Easy Big mac sloppy joes are a poor man’s sandwich for dinner everyone will love. With a creamy Thousand Island dressing sauce, this is an out of the box variety of your favorite McDonald’s favorite meal.
One day I wanted to make a fun meal that my kids would love. I thought of the ooey gooey creamy sauce on top of our sloppy joes recipe paired with lettuce tomato and cheese like at my favorite fast food restaurant and it was a huge hit.
You could use either bottled dressing really. Ours uses creamy French but either is great. You can make this in a cast iron skillet as seen here or as Instant Pot Sloppy Joes too. I choose which one depending on how much time I have, and what is clean at the time. 😉
If you are feeding a large crowd you could make it as is shown below but then keep warm for hours and hours as Slow Cooker Sloppy Joes are. A great way for a buffet full of food that can be enjoyed by guests for lunch and dinner too.
Ingredient Notes
Beyond the toppings you are going to want 1 lb. of ground beef and or sausage. If you want it spicy use a roll of Jimmy Dean HOT to add a ton of flavor and heat. Beyond that you can add diced onions for texture and flavor, or some bell peppers when you saute on the stove.
What is Big Mac Sauce Made of?
We made our Copycat Big Mac sauce with French instead of Thousand Island dressing but you could use that instead. Try one and then the other one night to see which you prefer. If you use the latter you likely won’t need any more relish since it has some in there already.
French dressing is added into things if you don’t just use Thousand Island bottled to begin with. Mayonnaise, Best Foods is better than Miracle Whip if you ask me
You will want some ketchup, we like organic from Heinz Some sweet relish is necessary or dice your own pickles if you prefer to make them larger in size. To add that zing of flavor into the sauce you want some white vinegar for that. Onion powder and garlic powder are typically the only seasonings I add, sometimes some paprika too.
American cheese, slices of dill pickles, shredded lettuce with your special sauce is what you would typically find on McDonald’s Big Mac so choose which you love.
Regular or sesame seed buns are up to you. If served as a fun appetizer I would use Hawaiian rolls like we do when making Sloppy Joe Sliders. You can use this to make sloppy joe nachos too with this piled on top of chips with the cheese and lettuce on the top. A deconstructed way to enjoy this meat mixture.
Big Mac Sloppy Joes Recipe
Equipment
- 1 pan
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef, or hot Jimmy dean ground sausage
- 1/2 cup onion, diced
- 1 cup mayonnaise, best foods
- 1/3 cup creamy French dressing, creamy version, or use thousand island
- 2 tbsp sweet relish
- 1 tsp white vinegar
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp paprika
Instructions
- Add beef and onion to a large skillet and heat over medium high, stirring frequently until beef is browned and onions are translucent. Drain grease and return to pan. Season beef with a pinch of salt and pepper.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, french dressing, relish, vinegar, onion powder, garlic powder and paprika. Mix well. Add 1 cup of mixture to the beef and mix well, heating over medium heat, stirring frequently until hot, about 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat.
- With reserved big mac sauce, spread onto the bottom of each bun. Top with beef mixture, a slice of cheese and shredded lettuce. Add top bun and serve.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
What to make with leftovers
Want to transform this into a new meal entirely after you fall in love with it this way? You can by folding in some al dente noodles to make a sort of Sloppy Joe Casserole of sorts too. We are all about thinking outside of the box when it comes to our favorite comfort foods and this is just one of many we make often.
Whether you serve these inside of hamburger buns or as Texas Toast Sloppy Joes your kids are going to go totally crazy over this. You can leave it with the lid on when done and the heat off to keep warm for a good hour or so. I do this when kids are trickling in in the evenings so it can be enjoyed over time.
It saves really well and reheats great the next day to enjoy again. You can spoon into wrappers to make Sloppy Joe Egg Rolls, heat and put inside buns again, on top of toast or over rice!
Make sure that the mixture is cooled to room temperature first. Then you want to use a container that is air tight, save in the fridge for up to 3 days. When reheating I like to add a squirt of dressing on the top, toss to add moisture and heat in the microwave for a minute to reheat. After that make our Big Mac Casserole, then jump to recipe and get started!
How do you make sloppy joes healthier?
You can use leaner meats like our Ground Chicken Sloppy Joes. Ground turkey is more healthy too. I will say less fat = less flavor but choose what you wish. Then you can make as spicy as you want with Franks RedHot Sauce, great for a Super Bowl meal.
FAQ
Big Mac sauce is essentially a variation of Thousand Island dressing with its own unique twist. If you’re looking for a sauce that closely resembles this popular hamburger variety, you can make your own at home with; 1/2 cup mayonnaise + 2 tablespoons ketchup + 1 tablespoon sweet pickle relish + 1 teaspoon white vinegar + 1 teaspoon granulated sugar + 1/2 teaspoon finely minced onion + 1/2 teaspoon finely minced garlic + A pinch of salt and pepper
