Homemade Sloppy Joes
Course: DinnerCuisine: American4
servings5
minutes20
minutesOver time, I’ve learned that some of the best weeknight meals are the simplest ones, especially when I want something homemade without spending too much time in the kitchen.
This is one of those recipes I often rely on because it starts with basic ingredients I usually already have on hand. I cook ground beef and build the sauce right in the same pan, which keeps things quick and cuts down on cleanup.
Through experience, I’ve also found that making it from scratch gives me more control over the flavor and ingredients compared to store-bought jars, and it helps avoid waste from half-used sauces sitting in the fridge.
It comes together fast, but still feels like a proper home-cooked dinner, which is exactly what I need on busy nights when I don’t want to overthink meals.
Ingredients
1 lb ground beef browned
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
3 cloves of mined garlic
1 cup of ketchup
1/4 cup of water
1 Tbsp light brown sugar
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp of cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste
4 hamburger buns
Directions
- Heat a large high sided skillet over medium heat and add the beef. Cook while stirring and breaking the ground beef up with a spoon so it crumbles until completely cooked.
- Strain the grease from the beef and set aside. (Save about 1/4 cup of the grease)
- Add the 1/4 cup saved grease from the meat back to the pan and add onions and garlic. Cook for a few minutes until tender.
- Stir in ketchup, water, light brown sugar, Worcestershire, cayenne and season with salt and pepper. Simmer for 5 minutes. Serve on hamburger buns.