Sloppy Joes
Saucy spiced beef piled onto soft buns.
Ingredients
- 600 g Ground beef
- 1 Onion
- 1 Bell pepper
- 2 tbsp Tomato paste
- 100 ml BBQ sauce
- 2 cloves Garlic
- 4 Burger buns
- 1 tbsp Neutral oil
- ½ tsp Salt
Method
- Chop the onion, bell pepper, and garlic.
- Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high and brown the ground beef, breaking it up, until no pink remains, about 6 minutes.
- Add the onion, pepper, and garlic and cook until softened, about 4 minutes.
- Stir in the tomato paste, BBQ sauce, and salt and simmer into a thick, glossy, saucy mix, about 8 minutes.
- Pile onto toasted buns and serve.
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About Sloppy Joes
The Sloppy Joe is an American diner and lunch-counter staple: seasoned ground beef simmered in a sweet-tangy tomato sauce and spooned onto a soft hamburger bun. It belongs to the family of casual, hand-held Midwestern comfort foods that became fixtures of school cafeterias and weeknight family dinners in the mid-twentieth century. What defines it is the loose, saucy texture, deliberately messy enough that the name is a warning as much as a description, and the balance of savory beef against a sweet, slightly acidic glaze.
This version leans on tomato paste and BBQ sauce to build that glaze, cooking the paste down with the beef and softened onion, bell pepper, and garlic until the mixture turns thick and glossy rather than watery. The peppers add a faint vegetal sweetness and the garlic deepens the background, so each bite tastes seasoned rather than just meaty. It comes together in about twenty-five minutes in a single skillet, which is much of its appeal on a busy evening. Pile it onto toasted buns so the bread holds up, and serve with pickles, chips, or a simple slaw to cut the richness.
Sloppy Joes: frequently asked questions
How many calories are in Sloppy Joes?
A serving has about 605 calories — 35.1g protein, 50.1g carbs, 28.6g fat, 2.9g fiber. Figures are estimated from the ingredient amounts and will shift with your portions and brands.
Is it high in protein?
Each serving has about 35.1g of protein, roughly 23% of its calories.
Is Sloppy Joes gluten-free?
As written, no — it contains BBQ sauce, Burger buns. You'd need a certified gluten-free swap for those ingredients to make it gluten-free.
How many servings does Sloppy Joes make?
This recipe makes 4 servings. In the app you can scale it up or down and the ingredient amounts adjust automatically.