These Slow Cooker Sloppy Joes are homemade from scratch using ground beef, tomato sauce, ketchup, coconut sugar, and the perfect combination of seasonings to create a delicious sloppy joe sandwich that everyone loves! Make this family favorite for an easy weeknight dinner or feed a crowd. And don’t worry about leftover sloppy joes because it freezes perfectly.
Does anything say classic American 80s food more than sloppy joes? I don’t think so! There’s just something about ground beef slow-cooked in a sweet-spicy sauce and served up on a crusty bun that screams childhood comfort.
Of course, back in the day, sloppy joes were prepared with canned sloppy joe mix. We try to stay away from canned mixes, and as I’ve progressed through my clean eating journey, I always try to recreate my childhood favorites into clean, delicious recipes. Bacon Cheeseburger Meatloaf and Slow Cooker Taco Meat are both perfect examples of this. Now, I can add crockpot sloppy joes to this list.
Reasons you’ll love this recipe
- Easy to prepare. There are a few extra steps to this slow cooker recipe, but I promise it’s still simple to make and worth it.
- Pantry ingredients. If you have ground beef in the freezer and a healthy stocked pantry, then you’ll have everything to make these homemade sloppy joes!
- Healthier version of a classic. These sloppy joes are made from scratch and skip the processed mystery canned ingredients most 80s kids grew up with.
- Make-ahead. You can assemble the slow cooker ingredients a couple of days beforehand or make the recipe and store it in the refrigerator to heat up during the week. You can even double this sloppy joe recipe to enjoy some now and freeze the rest for later.
Ingredients
- Bread and milk to make a panade to keep the meat from drying out as it cooks in the crockpot. This is a tip I learned from the Slow Cooker Revolution Cookbook by America’s Test Kitchen.
- Ground beef. It’s best to use lean ground beef (93/7) instead of an 80/20 to keep the recipe from getting greasy.
- Onion and garlic. These aromatics add flavor to the meat and sauce.
- Chili powder for an undertone of spice
- Tomato sauce and ketchup make up the base of the sweet sauce for the meat to simmer in. You can also use crushed tomatoes for texture. Also, when choosing ketchup, make sure to purchase one without high-fructose corn syrup or hydrogenated oils.
- Worcestershire sauce (not pictured) gives the ground beef a rich flavor that balances out the sweetness of ketchup.
- Coconut sugar is an unrefined sugar that adds an extra touch of sweetness to the sauce. You can also use brown sugar or leave it out if you don’t want extra sugar in these sloppy joes.
- Hot sauce gives the sauce some heat and tang to balance out the sweetness
- Hamburger buns to hold the sloppy joes.
Cooking Tips
- Bulk up the vegetables with green bell peppers, onions, carrots, spinach, or other vegetables.
- Use ground turkey or ground chicken to lower the saturated fat and calories.
- Spice it up with sriracha, chili sauce, cayenne, spicy mustard, or extra hot sauce. You can also swap out some ground beef for hot Italian sausage for extra flavor and spice.
- Browning the meat on the stove is an extra step and not completely necessary, but it does add flavor. If you have time, I recommend making the extra effort to cook the meat, onions, and garlic before adding it into the slow cooker.
- If you need to feed a crowd, you can double this recipe, and the cooking time is the same.
- Toast those buns. This helps the bread soak up the flavor without getting soggy too fast.
- Make it gluten free by using gluten-free bread and hamburger buns.
My Favorite Crockpot
How to Make Slow Cooker Sloppy Joes
- Place the bread and milk into a large mixing bowl. Using a fork, mash together until the bread and milk form a paste.
- Then use your hands to mix the ground beef into the bread mixture until combined. Set aside for a moment.
- In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat and then cook the onions until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and chili powder and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
- Add the ground beef and Worcestershire sauce into the skillet with the onion mixture.
- Break the ground beef up into small pieces as it cooks – Continue cooking until meat is no longer pink.
- Transfer brown ground beef and onion mixture to the slow cooker and stir in tomato sauce, ketchup, brown sugar, and hot sauce.
- Cover and set the slow cooker to cook on low for 5-7 hours, or until beef is tender.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Serve hot on a hamburger bun or Kaiser roll and enjoy with your favorite condiments.
