Kitchen notes · a little help before you start
Bacon, Beer and Cheese Sloppy Joes Recipe
Puddles of cheddar tucked into saucy beef and bacon make these sloppy joes a dinner worth anticipating. The beer gives the sauce a deeper savory note. A toasted brioche bun catches the filling, though a napkin nearby is a sensible part of the setting.
- Prep
- 5 min
- Cook
- 25 min
- Total
- 30 min
- Original yield
- Serves 6
- Ingredients
- 11 listed
Make it part of your week
Recipe categories & planning details
- Meal type
- Dinner
- Primary protein
- Beef · Pork
- Cuisine
- American
- Preparation & total time
- Prep: 15 minutes or less · Total: 30 minutes or less
A few quick notes
1. Leave some beefy chunks
Break up the ground beef as it cooks, but don't mash it into tiny bits. Those raspberry-sized crumbles help the filling stack on the bun and give the sandwich a better bite.
2. Cook the sauce down
The filling should be sloppy, not soupy. Keep cooking until spoonfuls can sit on top of each other and the bottom one only spreads a little.
3. Stir gently at the end
Add the cheddar and cooked bacon just before serving, then stir lightly. You're aiming for little melted cheese puddles and bacon pieces throughout, rather than a fully blended cheese sauce.
Get to know the ingredients
Bacon
Cook the chopped bacon until it's crisp but still bendable, then save just a little of the fat in the pan for the onion. That bacon comes back at the end, so don't let it turn brittle.
Beer
The beer goes in with the ketchup, tomato paste, Worcestershire, mustard, and broth, then cooks down into the sauce. Guinness is named in the recipe, but the important part is using beer here rather than leaving that liquid out.
Sharp cheddar
Use cubed sharp cheddar, not shredded cheese. The cubes soften into distinct little pockets when stirred in at the last minute, which is part of the texture of these sloppy joes.
Let’s make it
Choose your servings, then check things off as you go.
Original recipe: Serves 6. Original quantities shown.
Check ingredients as you prepare them. These checks stay on this page.
How to make it
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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
The last little job
Toast the brioche buns before piling on the filling. That bit of crunch helps with a rich, saucy mixture, especially once the cheddar has melted into those little pockets.
A little more help as you go
Use the bacon fat on purpose
After the bacon comes out, leave two tablespoons of fat in the skillet. The onions cook in that before the beef goes in, so the base of the filling starts with bacon flavor right away.
Brown before saucing
Let the beef get well browned before adding the ketchup, tomato paste, beer, and broth. Once the liquids go in, you're reducing the sauce, not really browning the meat anymore.
A few questions you might have
How crisp should the bacon be at the start?
Cook it until it's crispy but still bendable. It gets stirred back in just before serving, so you want bacon pieces with bite, not hard little shards.
Why shouldn't I break the beef up too finely?
Larger crumbles help the filling hold together on the bun. Aim for some pieces about the size of a raspberry or small grape while still cooking the beef through.
How do I know the sauce is reduced enough?
Use the spoon test from the recipe: a spoonful should sit on another spoonful without the bottom one spreading more than about a half inch.
Do I melt the cheddar completely?
No. Stir the cubed cheddar in lightly a minute before serving so it melts into little puddles through the hot filling.
When does the bacon go back into the pan?
Add the cooked bacon crumbles with the cheddar right before serving. A gentle stir is enough to work them through the mixture.
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: dinnerthendessert.com. Ingredient names and quantities may be adapted for the pantry.
Preparation notes follow the recipe shown here.
