These Instant Pot Sloppy Joes are an incredibly easy family dinner that cooks mostly hands-off. Serve in your favorite buns for the ultimate busy weeknight meal!
Plus, pressure cooking keeps the ground beef moist and tender and infuses it with so much flavor.
Comforting and oh-so-easy to make, these Instant Pot Sloppy Joes are a weeknight staple of mine through those exciting summer months. After all, who wants to spend extra time in the kitchen when there’s endless pool days and outdoor adventures to be tackled?! That’s right, nobody 😉
Using the pressure cooker makes them so, so easy and convenient. No stirring, no checking on the sauce. The most simple dinner!
Ingredients you’ll need
Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post for quantities!
Ingredient notes
- Green pepper: Ever since a reader told me she enjoys diced green pepper in home-style ground beef dishes… I’ve been hooked! But I understand d not everybody is into green pepper, to feel free to either leave it out or use a stick of diced celery instead.
- Ground beef: I prefer lean ground beef in this recipe, but feel free to use whatever you have on hand. If you have a fattier ground beef, you may want to drain off the fat after browning. For a lean version, try using ground turkey!
- Brown sugar: Sloppy joes definitely have that salty/sweet taste, so I do like to add the brown sugar here. Feel free to skip it, but it will alter the taste.
- Worcestershire sauce: This is a must in the recipe for me, just adds some depth and flavor. Soy sauce can be used as a substitute.
- Ketchup: Try using barbecue sauce in place of the ketchup for a fun twist on the recipe!
How to make Sloppy Joes in the Instant Pot
1 Start by sautéing the onion and green pepper in some oil on the “sauté” setting in your instant pot.
2. Add the ground beef and cook until browned.
3. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Add a little extra water if it seems too thick.
4. Pressure cook, then quick release the pressure and stir well before serving.
Recipe tips
Do you have to brown the meat first?
In a word: No. If you’re seriously short on time, you can skip the step of browning the onion, pepper and ground beef.
You’ll lose some of the flavors that come with the browning, but the dish will still be perfectly delicious. The pressure cooker is known for infusing everything with delicious flavors, after all.
And you’ll gain about 5-10 minutes of time, which may not seem like a lot if you’re a big-picture thinker… But then again it really is on a busy Thursday night.
How to avoid the burn warning
To avoid the burn warning, make sure to measure out the ingredients correctly and use enough water in the mixture.
Scrape any browned bits off the bottom of the pot when you stir in the broth, anything stuck on the bottom can quickly trigger the “burn” warning.
Finally, make sure to stir well to have an even mix.
Sometimes, an Instant Pot can just be extremely fickle with the burn warning. If you keep getting it, open the lid and stir in another ¼ – ½ cup water. Thicken the sloppy joes with a cornstarch slurry after pressure cooking like described in the next paragraphs.
How do you thicken Sloppy Joes?
If you’re the kind of person who loves sauces super-thick (or you simply let a little too much water slip into the pot), you may want to thicken your Sloppy Joe filling once the pressure cooking time is up.
If your filling seems too thin once you open the Instant Pot, stir in a slurry of 1 teaspoon cornstarch and 1-2 tablespoons cold water.
Set the Instant Pot to sauté and simmer for around 1 minute (while stirring constantly!) until the sauce has thickened.
Side dish ideas
Obviously, you’ll want to serve the sauce on toasted buns. I mean, does anyone ever NOT serve buns with Sloppy Joes? But even then, they are not quite a well-rounded meal by themselves, which is why I always serve something on the side.
Fans of all things crispy will love a pile of chips. Potato or corn? Truthfully, we love ’em both and will never turn down either option.
To brighten up the meal, I love adding a side of pickles and I also pile on the coleslaw.
My favorite recipe for that? My Creamy No-Mayo Coleslaw – it’s the perfect addition here. And if I don’t have any coleslaw mix in the house, I also love a crunchy green salad on the side.
Watch the recipe video
PS If you try this recipe, please leave a review in the comment section and add a star rating in the recipe card – I appreciate your feedback! Follow along on Pinterest, Facebook or Instagram. Sign up for my email list, too!
Instant Pot Sloppy Joes
Recipe details
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 onion chopped
- 1 small green bell pepper chopped
- 2 pounds lean ground beef
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon mustard
- 1 teaspoon ground paprika
- ¾ cup ketchup
- ⅔ cup water
- salt & pepper to taste
To Serve:
- toasted buns, coleslaw, pickles, cheese…
Instructions
- Brown meat: Set the instant pot to "sauté". Add the oil and cook the onion and bell pepper until softened, about 2 minutes. Add the beef and garlic and cook until browned.
