13 Ways To Upgrade Your Sloppy Joes

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

The sloppy joe is a staple. A family favorite dating all the way back to the 1960s, it's as simple as it comes, and yet it's so filling and home-y, too. For your most basic version of the sandwich, you don't really need all that many ingredients, either — some beef, some sauce (canned or cobbled together with a few things from your fridge), and a bun.

However, while there's nothing wrong with going the basic route for your family's next sloppy joe meal, why not opt for an upgrade instead? You may just discover that making a few tiny adjustments to how you might normally prepare this sandwich comes with a big payoff. From choosing the right beef (or a beef substitute) to adding in some unexpected ingredients, to ditching the bun all together and using your sloppy joe filling elsewhere, you've got options.

To learn more, we spoke with a handful of foodie experts, including: Thérèse Buchanan, recipe developer and food blogger of Tessie's Table; Amy Casey, personal chef and food blogger at Amy Casey Cooks; Sarah Hill, food blogger, recipe developer, and food photographer at Real Food with Sarah; Erin Clarke, founder of Well Plated and cookbook author of "The Well Plated Cookbook" and "Well Plated Every Day"; Rachel Farnsworth, recipe developer and the food creator behind The Stay at Home Chef; and Rachel Ballinger, creator of My Everyday Ordinary Life and author of the "My Everyday Ordinary Life Cookbook". Here were their top tips for upgrading your sloppy joe.

Both Sarah Hill and Thérèse Buchanan recommended you try adding a smoky element to your sloppy joe, for what Hill called "a subtle barbecue flavor." It doesn't take much work at all, but you will want to be careful that you don't add too much heat in the process (unless, of course, that's what you're after).

"Finely chopped chipotle peppers in adobo sauce are great for this because they add both smoky flavor and heat," said Buchanan. "If you don't want anything spicy, smoked paprika is a good alternative." She advised starting out with just a mere ½ teaspoon of smoked paprika or small portion of chipotle. Taste as you go, she said, and adjust the heat level based on your (and your diners') preferences. Ultimately, though, the resulting smoky and somewhat spicy flavors will complement the sweetness of the typical sloppy joe tomato sauce.

Making sloppy joes doesn't really require much in the way of cooking. You brown the beef, you simmer the sauce, you're good to go. However, you really do need to pay attention to how you're cooking your ingredients, if you want an upgraded, better-than-ever sloppy joe, according to our experts.

For one, Sarah Hill said, you need to actually brown your beef. Don't just cook it until it's no longer pink and call it done. If, she said, you let the beef actually start to brown up before you begin breaking it apart, you'll end up with more flavor in your sloppy joe filling.

Then, Rachel Farnsworth said, you need to give the sloppy joe filling and its sauce plenty of time to simmer. She recommended leaving your pan uncovered and letting the sauce thicken, while all the flavors meld. In the end, you should wind up with a sauce that's thick enough to easily stick to your filling ingredients.

Not all beef is the right choice for a sloppy joe. Rachel Ballinger told us that, for the overall best sloppy joe, you need to reach for a good-quality beef. "I like a 93/7 ground beef-to-fat ratio," she told us. "Getting your beef from a local rancher is a great way to enjoy great tasting healthy locally grown beef and an opportunity to support your community."

Not really familiar with beef-to-fat ratios and what they mean for your meal? If you cook with beef on a regular basis, it's something that you'll want to brush up on. In order to choose ground beef with the perfect ratio of fat, first understand how the ratio is formatted and what information it's telling you about the beef within the marked package. So, using Ballinger's recommendation as an example, let's say you're looking at a pack of beef marked as 93/7. That means that the ground beef is 93% muscle and 7% fat. Similarly, a package marked 80/20 will be 80% muscle and 20% fat.

The lower the amount of fat, the more expensive the ground beef is likely to be. Additionally, lower-fat beef is at risk of drying out. However, for recipes wherein you're combining the beef with a lot of other, moisture-rich ingredients and maybe not cooking it for a long period of time — like a recipe for a sloppy joe — lean beef will work just fine.

When making a truly superior sloppy joe, there's no reason at all that you have to stick to ground beef. There are plenty of other fillings at the ready. If you want to play it safe and keep to beef, though, while also branching out, consider Amy Casey's recommendation of shredded beef. "Cook a seasoned chuck roast in either a slow cooker or Instant Pot," she said. "Shred the beef and serve on brioche or pretzel rolls with cole slaw."

