Instant Pot Sloppy Joes (Pressure Cooker)

Instant Pot Sloppy Joes will make fall in love with Sloppy Joes all over again and you’ll forget about those canned sauces from your childhood..

Instant Pot Sloppy Joes

For those who grew up in the 60’s and 70’s, you probably ate Sloppy Joe’s during grade school.

So messy, but so good. After a while, canned sauces such as Manwich Sloppy Joes Sauce appeared on grocery shelves. I never liked that stuff.

My homemade Instant Pot Sloppy Joes are the ultimate sloppy joes and are easily made in the Instant Pot, Mealthy MultiPot or Pressure Cooker. You are going to fall in love with Sloppy Joes all over again and bring back wonderful childhood memories.

Instant Pot Sloppy Joes are the first in my series of Instant Pot Sloppy Joes recipes.

What are Instant Pot Sloppy Joes?

• A Sloppy Joe is a sandwich consisting of ground beef, onions, tomato sauce or ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, and other seasonings.[1]
• It is served on a hamburger bun.
• Sloppy Joe’s originated in the United States during the early 20th century. Sloppy Joe’s, never really made it around the Globe and has pretty much stayed an American tradition.
• It is said that back in 1930, in a cafe in Sioux City, Iowa, a cook named “Joe” add Tomato Sauce to his “Loose Meat” sandwiches.

Cast of Ingredients for Instant Pot Sloppy Joes

That is tomato puree you see in the photo, NOT ketchup.

I did not take the easy way out. 🙂  This is really homemade, baby!

How do you make Instant Pot Sloppy Joe’s?

• Easy!
• To make them in theInstant Pot, Mealthy MultiPot or Pressure Cooker, all you need to do is brown some ground beef.
• Dice up some onions and green peppers.
• Add some tomato sauce and spices.

It is super easy.

Do you use Bottled Ketchup for Instant Pot Sloppy Joes?

• No, as I try to use as little bottled or canned ingredients when I cook.
• Homemade ketchup is so easy to make with just a few ingredients.
• Ketchup is so sweet and making it from scratch allows everyone to adjust the sweetness level to their personal preference without worrying about other ingredients in ketchup.
• Otherwise, if less ketchup is added to a recipe, it may not work as intended. When using the ingredients to homemade ketchup, leaving out a little sugar only makes the recipe less sweet, nothing else.

Heat Instant Pot Fully – Add Oil

Why heat the Instant Pot Cooking Pot before adding Oil?

• It helps to make a stainless steel pot, non-stick.
• Also, if you add the oil before heating the pan, there is a chance of the oil burning, before it is time to add the food.
• Plus, it ensures that you are adding food to a pan with hot oil, so that the food does not sit in the oil and soak in as it heats up.

I love this Rachel Ray Oil Dispenser Set, as it makes it so easy to add just the right amount of Olive Oil to the Instant Pot, Mealthy MultiPot or Pressure Cooker.

Dice the Onions and Peppers into Small Pieces

The Instant Pot Sloppy Joes recipe has such a short cook time.

Dicing up the vegetables into small pieces, will ensure that they are perfectly cooked.

Don’t panic at the amount of onions and green peppers!!!

You’ll see……

Ground Beef is Added with the Vegetables

This Cilio Olivewood Spatula is not only beautiful, it does a great job of breaking up the ground beef.

Why Cook Ground Beef, Onions and Peppers together for Instant Pot Sloppy Joes?

• Ground Beef is quite greasy, even when called Lean Ground Beef.
• Add the Onions and Peppers, will allow the Ground Beef to Brown, using less Oil.
• The meat in Instant Pot Sloppy Joes is soft and not caramelized and the flavor is infused throughout the meat, not just seared on the outside.
• Plus, the Water that releases from the Onions and Peppers, will help to guide the grease out of the meat when draining.

It is an odd method, I know, but it is better than what I used to do and what drove my father crazy. 🙂

Funny story coming up.

The Ground Beef is just enough to Release the Fat

Why drain liquid from Instant Pot Sloppy Joes?

• As mentioned above, ground beef, even if “lean,” will still release some fat/grease.
• During pressure cooking, ground beef releases a little more grease, so draining off excess grease will ensure the Instant Pot Sloppy Joes are not swimming in grease, just flavor.
• Onions and green peppers release a lot of flavorful water, so cooking them with the beef, will infuse that flavor into the ground beef.
• Draining some of the liquid caused by the onions and green peppers leaves a nice flavor in the ground beef and gives a more mild flavor.
• You’ll have a nice mouth feel from the cooked peppers, but not an overbearing strong pepper taste.

Carefully use a Splatter Guard

How to Strain Liquid from Instant Pot Sloppy Joes.

• After the meat is just partially browned, grab a Splatter Screen/Guard.
• Remove the cooking pot and carefully drain out the liquid into the sink.
• The grease is mixed with water, so, it shouldn’t be a problem pouring this down the drain.
• Unless, of course, you live in an RV, at which time, it is not a good idea.

Funny Story

• Okay, so this used to drive my dad crazy. I hate greasy food. When I was a kid, I loved to make Chili, in particular. Hey, I was just 10 years old and I could cook this all by myself.
• After browning the beef on the stove in a big pot, I would pour the meat into a colander and rinse out the fat.
• Then I would put it back into the pot and go from there. He used to tell me that I was rinsing out the flavor.
• Which I was, but it also got rid of the fat.

So, my little method of browning with the veggies is kind of the best of both worlds. A lot of the fat is removed, without all the flavor.

Add Garlic after Initial Browning

Use a good, sharp knife and mince the garlic very well.

Again, because of the very short cook time, we want to make sure the Garlic is well incorporated throughout the Instant Pot Sloppy Joes.

