Crockpot Sloppy Joes
Crockpot Sloppy Joes are EASY to throw together, made with ground beef, bell pepper, and onion in a sweet tomato based sauce for the perfect weeknight or potluck dinner!
The slow cooker is a lifesaver on busy days because you can set it and forget it until dinner is done! For more great ideas, check out this Hearty Crockpot Cheeseburger Soup, Slow Cooker Sweet & Sour Chicken, and Slow Cooker Kale and White Bean Soup!
Crockpot Sloppy Joes is a really easy classic comfort food recipe, perfect to make on the weekend or to bring to a potluck! Just brown the meat, add everything to the slow cooker and forget about it until it’s done. This simple recipe will be your new favorite meal for the family!
I like to serve these messy sandwiches with buttered and toasted gluten free hamburger buns, potato chips, butter pickles, coleslaw, and baked potatoes. I also keep a bottle of hot sauce handy for anyone who wants to make their sloppy joe spicy.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Ground Beef. Regular 80% fat ground beef. You can also make this with ground turkey, or a mixture of ground sausage and ground beef.
Onion. Regular white onion or yellow onion works well for this recipe. A sweet onion like Vidalia would also work.
Bell Pepper. We’re adding these for flavor, and also to sneak some veggies into the mix. Any color bell pepper will work.
Ketchup. The base for sloppy joes is a lot like BBQ Sauce. We’re adding ketchup for flavor and sweetness.
Brown Sugar. This adds sweetness, and also some deeper flavor with slight molasses notes. I would not substitute this with regular sugar, because the brown sugar flavor really works well here.
Dijon Mustard. This is for flavor. You could also use mustard powder, or regular yellow mustard.
Worcestershire Sauce. This sauce adds a nice rich smokey flavor to the sloppy joes. Make sure the one that you buy is gluten free, as it can vary by brand.
Tomato Sauce. Use a plain tomato sauce without (or with minimal) seasonings in it (we’re not using pasta sauce). We will use the canned tomato sauce as the tomato base we’re going to build on.
Tomato Paste. This helps thicken the sauce. Make sure to whisk it well into the sauce before adding to the sloppy joes.
Vinegar. Regular white vinegar works well in this dish. You can also use apple cider vinegar.
Spices. We’re keeping it easy here. Garlic powder, chili powder, kosher salt, and black pepper. You can add cayenne or red pepper flakes if you want some heat. You can also use garlic cloves, diced and thrown in when the meat is cooking on the stovetop.
How to Make Crockpot Sloppy Joes
- In a large saucepan over medium heat, add onions, bell pepper, and olive oil and cook until onions start the brown, about 3-4 minutes. Add the ground beef and cook until the ground beef is browned, about 5 minutes.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the ketchup, tomato paste, tomato sauce, mustard, brown sugar, vinegar, and spices until well combined.
- Add the ground beef mixture to the slow cooker. Pour the sauce over top and stir everything together until combined.
- Cook on high for 3-4 hours, or until cooked through. Serve with gluten free hamburger buns.
Frequently Asked Questions
The short answer is no, you don’t have to, but you should. Browning the meat beforehand helps add a really nice layer of flavor to this sloppy joes recipe, and just makes it taste better overall.
The same goes for browning the onions with the meat. The caramelization is another layer of savory flavors that you won’t get from the crockpot.
I like to serve sloppy joes with toasted gluten free burger buns (buttered before toasting in a frying pan), and a side of coleslaw. You can also serve with lighter dishes like Tuna Pasta Salad or Amish Broccoli Salad.
More Crockpot Dinner Recipes
- Crockpot Cabbage Rolls
- Slow Cooker Turkey Chili
- Slow Cooker Chicken and Potatoes
- Slow Cooker Pork Chops & Potatoes
Storage
Refrigerate leftover crockpot sloppy joes in an airtight container for 3-4 days.
Freeze sloppy joes in an airtight freezer container for 3-4 months. Defrost in the refrigerator the day before reheating.
Recipe Variations
- Make these slow cooker sloppy joes spicy by adding some jalapeno or poblano peppers at the same time that you add the bell pepper. You can also use some cayenne pepper, or red pepper flakes.
- Make this sweeter by adding a few more tablespoons brown sugar.
- You can also make this recipe using other ground meat like ground turkey, ground chicken, or a mixture of ground beef and ground sausage. Or try using lean ground beef instead of regular ground beef for a healthier version.
- I prefer homemade sauce, but if you’re busy, you can substitute the sloppy joe sauce portion of the recipe with your favorite bottle of gluten free barbecue sauce.
- Try topping a sloppy joe with cheddar cheese or American cheese!
Cooking Tips
- Don’t skip browning the onions and meat before adding them to the crockpot. This step helps add a lot of flavor to the sloppy joes that you won’t get from a crock pot alone.
- If you don’t like chopping vegetables, you can pulse pieces of the onion and bell pepper in the food processor until they’re small.
- Don’t open the lid of the slow cooker before it’s done cooking, or it may extend the cooking time.
- If your sauce turns out too thick, you can add a few tablespoons of beef broth and stir until you get the consistency you like.
If you loved this recipe, be sure to leave a 5 Star review below, and tag me with a photo of your finished recipe on Instagram @Jacqui_DishingDelish!
Crockpot Sloppy Joes
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, minced
- 1 medium bell pepper, minced, any color
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 8 ounces tomato sauce, plain
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 cup ketchup
- 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, gluten free
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 tablespoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, or to taste
Equipment
- 1 Slow Cooker
Instructions
- In a large saucepan over medium heat, add onions, bell pepper, and olive oil and cook until onions start the brown, about 3-4 minutes. Add the ground beef and cook until the ground beef is browned, about 5 minutes.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the ketchup, tomato paste, tomato sauce, mustard, brown sugar, vinegar, and spices until well combined.
- Add the ground beef mixture to the slow cooker. Pour the sauce over top and stir everything together.
- Cook on high for 3-4 hours, or until cooked through. Serve with gluten free hamburger buns.
Notes
- Don’t skip browning the onions and meat before adding them to the crockpot. This step helps add a lot of flavor to the sloppy joes that you won’t get from a crock pot alone.
- If you don’t like chopping vegetables, you can pulse pieces of the onion and bell pepper in the food processor until they’re small.
Nutrition
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