Memphis BBQ Sloppy Joes

by Sabrina Snyder

Published on

21 Comments

4.89 from 9 votes
6 servings
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
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Mouthwatering Memphis BBQ Sloppy Joes will blow your mind! Finger licking good ground beef sandwiches with homemade BBQ Sauce, topped with Sweet Coleslaw!

Ultimate Sloppy Joes are getting a smoky, tangy Southern makeover. This new Sloppy Joes Recipe is the best summer BBQ sandwich, packed with sticky sweet BBQ sauce and made in only 30 minutes!

Memphis BBQ Sloppy Joes

MEMPHIS BBQ SLOPPY JOES

Forget the grill or the smoker, you’ll be making these tasty BBQ Sloppy Joes for every cookout all summer long! They are so easy and ready in just 30 minutes, which is perfect for dinner any night of the week. Has it been mentioned yet how absolutely amazing they taste? ‘Cause these bad boys are mind-blowingly good.

Like many of our Sloppy Joe Recipes, the star of these Memphis BBQ Sloppy Joes is the homemade sauce. This easy Memphis BBQ Sauce is packed full of sweet, tangy flavor and ready in less than 15 minutes. Make a large batch of the sauce and freeze in 1 cup portions for all your favorite recipes that call for BBQ sauce.

Memphis BBQ Sloppy Joes are a great meal to double and feed a crowd. It’s a budget friendly main dish, especially with the homemade sauce made with pantry ingredients. For an easy party dish, serve these as sliders that guests can assemble themselves. Keep the Memphis BBQ Sloppy Joes mixture warm in a crockpot (for up to 4 hours) and have precut Hawaiian rolls on the side.

Memphis Sloppy Joes in pan with Cole Slaw

These Memphis BBQ Sloppy Joes are so good on their own, seriously try to keep yourself from eating them straight from the pan. But they get so much better with our Southern-style Sweet Coleslaw on top, just like a true BBQ sandwich. Sweet Coleslaw needs to be chilled for at least 4 hours, so make it the day before for the ultimate sloppy joe topping!

This family friendly dinner is perfect for a busy weeknight! Baked Mac and Cheese and Coleslaw are the ultimate side dishes for Memphis BBQ Sloppy Joes and they are so easy. Make weeknight meal planning even easier by making Slow Cooker Mac and Cheese and have Roasted Broccoli in the oven while your Sloppy Joes are cooking. 

Memphis Sloppy Joes

MORE DELICIOUS SLOPPY JOES RECIPES

VARIATIONS ON MEMPHIS BBQ SLOPPY JOES

  • Meat: Easily swap out ground turkey or ground chicken for the ground beef in this recipe. For big chunks of beef, use chuck roast cut into 2 inch cubes. Add an extra cup of BBQ sauce and simmer beef covered in sauce until fork tender and shreds easy.
  • Barbecue Sauce: If you prefer a Kansas City style sauce, try this other Homemade BBQ Sauce. If you need to use store bought sauce, try Sweet Baby Rays! They have so many flavors, great taste, and still budget friendly.
  • Spicy BBQ Sauce: Increase the cayenne pepper in the sauce or add ¼ cup hot sauce to your sloppy joe mixture. If you add hot sauce, you may need to cook longer to reduce the liquid.
  • Cheese: Of course you can add cheese to these Sloppy Joes! Either top with shredded cheddar cheese when serving or stir in 1 cup cubed cheese at the end until it starts to melt.
  • Bread: Ditch the bun and serve Memphis BBQ Sloppy Joes over French Fries, Mac and Cheese, Mashed Potatoes, or these easy Tater Tot Waffles!

Slow Cooker Memphis BBQ Sloppy Joes

  • Brown ground beef in large skillet for about 5 minutes.
  • Add in onions and cook until beef is no longer pink and onions are tender.
  • Drain and add beef and onion mixture to your crockpot.
  • Add BBQ sauce, beef broth, and Worcestershire to slow cooker and stir to combine.
  • Cover with lid and cook on low for 4 to 5 hours. If sauce is too thin, uncover and cook on high for 20-30 minutes.

HOW TO STORE MEMPHIS BBQ SLOPPY JOES

  • Serve: You can keep Memphis BBQ Sloppy Joes at room temperature for up to 2 hours. Serve in a crockpot on warm, with extra BBQ sauce, to keep at room temperature for up to 4 hours.
  • Store: Cool Sloppy Joes mixture and refrigerate for up to 4 days in an airtight container.
  • Freeze: Place completely cooled Memphis BBQ Sloppy Joes mixture in a sealed container and freeze for up to 3 months.

Memphis Sloppy Joes with Slaw

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Dinner, then Dessert

Memphis BBQ Sloppy Joes

Mouthwatering Memphis BBQ Sloppy Joes will blow your mind! Finger licking good ground beef sandwiches with homemade BBQ Sauce, topped with Sweet Coleslaw!
Yield 6 servings
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Course Dinner
Cuisine American
Author Sabrina Snyder
Memphis BBQ Sloppy Joes with slaw
PrintRate

Ingredients
 

  • 1 1/2 pounds ground beef , 85/15
  • 1 yellow onion , diced
  • 1/2 green bell pepper , chopped
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
  • 14.5 ounces diced tomatoes , drained
  • 1 cup beef broth
  • 1 cup Memphis BBQ Sauce
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 6 brioche buns , toasted
  • 1 cup Sweet Coleslaw

Instructions

  • In a large skillet add the beef, onions, green bell peppers, salt and pepper, cooking well, breaking it apart but leaving some chunks for 5-6 minutes.
  • Add in the canned diced tomatoes, beef broth, 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 Sweet Coleslaw.

Nutrition

Calories: 713kcal | Carbohydrates: 64g | Protein: 32g | Fat: 37g | Saturated Fat: 18g | Cholesterol: 221mg | Sodium: 1135mg | Potassium: 665mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 19g | Vitamin A: 918IU | Vitamin C: 13mg | Calcium: 116mg | Iron: 4mg

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Memphis BBQ Sloppy Joes collage

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. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

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Comments

  1. It came out perfect for me. I wouldn’t change anything! I cut down the recipe to 1/3 because I was making for 2. Didn’t have Memphis bbq sauce, used what I had – sweet and spicy. Excellent recipe! Thank you!

    Reply

  2. Taste is delish but it’s super runny nothing like a chunky sloppy Joe…. Followed recipe to the letter too? it’s more like a delightful hamburger soup. Wondering if I should put some thicker (like flour or other starch)
    Or make it with 3 pounds of ground Chuck instead of the two???

    Reply

    1. Oh no, was there any liquid in the tomatoes after you drained them perhaps or did you happen to use 85/20 meat per chance? I haven’t run into this with this recipe but will put it on the list to review in the test kitchen.

      Reply

  3. Made these and baked in a muffin tin with a biscuit for crust. Everyone loved them, mademgreat appetizers.

    Reply

  5. Sounds amazingly delicious as written but have a question.
    Could I possibly use salsa instead of diced tomatoes in this recipe?

    Reply

  6. This Sloppy Joe looks absolutely amazing! So much flavor! This was such a childhood fave of mine, so this recipe is perfect!

    Reply

  9. These are truly the best sloppy joes! That Memphis barbecue sauce is amazing – we use it for everything!

    Reply

  10. What timing! I hadn’t thought about Sloppy Joe’s in years until the other day my son said he was making them for his kids. I’m sharing your recipe with him. They will all love it!

    Reply

  11. Hi Sabrina..I made your sloppy joes today..followed the recipe exactly and it’s absolutely delicious..you’re an awesome cook..Blessings to you and your family..thanks for sharing!

    Reply