BBQ Beef Sloppy Joes

by Sabrina Snyder

Published on Last updated

29 Comments

5 from 10 votes
6 servings
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
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BBQ Beef Sloppy Joes made with a bbq ketchup mixture in less than 30 minutes will keep the summer bbq burger flavors going all year long.

If you tried the BBQ Sausage Sloppy Joes you’ll love this ground beef version of Sloppy Joes meets Slow Cooker BBQ Beef Sandwiches.

BBQ Beef Sloppy JoesBBQ Beef Sloppy Joes

The slow cooker shredded beef version of this recipe was a resounding and immediate hit on the site so I just had to share a sloppy joe version with you all as we are navigating through these 40 sloppy joe recipes.

The mix of the ketchup, bbq sauce, beef broth and Worcestershire sauce is the perfect combination to add just enough sweetness. If the mixture is too sweet to you you can also swap out the ketchup for tomato puree but the beauty of this is that sticky, sweet, cheesy mixture we all love in our favorite bbq burgers.

Can you add bacon?

I mean, yes. Please do. I do sometimes too because truth be told one of my favorite fast food burgers aside from The Habit and In-n-Out is a Carl’s Jr. Western Bacon Cheeseburger. Top this sandwich with a couple of onion rings and two slices of bacon and you’ve create the sloppy joe version of the original … but much much tastier.

Can you swap meat?

Yes, we previously made a sausage version, but ground chicken, turkey or ground lean pork would work equally well with the recipe. This sauce is delicious on just about any protein you’d like to use.

BBQ Beef Saucy ground mixture

WHAT TO SERVE WITH BBQ BEEF SLOPPY JOES?

We love serving side dishes with these sloppy joes that you’d classically serve with your favorite burgers including Crispy Sweet Potato Fries, Beer Battered Onion Rings and Loaded Garlic French Fries.

Tips for BBQ Beef Sloppy Joes:

  • Make sure you cook the beef long enough that the onions are translucent.
  • If you don’t want to drain the canned tomatoes go ahead and skip it but the mixture will take longer to cook down.
  • If you are sensitive to how sweet bbq sauce and ketchup naturally are swap the ketchup for tomato puree.
  • Don’t let the sauce reduce until dry, stop the cooking when it still looks nice and saucy.
  • Sauce will continue to reduce even after you turn off the heat.
  • You can add chunks of cheddar cheese instead of the shredded variety if you’d like (like in this Bacon, Beer and Cheese Sloppy Joes).

Ground BBQ Beef

If you would like to add more vegetables into the recipe I’d recommend:

  • green bell pepper, chopped finely
  • red bell pepper, chopped finely
  • zucchini, diced finely
  • carrots (though these are naturally sweet so if you’re cutting back on sweet additions be careful)

I’d love to know how it turns out for you so if you do make the recipe pretty please come back and leave a comment letting me know how you enjoyed them.

We put a ton of effort into recipe testing 40 Sloppy Joes for this weekly series! The reason we did (aside from the fact we LOVE them) is because you all have gone nuts for the original sloppy joes on the site!

BBQ Sloppy Joes

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Dinner, then Dessert

BBQ Beef Sloppy Joes

BBQ Beef Sloppy Joes made with a bbq ketchup mixture in less than 30 minutes will keep the summer bbq burger flavors going all year long.
Yield 6 servings
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Course Dinner, Sandwich
Cuisine American
Author Sabrina Snyder
BBQ Sloppy Joes
PrintRate

Ingredients
 

  • 1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef 85/15
  • 1 yellow onion diced
  • 14.5 ounces diced tomatoes drained
  • 1 cup beef broth
  • 1/2 cup ketchup
  • 1/2 cup barbecue sauce
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 6 brioche buns toasted
  • 1 cup cheddar cheese shredded

Instructions

  • In a large skillet add the beef and onions, cooking well, breaking it apart but leaving some chunks for 5-6 minutes.
  • Add in the canned diced tomatoes, beef broth, ketchup, bbq sauce and Worcestershire sauce, cooking until the sauce starts to evaporate and the mixture becomes "sloppy" (about 5-6 minutes).
  • Spoon the mixture onto the brioche buns and top with shredded cheddar cheese.

Nutrition

Calories: 436kcal | Carbohydrates: 40g | Protein: 34g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 90mg | Sodium: 1008mg | Potassium: 800mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 17g | Vitamin A: 425IU | Vitamin C: 9.1mg | Calcium: 231mg | Iron: 5.8mg

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About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the cookbook Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients, published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

See more posts by Sabrina

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. If you enjoyed the recipe and would like to publish it on your own site, please re-write it in your own words, and link back to my site and recipe page. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

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Comments

  1. I am making it right now on the stovetop. It smells scrumptious! I’m sure it will be delicious in a few hours. Yes, I dumped the can of diced tomatoes in before draining. Maybe I’ll have soup first!

    Reply

  3. I’m currently making this right now and followed the instructions but my sauce is still so thin and runny. It’s been on the burner for about 10 minutes. Should I let it sit off the burner to cool and possibly thicken?

    Reply

    1. I had the same problem. I think reducing the beef broth would be the answer. I’ve made sloppy joe’s from this website with no issues. That is what I’m going to do the next time I make them. Lol, I just drained it when I reheated the meat, because I made them ahead of time for lunch for meal planning in a way.

      Reply

  5. When did they start adding cheese to a basic barbeque beef mixture or to sloppy joe. will it be as good as i remember if i leave out the cheese.

    Reply

  7. Very tasty. I am glad I stumbled onto this recipe when I Googled “BBQ Sandwich” recipes and it was one of the top listings.

    Reply

  9. So good! I used mustard to balance the sweet, and added jalapeños on top of mine (my oldest doesn’t dig spicy). Can’t wait to stick this baby (Joe Boat!) in the oven with some cheese on top. Too bad you can’t share pics in a comment ?Thank you!

    Reply

  10. I stumbled across this and got inspired. I didn’t have much in the way of fresh ingredients, but I did find that using honey bbq sauce, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, chopped green onion, red pepper flake and garlic powder did wonders in the ground beef. This recipe is a fantastic base for experimenting, so thanks for sharing!

    Reply

    1. You would need to multiply this recipe by how many servings you’d like to make. I would probably make it into two separate batches though so you have more control over the thickness you prefer.

      Reply

  12. You my friend, are the queen of sloppy joes. I’ve never considered myself a big sloppy joe fan, but you have changed that. There are so many sloppy joe recipes on your site that I have pinned and can’t wait to try. Adding this one to the list as well because – CHEESE!

    Reply

  14. If I ever need a sloppy Joe recipe, I know where to come. You have some of the best on the internet! So delicious. LOVE this one!

    xo Michael

    Reply