Serving suggestions
- Serve with a crust kaiser bun and top with your favorite toppings. Cheese, pickles, and lettuce are all favorites.
- You can also serve sloppy joes with oven-roasted potatoes; Ranch roasted potatoes, roasted broccoli, or a side salad.
Storage tips
You can make ahead these Slow Cooker Sloppy Joes a few different ways.
- Assemble the ingredients into the slow cooker insert and store in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. This is the method I often use when I want to cook sloppy joes during the week.
- Cook the recipe entirely and then store in the fridge for up to 5 days or freeze for three months. Heat on the stovetop or in the microwave when you’re ready to eat.
- Prepare a slow cooker freezer kit. Assemble all of the ingredients (brown ground beef and cook onions) into a freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months. On cooking day, place the frozen sloppy joes mixture into the crockpot and cook low for 7-9 hours. Or thaw completely in the refrigerator and continue with cooking instructions.
Other Healthy Slow Cooker Recipes
- Crockpot Turkey Tacos
- Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff
- Slow Cooker Beef and Broccoli
- Slow Cooker Turkey Chili
- Crockpot Steak Fajitas
See all of my healthy slow cooker recipes.
Slow Cooker Sloppy Joes
These Slow Cooker Sloppy Joes are homemade from scratch using ground beef, tomato sauce, ketchup, coconut sugar, and the perfect combination of seasonings to create a delicious sloppy joe sandwich that everyone loves! Make this family favorite for an easy weeknight dinner or feed a crowd. And don't worry about leftover sloppy joes because it freezes perfectly.
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Servings: 8 people
Calories: 474kcal
Equipment
- Large skillet
- 5 1/2 quart slow cooker
Ingredients
- 2 slices whole wheat bread
- ¼ cup 1 % milk
- 2 pounds lean ground beef
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 chopped white onion about 1 large onion
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 15-once can tomato sauce
- 1 cup ketchup
- 2 teaspoons coconut sugar can use light or dark brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon hot sauce I like Frank's hot sauce
- 10 hamburger buns I like kaiser rolls
Instructions
- Place the bread and milk into a large mixing bowl. Using a fork, mash together until the bread and milk form a paste.
- Use your hands to mix the ground beef into the bread mixture until combined. Set aside for a moment.
- In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat and then cook the onions until translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Add the garlic and chili powder and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
- Add the ground beef into the skillet with the onion mixture .Break the ground beef up into small pieces as it cooks. Continue cooking until the meat is no longer pink.
- Transfer browned ground beef and onion mixture to the slow cooker and stir in tomato sauce, ketchup, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, and hot sauce.
- Cover and set the slow cooker to cook on low for 5-7 hours, or until beef is tender.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Serve hot on a hamburger bun or Kaiser roll and enjoy with your favorite condiments.
Notes
**The nutritional information includes a hamburger bun.
Storage tips
You can make ahead these Slow Cooker Sloppy Joes a few different ways.
Assemble the ingredients into the slow cooker insert and store in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. This is the method I often use when I want to cook sloppy joes during the week.
Cook the recipe entirely and then store in the fridge for up to 5 days or freeze for three months. Heat on the stovetop or in the microwave when you’re ready to eat.
Prepare a slow cooker freezer kit. Assemble all of the ingredients (brown ground beef and cook onions) into a freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months. On cooking day, place the frozen sloppy joes mixture into the crockpot and cook low for 7-9 hours. Or thaw completely in the refrigerator and continue with cooking instructions.
Nutrition
Serving: 1g | Calories: 474kcal | Carbohydrates: 56g | Protein: 31g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 14g
Did you make this recipe?
Have you tried this Slow Cooker Sloppy Joe Recipe? I can’t wait to see it! If so, I’d love for you to rate this recipe and leave a comment below. We all learn from each other’s experiences. Also, it would be awesome if you could share a picture on Instagram and tag it #organizeyourselfskinny.
Jessica Grant says
My husband and I have been trying to eat more healthy, and my 5 year-old requested we have sloppy joes. Found this recipe and was not sorry! It was a hit!
Tammy Overhoff says
That’s awesome jessica! So happy your family loved it!
