Food and Recipes Slow Cooker Recipes Slow-Cooker Sloppy Joes 3.8 (4) 3 Reviews Kid-friendly and simple to make, our Slow-Cooker Sloppy Joes recipe is the best for busy weeknights. By Southern Living Test Kitchen Southern Living Test Kitchen The Southern Living Test Kitchen has been publishing recipes since 1970, four years after the first issue of Southern Living Magazine appeared on newsstands. The Southern Living Test Kitchen team includes a team of professionals with deep expertise in recipe development, from pastry chefs and grilling experts to nutritionists and dietitians. Together, the team tests and retests, produces, styles, and photographs thousands of recipes each year in the state-of-the-art test kitchen facility located in Birmingham, Alabama. Southern Living's editorial guidelines Published on October 18, 2018 Print Rate It Share Share Tweet Pin Email Yield: 8 servings This classic sandwich is a go-to in many Southern homes, and our Crock Pot Sloppy Joes are the easiest way to get your kids' favorite dish on the table. Because this recipe starts with ground beef and pantry staples, it's extremely budget-friendly and simple to pull together last minute. For this hands-off recipe, simply throw all the ingredients together in 15 minutes and let your Crock Pot do the rest of the work.One of the best parts about our homemade Sloppy Joes? They freeze beautifully. Whether you have leftovers (not likely) or you make a second batch, you can easily freeze the beef mixture in zip-top bags for up to a month. This recipe is also great for parties and tailgates. Just make a batch or two in advance and you'll have slow cooker Sloppy Joes for a crowd with very little hands-on time in the kitchen. To feed even more people, you can swap out regular hamburger buns for slider buns.No matter how you seve them, our best Sloppy Joes recipe is sure to please. Ingredients 1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef 1 (16-oz.) package ground pork sausage 1 small onion, chopped 1/2 medium-size green bell pepper, chopped 1 (8-oz.) can tomato sauce 1/2 cup water 1/2 cup ketchup 1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar 2 tablespoons cider vinegar 2 tablespoons yellow mustard 1 tablespoon chili powder 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 cup all-purpose flour 8 hamburger buns, toasted Directions Brown beef and sausage with onion and bell pepper in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat, stirring 10 minutes or until beef and sausage crumble and are no longer pink. Drain well. Place beef mixture in a 4 1/2-qt. slow cooker. Stir in tomato sauce and next 9 ingredients. Cover and cook on HIGH 4 hours. Serve on hamburger buns. Chef's Notes Cooktop Method: Proceed with recipe as directed in Step 1, returning drained beef mixture to Dutch oven. Stir in tomato sauce and next 8 ingredients, omitting flour. Bring mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Cover, reduce heat to medium, and simmer, stirring occasionally, 30 minutes. Prep: 15 min., Cook: 45 min. Note: To freeze leftover Sloppy Joe mixture, let cool completely. Place in zip-top plastic freezer bags; lay bags flat, and stack in freezer. Freeze up to 1 month. Thaw overnight in the fridge, or defrost in the microwave. Rate it Print