BBQ Beef Sloppy Joes made with a BBQ ketchup sticky sauce will keep the summer burger flavors going all year long. Ready in only 30 minutes!
If you tried our BBQ Sausage Sloppy Joes, you’ll love this ground beef version of Sloppy Joes-meets-Slow Cooker BBQ Beef Sandwiches. Check out my Sloppy Joes page for more variations and different ways to serve up this tasty meat.
Sabrina’s BBQ Beef Sloppy Joes Recipe
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. I know that you will enjoy it as much as I did.
Recipe Card
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef (85/15)
- 1 yellow onion , diced
- 14.5 ounces diced tomatoes , canned, 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
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Table of Contents
About this Recipe
The mix of ketchup, BBQ sauce, beef broth, and Worcestershire sauce is the perfect combination to add just enough sweetness. If the mixture is too sweet for 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.
Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Make sure you cook the beef long enough that the onions are translucent.
- If you don’t want to drain the canned tomatoes you can skip it, but the mixture will take longer to cook.
- Don’t let the sauce reduce until dry. Stop the cooking when it still looks nice and saucy.
- The sauce will continue to reduce even after you turn off the heat.
What to Pair With
We love serving tasty side dishes with these Sloppy Joes, including crispy Sweet Potato Fries, Beer-Battered Onion Rings, and Loaded Garlic French Fries, which you’d classically serve with your favorite burgers.
Variations
- Vegetables: If you would like to add more vegetables, try finely chopped green or red bell pepper. Finely diced zucchini would be a nice addition. You can also add finely diced carrots (carrots can add more sweetness so don’t add if you are trying to cut back on sweetness.)
- Sweetness: If you are sensitive to the sweetness of BBQ sauce and ketchup, swap the ketchup for tomato puree.
- Cheese: If you’d like, you can add chunks of cheddar cheese instead of the shredded variety.
- Meat: You can swap the beef and use sausage, ground chicken, ground turkey, or ground lean pork. This sauce is delicious on just about any protein.
- Toppings: Bacon is a natural topping to this sandwich. You could also top it with a few onions rings as well. Better yet, try both!
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More Delicious Sloppy Joes Recipes
This is the best recipe for sloppy Joe’s. Excellent flavors!
Most excellent indeed. Super appreciative of you enjoying the recipe as well as the 5 stars!
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!
Wow! This is a great recipe. Easy and quick. It’s awesome! Thank you!
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?
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.
Awesome recipe, HUGE hit everytime I make them!
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.
Its added at the end of cooking. Cheese isnt a must but it definitely helps flavor the meal!
Could I used crushed tomatoes vs diced in this recipe?
Thanks, Jan
Sure 🙂
Very tasty. I am glad I stumbled onto this recipe when I Googled “BBQ Sandwich” recipes and it was one of the top listings.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Doreen.
I loved this! My children did too. I always used the canned but this was so much better. I’ll make this often.
Glad it was a hit with the whole family!
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!
Love your additions, Stephanie!! Sounds so good.
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!
You’re welcome!
This recipe is for 6 servings . Do or can you tell me how to improve this for 50 people. Thank you
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.
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!
I’ll wear the crown proudly…the title comes with a crown, right?! Enjoy!!
These were amazing! Thanks for all of the ideas and tips.
You’re welcome, Julie!
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
So sweet of you to say!
I’m down for any and all things BBQ, especially if it’s in sloppy joe form!! Gimme!!
Then this is right up your alley!! Enjoy!
These look great! I love adding barbecue sauce to my sloppy joes too!
It’s so good, right?!