Go Back
a sturdy toasted roll filled with saucy ground beef in a thick brick-red fresh tomato sauce, with a small amount of filling on a plain plate
Andre Lewis

Homemade Sloppy Joes with Fresh Tomato Sauce

Roasted fresh tomatoes make a different sauce from the ketchup-based classic, with a little sweetness from the oven and enough acidity to keep the beef lively. Use meaty plum tomatoes so you don't spend the evening reducing a pan of watery juice. The sauce gets blended after roasting, then cooks down around the browned meat. Don't judge it while it's still thin and hot from the blender. Give it time to coat the crumbles before filling the rolls, and keep the measured sugar modest because the tomatoes' ripeness will do some of that work for you.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Servings: 4
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 1 1/2 lbs plum tomatoes halved lengthwise
  • 1 small yellow onion cut into wedges
  • 3 garlic cloves peeled
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp fine salt for roasting
  • 1 lb 90% lean ground beef
  • 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • 2 tsp packed light brown sugar
  • 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/2 tsp dry mustard
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • 1/4 tsp fine salt for filling
  • 4 sturdy sandwich rolls split

Method
 

  1. Heat the oven to 425°F. Toss tomatoes, onion and garlic with oil and roasting salt on a rimmed baking sheet; roast for 25 to 30 minutes until softened and browned at the edges.
  2. Blend the roasted vegetables and their juices smooth with an immersion blender in a deep heatproof container, keeping the blade submerged.
  3. Brown beef in a large skillet for 7 to 8 minutes, breaking it into fine crumbles, until it reaches 160°F. Drain excess fat.
  4. Add the fresh tomato sauce, vinegar, brown sugar, Worcestershire, mustard, pepper and filling salt. Simmer uncovered for 12 to 15 minutes until thick enough to mound on a spoon.
  5. Toast the split rolls in the still-warm oven for 3 to 4 minutes, divide the filling among them and serve.