Beyond seasoned chuck roast for your sloppy joe shredded beef, other ideas include using brisket, smoking beef cheeks, or roasting short ribs before braising them in your sloppy joe sauce. If you really don't want to put in that much effort, though, you could also simply go buy a pack of shaved beef, cooked and ready to heat and eat, from your local grocery store.

Another great swap for ground beef in your sloppy joe? Go vegetarian and skip the meat completely, when you opt for lentils. It's an upgrade that Rachel Farnsworth recommends, but she notes that you don't have to swap out all of the beef for lentils if you don't want to and aren't aiming for a fully vegetarian sandwich. However, with high beef prices, this swap could be a big budget-saver.

She told us: "If you need to save money, cooked brown or green lentils hold their shape and work really well in a thick sloppy joe sauce. Start by replacing half the beef if you want to keep that familiar beef flavor, or use lentils for the entire filling. Cook and drain them before adding them to the sauce, and keep them tender rather than mushy."

Don't want to cook your lentils? Some find that sloppy joes are an excellent way to use canned lentils. If making lentil sloppy joes with ground beef, you'd just add the canned lentils once the beef and any other ingredients are cooked through, allowing the lentils to warm. If making lentil sloppy joes without ground beef, you'd simply warm the canned lentils in your sauce.

And on the topic of sloppy joe sauce, while you can use a canned option like Manwich, or even condiments like barbecue sauce, for your sloppy joe sauce, why wouldn't you simply make your sauce from scratch, so you can control the flavor? As Amy Casey said, it only takes a few pantry ingredients, and you can make the sauce as spicy or sweet as you like.

Worried your homemade sauce isn't going to be tasty enough? Multiple of our experts — including Erin Clarke, Rachel Farnsworth, and Thérèse Buchanan — reiterated that you've got to add in some umami-rich ingredients, namely Worcestershire sauce.

And if you're still feeling like your from-scratch sauce is missing something, consider cooking your tomato paste for the sauce first, for a richer flavor. As Buchanan said, "Add a tablespoon of tomato paste to the browned beef and let it cook for a minute or two before adding the remaining sauce ingredients. This helps deepen the tomato flavor and gives the sauce a little more richness without making it overly sweet."

Some sloppy joe recipes call for sweet ingredients like cola, ketchup, and/or brown sugar. If you're not careful, the sauce can become overly sweet and cloying. You can get around this by adding a bit of acidity, said Thérèse Buchanan.

"Try adding a teaspoon of dill pickle juice for a sharper, tangier flavor, or a splash of balsamic vinegar if you want something slightly sweeter with a little more depth," she advised. "Balsamic works particularly well because it has a rich flavor of its own. I'd start with a teaspoon, let it simmer into the sauce, and taste before adding more. You don't want the vinegar to stand out, just to balance the other ingredients."

Sarah Hill likewise shared a similar tip. She said that she prefers to add yellow or Dijon mustard, or even apple cider vinegar, to provide more tang and to balance out those sweet notes.

Multiple experts recommended that you start adding in some veggies to your sloppy joe mix, and for multiple reasons. "Add shredded carrots (grate them yourself — don's use pre-shredded) and sweet potatoes to make this classic even better," Erin Clarke explained. "Not only does it inject some more nutrients into your sloppy joes, [but] it also adds sweetness since these veggies are naturally sweet, and that means you don't need as much sugar." A sloppy joe upgrade that makes for not only a more flavorful and texture-rich sloppy joe, but one that makes this meal healthier, too? Yes, please.

Rachel Farnsworth, meanwhile, adds onions, bell pepper, and celery to her sloppy joes, aka the holy trinity. "Those vegetables are building blocks of flavor," she said. "Chop them finely if you want them to blend into the sauce or need to hide them, or leave a slightly larger dice for a little more texture."

Other popular options beyond these recommended picks include shredded zucchini and mushrooms. Of course, if you want to add some veg to your sloppy joe but you really prefer keeping your sauce entirely meat-based, you can also opt to top your typical sauce with a veg-filled cole slaw.

It's a really simple upgrade, but one that's really easy to overlook at the same time. However, it's one that applies not only to your sloppy joe, but any bun-based sandwich you're making — toast those buns.

