Crock Pot Root Beer Sloppy Joes
Crock Pot Root Beer Sloppy Joes are sweet, tangy, and slow cooked to perfection. An easy, fun family dinner or party sliders for guests!
A Fun, Simple Dinner Recipe
The sauce for these sloppy joes cooks low and slow until it’s super flavorful with just the right balance of sweet and savory. Who doesn’t love a classic American sloppy Joe (and this one has a little twist!) A great weeknight dinner or a fun party food – you decide!
Frequently Asked Questions:
Absolutely! You can use just one pound of ground beef to help cut costs on this recipe. If you want to do that, just be sure to decrease all the other ingredients by half. Additionally, you could swap out the ground beef for ground chicken or ground turkey.
Adding soda to this Sloppy Joe recipe adds a more complex flavor. It’s sweet and savory. A little pepper flavor and some sweetness are added. It’s also acidic so it’s really going to continue to tenderize the cooked meat. You won’t necessarily taste it as a separate ingredient, it’s just adding a layer of flavor.
Want to try it with a different soda flavor? Any dark soda will work here. I have a recipe for Dr Pepper Sloppy Joes as well!
Any of your favorite sides! We like serving them with French Fries, onion rings or tater tots, a side of steamed veggies, and a big, green salad. But, any side dish that you typically like with Sloppy Joes should work nicely.
Store the leftover meat mixture in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. You can store the sandwich rolls separately. To keep the meat longer, freeze it in a freezer safe container for up to 3 months. The best way to reheat the meat is in a skillet on the stovetop. You can use a microwave, but stir it as you’re reheating so it evenly gets reheated. If you find it’s too thick when reheating, just add a splash of water or broth.
Ingredients Needed: (See Recipe Card Below For The Full Recipe)
- ground beef– I like to use lean ground beef, but use what you have available. Just be sure to drain it well so the sauce doesn’t get greasy from excess fat. If you don’t want to use ground beef, you may use ground turkey or ground chicken instead.
- onion – don’t like onion? Leave it out.
- green and red bell pepper– don’t like peppers? Leave them out.
- garlic– I like to use fresh when I have it but the jarred stuff works fine here too.
- root beer– I am not a fan of diet root beer but if you prefer it or want to use it here, then don’t let me stop you.
- ketchup– if you are out of ketchup or don’t want to use it, try using BBQ sauce instead. That’s another great swap to try if you want to change the flavors up a bit.
- light brown sugar – you can use dark brown sugar or a light brown sugar substitute (like Swerve, etc.)
- Worcestershire sauce
- yellow mustard
- garlic powder and onion powder – you could also add some red pepper flakes for a kick of hear
- quick cooking oatmeal– this can be an optional ingredient. You don’t taste it as a specific ingredient, it’s more of a thickener. A friend recommended this to me a few months ago. I had never used it before but it does thicken it up and if you want to add some nutrition in here without tasting it, this is your chance!
- slider buns– or regular sized buns could be used. For more texture in your Sloppy Joes, you can toast the buns first before using.
- sliced cheese and/or pickles– these are optional and are used for serving
How To Make Crock Pot Root Beer Sloppy Joes
To a 5-6 quart slow cooker, add the cooked beef, onions, garlic and bell peppers to the slow cooker. In a separate bowl, whisk together root beer, ketchup, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder. Whisk slowly as the root beer will bubble up as you stir. Pour the sauce over the beef mixture and stir.
Cover and cook on low for 4 to 6 hours or High for 2 to 3 hours. Optional toast slider buns before serving. Spoon the sloppy joe mixture onto slider buns. Add cheese slices or pickles (if desired).
Craving More Recipes?
Crock Pot Root Beer Sloppy Joes
Ingredients
- 2 pounds ground beef, browned and crumbled (see notes below)
- ½ small onion, finely diced
- 1 each green and red bell pepper, finely diced (optional)
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ¼ cup quick cooking oatmeal
- 1 cup root beer (see notes below)
- 1 cup ketchup
- 2 Tablespoons light brown sugar, packed
- 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 Tablespoon yellow mustard
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 12 slider buns (can use regular sized buns)
Optional toppings:
- sliced cheese and/or pickles
Instructions
- To a 5-6 quart slow cooker, add 2 pounds ground beef, browned and crumbled, 1/2 small onion, finely diced, 1 each green and red bell pepper, finely diced, 3 cloves garlic, minced and ¼ cup quick cooking oatmeal.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together 1 cup root beer, 1 cup ketchup, 2 Tablespoons light brown sugar, packed, 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, 1 Tablespoon yellow mustard, 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, and ½ teaspoon onion powder. Stir gently since the root beer will fizz up a bit.NOTE: If you want, you can skip this step and just pop all the ingredients (minus, the buns obviously) into the slow cooker then stir it all together. I like to sometimes stir the wet ingredients together first to make sure all the seasonings are evenly distributed but it's not absolutely necessary.
- Pour this mixture into the slow cooker and stir. Cover and cook on low for 4 to 6 hours or high for 2 to 3 hours.NOTE: Since you're already using cooked meat, you're really just warming it all up and letting all the flavors meld together and allowing the peppers and onions to cook and soften.
- Before serving, toast the slider buns (if you prefer)
- Spoon the sloppy joe mixture onto the toasted slider buns. Top withsliced cheese and/or pickles (if desired) then serve!
Notes
- Please refer to my FAQ’s (Frequently Asked Questions) and ingredient list above for other substitutions or for the answers to the most common questions.
- You can use one pound of ground beef, just cut the other ingredients in half (unless you like it super saucy.)
- I don’t like to use diet root beer so I personally wouldn’t use it but you could if that is your preference. I just haven’t tried it myself. There is very little soda in each serving of these sloppy joes but this is all your preference.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Excellent! Great taste. My husband said I definitely need to make these again!
By far the best sloppy joes I’ve ever had.