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Sloppy Joes

A saucy, lightly sweet beef filling gets piled onto toasted buns for a quick and nostalgic American meal.

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Sloppy Joes plated American meal

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Sloppy Joes

Yield4
Prep10 min
Cook20 min
Total30 min

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Ingredients

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Method

4 steps

  1. 1

    Brown 1 lb ground beef in a large skillet over medium-high heat, breaking it into small bits, 5–7 minutes until no pink remains. Drain off excess fat if the pan looks greasy — leave about a tablespoon for flavor.

  2. 2

    Add 1 small diced yellow onion and 1 diced green bell pepper. Cook 5 minutes until soft and the onion turns translucent. Stir in 2 minced garlic cloves for 30 seconds until fragrant.

  3. 3

    Stir in ½ cup ketchup, 2 tablespoons tomato paste, 1 tablespoon yellow mustard, 1 tablespoon Worcestershire, 1 tablespoon brown sugar, ½ cup water, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, and ¼ teaspoon black pepper. Scrape up any browned bits.

  4. 4

    Simmer uncovered over medium 10–12 minutes, stirring now and then, until the sauce is thick and glossy and clings to the meat — not soupy. Toast 4 hamburger buns and pile the filling on. You want saucy sweet-tangy sloppy joes that stay on the bun — not a watery meat puddle or a dry ketchup paste.

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