Hands-on Time: 20 minutes
Total time: 30 minutes
Serves 4
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
- 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
- 1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 6 oz can tomato paste
- 1½ tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- ⅛ tsp black pepper
- ⅛ tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 4 hamburger buns, toasted
- ½ c grated Cheddar cheese (optional)
- ½ c sour cream (optional)
Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic and bell pepper. Cook until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the beef and cook, crumbling it with a spoon, until no trace of pink remains, about 7 minutes. Spoon off and discard any excess fat. Stir in the tomato paste, chili powder, cumin, black pepper, cinnamon, and salt. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens slightly, about 12 minutes. Spoon the beef mixture onto the bottom half of each bun and top with the Cheddar and a dollop of sour cream (if using). Sandwich with the top half of each bun.
Tip: Don’t forget to toast the buns. This quick but necessary step ensures that the bread doesn’t turn to much the second the juices hit the roll.
This recipe comes to us from Real Simple’s Meals Made Easy special edition. I highly recommend this recipe. In my version though, the Cheddar cheese and sour cream are not optional, they are mandatory.
I’ve always been a Manwich fan myself. But this stands to rival. When I have the time to make Sloppy Joes from scratch, this is the recipe I’ll be using. I think next time I’ll try ground turkey. Real Simple actually suggests that or even vegetarian meat crumbles as alternatives to the ground beef. They say that with sauce’s flavoring, you’re not even able to taste the difference! I’ll be sure to let you know if that stands true.
PS – I don’t recall them being really any less sloppy than you’d expect from a Sloppy Joe!