How long does it take to Sauté Garlic?

• Garlic cooks very quickly.
• It takes about 30 seconds to cook off the rawness of the garlic.
• It will mellow and let off a mouth-watering aroma.

Deglaze the Cooking Pot with Red Wine Vinegar

Why deglaze Red Wine Vinegar in Instant Pot Sloppy Joes?

• It is one of the ingredients to ketchup, as it adds acidity to balance the sweetness of the ketchup.
• Deglazing with red wine vinegar will help loosen any brown bits stuck on the bottom of cooking pot.
• Plus, while deglazing with red wine vinegar, the steam will release and cook off some of the very strong flavor.
• A good Red Wine Vinegar should be a staple in your pantry or refrigerator.

There really is a method to my madness and a good reason for some of the “odd” things you might see me do.

Sometimes order of ingredients matters and sometimes, it doesn’t.

Add in Dark Brown Sugar, Worcestershire Sauce and Tomato Puree

The dark brown sugar will melt nicely with the hot ground beef.

Worcestershire sauce and tomato puree finish up the rest of the ingredients for homemade ketchup. Make sure to use tomato puree, not tomato sauce, as the puree has been cooked down and adds a deeper flavor and is thicker than plain tomato sauce.

How do you make homemade Ketchup?

• Tomato Puree
• Dark Brown Sugar
• Worcestershire Sauce
• Red Wine Vinegar

A few Spices are added to the Pressure Cooker Sloppy Joes

What Seasonings are used for Instant ot Sloppy Joes?

• Sea Salt
• Freshly Ground Black Pepper – I use an Electric Pepper Mill and ground my own Pepper.
• Chili Powder
• Ground Mustard Seed
• Red Pepper Flakes

These are typical pantry ingredients. I tagged them all, so you can check them out, just in case you have any questions.

Just a little Simmer and you are good to go!

Depending on the amount of liquid you were able to remove, you may or may not need to Simmer the Pressure Cooker Sloppy Joes, after pressure is released.

Make sure to use a Splatter Screen/Guard, or else the liquid will come popping out at you.

More Instant Pot Sloppy Joes Recipes to Make.

• Instant Pot Philly Cheesesteak Sloppy Joes
• Instant Pot Jalapeno Popper Sloppy Joes – coming soon
• Instant Pot Taco Sloppy Joes
• Instant Pot Mongolian Beef Sloppy Joes – coming soon

Instant Pot Sloppy Joes

Lightly butter some good sturdy hamburger buns and give them a light toasting.

The soft squishy buns, while traditional, doesn’t hold up and will make a mess.

Kaiser Buns are my choice.

More Instant Pot Sloppy Joes Recipes to Make.

• Instant Pot Taco Sloppy Joes
• Instant Pot BBQ Ribs Sloppy Joes
• Instant Pot Philly Cheesesteak Sloppy Joes

You can use an air fryer to toast the buns.

I like to butter the insides and toast them in my Cast Iron Skillet and over medium heat.

Enjoy!

Kitchen Equipment and Essentials

• Instant Pot, Mealthy MultiPot or Pressure Cooker
• GoWise 8 Quart Pressure Cooker – for toasting buns
• J.A. Henckels Classic 8 inch Chef’s Knife
• Amco Advanced Performance 18/10 Stainless Steel Measuring Spoons
• Culina Stackable (Dry) Stainless Steel Measuring Cups
• Anchor Hocking Glass (Liquid) Measuring Cups
• Cilio Olivewood Spatula
• Rachael Ray Stoneware EVOO Oil Dispensing Bottle
• Alpha Armour Salt Box with Spoon
• Gravity Electric Salt and Pepper Grinder
• Sonder LA Acacia Wood Cutting Board with Groove
• Splatter Screen/Guard

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Here is the handy printable recipe:

Instant Pot Sloppy Joes

5 from 10 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Dinner, Lunch, Main Course

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 3 minutes

Total Time: 28 minutes

Servings: 8 servings

Author: Jill

Ingredients

• 2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1.5 pounds Lean Ground Beef
• 1.25 cups/200g Sweet Onion diced small
• 1.25 cups/200g Green Bell Pepper diced small
• 2 cloves Fresh Garlic finely minced
• 1/4 cup Red Wine Vinegar
• 2.5 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
• 3.5 Tablespoons Dark Brown Sugar
• 1.5 cups/12 oz Tomato Puree
• 2 Tablespoons Tomato Paste
• 2 teaspoons Sea Salt
• 1/2 teaspoon Freshly Ground Black Pepper
• 1 teaspoon Chili Powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Dry/Ground Mustard Seed
• 1/8-1/4 teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
• 8 Good Quality Hamburger Buns

Instructions

• Select Sauté or Browning on your Pressure Cooker cooking pot and allow to fully heat.
  
• Add oil and coat the bottom of the pot. Add onions, peppers, garlic and ground beef.
  
• Sauté until ground beef is slightly brown. Use a splatter guard and carefully pour out most of the grease/liquid. (Leave about 1/4 cup liquid.)
  
• Pour in red wine vinegar and deglaze the cooking pot, if needed.  Mix in Worcestershire Sauce, Brown Sugar and Tomato Puree.  Add Salt, Pepper, Chili, Mustard, Red Pepper Flakes and Tomato Paste and mix together.
  
• Lock on Lid and close Pressure Valve. Cook at High Pressure for 3 minutes.  When Beep sounds, allow a 15 minute Natural Pressure Release.
• Open Lid and Select Sauté/Browning.  Simmer, until much of the liquid has evaporated and consistency is thick.
  
• Serve on Toasted and Buttered Kaiser Rolls or Sturdy Hamburger Buns.

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Pressure Cooker Sloppy Joes {Instant Pot Sloppy Joe’s}