Sloppy Joe Casserole

Get ready for a delicious dinner with this amazing Sloppy Joe Casserole! From the hearty base of ground beef to the mix of potatoes and vegetables, this dish is sure to please the whole family. It’s a quick and easy dinner option that tastes like you’ve been cooking all day!

sloppy joe casserole on black plate with fork

Comforting, Hearty Sloppy Joe Casserole

When you’re looking for that comfort food dinner that also feeds a crowd, this Sloppy Joe Casserole is the one to make!

Ground beef and potato recipes just scream comfort food to me. Top that with a bunch of gooey, melty cheese and you’e got yourself a hearty meal that aims to please.

A filling made from ground beef, peppers, onions and frozen diced potatoes is baked with a “sloppy joe” inspired tomato sauce and topped with cheese. This casserole is perfect for game days, parties or every day family dinners. Everyone will be coming back for seconds!

How To Make A Sloppy Joe Casserole

  • Start by adding frozen, diced potatoes to a 9″ x 13″ baking dish that’s been sprayed with cooking spray. Place in a 400 degree oven while you make the beef and vegetable filling.
  • Cook down onions and a green bell pepper in a skillet. Once those are softened, add ground beef and cook while breaking into crumbles. Stir in chopped garlic and season with Worcestershire sauce, cumin, garlic powder, chili powder, brown sugar, salt and pepper.
  • Pour tomato sauce into the skillet and stir to combine with the beef filling. Bring the sauce to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes, while stirring, to let the sauce reduce.
  • Add a cup of cheese, stirring into the sauce until the cheese has melted.
  • Remove the potatoes from the oven and pour the ground beef filling over the potatoes. Spread out into and even layer and then top with more cheddar cheese.
  • Cover the casserole and bake for 30 minutes, then uncover and bake another 10 to let the cheese completely melt on top.

Can I Make This Casserole Recipe With Ground Turkey?

Of course! We love using swap outs in our recipes, whether it’s for flavor preference, or just what we have on hand in our kitchen. Traditionally, a sloppy joe made with ground turkey is called a Sloppy Jane.

There’s lots of other ingredients that you can add to this ground beef and potato recipe as well, like beans or corn, really any vegetable that you like. This recipe is also a great way to use up leftovers!

Have leftover mashed potatoes? Spread that on the bottom of the casserole, layer the meat sauce on, top with cheese and bake.

sloppy joe casserole on plate

Can This Casserole Be Made Ahead Of Time?

Casseroles are the perfect make ahead, take along dinner recipe. Not only are they hearty and comforting, but they can be an easy recipe for family and friends that doesn’t have to keep you in the kitchen all day.

If you need to make this sloppy joe casserole ahead of time, let the potatoes defrost first while you’re making the ground beef filling, and then layer them into the baking dish. Assemble the casserole per the recipe and then store in the refrigerator.

Remove the casserole from the refrigerator at least 30 minutes before baking to take the chill off, then bake per the recipe instructions, skipping the step where you bake the potatoes first, of course, since they’re already in the casserole.

ground beef casserole with potatoes and cheese on top

What Else Can I Use In This Casserole Instead Of Potatoes?

Again, this ground beef casserole recipe is so easy to adjust to your preferences or just what you have on hand. Instead of diced potatoes, we already mentioned using mashed potatoes, but there’s also a few other ways to make this recipe.

Cooked rice is another idea instead of potatoes. The rice can be stirred right into the beef filling, then of course the cooking time can be reduced as well.

Some recipes even call for adding cooked pasta into a sloppy joe casserole, and we never turn down pasta so we think that’s a fabulous idea.

fork lifting bite of casserole with cheese

Looking For Some More Casserole Recipes?

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sloppy joe casserole on black plate with fork

Sloppy Joe Casserole

  • Author: Dan
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 45 minutes
  • Total Time: 50 minutes
  • Yield: 6 servings 1x

This delicious and hearty Sloppy Joe Casserole is sure to please everyone! A saucy ground beef and potato filling topped with lots of cheese!

Scale

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 3/4 cup diced onion
  • 1 cup diced green bell pepper (1 medium pepper)
  • 1 1/2 pounds ground beef
  • 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • Fresh black pepper to taste
  • 2 teaspoons chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 28 ounce tomato sauce
  • 28 ounce bag frozen, diced potatoes (we use Potatoes O’Brien with onions and peppers)
  • 2 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
  2. Spray a 9″ x 13″ baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Add the potatoes to the bottom of the dish, spreading out into an even layer. Bake the potatoes for about 20 minutes (the time it takes to make the ground beef filling).
  3. While the potatoes are in the oven, add olive oil to a large, deep skillet. Add the onions and peppers and cook for 5 minutes until they have softened. Push the vegetables aside and then add the ground beef to the skillet. Cook the ground beef while breaking up into crumbles until there’s no pink remaining in the beef. Stir in the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
  4. Drain any grease from the skillet and then season with the salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce and tomato paste. Stir to combine.
  5. Pour the tomato sauce into the skillet and stir. Bring the sauce to a simmer and then cook for 15 minutes to let the sauce reduce, while stirring. Stir in 1 cup of the cheese until melted.
  6. Remove the potatoes from the oven, toss and then pour the beef filling on top, spreading out into an even layer. Top with the remaining 1 1/2 cups of cheese, cover and bake for 30 minutes.
  7. Remove the foil form the casserole and bake for another 10 minutes until the cheese on top has melted. Test a potato to make sure it’s soft and cooked through. If the potatoes need more time, cover with the foil again and bake for another 5 minutes.

Recipe Notes

Use non-stick foil to make sure the cheese doesn’t stick to the top of the aluminum foil, or spray the foil with cooking spray before using.

Store: Store leftover casserole in an air tight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

Reheat: Reheat leftover casserole in the microwave until warmed through.

  • Category: Dinner
  • Method: Stove Top / Oven
  • Cuisine: American

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