Easy Sloppy Joes in a Slow Cooker
One of my favorite childhood meals were sloppy Joes, complete with a jar of Manwich and piled on thick on top of a good ‘old white hamburger bun! Great memories! My love of sloppy Joes is still there but I one-upped classic sloppy Joes and instead made cheesy sloppy Joes in the slow cooker. Cheese on sloppy Joes? Yes, really! As we all know, everything truly is better with cheese, sloppy Joes included. This homemade recipe for cheesy sloppy Joes, or cheeseburger sloppy Joes as they’re sometimes called, is super easy and convenient. I have provided both stovetop and slow cooker directions in case you’re partial to one or the other. The sloppy Joes meat sauce recipe is a little sweet thanks to the ketchup and brown sugar, a little tangy from the vinegar, a little smoky from the barbecue sauce, and optionally a little bit spicy from pickled jalapeños. Best of all, it’s all homemade and a guaranteed family favorite classic recipe that everyone will be begging you to make, over and over.
Ingredients in Slow Cooker Sloppy Joes
To make homemade slow cooker sloppy Joes, you’ll need a variety of common and easy to find fridge and pantry ingredients including the following:
Lean ground beef Pork sausage White or yellow onion Green bell pepper Garlic Canned tomato sauce Ketchup Barbecue sauce Light brown sugar Apple cider vinegar Yellow or Dijon mustard Worcestershire sauce Salt Pepper Pickled jalapeno peppers, optional for spiciness Shredded cheddar cheese (optional) Buns, toast, Texas toast, etc., for serving
Note: For a more complete listing of ingredients with amounts, scroll down to the recipe card section of this post.
How to Make Sloppy Joes in a Slow Cooker
Making Crock-Pot sloppy Joes is so easy and great for when you want to have a hot meal waiting after a long day at school, work, or away from home. Simply do the following:
Make-Ahead Instructions
Feel free to turn your slow cooker down to the “warm” setting and let the sloppy Joes meat mixture hang out there and keep warm for a few hours if you’re making this for a party where folks can serve themselves, as desired, with the warm sloppy Joes sauce. Bell peppers: As for the bell peppers, green peppers are more traditional in sloppy Joes but you also use red. Mustard: It’s up to you whether you want to use yellow or Dijon mustard. Yellow is more customary. Pickled jalapeños: The pickled jalapeno peppers will make the sloppy joes meat sauce spicier and therefore are optional. You can also make the entire recipe a day or two before serving, then transfer the mixture back to your Crockpot and turn to “Low” to reheat later on.
What to Serve with Sloppy Joes
When I think of Crockpot sloppy Joes, I always think of quick and easy dinners or casual summer get-togethers or tailgating. Therefore, they go well with other simple salads and sides including the following:
Bacon Potato Salad Bloody Mary Deviled Eggs Waldorf Salad Black Bean, Corn, and Avocado Salad German Potato Salad Crispy Parmesan Ranch Potatoes Loaded Greek Salad
More Easy Sandwich Recipes:
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