Ground Beef BBQ – Sloppy Joe Recipe without Brown Sugar

Ground Beef BBQ Sloppy Joe Recipe is an old fashioned ground beef barbecue sandwich recipe from the farm without brown sugar. Served over bread, baked potatoes, or even on a cracker, you can’t go wrong with this easy ground beef barbecue recipe.

Ground Beef BBQ

This barbecued beef recipe using hamburger originates from an old farm in Minnesota and is truly an old fashioned sloppy joe recipe.

Hamburger BBQ sandwiches are the easiest way to use up ground beef (also known as hamburger). They make an easy lunch and dinner and can be accompanied by anything from cut up veggies like carrots and celery, potato chips, cottage cheese, applesauce, or your favorite old fashioned salad.

I’m not talking about BBQ burger patties that you make on the grill. Instead, I mean loose-meat BBQ burgers. Even though I call this a bbq burger recipe, there’s actually no bbq sauce in the recipe.

Ingredients for Ground Beef Barbecue

What do you need to make ground beef barbecue?

• Ground Beef (such as ground chuck)
• Onion, yellow or white
• Salt
• Black Pepper
• Sugar
• Garlic Powder
• Yellow Mustard
• Worcestershire Sauce
• Tabasco Sauce (optional)
• Ketchup

How to Make Sloppy Joe without brown sugar

Step By Step Instructions

1. Brown meat in a dry skillet over medium-high heat breaking it up into pieces until it becomes lightly browned and bits stick to the bottom of the pan.
2. Reduce heat, add onions and cook for several minutes until onions are softened.
3. Season meat with salt and pepper.
4. Add sugar, garlic powder, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, ketchup and water.
5. Bring to a boil; lower heat and simmer for approximately 30 minutes.
6. If the juices become too dry, add a little bit more water or ketchup. Cook until it has just enough moisture so that it does not soak through the hamburger bun.
7. To serve, top with your favorite condiments such as pickles and sliced tomato, if desired.

For the full ingredient list and recipe steps for sloppy joe without brown sugar, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

How to eat sloppy joe without bread or buns?

• Serve it over a baked potato or sweet potato.
• Eat it like a taco in a tortilla shell.
• Sloppy Joe makes great meat to serve on nachos.
• Make cheesy sloppy joe quesadillas.
• Add it on top of a salad or taco salad.
• Go low carb by eating it in a lettuce wrap.
• Serve over cooked rice or buttered noodles.
• Make cornmeal waffles and serve over top with extra shredded cheese.
• Crackers are the perfect dipper if all else fails!

Can I Freeze Cooked Sloppy Joe?

Yes, freezing cooked sloppy joes makes for an easy meal later on. Follow these easy instructions for how to freeze cooked sloppy joe.

1. Let cooked sloppy joe cool completely.
2. Place in an airtight container, seal tightly.
3. Freeze for up to 3 months.
4. To serve, defrost in the refrigerator until thawed.
5. Heat in a skillet or the microwave until hot, and serve!

If you don’t want to freeze it, make these Sloppy Joe Cups using refrigerated biscuits.

Recipe FAQs

• Like a little tang? Add a splash of vinegar.
• To lighten these BBQ sloppy joes up, use ground turkey instead of ground beef.
• Dried minced onion can be used for regular onion.
• Brown sugar could be used for white sugar, if needed.
• Tabasco is completely optional. Use more or less or leave it out completely.
• If you don’t like any spice at all, take the black pepper down to 1/4 teaspoon.
• Wanting to use up leftover sloppy joes? Serve it over baked potatoes or sweet potatoes, eat in a taco shell, over nachos, or use in a new pot of chili.
• To freeze cooked sloppy joes for later, cool completely and put in an airtight container for up to 3 months in the freezer.
• Check out our Amazon Store for our pantry essentials and favorite kitchen items.

More Sloppy Joe Recipes

We love sloppy joe over here at These Old Cookbooks and we have shared several different recipes featuring these flavors. Some are classic and some are a take on the vintage sloppy joe sandwich.

• Classic Sloppy Joes
• Quick Sloppy Joes with Ketchup
• Frisco Melt Sloppy Joes
• French Onion Joes
• Stroganoff Loose Meat Sandwiches

Hamburger Recipes Other than Sloppy Joes

5 Ingredient Ground Beef Casserole 

Old Fashioned Stuffed Bell Peppers

Hamburger Pork and Bean Skillet

French Onion Sliders