Did you have sloppy joes growing up? We sure did! We had them all the time. My mom would brown up a big skillet of ground beef, add a few cans of manwich and dinner was on. We would make classic sloppy joes in sesame seed buns, but we would also use the sloppy joe mix in tacos, burritos, over nachos, in a taco salad… we used it in so many ways.
As an adult, I still get cravings for that saucy nostalgic goodness, so we are making a batch of sloppy joes with a little twist…
The weather has been gorgeous lately, so I have been doing a lot of cooking over the fire pit and these sloppy joes are perfect made in a cast iron skillet over an open fire. You could absolutely make them on your stovetop too though!
However you decide to whip them up, they only take a few minutes and have this sweet honey barbecue flavor with caramelized vegetables and spices that will make you fall in love with sloppy joes all over again.
Let’s get started…
In a large skillet, combine 16 ounces of ground beef, 16 ounces of ground Italian sausage (you can use mild, sweet or hot sausage), 2 teaspoons of ground cumin, 2 teaspoons of chili powder, a pinch of salt and black pepper, a medium diced yellow onion, a medium diced sweet bell pepper and 3 cloves of finely minced garlic.
You can season and brown the beef and sausage first and then add the vegetables, but today I just added everything all at once and loved how easy everything was to bring together!
Once the beef and Italian sausage is cooked through, browned a bit and the vegetables are tender and beginning to caramelize, mix in 3 tablespoons of tomato paste, 8 ounces of tomato sauce, 1 cup of barbecue sauce and 3 tablespoons of honey.
You can use your favorite barbecue sauce in this recipe, but I have been using this barbecue sauce and love the flavor.
Bring the mixture up to a simmer and let it cook for a few minutes to allow all of the flavors to come together.
The only thing left to do is to pile some of this deliciousness in a soft hamburger bun and add your favorite toppings. I love adding a simple slaw and pickled red onions, but sour cream and shredded cheddar is also fantastic.
If you have been craving a nostalgic flavors then you have to give these honey barbecue sloppy joes a try. You are going to absolutely love them and after you have some on a bun then you should try some in a taco and then make nachos with the rest.
Cheers to childhood classics!
Honey Barbecue Sloppy Joes
Ingredients
- 16 ounces of ground beef
- 16 ounces of ground Italian sausage (mild, sweet or hot)
- 2 teaspoons of ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons of chili powder
- salt and black pepper
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 1 medium sweet bell pepper, diced
- 3 cloves of garlic, finely minced
- 3 tablespoons of tomato paste
- 8 ounces of tomato sauce
- 1 cup of your favorite barbecue sauce
- 3 tablespoons of honey
Assembly
- soft hamburger buns
- cole slaw
- pickled red onions
- chips
Instructions
- Place a large skillet over medium heat
- Add the ground beef and sausage and season with 2 teaspoons of ground cumin, 2 teaspoons of chili powder and a pinch of salt and black pepper
- Cook until browned and broken down into small pieces
- Add the diced yellow onion, sweet bell pepper and minced garlic and cook for 3-4 minutes or until softened
- Add 3 tablespoons of tomato paste, 8 ounces of tomato sauce, 1 cup of barbecue sauce and 3 tablespoons of honey and bring the mixture to a simmer
- Simmer for 10 minutes stirring occasionally to bring the flavors together and thicken the mixture
- Serve in hamburger buns topped with slaw and pickled onions or your favorite toppings
Reader Interactions