Joe in MO says
Frozen individual servings often dry out over time, even in a vacuum seal bag. For “red stuff” like sloppy-joe, pulled pork, etc, I use 1-2 T tomato juice or V-8 to re-moisten during re-heating. (Orange juice or apple juice for frozen chicken servings.)
Cathy Kirchner says
We love sloppy joes at our house. It’s a wonderful way to sneak vegetables in as well. I’ll shred carrots, zucchini, mushrooms, finely chopped spinach, grated potato, etc. I’ve made them for a group of 20 kids that I’ve cooked for on a weekend retreat for the last three years, and was told that they always have to be on the menu. If you like them a little “sloppier” but don’t want the mess, serve them open face, with a sprinkling of extra sharp cheddar. Depending on how much cheese, you can raise the WW points significantly, but that’s why we have those bonus points.
Pam says
Does anyone know the serving size (approx)? 1/3 cup? 1/2 cup? Thanks
Pam says
Does anyone know the approximate serving size when making full recipe for 10 servings?
1/3 cup? 1/2 cup??
Portia says
Hi,
I’m English, so have an ingredients question- when you say a can of tomato sauce, is that plain blended canned tomatoes, or is it a pizza style sauce with onion and bell pepper and herbs already added?
Thank you!
Linda Robinson says
Are the points right? You say they are 41
Mary says
That is 41 carbohydrates, 9 points. Its the number after, not before
B.J. says
I tried this recipe but noticed there was no green pepper in it so I added 1 large diced one with the onions. I also tilted my pan when the beef was done so I could skim out to accumulated fat before adding in the other ingredients. The 6-8 hours seemed a little excessive so I only had mine in the cooker for 5 hours on low and turned out very good.
Julie says
These were so good! I’m not usually a Sloppy Joe fan (I’ve only done Manwich), but my family is so I decided to try these. No more Manwich in our house! Also- did yo drain the beef before putting it in the crockpot?
Shelly says
This recipe is also excellent with ground turkey. It turns out less greasy than with beef. You can also add sliced baby portabella mushrooms to make the results go further.
Kristi W. says
Hi! I came over to this recipe from orgjunkie.com. I’ve been sitting on it for a couple of weeks and finally made it for the first time tonight. Amazing! Awesome! Great flavor. When I lived in Denver there was this little restaurant called “Just Sloppy Joes” and it was an amazing place to go for a treat. These totally equal that place! Also, I never ate a sloppy joe until I was an adult either. Thank you for sharing this. 🙂
Tammy says
I am so glad you like them. They are for sure a family favorite!
Miz Helen says
Hi Tammy,
We just love a great Sloppy Joe and your recipe looks delicious, we will really enjoy it! Hope you are having a great week end and thank you so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday.
Come Back Soon!
Miz Helen
Sandra says
I have not had Sloppy Joes in a LONG time. I think I need to make them again soon, bookmarking this recipe 🙂
Tara @ Live to be Inspired says
These look yummy! Love Fran’s suggestion to add in quinoa. I’ll have to try that. I probably wouldn’t put it in until the end of the process. Can’t wait to try this. I am over from Org Junkie as well.
Tammy says
Hi Tara! I have added bulgur to many of my ground beef recipe and it always turned out great. Next time I make the sloppy joes I will for sure try it. Thanks for stopping by. I love the Org Junkie! Tammy
Kelli Miller (@TheSouthernMom) says
Although I like a quick can of Manwich on occasion, we love us some homemade sloppy joes, too! Also, if you make meatloaf with the sloppy joe sauce it is TO DIE FOR! 😉 Saw this recipe featured in Org Junkie’s menu plan for the week. 🙂
Fran says
You are not alone. Sloppy Joes were not a staple in my house growing up, either, but my kids go crazy for them now. I haven’t tried a slow cooker method yet, but we substitute about 1.5 cups of cooked brown rice or quinoa for 1/2 of the beef. Still makes a bun full of gooey deliciousness that the kiddos love plus the bonus of making it cheaper and healthier. 🙂
Tammy says
That is a great idea! I usually add bulgur to tacos and meatballs and thought if it would work in the sloppy joes but did not try it. Do you add it during the slow cooking process or after it is done? I will try this next time. Thanks Fran!