How do you make Sloppy Joes look pretty? Asking for a friend…ha!
Here’s the thing, I wasn’t going to post a new recipe this week at all. I’m a part-time 5th grade teacher, I have a son starting college, I have a daughter starting high school, another daughter in junior high and it’s “back to school” week for ALL of us. So much excitement and stress! However, when I was making my dinner plan for the week I added my Classic Sloppy Joes. I realized that I hadn’t shared them yet and if I can fit these into my crazy week then so can you!
Recipe History
I have to tell y’all where this recipe came from! My mother-in-law made these just after my husband and I were married and I immediately loved them. She told me they were called “Ellis School Barbeques” so of course I had to know why. Ellis is the elementary school that my husband went to in Logan, UT and somehow she got the recipe for the “barbeques” (or “sloppy joes”) that the lunch ladies served. I have been making this recipe for 20 years but my husband has had them since he was a kid. Of course, I couldn’t leave the recipe alone! Over the years, I have changed the ingredient amounts but haven’t added anything. The original recipe included flour to thicken them but I think it’s unnecessary. I like my sloppy joes sloppy!
How do Classic Sloppy Joes taste?
These Classic Sloppy Joes are the perfect combination of ground beef, onion, tomato based sauces, and spices. The tomato soup and curry powder make them so unique but at the same time, you still get the classic taste that you grew up on. My mom always made sloppy joes with sauce from a can. Remember that stuff? If you use that, you have to try this easy homemade version that is so much tastier!
This recipe uses 2 lbs of ground beef and serves about 8 people. I like to double it and use 4 lbs then freeze what we don’t eat. A quick thaw on a busy weeknight has saved our dinner many, many times. Like I’ve said before, I love to cook once and eat twice!
Sponsored post for Lee’s Marketplace. Items on sale the week of August 25-31: ground beef, ketchup, white onions, Worcestershire sauce, steak sauce, hamburger buns
Classic Sloppy Joes
Ingredients
- 2 lbs ground beef
- 1 yellow or white onion, diced
- 1 1/3 cup ketchup
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 2 teaspoons steak sauce (A-1)
- 1/2 cup tomato soup concentrate
- 1/4 teaspoon curry powder
- 1/4 teaspoon dried sage
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 bay leaf
- Hamburger buns, for serving
Instructions
- Heat a large, non-stick skillet to medium-high. Add ground beef and onion then cook until meat is browned. Drain excess grease.
- Add ketchup, Worcestershire, steak sauce, tomato soup, curry, sage, salt, pepper, and bay leaf. Stir until combined well.
- Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove bay leaf.
- Serve on buns.
Notes
- We like to add sliced dill pickles to ours.
- Freezes well! I like to double this and freeze excess for an even easier future dinner.
These have been one of my favorites since I went to Ellis Elementary.
I lived across the street from Ellis Elementary ‼️
Because of that, I didn’t get to eat school lunch very often, but the sloppy joes were a favorite 😋