Easy Texas Toast sloppy joes recipe will be your kids new favorite meal! Served on garlic toast, open faced or in between two pieces, this is a hearty dinner with ground beef or ground turkey.
We thought outside of the box the other day and made a baked garlic bread with 3 ingredient sloppy joes on the top! That is right, your favorite messy and saucy ground beef can be served up a number of different ways and this is the most fun dinner ever. (post may contain affiliate links present)
Yes you can use rolls to make small sloppy joes sliders too but open faced means you can pile on even more meat! These are messy and that is part of the fun y’all. You can keep these savory and sweet or make them spicy too. Not familiar with this type of saucy meat? Maybe you have heard one of these other names which refer to the same thing;
Ingredient Notes
We used just 1 box of frozen Texas toast, 8 pieces, to feed our family of 5 which was plenty. If you wanted 2 slices per person then you may want two boxes instead.
I typically just use fresh or defrosted roll of Ground beef or you can use half lb. of Jimmy dean spicy ground sausage to make it a bit spicy. Use just that for a lot of heat, or make ground chicken sloppy joes for a lower fat option.
To make the sauce easy you can just grab a large can of Manwich sloppy joe mix, or homemade not so sloppy joe sauce is easy to make as well. I will say that from scratch is amazingly simple and better since you can adjust the ingredients to be sweeter or spicier to your liking.
We like some slices or shredded mozzarella cheese on top of the bread to melt before we add the meat but that is up to you. Diced onions adding in with the meat mixture are optional for a bit more texture.
Equipment Needed
You will want a baking sheet to bake the frozen garlic bread slices as well as a large skillet over medium high heat to brown the ground beef and saute with sauce. OR you can make the filling quickly following our Instant Pot sloppy joes steps.
Variations
Ok so you’re going to make the “filling” or topping in this case on your stove. You may have a family recipe for this and if so you are more than welcome to use that. If you swear by using just a canned sauce mix there are a few out there with different names from thick to spicy and everywhere in between. OR top with our Chopped Cheese Sandwich filling!!
For this one we are using “regular” flavors but you can certainly tweak from there. Make it a bit spicy with red pepper flakes or try something new like sloppy joe Philly cheesesteak topping.
with Frozen Ground Beef
This is how to cook frozen ground beef too for this, seriously I am not kidding. I have had lots of moments where I forgot to defrost my main protein. You can recover from it and your family will never know the difference .
Texas Toast Sloppy Joes Recipe
Equipment
- 1 baking sheet
- 1 pan
Ingredients
- 1 box Texas toast, 8 pieces
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 can Manwich, or homemade sauce = 3/4 c ketchup, 3 tbsp mustard, 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded, optional
Instructions
- Add ground beef to a skillet and heat over medium high heat, stirring frequently until no longer pink. Drain grease and return beef to pan. Add can of sloppy joe mix and heat over medium low until hot. Turn heat off and cover with a lid. Let stand until toast is ready.
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees and place toast in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake for 6 minutes, flip pieces over after 4 minutes.
- Keep toast on the same side and spoon mixture evenly across all 8 warm toasts. Top with shredded cheese if desired and return to oven for 3-4 minutes or until cheese is melted. Serve.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
What is the best way to make sloppy joes for a party?
Now if you had a large group of people over I will make a batch of our slow cooker sloppy joes first so it can stay warm for hours. Then I can pop 1 tray of toast at a time in the oven when guests are hangry again and again. It is sure to be a huge hit this way!!
How do you Cook Frozen Texas Toast in the Oven?
- You first want to always preheat the oven to 425 F.
- Put the amount of frozen slices (do NOT defrost first) flat on a baking sheet.
- Bake garlic Texas toast for about 6 minutes on the middle shelf.
- Flip each piece over and cook for another 2-3 minutes until both sides are as browned.
If you are adding something to the top like shredded mozzarella cheese or sloppy joe mixture, flip after 4 minutes initially. That will brown the tops a bit more with 2 minutes on the other. Then add meat and cheese, continue crisping 2-3 more minutes to heat the bottom more and melt the cheeses.
How to serve
You can totally use two pieces to make this too if you wanted to. I prefer less bread and more filling. I mean the insides are where it’s at anyway right?? You get more meat, less carbs but you still get the crisp you want an desire. Open faced sandwiches is where it’s at y’all.
Is homemade sloppy joe sauce better than Manwich?
I will give you two options below. If you are in a hurry you can certainly use a can of Manwich but using a homemade is easier than you might think. The basics are; 3/4 cup ketchup + 3 tbsp mustard + 2 tbsp brown sugar and adjust with Worcestershire sauce and/or salt and pepper to your liking.
You may be a fan of this messy meat sandwich but aren’t familiar with this term. You may have also heard them called yum yums, or maybe a dynamite, spoonburger is another name used in the South, your Grandmother may have said tavern sandwich a time or two, that is the same too. The last is a slush burger.
It is believed to have originated in the state of Texas in the 1940s. The idea behind the thick slices was to create a more substantial base for sandwiches, particularly for barbecue and other meat heavy dishes that required a sturdy bread to hold up to the juices and sauces. The bread is usually buttered before being toasted, giving it a rich, buttery flavor and a crispy texture.
Texas toast is a type of bread that is sliced thickly, usually around 1 inch (2.5 cm) thick. The slices are typically made from white or wheat bread. Garlic bread is typically made from sliced French or Italian bread, which is usually narrower and thinner than the frozen version
In the Midwest region of the United States, sloppy joes are often referred to as “loose meat sandwiches.” While the term “sloppy joes” is also used in some areas of the Midwest, the name “loose meat sandwich” is more commonly associated with this particular style of sandwich in states like Iowa and Nebraska.
Oh my gosh – this is such a great idea, and I never would have thought of it! We have grandkids coming in a couple weeks, and this will definitely be on the menu!
I love Texas toast and I love sloppy joes, so this is the perfect combination!
The bread is always the worst part of sloppy joes but WOAH not any more!!! Making them with texas toast was nothing short of genius! We loved them!!!
I love this recipe, so easy to prepare and best for breakfast. Thanks for sharing.