These Old Fashioned Sloppy Joes on Texas Toast are the ultimate throwback comfort food….with a twist! These sloppy joes are piled on top of buttery Texas toast for the perfect bite! It’s a super easy to make and perfect for busy weeknights!
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Sloppy Joes are a retro favorite around our house! I LOVE making “retro” or “old fashioned” type dishes and just putting a bit of a modern spin on them..like my Easy Taco Casserole, Beef Stroganoff or my spin on tuna in a can with my Quick and Easy Tuna Pesto Pasta or my One Pot Tuna Mac and Cheese!
Speaking of “retro,” my husband’s family made a version of this called “Manwich Surprise” back in the day. The dish was basically Manwich on french bread, topped with cheese and baked in the oven. I mean, what’s not to love there?!
This Texas toast sloppy joe recipe is my nod to this “Manwich Surprise” but it doesn’t use Manwich or ketchup! Instead the sloppy joe meat is piled on top of buttery Texas toast! It’s a family favorite around my house for sure!
If you love this sloppy joes recipe, you’ll also love these Ground Chicken Sloppy Joes! Wondering what to serve with these amazing sloppy joes?? Check out this post where I have 27 Easy Sides for Sloppy Joes!
WHY YOU’LL LOVE THIS RECIPE
- A classic sloppy joes recipe….with a bit of an bit of a update 🙂
- It’s super quick and comes together in about 30 minutes.
- Family-friendly–kids love it!
- A homemade sloppy joes recipe that doesn’t use Manwich or ketchup.
RECIPE INGREDIENTS
You’ll need the following ingredients to make these delicious Sloppy Joes on Texas Toast:
INGREDIENT NOTES
Ground Beef: You can absolutely substitute ground turkey or chicken as well!
Worcestershire Sauce: Don’t skip this! It really gives a great depth of flavor to the meat!
French Bread: Just a store bought loaf at your supermarket bakery is fine. Or you can use frozen Texas toast!
Cheese: I love topping my sloppy joes with mozzarella, cheddar, Monterey jack or a slice of American cheese because they melt so well. The cheese step is totally optional.
HOW TO MAKE SLOPPY JOES ON TEXAS TOAST (WITHOUT KETCHUP!): STEP BY STEP
Here are some quick visual instructions. Remember that full instructions with exact ingredients will be in the recipe card below!
Step 1: Preheat oven to 400°. Slice bread into 1 inch pieces and brush with butter. Sprinkle with garlic powder and oregano (to taste). Set aside.
Step 2: Brown up your meat, breaking it up with a wooden spoon or potato masher (pro tip!!).
Step 3: Add in your onion and cook 2-3 minutes more.
Step 4: Add a teaspoon garlic powder, salt, pepper, tomato sauce, tomato paste and Worcestershire Sauce. Stir to combine and simmer for 5 minutes. While sloppy joes are simmering, pop your bread into the oven to toast.
Step 5: Toast bread for 5 minutes in the oven, then top with your sloppy joe meat! OPTIONAL: Turn oven on broil and sprinkle sloppy joes with cheese. Broil 1-2 minutes until cheese us melted.
RECIPE TIPS & TRICKS
- Don’t want to do the extra step of making Texas toast? Use frozen, pre made Texas toast! Just pop it in the oven or air fryer! Follow my directions here for perfect Texas toast in the air fryer!
- After your sloppy joes are done simmering, taste them and season with salt and fresh ground pepper, if needed. Also a few dashes of hot sauce is great if you love spice!
⭐️ CONFIDENCE TIP ⭐️
When you brown up your meat, use a potato masher to break it up! It gets the meat nice and fine and it’s easier than a wooden spoon.
STORAGE & REHEATING
- Storage: If you don’t think you are going to eat the entire batch of sloppy joe meat, set it aside vs. piling it onto the bread. You can always add the meat mixture to the bread, but once it’s on the bread it doesn’t keep well and gets soggy. Store sloppy joe meat-only, in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- Reheating: To reheat, use the microwave or add meat to a medium sauce pan with a small splash of water or chicken stock to loosen it up a bit. Reheat on medium for a few minutes until heated through.
