Annie In my opinion, the best sloppy joes have a good strong beer buzz. Now hear me out. I first came across the addition of beer in this American classic in one of my all-time favorite cookbooks: The Joy of Cooking, circa 1990s. This recipe, however, only calls for a mere half-cup beer. But as I’ve made my joes over the years, I added more and more of the can (or bottle) … until I just dumped the whole dang thing in. And now they’re PERFECT! I’ve used lager, pilsner, and even porter, which was surprisingly delicious. And no worries if you’re feeding kiddos—the alcohol cooks out and all you’re left with is savory, malty goodness.
Below is my perfected recipe. Feel free to change it up as you like. Choose your ground meat of choice—or swap the meat out for cooked lentils and/or sweet potatoes. No buns? You can serve this sauce over cooked macaroni or egg noodles, baked potatoes, or cauli rice for low-carbers. Whatever you do, just don’t skip the beer—they’re just never quite as deliciously sloppy without it.
Beer-Drunk Sloppy Joes
Ingredients
- 1 lb. ground beef, lamb, pork, or turkey
- 1 large sweet onion, chopped
- 1 cup chopped bell pepper
- 1 stalk celery, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- Salt and black pepper
- 1 12-oz. can or bottle lager-style beer or other desired beer
- 1 cup tomato sauce or ketchup
- 2 to 3 Tbsp. Dijon, coarse, or yellow mustard
- 1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
- 1 Tbsp. coconut sugar, molasses, or dark brown sugar
- 1 Tbsp. paprika
- 1 tsp. ground turmeric
- Hamburger or slider buns
- Dill pickles
Instructions
- In a large deep skillet combine ground meat, onion, bell peppers, celery, and garlic. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then cook over medium heat, stirring frequently to break up meat, about 15 minutes or until meat is browned and onion is translucent.
- Stir in beer, tomato sauce, mustard, Worcestershire, coconut sugar, paprika, and turmeric. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, 20 to 30 minutes or until thickened. Serve on buns with pickles.