- Add remaining ingredients: Stir in all remaining ingredients (except for the buns and toppings!). Close the lid and set the valve to "sealing".
- Cook: Select "pressure cook" on the "high" setting for 5 minutes. Once the cooking time is up, do a quick pressure release. Serve over toasted buns with your favorite toppings.
Notes
Ingredient notes
- Green pepper: Ever since a reader told me she enjoys diced green pepper in home-style ground beef dishes… I’ve been hooked! But I understand d not everybody is into green pepper, to feel free to either leave it out or use a stick of diced celery instead.
- Ground beef: I prefer lean ground beef in this recipe, but feel free to use whatever you have on hand. If you have a fattier ground beef, you may want to drain off the fat after browning. For a lean version, try using ground turkey!
- Brown sugar: Sloppy joes definitely have that salty/sweet taste, so I do like to add the brown sugar here. Feel free to skip it, but it will alter the taste.
- Worcestershire sauce: This is a must in the recipe for me, just adds some depth and flavor. Soy sauce can be used as a substitute.
- Ketchup: Try using barbecue sauce in place of the ketchup for a fun twist on the recipe!
Recipe tips
- If you’re seriously short on time, you can skip the step of browning the onion, pepper and ground beef. You’ll lose some of the flavors that come with the browning, but the dish will still be perfectly delicious.
- To avoid the burn warning:
- Make sure to measure out the ingredients correctly and use enough water in the mixture.
- Scrape any browned bits off the bottom of the pot when you stir in the broth, anything stuck on the bottom can quickly trigger the “burn” warning.
- Finally, make sure to stir well to have an even mix.
- Sometimes, an Instant Pot can just be extremely fickle with the burn warning. If you keep getting it, open the lid and stir in another ¼ – ½ cup water. Thicken the sloppy joes with a cornstarch slurry after pressure cooking like described in the next paragraphs.
- If your filling seems too thin once you open the Instant Pot, stir in a slurry of 1 teaspoon cornstarch and 1-2 tablespoons cold water.
Nutrition
More recipe information
Recipe first published on 06/11/2019. Updated with better text and photos on 03/22/2021.
More instant pot dinners
More easy ground beef recipes
P.S: Check out our collection of easy dinner recipes with ground beef for more ideas!
Brandy says
Great recipe! It does have a good taste but, before it got completely pressurized, it threw an overheat code even though I followed directions. I went ahead and cut it off because it was pretty much cooked anyway.
Nora says
Brandy, I know the instant pot is very sensitive with these types of recipes. Glad it still worked out, though!
Lori says
Yummy! My first recipe in the IP. Easy to follow as well. I cut the recipe by 1/3 due to my protein weight.
Christy says
It was good! Next time I will add only 1 T of brown sugar, just a little too sweet. I added some chili powder and a dash or 2 of hot sauce to help.
Nora Rusev says
Thanks for your feedback, Christy! I’m glad you figured out how to make it work for you either way.
Marjorie says
Taste was a bit sweeter than I typically expect for Sloppy Joes, but still quite good. Mine turned out quite watery? Perhaps next time I’d cut the water in half.
Nora Rusev says
Marjorie, depending on how much juices your meat and vegetables release during cooking, the consistency can be a little bit thinner than you’d normally like. Reducing the water shouldn’t be done, or you could trigger the “burn” warning on the Instant Pot. If your sloppy joe mix turns out too watery, you can set it to “sauté” after cooking/depressuring/opening and simmer it a little without the lid. You can also add 1-2 teaspoons cornstarch mixed with a little cool water and stir that in after pressure cooking. Set the instant pot to “sauté” and simmer for 30-60 seconds and it should be thick and creamy.
Connie says
Can we cut this in half? There is only my daughter and I and 2 lbs will go to waste.
Nora says
Connie, if you want to cut it in half I recommend making it on the stove instead! Just use the same recipe but make it on the stove, and when it says to pressure cook just simmer on low for 10 minutes. Unless you have an Instant Pot Mini, then it’s fine. Alternatively, leftovers freeze really well. Hope that helps. Let me know what you think if you end up trying the sloppy joes!
Dorothy Reinhold says
I love my Instant Pot more and more. This is a perfect weeknight dinner.