The Best Sloppy Joe

The formula

Every ingredient resolved to grams, expressed against the recipe's own base — next to the median of all 151.

	this recipe	typical
liquid	26%	0%
fat	3%	1%
aromatics	44%	22%
acid	10%	0%
sweetener	10%	23%
salt	1%	0%
vegetables and beans	16%	34%
collagen idx	0.8	0.8
marbling idx	0.6	0.6

Adapts cleanly: dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free (documented swaps, applied on the dish page)

Ingredients

Weights computed by us.

14 g	1 Tablespoon olive oil
80 g	1/2 cup finely chopped yellow onion (about 1/2 a medium onion)
74 g	1/2 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
454 g	1 lb ground beef (I like to use 90%)
2 g	1 teaspoon smoked paprika
3 g	1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 g	1/2 teaspoon onion powder
2 g	1/2 teaspoon ground mustard (or 1 teaspoon prepared yellow mustard)
6 g	1 teaspoon salt
1 g	1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
113 g	1/2 cup tomato paste (4 oz )
47 g	3-4 Tablespoons light brown sugar (firmly packed)
45 g	3 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
16 g	1 Tablespoon worcestershire sauce ((may substitute coconut aminos))
120 g	1/2 cup chicken broth (beef broth, or water )
	Burger buns (for serving)

Method: 8 steps, published by sugarspunrun.com — open the original ↗ or use bake mode for a follow-along with a screen that stays on.

“For about 69 years (since I started on table foods), I have been eating sloppy joes my mom’s way, which is simply ground beef, onion, and ketchup. I’ve always liked them, and never thought I would change. Over about the past 2 years, though, I’ve started findi” — a cook, 5★

“I just made these again, and 1/2 tsp of smoked paprika was exactly right. The spices are now wonderfully balanced for my palate. While making them, I remembered that the last time, I couldn’t find my Worcesteshire sauce, so I just left it out. I used it this t” — a cook, 5★