Rachel Ballinger said that this is one step you should always take when making sloppy joes. "The toasted bun helps create a barrier to keep the juice from making the bun too soggy and falling apart," she explained.

This will especially come in handy if you follow one of Ballinger's other tips: Layer the bottom bun with some crunchy dill pickles for extra flavor. Adding pickles to your sloppy joe is a popular tip, with Rachel Farnsworth also suggesting it, while likewise saying you really need to toast your buns for the best flavor and a sandwich that can stand up to the filling. Farnsworth likewise mentioned that opting for a pretzel bun can be a fun upgrade.

What's better than a normal-sized sloppy joe? What about a miniature sloppy joe? We're talking sloppy joe sliders, of course. However, don't just think that you should make your typical sloppy joes and merely swap your normal buns for slider-style buns. Sarah Hill has a specific process that's going to take your meal to the next level.

Here's how she recommended making some cheesy baked sliders: "Spoon the filling onto slider rolls, add freshly shredded mozzarella, and brush the tops with melted butter and Italian seasoning before baking. You get melted cheese, golden buns, and an easy way to serve sloppy joes for a party or game day."

There's really nothing to argue with there. In a similar vein, you can make an Italian bread swap to upgrade your sloppy joes, by forgoing your normal bun or even a slider bun, and piling your sloppy joe filling onto a slice of Texas toast-style garlic bread. You'll probably want to keep this as an open face-style sandwich, rather than trying to nosh your way through two pieces of toast and all that filling in between (sounds messy), but if you don't mind using a fork, you'll be well rewarded with a lot of flavor. 

Another option for serving sloppy joes at your next party or game day? Consider creating a sloppy joe bar, as Amy Casey suggested. It gives everyone exactly what they want and is still relatively easy.

"Serve the sloppy joe filling, a variety of buns, and an assortment of different toppings," Casey suggested. "Some options are sweet or dill pickle chips; slices of sharp cheddar, provolone or American cheese; crumbled blue cheese; pickled jalapeño or banana pepper slices; shredded lettuce or cabbage; cole slaw; tomato slices; diced onion; and sautéed mushrooms or onions."

Just make sure that you're serving your buffet of sloppy joe goodness safely. The U.S. Food & Drug Administration recommends you keep all hot foods (like your sloppy joe filling) at an internal temperature of 140 degrees Fahrenheit or warmer, and that you use a food thermometer to verify that food stays at this safe temp. Additionally, if you have any perishables out, toss 'em after two hours.

Sloppy joes are great. Potatoes are great. Why wouldn't you combine them into one delicious dish? Tell that bun to take a hike and make sloppy joe potatoes, using the sloppy joe filling as a tasty baked potato topping.

Erin Clarke goes the simple route, spooning the sloppy joe filling over a baked potato and topping the filling with cheese and green onions. Amy Casey does something similar, but notes that you can also use a sweet potato rather than a russet, if you're so inclined, and in addition to the cheese and green onions, she also adds sour cream to the toppings. For an appetizer or snack, she said, you can also fill mini potato skins with sloppy joe meat.

If you try this upgrade, Thérèse Buchanan, who also was one of the experts to sing the praises of the sloppy joe potato, just had one bit of extra advice: "Bake the potatoes until the skins are crispy and the insides are fluffy, then split them open and pile the hot sloppy joe mixture on top."

Lastly, consider turning your sloppy joe leftovers into something entirely new. Erin Clarke had several recommendations for new ways to use your sloppy joe filling, beyond the aforementioned sloppy joe-stuffed baked potatoes.

You could use it as a pizza topping. Clarke explained, "Instead of sauce, spread the sloppy joe filling onto whole wheat pizza dough and add shredded cheddar or pepper jack." You could also, she said, add it into a grilled cheese, or use it to make chili cheese fries, swapping the chili for sloppy joe filling. The filling could also find a place in your tacos or quesadillas.

And if you still have extra sloppy joe filling, Rachel Ballinger says not to worry. You can store it for later use. "You can make the meat sauce ahead of time and store it in the fridge for up to three days," she said. "Reheat [it] in a pot on the stove and serve. It's also easy to freeze the meat sauce. Let it cool completely first and then place in a freezer safe container and freeze. It's good up to three months."