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There’s not point in making homemade sloppy joes with the sad sauce you buy at the stores when you can make your own with very little effort. This unkempt joseph (I’m hilarious I know, thanks) sauce is simple, uses ingredients that are easy to source or you have on hand and is flavorful and makes a nice hearty and fresh sloppy joe. Add some home grown or locally sourced ground beef, brown it, and simmer together to meld and then pile onto homemade hamburger buns. There’s nothing better. Sloppy joes have been a favorite meal of mine as long as I can remember. Who could be mad about easy meals?! Have this canning recipe on hand to make dinner on busy weeknights or even a simple recipe to feed a crowd. I hope you enjoy my twist on a classic sloppy joe recipe.

During the peak of tomato season here in Ohio, I occasionally get tired (surprising, I know) of canning and cooking down tomatoes. I do not freeze tomatoes because they’re gross after they’re frozen. That’s a small hill I will die on and nobody will change my mind! So, when I don’t wanna cook it down and do something fancy, I will normally just run the tomatoes through my stand mixer food strainer attachment and can tomato juice. It’s easy and I know once I have the energy in the winter to repurpose it into homemade sauces, I will, and it will taste good and also not be frozen.

This recipe contains several low acid ingredients and is also not an ApPrOvEd TeStEd recipe, but I choose to pressure can it due to the mushrooms I add. I use dehydrated mushrooms, which are mega easy to dry and store, and work amazingly to quickly thicken tomato sauces. The mushrooms take on that tomato water and give so much flavor to sauces. Highly recommend to everyone. I always peruse the grocery store if I’m in the area for the marked down, ugly, discounted ones and buy a bunch to dehydrate and can. Works out perfectly when I’m ready to can this sauce! When canning an untested recipe, you want to can for the ingredient with the longest processing time. In this case, it’s the mushrooms and they are low acid and are recommended to be pressure canned, so that is what I do. If you don’t like it… don’t do it.

I also choose to leave the ground beef out of it and just can the sauce. This is simply because my family does not care for the texture of canned ground beef and we work hard to raise our beef cattle, so if I don’t have to can it, I don’t.

Let’s can some Unkempt Joseph sauce!

In This Post You'll Find...

Equipment You Might Want:

stock pot
pint canning jars
lids & screw bands
jar funnel
jar lifter
pressure canner

Ingredients:

3 quarts home canned tomato juice or sauce
1 onion, diced
2 cups dehydrated mushroom slices
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1/8-1 cup brown sugar
3 cups diced green bell pepper (or mix of red and green pepper)
2 Tbs yellow mustard
1/2 cup ketchup
salt & black pepper, to taste

Step 1: Make the Sauce

To a large stock pot, add tomato juice, onion, mushrooms, bell peppers, garlic powder, and onion powder. Bring to a boil and reduce to a gentle simmer, stirring frequently. Allow to simmer gently for 3-4 hours, or ’til sauce is thickened and mounds on a spoon. Time frame depends on if you’re using sauce or juice.

Add in remaining ingredients. Start with the lowest amount of brown sugar and add in to taste. Season. Allow sauce to simmer 15 minutes more and taste one final time and adjust seasonings if needed.

Step 2: Canning

Ladle into clean pint jars leaving 1″ headspace. Remove any air bubbles and add more sauce to maintain headspace. Normally, a tomato sauce would be 1/2 inch headspace, but since we are pressure canning it, it is VERY important to leave extra headspace, meaning 1 inch, because the sloppy joe filling will expand more under pressure than if it were processed via boiling water bath.

Wipe jar rims thoroughly and add lids, securing with bands.

Pressure can at your elevations recommended pounds of pressure for 45 minutes (mushroom times).

Once processing time is complete, allow pressure canner to completely depressurize.

Once depressurized, remove jars to a heat proof surface and allow to cool undisturbed for 18-24 hours.

Step 3: Storing

After cooling, remove bands and test seals. Wash jars, label, and store in a cool, dark place away from direct sunlight and extreme temperatures.

Any jars that did not seal can be reprocessed, refrigerated in an airtight container and used soon, or frozen.

Notes:

Adjust the sauce seasoning to your liking. Add chili powder, red pepper flakes, and others if that’s what you enjoy. It is perfectly fine to add any dried seasonings or herbs to this sauce for great flavor to your taste and preference without affecting the canning safety.

Adding worcestershire sauce before canning has been undesirable for me because the flavor seems to disappear with the canning process. I choose to add a couple dashes when heating up with the ground beef to serve.

To serve:

In a large skillet, brown 1 pound of ground beef per pint jar of the sloppy joe sauce recipe you want to use. Once beef is browned, drain off the extra fat and add in sloppy joe sauce and stir to heat through. Let simmer for about 15 minutes. Taste and adjust any seasoning. Add a couple dashes of worcestershire sauce if you enjoy that. Serve on homemade hamburger buns or a baked potato with a slice of cheese and a side of pea salad or french fries!

And now you have your own homemade sloppy joe sauce right at your fingertips!

Don’t give me no baloney, just give me some home canned sloppy joe sauce, please! << does anyone else remember this Manwich commercial or is it just me because my Dad would have random outbursts of yelling it my entire childhood LOL

Homemade Sloppy Joe Sauce Pressure Canning Recipe

Ditch the store-bought stuff for flavorful and fresh tasting sloppy joe sauce. Bright tomatoes and rich flavors elevate this meal.

5 from 1 vote

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 4

Canning Time: 45

Servings: pints

Author: Ruby – Red Feather Farm

Equipment

stock pot
pint canning jars
Lids & Screw Bands
jar funnel
jar lifter
Pressure Canner

Ingredients

3 quarts canned tomato juice/sauce
1 onion diced
2 cups dehydrated sliced mushrooms
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8-1 cup brown sugar
3 cups diced bell peppers 3-4 peppers
2 Tbs yellow mustard
1/2 cup ketchup
salt to taste
black pepper to taste

Instructions

To a large stock pot, add tomato juice, onion, mushrooms, bell pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. Bring to a boil and reduce to a gentle simmer, stirring frequently. Allow to simmer gently for 3-4 hours, or til sauce is thickened and mounds on a spoon.
Add in remaining ingredients. Start with the lowest amount of brown sugar and add in to taste. Season. Allow sauce to simmer 15 minutes more and taste one final time and adjust seasonings if needed.
Ladle into pint jars leaving 1" headspace. Wipe rims thoroughly and add lids, securing with bands.
Pressure can at your elevations recommended weight for 45 minutes (mushroom times).
Once canning time is up, allow canner to completely depressurize. Remove jars and set aside to cool undisturbed for 18-24 hours.
After cooling, remove bands and test seals. Wash jars, label, and store in a cool, dark place away from direct sunlight and extreme temperatures.