Sloppy joes reminds me of birthday parties when I was a kid. My Mom always threw a shindig for us, and on a limited budget, sloppy joes was the cheapest – and yummiest- way to serve a house full of people dinner.
I have used the can stuff in the past, but since I am trying to be a bit healthier, and cook more, I decided to try my hand at a homemade sloppy joe sauce – and it did not disappoint. You can also eat this if you are Keto, or low carb. Just leave out the brown sugar, and use a sugar-free/keto approved ketchup. I eat a bowl of this with pickles and mustard and it’s so filling! (sometimes I use the pickle slices as chips, and put the sloppy joes along with some mustard on top – delicious!)
INGREDIENTS
| 3 pounds | ground beef |
| 1 | large green bell pepper (diced) |
| 1 | large onion (diced) |
| 2 cups | ketchup |
| 6 cloves | garlic (minced) |
| optional | hot sauce (such as Tabasco) |
| optional | worcestershire sauce |
| add to taste | salt (and freshly ground black pepper) |
| 10 | rolls or buns |
| 2½ tablespoons | brown sugar (packed) |
| 2½ teaspoons | chili powder |
| 1¼ teaspoon | dry mustard (if you don’t have dry mustard , yellow mustard works too) |
| 5 teaspoon | red pepper flakes |
| 2½ tablespoons | butter (softened) |
DIRECTIONS
- Brown the ground beef , adding salt and pepper for flavoring. Drain off the majority of the excess fat (or not if you are keto!)
2 Add the chopped green peppers and onions, stir let sit for a minute, and then add 2 cups water, the ketchup and garlic., Stir it around to combine, and then add the brown sugar, chili powder, dry mustard, red pepper flakes, and hot sauce, Worcestershire, salt and pepper to taste. Stir to combine, and then cover and simmer over medium-low heat, about 20 minutes.
3. To serve, spread the rolls with the butter and brown them on a griddle or in a skillet. Spoon a good amount of the meat mixture onto the bottom roll, and then top with the other half. Add toppings as desired (again, pickles and yellow mustard are AMAZING with sloppy joes!)
