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Ditch the store-bought canned Manwich and make these delicious, homemade Manwich Sloppy Joes for an easy dinner! Ground beef, onion, and bell pepper simmer in a perfectly seasoned tomato sauce base. Serve in hamburger buns for a quick and simple weeknight family dinner.
Manwich Sloppy Joes Recipe
Hearty, filling, and delicious dinners don’t get any easier than this homemade copycat recipe for Manwich Sloppy Joes. Forget the canned stuff with all preservatives and weird ingredients – because this recipe tastes even better!
What Is Manwich Sauce?
Manwich is a canned sloppy Joe sauce that you can find at any grocery store. It’s basically a canned seasoned tomato sauce that is added to ground beef in a skillet. It’s marketed as a quick & easy, one-pan meal for the family.
Anytime I can, I prefer to make my own homemade, or semi-homemade versions, of these classic canned items. Not only will you know what is going into your body but I guarantee it will taste 100x better than any canned product.
Why You’ll Love This Manwich Sloppy Joe Recipe
- This homemade version can be adapted and changed to fit your family’s preferences. Want it spicy? Add some hot sauce or red pepper chili flakes instead of black pepper. Add some smoked paprika or cayenne red pepper for even more heat. Want it sweeter? Add additional brown sugar to the skillet pan.
- These manwich sloppy joes can feed a crowd and the recipe can easily be doubled, or even tripled! To keep the sloppy joe meat warm, place it in a slow cooker on LOW or the WARM setting.
- My family LOVES to eat sloppy joes on hamburger buns with some crispy potato chips. Have you tried that? Sloppy joes + crispy plain potato chips are so insanely delish. You can also serve these on toasted buns with a slice of melted cheese.
Ingredients Needed
- Olive Oil – I use extra-virgin ‘light tasting’ olive oil because we don’t like the heavy flavor of classic olive oil.
- Yellow Onion
- Green Bell Pepper
- Ground Beef – I use 93/7 ground beef but any percentage fat ground beef can be used. The excess grease gets drained from the pan regardless.
- Tomato Sauce
- Worcestershire Sauce
- Light Brown Sugar
- Garlic Powder
- Ground Mustard
- Kosher Salt & Black Pepper
How To Make Homemade Manwich Sloppy Joes
- In a skillet pan, over medium-high heat, add the olive oil, onion, and green pepper. Cook for about 4-5 minutes or until the veggies are softened.
- Add in the ground beef. Cook and crumble the beef until it is no longer pink (about 5-6 minutes). Drain the excess grease from the pan.
- Stir in the tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, garlic powder, ground mustard, salt, and pepper.
- Bring to a gentle boil over medium-high heat. Once boiling, reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 15 minutes until the sauce is thickened and fragrant (flavors combined).
- Serve on hamburger buns. Enjoy!
FAQ’s + Expert Tips
- Store leftovers in the fridge, in an airtight container, for up to 3 days. Reheat on the stove top or in the microwave until warmed through. You may need to add a splash of water when reheating to moisten the leftovers back up.
- The sloppy joe sauce can be frozen if wanted. Place the room temperature sauce in a freezer-safe container or Ziploc bag, and freeze for up to 3 months. Allow the sauce to thaw in the fridge overnight before reacting.
- Sauce Not Thick Enough? : If you want the sauce even thicker, after the simmer time, continue simmering until desired consistency is reached. Alternately, you can mix together 1 tablespoon water + 1 tablespoon cornstarch, and stir it into the mixture to thicken it really well. I have never had to do this… but it is an option if wanted.
- If you prefer a more ‘sloppy’ sloppy joe, try adding 1/4 cup water or beef broth into the skillet pan.
More Quick & Easy Dinner Recipes
Manwich Sloppy Joes
Ditch the store-bought canned Manwich and make these delicious, homemade Manwich Sloppy Joes for an easy dinner! Ground beef, onion, and bell pepper simmer in a perfectly seasoned tomato sauce base. Serve in hamburger buns for a quick and simple weeknight family dinner.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/2 cup finely diced yellow onion
- 1/2 cup finely diced green bell pepper
- 1 pound lean ground beef (I use 93/7)
- 1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon ground mustard
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- hamburger buns for serving
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a skillet pan, over medium-high heat, and add the diced onion and diced green pepper. Cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently, until the veggies are softened.1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, 1/2 cup finely diced yellow onion, 1/2 cup finely diced green bell pepper
- Add the ground beef into the skillet pan. Cook and crumble until the beef is no longer pink. Drain any excess grease from the pan.1 pound lean ground beef
- Stir in the tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, garlic powder, ground mustard, kosher salt, and black pepper.1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce, 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce, 2 tablespoons light brown sugar, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon ground mustard, ¼ teaspoon kosher salt, ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- Bring to a gentle boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to LOW and let it simmer for 15 minutes, stirring it occasionally, until thickened and flavors combined (very fragrant).
- Serve inside hamburger buns. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition Information : The amounts listed is for 6 servings with each serving being about 1/3 cup sloppy Joe meat mixture + 1 hamburger bun. Because all buns vary in nutritional information, this amount will be different based on what bun is used. This is only meant to be used as a guide or approximation for this recipe.
Toasted Buns : To toast the buns (I highly recommend) separate each bun and place both halves onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Spread softened butter on both halves (or just leave them plain or spray lightly with cooking spray), and broil for a few minutes. Watch carefully because they do burn quickly. Add a piece of cheese on one bun half, if wanted, and return the buns to the broiler for a minute or less.
Tip : I recommend serving the sloppy joe mixture using a slotted spoon to ensure that any excess liquid drains out. Unless you want a really sloppy sloppy joe, then go for it!
Brown Sugar : This recipe is meant to be on the sweeter side for sloppy joes. If you don’t want it as sweet, try reducing the brown sugar to 1 tablespoon or 1.5 tablespoons instead of what is called for.
Nutrition
Calories: 290kcal | Carbohydrates: 32g | Protein: 22g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 47mg | Sodium: 771mg | Potassium: 622mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 359IU | Vitamin C: 17mg | Calcium: 93mg | Iron: 4mg
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