Ground beef sloppy joe sliders with Manwich or homemade sauce are fun appetizers on Hawaiian rolls you’ll love. Just a few pantry items is all you need to make the filling, you can even make them a bit spicy if you want to!
Whether you are throwing a Super Bowl party or just want a fun dinner idea your kids our sloppy joes recipe finger food sized will be a huge hit!! Served in between two layers of Hawaiian rolls or with a scoop inside of bread bowls they are easy to pick up and enjoy. (affiliate links present)
with Homemade Sauce
For our Not so Sloppy Joe Sauce you can throw those ingredients together in 5 minutes. If you want my tried and true 10 year old sauce recipe, you will need ketchup, mustard and some brown sugar to sweeten it a bit. From there you can tweak to your liking to add heat or leave as is.
with Manwich
If you use this canned ready made sauce you don’t have to measure anything. Just brown the meat and fold both together. For more flavor start with our quick meatloaf recipe first, and used that mixture instead of plain ground beef. When you cook from scratch there are a lot of tweaks you can make.
Ingredient Notes
A pound of ground beef, any one works but beef is our choice. If you wanted these to be spicy use Hot Jimmy dean sausage instead, or half and half for a bit of heat. For a vegetarian option, make lentil sloppy joes mixture instead.
Manwich in a can is the easiest way to make the sauce. If you wanted homemade sauce you would use; Brown sugar, Yellow mustard (the regular stuff) and some Ketchup.
Buns of your choice are needed too of course. You can find several options at the store or thaw and this is how to bake frozen rolls for fresh fluffy goodness
Tips
I don’t bother mixing the three ingredients in a bowl beforehand either, I just throw it in with the browned ground beef and stir together. There is a slight give and take depending on how sweet and/or tang you want for the basics, or with our Big Mac Sloppy Joes there’s a sauce.
Keep the dinner rolls and meat separate until someone is ready to eat them. If you add it and let it sit the bread will get soggy which is a no go for me.
Sloppy Joe Sliders Recipe
Equipment
- 1 pan
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1/2 small onion, diced, optional
- Manwich, 1 can, or use ingredients below to make homemade sauce
- 8 buns, or rolls
Homemade Sloppy Joes Sauce
- 3/4 c ketchup
- 3 tbsp mustard
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
Instructions
- In a pan add 1 tbsp olive oil with meat and onions. Break up into small pieces and cook until meat is no longer brown. Drain grease from pan.
- Pour in your can of Manwich, fold together so everything is well coated.
- Homemade sauce – Add ketchup, mustard and brown sugar and stir until meat is coated. If you want them really wet you can double these measurements. Taste and add more mustard if you want it more tangy or more brown sugar if you want it sweeter.
- Cover pan with a lid and leave on low heat for 10 minutes stirring intermittently to soak in the sauce, turn heat off and serve on small buns.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
on the Stove
For the Old Fashioned method just use a large skillet over medium high heat to brown the meat. Then add the sauce and fold together turning the heat to low. Allow to simmer for 15 minutes or so allowing the flavors to meld together.
Slow cooker directions
There are a few add ins you could try as well. Some like a dash of Worcestershire sauce or garlic powder for a little more punch. If you want to make a large batch and keep it warm for hours during your party make slow cooker sloppy joes instead of in a skillet.
Pressure cooker directions
In the event that you wanted to make these in a smaller kitchen appliance, you could. I have directions for Instant Pot sloppy joes here. You don’t even really need to use the high pressure function to make it with this.
How to serve
If you want to make into Sloppy Joe Philly Cheesesteak you’d want a slice of cheese melted on top before placing on the top bun. For sloppy joe bowls as you see below you want to pick up bread that is larger in size so you can fill the centers to serve.
How to store leftovers
You need to keep the two separate, that is the biggest suggestion. The bread should be wrapped and left on the countertop. Let the meat cool and store in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 2 days. When you reheat transfer into a microwave safe bowl. Add a tiny squeeze of ketchup and a splash of mustard and fold that into the mix. Heat for 1 minute and serve with sloppy joe sides.
What are other names for sloppy joes? There are many names for these depending on what part of the country you live in. You might hear loose meat sandwich, Tavern sandwich here and there. Maid rite sliders or maid rite sandwiches in other areas means the same thing if you hear that.
Other slider recipes you’ll love
Add ons are many too. A slice of American cheese, provolone or even a sliced dill pickle are probably the most popular on these and our pulled pork sliders. To add a bit of color to “pretty” them up you might consider a sprinkle of sesame seeds or diced green onions.
For something similar with leftover meat we make these Chicken Bacon Ranch Sliders all the time for a finger food dinner idea.
If you are making loose meat sliders with Manwich like we did here but want to make them spicy just add a dash of Tobasco, Sriracha or Red Pepper flakes. For sweeter give it a dash of brown sugar. For a pop of tang squeeze in some mustard or add pickles under the bun!
No, Manwich does not contain meat. It is a canned sloppy joe sauce made with tomato sauce, seasonings, and spices. It is meant to be mixed with pre-cooked ground beef, turkey, or another meat of your choice to create a sloppy joe sandwich.