- Freezing: Yes! But just the meat only. Cool meat completely. Then freeze sloppy joe meat in a freezer-safe container or freezer bag for 2-3 months. I love making a double batch of the meat and freezing half.
ADDITIONS AND SUBSTITUTIONS
Here are few additions you can try:
- Veggies: Feel free to add more veggies to this sloppy joes recipe! Green pepper, mushrooms and more onions are all delish!
- Hot Sauce: Spice it up and add a few dashes of your favorite hot sauce to the sloppy joe meat!
Here are a few substitutions you can make:
- Meat: Any ground meat works–chicken, turkey…even Italian sausage would be divine!
- Texas Toast: If you don’t want to make your own garlic bread/Texas toast, feel free to just use store bought like this one.
- Cheese: Sky’s the limit with cheese–freshly shredded mozzarella cheese and American cheeses are my favorites!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
French fries, fresh fruit, corn, salad are all perfect sides. Need more ideas?? Here are 27 easy sides for sloppy joes!
If you think your sloppy joes are too thin or watery, continue to cook (uncovered) for another few minutes. Also, note that the meat mixture will thicken slightly once the heat is turned off and it “rests” for a bit.
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TOOLS FOR THIS RECIPE
Check out all of my kitchen essentials in my Amazon store!
My favorite big skillet: I love the high sides and the LID!
Baking sheets: These have held up SO WELL!
Potato Masher: For getting your meat broken up nice and fine!
Rate this recipe! I love your feedback!
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OTHER EASY RECIPES TO TRY…
Old Fashioned Sloppy Joes on Texas Toast (without ketchup)
Ingredients
For the Sloppy Joes
- 1 lb. lean ground beef (see Note 1) ground turkey or ground chicken also works!
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper (or a few turns of fresh ground pepper)
- 1/4 cup brown sugar light or dark
- 1 14 oz. can tomato sauce
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- cheese, for topping (optional) cheddar, mozzarella, jack all work well
For the Texas toast (See Note 2)
- 1 loaf bakery French bread sliced into 1 inch thick slices
- 4 tbsp butter, melted
- 1/2 tsp oregano
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Place butter in microwave for about 30-60 seconds until melted. With a pastry brush, brush each slice of bread with butter. Then, sprinkle each slice with garlic powder and oregano (to taste). Place bread slices on a baking sheet and set aside.
- In a large skillet over medium-high heat, brown ground beef (2-3 minutes). Break up meat as it cooks. Pro Tip: Using a potato masher to break up the meat makes it really easy! Drain excess fat if needed.
- Add onion and cook 2-3 minutes more until onion is slightly soft.
- Add garlic powder, salt, pepper, brown sugar tomato sauce, tomato paste and Worcestershire sauce. Stir well and let simmer over medium heat for about 5-6 minutes. Taste and season with salt, if needed. A dash of hot sauce is also great to add if you like spice.
- While sloppy joes are simmering away, bake Texas toast for 6-8 minutes until lightly toasted and starting to turn golden brown. If using store-bought Texas toast, cook in the oven according to package directions or use my air fryer instructions.
- Top each piece of toast with a generous amount of sloppy joe mixture. At this point you can enjoy them as-is OR move on to next step…
- Heat broiler. Top each sloppy joe with cheese. Broil about 1-2 minutes until cheese is just melted. Serve immediately!
Rosemary says
Yum, the sloppy joe looks so tasty and comforting. We rarely make sloppy joe’s but we do eat a lot of ground beef. This is a very timely and simple idea to switch up our regular ground beef dinner. Thanks for the inspiration.
GUNJAN says
I loved the idea of serving sloppy joes on toast instead of buns. This worked for my kids also and it was easier for them to eat. I am making it again 🙂
Michelle says
These sloppy joes were so good! My boys went for seconds! Will definitely make it again.
Toni says
This is seriously amazing!! My whole family loved it!! Thanks for the recipe!
Amy Nash says
So yummy! We loved having these on Texas toast instead of regular ol’ hamburger buns! Great recipe!