Instant Pot sloppy joes are easy protein packed meals even your kids will love. If you’re looking for pressure cooker ground beef recipes, this is #1.
Instant Pot sloppy joes are probably top on their list as far as dinner planning goes. I make them a few times a month at least. Looking for more easy Instant Pot recipes? We have hundreds here on The Typical Mom blog!
I’m all about easy ground beef recipes around here. They’re cheap and everyone in my family loves them.
- I made this easy sloppy joe recipe for years on the stovetop. Now it was time to use my new favorite kitchen appliance!
Let’s start with a few basic tips:
- Make sure to Bookmark our InstaPot recipes page. We add new ones each week!
- Then LIKE our IP Facebook page for new ideas daily.
- This is a great InstaPot cookbook to grab too.
- I HIGHLY recommend you buy this non stick pot. It is easier to clean and will avoid the burn message too.
- For reference, this is the pressure cooker I have and use for all recipe creations.
I tweaked it a bit adding bell peppers and a few other ingredients. Figuring out the timing was another step.
After a few batches we determined which was absolutely perfect so we could share it with you.
Instant Pot sloppy joes
- Lean ground beef
- or ground turkey if you wish
- Bell peppers
- Onion
- Olive oil
- Garlic
- Tomato sauce
- Salt and pepper
- Worcestershire sauce
- I’ve used soy sauce as a substitute at times
- Tomato paste
- Brown sugar
- Mustard
- Chili powder can add a bit of heat
- Hamburger buns
I use a wooden spoon almost always as to not scratch my non stick pot. I love this recipe because it is super easy and there’s tons of flavor when it’s done.
This is how I start cooking almost all of my Instant Pot ground beef recipes:
- You need to add olive oil into your pot and set it to saute.
- I add my ground beef and onions now. If you’re including bell peppers now is a good time to add those too.
- You want your veggies to soften and outside of your meat to no longer be pink. It doesn’t need to be completely cooked through, just browned on the outside.
Stir occasionally throughout this step and turn your pressure cooker off once this stage is complete.
Do you drain the meat for sloppy joes?
This is totally up to you. Sloppy joes are an all American favorite meal prepared with ground beef, ketchup, tomato sauce, and a few other common ingredients.
These delicious sandwiches are loose in their consistency and aren’t intended to take shape like a normal hamburger.
- I personally do not drain the grease. I feel it gives it a bit more flavor to leave it in and I use lean meats so there usually isn’t much anyway.
Now you’re going to add all your other ingredients and pressure cook them all together. Lock the lid and close your steam valve for this step.
- Cooking time for this stage is just 5 minutes on high pressure followed by a quick release.
- Once you remove the lid, stir and you can serve from here!
- I always unplug my pot when done because even though it is done cooking it remains on warm and can begin to burn the bottom if you don’t.
Why are sloppy joes called sloppy joes?
According to stories, a cook named Joe at Floyd Angell’s cafe in Sioux City Iowa added tomato sauce to his loose meat sandwiches and the term sloppy joe sandwich was created. The rest as they say is history!
- Today there are TONS of varieties and ways to make these popular sandwiches.
- You can add just about anything to them really!
How do you make sloppy joe’s thicker?
You can thicken sloppy joes with simple ingredients like a slurry of cornstarch and water. Typically you can have this meal ready in approximately 30 minutes total.
- In a small bowl just whisk together a few tbsp. of cornstarch and water. Set your pot to saute, and add the cornstarch and water mixture. Stir, allow to bubble, and it will get thicker.
- As it sits in the pot and cools it will thicken more as well.
Serving sloppy joes are typically served on hamburger buns. Use your imagination though!
We have made Instant Pot sloppy joe casserole with noodles which was fun. You could even serve it over chips and call them sloppy joe nachos!
Other pressure cooker recipes you’ll love:
- We have lots of Instant Pot ground beef recipes here
- Instant Pot lasagna soup is easy to make and a family fave.
- A batch of Instant Pot pot pie soup is terrific
This is just one of our favorite Instant Pot kids recipes. You can find a lot more on that post to enjoy with your family.
Time needed: 7 minutes.
Instant Pot Sloppy Joes
- Saute
Put pot on saute function. Add oil and once it is hot add your diced onions, bell pepper, garlic and saute for about 2 minutes to soften them slightly.
Add ground beef and cook until outsides are no longer pink, then turn pot off. Pour in all other ingredients in the list inside the pot and stir together. - Cook
Put lid on and set to pressure high for 5 minutes. Allow to naturally release steam for 2 minutes, then quick release. Put on buns and serve.
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Instant Pot Sloppy Joes
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1.5 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 c onion diced, can use more
- 1 bell pepper diced
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- 1 c tomato sauce
- 4 tbsp tomato paste or ketchup
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp mustard
Instructions
- Put pot on saute function. Add oil and once it is hot add your diced onions, bell pepper, garlic and saute for about 2 minutes to soften them slightly.
- Add ground beef and cook until outsides are no longer pink, then turn pot off.
- Add all other ingredients in the list inside the pot and stir together.
- Put lid on and set to pressure high for 5 minutes. Allow to naturally release steam for 2 minutes, then quick release.
- Put on buns and serve.
Kdub says
I have only used my Instant Pot for the past month so you can for sure say I am a beginner! I tried the sloppy joe recipe and kept getting the burn error. I tossed my sloppy joe mix in a bowl, cleaned my instant pot and threw in another easy meal and it did fine….. the hubby and kids really wanted the sloppy joes so I tried placing it back in the pot with a cup of tomato juice added and I am still getting the error! Any help would be much appreciated!
The Typical Mom says
Hmmm, did you deglaze the pot after sauteeing the ground beef? That is a must. I would also HIGHLY suggest getting the non stick ceramic pot vs. the one it came with. It will almost entirely eliminate the burn message showing up. Most of the time it is false and not really burning but the sensor thinks it is. With the non stick there is an added barrier and doesn’t trigger it, game changer. Link near top of page for the one I have.