Easy Sloppy Joes Recipe features ketchup as the main ingredient (2024)

December 31, 2017April 29, 2023

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We have an Easy Sloppy Joes recipe with only 3 ingredients.The main ingredient is one that can be found in almost every household. Sloppy Joes With Ketchup is a 20 minute dinner idea using ground beef, ketchup, onions, salt and pepper.

The Simplest Sloppy Joe recipe ever! All the flavor without slaving over the stove. This is a great recipe for quick weeknight dinners. Try it with every kid’s favorite – ketchup!

Sloppy Joes with Ketchup

Ever stare at a pound of ground beef and realize you have no time or none of the right ingredients to make any of your favorite dishes? We hate when that happens.

Well, this Sloppy Joes Sandwich recipe will save the day! Not only does it take ingredients you almost ALWAYS have on hand, but it also can be on the table in 20 minutes!

When we say this is an easy sloppy Joe Recipe, we aren’t joking.With only 3 ingredients, it doesn’t get any easier than this.And, nobody knows the difference.

Easy Sloppy Joes

The sloppy joe sauce in this “recipe” is only ketchup with onions, salt and pepper. Do you count the salt and pepper as ingredients? We think not. And the onions could technically be optional.

One of Barbara’s co-workers made this recently for a pitch-in. Barbara overheard her coworker bragging that it was the easiest sloppy joe recipe ever with only one ingredient….ketchup.

So, Barbara hit her coworker up and got the ingredient list and how she made it. Then she went right home to make it for her family.

And you know what, it is just as good as our other version that is much more effort. It was kid-approved, husband-approved AND Barbara-approved!

Ingredients for Simple Sloppy Joe Recipe

• Ground Beef
• Onions, diced
• Ketchup
• Salt
• Black Pepper

Recipe FAQs

• This sloppy joe sandwich recipe is super easy. The sauce is made of ketchup. Onions are optional, but highly recommended. No need for the can stuff.
• Substitute dried onion flakes for diced onion, if needed. You could also add diced bell pepper with the onions.
• Diced onions, salt and pepper is all it takes to season up the ground beef.
• Serve homemade sloppy joes in a bun, as an open sandwich on bread or eat it with tortilla chips. Then use the leftovers (if there are any) to make our Sloppy Joe Cups.
• This easy sloppy joe recipe tastes great served over baked potatoes or baked sweet potatoes.
• Check out our Amazon Store for our favorite pantry and kitchen items.

How to Make Simple Sloppy Joes

Step By Step Instructions

1. In a large skillet, brown ground beef and onions over medium-high heat, and drain excess grease.
2. Add ketchup, salt and pepper.
3. Heat over low heat until warm and bubbly, approximately 10 minutes.
4. Serve on a bun or bread as an open-faced sandwich or it tastes great served over a baked potato.

Storage Instructions

Let left overs cool completely. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Full recipe steps and ingredient amounts for simple sloppy joes with ketchup, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of the page.

What goes with Sloppy Joes?

Sloppy Joe sandwiches are on regular rotation on the menu at our house. Here are our favorite side dishes to serve with sloppy joes.

1. Cheesy Potatoes
2. Baked Mac and Cheese
3. Coleslaw
4. Corn Casserole
5. Cinnamon Apples
6. Sweet and Sour Green Beans with Bacon
7. Creamed Peas
8. Macaroni and Tomatoes
9. French Onion Rice Casserole
10. Pickled Beets
11. Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes

What goes good on a sloppy joe?

Sloppy Joes are perfect just as they are served plain over bread or on a bun, but there’s also endless ways to shake it up with Sloppy Joe toppings. Here are our top 15 Sloppy Joe Topping Ideas.

1. Sliced Cheese
2. Jalapenos or candied jalapenos
3. Pickles
4. Caramelized onions
5. Raw onions
6. Lettuce
7. Siracha
8. Banana Peppers
9. Potato Chips (the crunch is amazing)
10. Pickled Beets
11. French Fried Onions
12. Tomato Slices
13. Coleslaw
14. Avocado
15. Giardiniera

How to serve Sloppy Joes without bread?

Bread and/or buns are not required for eating Sloppy Joes. Here’s five fun ways to eat sloppy joes without bread.

1. Serve over baked potatoes or baked sweet potatoes.
2. Make sloppy joe nachos by eating with tortilla chips.
3. Fill biscuit dough with sloppy joes to make Sloppy Joe Cups.
4. Serve over scrambled eggs for a fun breakfast or brunch.
5. Make sloppy joe tacos by filling tortilla shells.
6. Make a sloppy joe goulash with pasta.

Sloppy Joe Recipe Variations

We love messy, saucy sandwiches over here at These Old Cookbooks! Check out some other sloppy joe recipe variations:

Frisco Melt Joes

Classic Sloppy Joes

Sloppy Joe Cups

French Onion Joes

Linking up to Meal Plan Monday.

Check out this and other great recipes at Weekend Potluck #307.