the grease from the meat and add it to your crockpot.
Pour in all of the sauce ingredients and give it all a big stir to combine.
That’s it! Cook this on low for at least an hour, preferably 3 or 4.
The longer this cooks, the more tender and flavorful the meat becomes.
Substitutes:
Sloppy Joes are traditionally made with beef, but my family also likes them with ground turkey or chicken. Whatever you have on hand will work just fine!
Once you’ve browned your meat, the recipe calls for adding in some onion and bell pepper. Feel free to adjust the amounts up or down, depending on your family’s preferences.
Picky Kid Tip: Buzz the onions in a food processor or blender for 20 seconds or so to form a puree. You’ll still get the flavor but none of the texture, which seems to be where the problem lays for most people.
More sloppy joe recipes:
Don’t want to use your crockpot? My homemade sloppy joes are ready in less than 30 minutes.
My sloppy joe tater tot casserole and sloppy joe shepherd’s pie are always a hit with the kids. Same goes for my sloppy joe dip!
You can’t go wrong with a sloppy joe grilled cheese, but it’s also fun to mix things up and make chili sloppy joes!
Crock Pot Sloppy Joes
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- ½ sweet onion, chopped
- 1 bell pepper, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 8 ounces tomato sauce
- ½ cup ketchup
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon mustard
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 4 sandwich rolls, for serving
Instructions
- Brown the ground beef in a large skillet over medium heat, breaking it up as it cooks.
- When beef is partially cooked through, add the onion, pepper, and garlic to the pan and continue cooking and stirring until meat is fully cooked and vegetables have softened. Drain grease.
- Pour the beef mixture into a crockpot and add all of the remaining ingredients aside from the sandwich rolls. Stir well to combine.
- Cover and cook on low for 3-4 hours, stirring occasionally.
- To serve, spoon meat evenly between the sandwich rolls.
Kelly S says
I have made this so many times, it is a go to favorite in my house. I have to tell you that if I need a recipe I come to your site automatically, you usually have what I need, and my guys love it every time.
Thanks for all the great recipes!
Karly says
Thank you so much, Kelly! I’m so happy to hear that!
Tom says
sound like a great Sloppy Joe Recipe–Has anyone tried complete cooking in the crock pot? Once I’ve done everything in the skillet–I’m inclined to leave it there–I get the slow and stays warm all day without burning concept (I use my crock pot often) I just prefer to not “cook a recipe twice” if I can avoid it.
Stacey Downs Smith says
Love this! Making it tonight. Hold the buns ! I’m going to make sourdough buns when I make this recipe again! I don’t eat processed bread unless it’s on vacation. ?
Kevin F says
I haven’t had Sloppy Joe’s in over 20 years. Decided on a whim to make this tonight (a chilly night in NYC with snow on the ground) and it’s perfect for the weather. Absolutely delicious!
Karly says
Thanks, Kevin!
Ginger says
This was a quick and easy dish. I-served the sloppy joes with mustard and pickles on buns. My family loved them, delish!
Karly says
Yum – love sloppy joes with pickles and mustard! 🙂
Mary says
This sloppy joe recipe is a hit with my family. I grew up eating sloppy joes but love your recipe better. It is delicious.
Karly says
Thanks, Mary!
Candice L Clay says
It is me again. I am allergic to many sauces and foods. I cannot have Worcestshire sauce or wine.
What can I use instead. Thank You
Karly says
Hi Candice! There are tons of options for subbing Worcestershire – you might just google and see which one would work best for you.
Sandi says
It would be great if you would put a link to Pinerest on your recipes to allow people an easy way to save them.
Vickie says
Love Sloppy Joes! But my favorite way to eat them is as a hot dip, eaten with Fritos Scoops instead of on a bun! Weird but delicious! Sounds like Super Bowl food to me!
Karly says
We like them as a dip too! We use Ruffles though. 🙂
Mark Kleeblatt says
Just an FYI I know you like your crockpot version but have tried RedGold sloppy joe sauce in a can it is fantastic no comparison to manwhich
Karly says
No, I haven’t. I’ll have to check it out! 🙂