Crock Pot Sloppy Joes (+Video)
Skip the can with these homemade Crock Pot Sloppy Joes! Ground beef, tomato sauce and delicious seasonings make the best sloppy joes!
A HOMEMADE SLOPPY JOE RECIPE
Is there any food better than the food from our childhood? I bet all of us can name at least 5 foods that we ate as a kid that we will always love and remember. This is definitely one of them for me! Now, I don’t have any problem with good ole Manwich in a can. I like it. But Sloppy Joes are kinda like spaghetti sauce. Sometimes you want to make it up from scratch when you have time!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
Yes. The Sloppy Joe filling can be frozen. Place leftover filling in a freezer safe ziploc bag and remove as much air as possible. Flatten it out. Freeze for up to 3 months.
There are lots of options. Generally we eat them with a side French fries or potato chips. Other ideas included: baked beans, tater tots, potato salad, macaroni salad and macaroni and cheese.
The flavors really develop as this simmers gently in the crock pot but it can be made on the stovetop. Brown ground beef and onion in a large pot. Drain excess grease and return beef mixture to pot. Stir in the rest of the ingredients (omit the flour.) Bring mixture to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to medium low and allow it to simmer for about 30 minutes.
As with many American invented foods, we don’t really know for sure. We do know that loose meat sandwiches have been a staple in the Midwest for nearly 100 years. So a lot of folks seem to think that it was perhaps concocted in an Iowa diner. A man named Joe decided to add some tomato sauce to his loose meat sandwiches and the Sloppy Joe was born. Some think it was invented in a bar in Key West called “Sloppy Joes”. We may never know the exact origins but we sure are glad it’s here now!
In general, one pound of 80/20 ground beef should produce about eight standard Sloppy Joe sandwiches.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (FULL RECIPE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POST)
- ground beef
- onion
- tomato sauce
- ketchup
- water
- light brown sugar
- all-purpose flour
- chili powder
- garlic powder
- apple cider vinegar
- yellow mustard
- Worcestershire sauce
- salt and pepper
HOW TO MAKE CROCK POT SLOPPY JOES:
In a large pan, brown ground beef with chopped onion. Crumble and cook until no longer pink. Drain excess grease.
Put cooked ground beef mixture into your slow cooker. Add in the rest of your ingredients (except cheese and hamburger buns, obviously.)
Give it all a good stir.
Cover and cook on low for about 4-6 hours.
Optional: When ready to serve, toast your hamburger buns. I usually just put a dab of butter in my cast iron skillet. Put the heat on medium. Then put in the buns. Put filling onto each of your buns and enjoy! Optional: Top with a slice of American cheese.
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Originally posted: September 2012
Updated & republished: January 2023
Crock Pot Sloppy Joes (+Video)
Ingredients
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 8 ounce can tomato sauce
- ½ cup ketchup
- ½ cup water
- ¼ cup light brown sugar, packed
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 Tablespoon chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 Tablespoon cider vinegar
- 2 Tablespoon yellow mustard
- 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 8 hamburger buns, to serve
Instructions
- In a large pan, brown ground beef with chopped onion.
- Cook and crumble until no longer pink. Drain excess grease.
- Put ground beef mixture into your slow cooker.
- Add in the rest of your ingredients (except hamburger buns and cheese)
- Give it all a good stir.
- Cover and cook on low for about 4-6 hours.
- When ready to serve, place filling on buns. If you like, top with a slice of American cheese.
Video
Notes
- To make this on the stove top, brown ground beef and onion in a large pot. Drain excess grease and return beef mixture to pot. Stir in the rest of the ingredients (omit the flour). Bring mixture to a boil (over medium high heat) Cover, reduce heat to medium low and allow it to simmer for about 30 minutes.
- To Toast Buns – put a dab of butter in a cast iron skillet. Put the heat on medium.
Then put in the buns and toast until golden brown.
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.
OK, I am highly allergic to a couple of the ingredients. I do know that I can swap white vinegar for the cider vinegar, but I am still struggling with a substitute for Worcestershire sauce other than Soy. Would it change the flavor too much if I omit it all together or would replacing the water with beef stock/broth help? TIA.
Easy to make and a sweet sloppy joe taste that is excellent!
Thank you Slater! Glad you loved this one!
My family loved these. They are so much better than what I grew up with out of the can.
This is a keeper. Thank you for sharing!
That makes me so happy!! Thank you Debra!!
This is one of our family’s favorite recipes! Thank you so much for sharing it.
So happy hearing that! Thanks so much Kim!
Huge hit! Soooo much better than out of the can.
Added 1 cup of beef stock and red pepper flakes.
So, so good – thank you!!
I see there is flour in this but it says only add if in crock pot & not on stovetop. Is the reason you add flour to the crockpot version is to help it thicken & to cook down so not runny ?? I’d love an answer because I’d like to try, hopefully for Labor Day. We like a thicker sloppy Joe :)) thanks so much 🙂
Hi Sandy – that’s exactly right! Hope you love it!
Best sloppy joe I’ve had to date. Just the right amount of spice and sweetness. Great balance of saucy but still has the “sloppy” part. This is a keeper in my home!!!!!!
Woo hoo! Love hearing that Dee!! Thank you SO much!
Cider vinegar is listed as in ingredient. Is that apple cider vinegar? I just wanted to make sure.
Hi Jennifer, you are correct! 🙂
I made the sauce and then realized it was for 2 lbs of ground beef instead of 1 lb (which I have). Can I keep the extra sauce in the fridge for awhile?
This was SO good! Our new favorite!
Have made this for just me and have doubled for extra leftovers. I’ve also uses shredded mozzarella cheese and is yummy that way ad well. I love cheese and to me it tastes better with mozzarella. Not saying that the other way isn’t good as I did like it.
I recently found your blog and I have to say, everything I’ve found so far always looks so, so, yummy!! I tried your baked ziti recipe that was really good and easy to make. This one looks like a must try too. I love sloppy joe and haven’t had it in a while so I may just have to make this soon. Thanks for sharing
My hubby will LOVE this. I’ll be using ground venison, which will make him love it even more. I do like the thought of using ground turkey or chicken option as well. Thanks for the recipe! Great website, by the way. I recently started getting your emails with the weekly meal plan and am enjoying them very much.
Can you use ground turkey instead of ground beef
Love, love this recipe. So tasty, hearty, and easy!
Love hearing that! Thanks so much Beth!