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crock pot sloppy joes

Easy Crock Pot Sloppy joes Recipe

You have to try this Easy Crock pot Sloppy Joes Recipe! With only 4 ingredients, this Sloppy Joe Slow Cooker Recipe is still packed with flavor.
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 5 hours
Total Time 5 hours 10 minutes
Servings: 18 servings
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Calories: 352
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 3 lbs ground beef ( or you can use ground turkey)
  • 1/3 cup brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup mustard
  • 1 1/2 cups ketchup
  • 12 hamburger buns

Equipment

  • Slow cooker
  • Large skillet
  • Wooden spoon

Method
 

  1. Brown the meat
    Cook the ground beef in a large skillet over medium-high heat, breaking it into small crumbles with a wooden spoon. Drain the fat before transferring the meat to the slow cooker. The Maillard reaction that happens during browning builds flavor compounds that slow cooking alone cannot create. Ten minutes of browning changes the final dish significantly.
  2. Mix the sauce
    Add the ketchup, yellow mustard, and brown sugar directly to the slow cooker with the beef. Stir until the sauce coats the meat evenly. Scrape the measuring cups clean so none of the sugar sticks to the sides.
  3. Simmer
    Cook on low for 3 to 5 hours. The sauce thickens as the beef absorbs it and the sugars concentrate. Don't push past six hours or the brown sugar starts to scorch against the edges of the pot.
  4. Taste and adjust
    Before serving, taste a spoonful straight from the pot. Flat flavor gets fixed with a splash of apple cider vinegar. Too sweet means more mustard or a dash of hot sauce. Lacking depth calls for a pinch of smoked paprika or a teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce.
  5. Assemble
    Toast the buns in a dry skillet or under the broiler for two minutes. Pile the meat onto the bottom bun and serve immediately. The sauce sets slightly as it cools, which makes the second serving easier to eat than the first.

Recipe Notes

🌶️Taste and adjust before you serve, not after.The ketchup brand, the mustard's sodium level, and how tightly you packed the brown sugar all shift the final flavor. A quick taste at the 3-hour mark tells you whether the sauce needs vinegar, salt, heat, or nothing at all. Fix it in the pot, not on the plate. 🥄