Delicious sloppy joes are the comfort food sandwiches that satisfied the kid inside of each and every one of us.
Delicious Sloppy Joes
By Sue Lau | Palatable Pastime
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Delicious sloppy joes are my recipe of the day for National Sloppy Joes Day! It has been one of my fav sandwiches since I was a kid.
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Simple with Complex Flavors
These sandwiches are really simple to make despite the list of ingredients, which doesn’t make it any harder to make.
And the simple things are sometimes what makes life great- simple pleasures, guilty pleasures…things like burgers dripping with melted cheese…hot delicious slices of pizza…warm toasty grilled cheese along with a bowl of tomato soup.
Children know these things. It is a kind of innate knowledge that is not learned- one bite and it is something that stays with you forever. And these kind of foods we all have loved since we were children. We didn’t have to be taught.
Comfort Food Deliciousness
But life goes on and we try to eat healthier. And occasionally the cravings rear their head and demand to be taken care of. So having a burger or slice of pizza or delicious sloppy joe is alright once in awhile. In fact, it is more than alright. It’s awesome!
And I “could” have made these with a very lean ground meat such as ground turkey or even used something like tofu crumbles. But. Lately, I have come to feel like maybe corn syrup in many foods, among them, ketchup, kind of impedes my health.
Real Food from Scratch
So I do make these with my own ketchup (which is quite easy to make, btw) or use a low-sugar variety to eliminate that (which is great because I am a diabetic as well).
But every person knows what is o.k. for their particular diet, be it teetotaling fat or avoiding high fructose corn syrup. So if you do want to use a homemade ketchup to get rid of that, as I did in this recipe, I have the recipe posted now and you can find it here:
The garlic potato wedges I posted in that link I actually made to go with the sloppy joes here. I make oven baked wedges and fries every now and then when I am having potatoes and sandwiches or burgers.
It is really a bit more economical to make those yourself than to buy frozen potato-thingies and bake them, which may even be par-fried as part of their processing, so don’t think those are as healthy as those made at home without frying at all.
Healthy Eating in Moderation
All this talk about healthy eating might seem a bit out of place in a post on something that includes ground beef. But really, balancing out the other factors in healthy eating can make it more possible to enjoy such things as ground beef, if you agree that healthy eating is about eating in moderation.
And so once in awhile, if you get a hankering for a burger or something a bit bbq, think of these and give them a try. The flavor is pretty much dead on for what you would expect in a sloppy joe. And don’t forget to serve it on a toasted bun with plenty of napkins!
Celebrating National Sloppy Joe Day!
Enjoy Browsing Even More Delicious Sloppy Joe Recipes!
- Asian-Style Sloppy Joes from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
- Baked Sloppy Joe Cups from Our Crafty Mom
- Delicious Sloppy Joes from Palatable Pastime (You are Here!)
- Ground Turkey Sloppy Joes with Hoisin and Cilantro from The Spiffy Cookie
- Healthy Homemade Sloppy Joes from Our Good Life
- Instant Pot Simple Sloppy Joes from Shockingly Delicious
- One Skillet Sloppy Joe Pasta from A Day in the Life on the Farm
- Philly Cheesesteak Sloppy Joes from Cheese Curd In Paradise
- Sloppy Joe Bites from Eat Move Make
- Sloppy Joe Casserole from Making Miracles
- Thanksgiving Sloppy Joes on Mashed Potato Waffles from A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
You might also like:
Oven Baked Parmesan Chicken Tenders
Crock Pot Pulled Pork
Chicken Cordon Bleu Sliders
Hot Grilled Pastrami with Caramelized Onion Jam
Spicy Sicilian Burger with Basil Mayo
Delicious Sloppy Joes
Delicious Sloppy Joes
Ingredients
- 2 pounds ground beef chuck
- 2 ribs celery finely diced
- 1 large onion finely chopped
- 1 bell pepper minced (I prefer red ones)
- 3 cloves garlic chopped
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- Salt and pepper
- 2 teaspoons molasses
- 1 1/4 cups ketchup
- 1/2 teaspoon ground mustard
- 8 ounces tomato sauce
- 1 cup water
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon hot sauce Frank's or other Louisiana hot sauce
- 1 1/2 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon liquid smoke
- 1 1/2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- sandwich buns as needed
Instructions
- Place ground chuck, celery, onion, red pepper, and garlic in a large deep skillet or dutch oven and cook, breaking up beef, until it is browned; drain off any excess fat.
- Add remaining ingredients and stir.
- Simmer mixture, covered, over low heat, stirring occasionally, for about 15 minutes or until mixture is as thick as you like.
- Serve on toasted buns.
Notes
Nutrition
Originally published in December 2013, content reflects updated photography.
Your sloppy joes sound amazing and I’m impressed that you made your own ketchup.
These have such a great flavor profile – so many good things in there!