Kitchen notes · a little help before you start
Cajun Sloppy Joes
Cajun sloppy joes are a good reason to lean over your plate and enjoy a properly saucy sandwich. The beef has a peppery edge beneath the sweet tomato sauce. Spoon it generously onto a toasted bun and let dinner be a little messy.
- Prep
- 5 min
- Cook
- 25 min
- Total
- 30 min
- Original yield
- Serves 8
- Ingredients
- 13 listed
Make it part of your week
Recipe categories & planning details
- Meal type
- Main course
- Primary protein
- Beef
- Cuisine
- American · Cajun
- Preparation & total time
- Prep: 15 minutes or less · Total: 30 minutes or less
- Dish type
- Sandwiches
A few quick notes
1. Cook beef with the vegetables
Brown ground beef with diced onion and pepper, breaking the meat into crumbles until no pink remains.
2. Drain the skillet well
Pour off excess liquid or fat before returning the skillet to heat for the tomato sauce mixture.
3. Stir during the simmer
Lower the heat after combining the sauce and seasonings, then stir frequently through the simmer.
Get to know the ingredients
Seeded green pepper
Seed and dice the green bell pepper before it goes into the skillet with beef and onion.
Cajun or Creole seasoning
The listed homemade Cajun blend or a store-bought Cajun or Creole seasoning can season the sauce.
Toasted buns
Kaiser rolls or hamburger buns are both listed; have them toasted before filling with the warm beef mixture.
Let’s make it
Choose your servings, then check things off as you go.
Original recipe: Serves 8. Original quantities shown.
Check ingredients as you prepare them. These checks stay on this page.
How to make it
0 of 3 steps completeMake room for Cajun Sloppy Joes
Review ingredients in your pantry before anything is added. Meal plans use your household size; grocery-only additions use the servings selected above.
The last little job
Spoon onto toasted buns
Serve the simmered beef warm on the toasted rolls, giving each sandwich plenty of its tomato sauce.
A little more help as you go
Adjust the red pepper
Add crushed red pepper to taste when stirring in the sauce ingredients, as the directions allow.
Mustard belongs in the sauce
Stir prepared yellow mustard into the tomato mixture before simmering rather than spreading it separately on the buns.
A few questions you might have
Does the onion cook before the meat?
Add onion, bell pepper and beef together, then cook until the meat crumbles and is no longer pink.
When does the brown sugar go in?
Stir it into the browned beef with the sauces and seasonings before reducing the heat for simmering.
Is the ketchup added after cooking?
It goes into the sauce mixture with tomato sauce and the other ingredients before the low simmer.
Does the beef simmer over medium heat?
The initial cooking uses medium heat; lower it to low once the sauce ingredients are combined.
What keeps this filling saucy?
Tomato sauce and ketchup are mixed into the beef before simmering, alongside Worcestershire and the other seasonings.
Storage & reheating safety
For cooked, perishable leftovers, refrigerate within 2 hours (1 hour above 90°F), using shallow containers for prompt cooling. Keep the refrigerator at 40°F or below, use refrigerated leftovers within 3–4 days, and reheat hot leftovers to 165°F, checked with a food thermometer. Follow any shorter package limit.
These are general safety limits, not a tested storage or freezing recommendation for this particular dish. USDA leftovers guidance · Safe cooking temperatures
Recipe source: fromvalerieskitchen.com. Ingredient names and quantities may be adapted for the pantry.
Preparation notes follow the recipe shown here.
