This recipe for garlic bread sloppy joes is comfort food at its most effortless. With only a handful of basic ingredients (most are pantry items!) and a box of frozen garlic bread, you can make this hearty dinner in only about 20 minutes.
How can one improve upon the nostalgic, hearty goodness of sloppy joes? By combining them with another delicious comfort food - garlic bread, of course!
Garlic bread sloppy joes are just what they sound like: tangy and sweet sloppy joes, but instead of plain old hamburger buns, we're using crispy and buttery garlic bread. And, let's add some melted cheese on top for good measure 🙂
This easy dinner recipe comes together in only 20 minutes, and, with only a handful of mostly frozen and pantry items. So if you are craving comfort food and are about to order Door Dash, put down your phone and make this instead (you won't regret it!).
Need more quick and easy comfort recipes using ground beef? Try my recipes for cheesy chili cornbread casserole or creamy hamburger potato soup.
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Recipe ingredients
Here are the ingredients you will need to make this easy sloppy joe garlic bread:
Ingredient notes
- Frozen garlic bread: you can either use a loaf of garlic bread, or Texas toast-style pieces of frozen garlic bread.
- Lean ground beef: I like to use lean ground beef (around 90 - 93% lean) because I am too lazy to drain the excess grease from the browned beef. But any kind of ground beef will work (you will just have to drain any excess grease after browning).
- Shredded cheese: you can use any type of shredded melting cheese that you like; I used a cheddar blend. Colby Jack, Monterey Jack, or mozzarella will all work well.
Step by step photos
Here is a step by step breakdown on how to make the sloppy joe garlic bread recipe:
(1) Place the frozen garlic bread on a tray. Cook the garlic bread as directed on the package.
(2) Brown the ground beef in a pan.
Top Tip
While optional, lining the baking tray with aluminum foil will make for easier cleanup. (I would avoid parchment paper however, because it will get burned in the broiler).
(3) Add the remaining sloppy joe ingredients (minus the cheese).
(4) Turn the heat down and simmer the sloppy joe mixture for about 4 - 5 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened.
(5) Remove the cooked garlic bread from the oven. Move the oven rack up, and start the broiler.
(6) Top the cooked garlic bread with the sloppy joe mixture.
(7) Then top with the shredded cheese.
(8) Broil the sloppy joe garlic bread for about 2 - 3 minutes, or until the cheese is browned and bubbly.
Tips and tricks
- If you have one, use your toaster oven to cook the garlic bread and broil the cheese. A toaster oven will preheat much more quickly than a regular oven, and will keep your kitchen from heating up as well!
- If you want the sloppy joe to be a little saucier, you can add in more water as needed.
- This recipe doesn't call for salt, because most of the other ingredients are already quite salty. So, if you want to add additional salt to taste, go easy at first.
Make it ahead!
To save even more time, you can make the sloppy joe mixture up to 2 days in advance. Store it covered in the fridge until ready to use. Then heat it up in a skillet until bubbling. (Add a bit more water if the mixture looks a little dry.)
Storage and reheating
- Wrap any leftovers in aluminum foil, or place them in an airtight food storage container. Store the leftover garlic bread sloppy joes in the fridge, up to 2 - 3 days.
- To reheat the leftovers, place on a baking tray and loosely tent the tray with foil. (This prevents the bread from getting too browned.) Bake in a 350 degree F (177 C) preheated oven for 12 - 15 minutes, or until warmed through. Remove the foil for the last 2 - 3 minutes in the oven.
- Optional step: to "freshen up" the sloppy joes a bit more, add some more shredded cheese on top before reheating.
Recipe FAQs
Any type of garlic bread will work for garlic bread sloppy joes. You can use either a loaf of garlic bread, or individual Texas toast garlic breads. You can even make homemade garlic bread if you want! If making your own, just be mindful of the size of garlic bread you need to make sure you will have the correct ratio of bread to filling. About 10 - 12 ounces of garlic bread will work well here.
As I mentioned above, I prefer to use lean ground beef (around 90 - 93% lean). This is because lean ground beef won't release a ton of excess grease that you need to drain off. But, you can use any type of ground beef you want, just be sure to drain off any excess grease before adding the other ingredients to the pan.
Additionally, you could also try making these garlic bread sloppy joes with ground pork, turkey or chicken!
Sloppy joes go well with most vegetable or potato side dishes. Try roasted or grilled mixed veggies, a green salad, and/or oven baked fries or sweet potato fries. Sloppy joes also pair perfectly with baked beans and/or coleslaw.
If you're looking for some side dish ideas, try my recipes for air fryer frozen green beans, honey orange glazed carrots, cottage fries, or lemon herb roasted asparagus.
Related recipes
If you've tried this recipe, please leave a star rating and/or review in the comments section below, I would love to hear from you! You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest. And sign up for my weekly newsletter to get recipes delivered straight to you!
Print📖 Recipe
Garlic Bread Sloppy Joes
This is comfort food at its easiest! With only a handful of basic ingredients and a box of frozen garlic bread, you can make this hearty dinner in only about 20 minutes.
- Prep Time: 7 minutes
- Cook Time: 13 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
- Category: main course, entree
- Method: bake, broil, stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 16 ounces (454 g) lean ground beef (see note 1)
- one 10-ounce frozen garlic bread (or one 11.25-ounce box garlic Texas toast)
- ¾ cup (204 g) ketchup
- 2 tablespoons (30 ml) Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon (15 g) yellow mustard
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper, or to taste
- ⅓ cup (79 ml) water
- 1 cup (112 g) shredded cheddar cheese blend
Instructions
- Place frozen garlic bread on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil (optional, for easier clean-up). Bake the garlic bread according to the package instructions.
- Meanwhile, in a medium skillet, brown the ground beef over medium-high heat until no longer pink, about 5 minutes. If needed, drain the excess grease and return the pan to the stove (note 2).
- Turn the heat down to medium low. Add the ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, yellow mustard, garlic powder, black pepper, and water to the skillet. Stir to combine. Simmer the sloppy joe mixture for 4 - 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thickened. (If you want it saucier, you can add another splash of water if needed.) Turn off the heat and let the skillet rest on the stove until the garlic bread is ready.
- When the garlic bread is done, remove it from the oven (but keep it on the baking sheet). Position the oven rack about 3 - 4 inches (8 - 10 cm) from the broiler (be careful and use oven mitts, the oven will still be hot!). Turn the oven on to the broil setting.
- While the broiler is preheating, spread the sloppy joe mixture evenly across the top of the garlic bread pieces. Sprinkle the cheese on top.
- Broil the sloppy joe garlic breads for about 2 - 3 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbly. Slice the garlic bread (if not using individual toasts) and serve immediately.
Notes
(1) I prefer using 90 - 93% lean ground beef; because it's so lean, there is no need to drain excess grease (saving me a step!). However, you can use any type of ground beef you prefer. If there is a lot of grease left in the pan after browning the beef, just drain it away before adding the remaining sloppy joe ingredients.
(2) To drain away the excess grease, move the ground beef to one side of the pan, then slightly tilt the pan to let the grease pool on the other side. Spoon out the pooled grease into a ceramic, metal, or glass container.
(3) If you have one, this is a great recipe for your toaster oven! It saves a lot of time on preheating.
The nutrition information below is an estimate only, provided by an online nutrition calculator. The calculation was made using 90% lean ground beef. The nutrition counts of your dish will vary based on the brand, type, and exact amounts of ingredients used. This nutrition estimate should not be considered a substitute for professional medical, health, or nutritional advice. See our full disclosure policy.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: ⅛ recipe
- Calories: 243
- Sugar: 9.3 g
- Sodium: 802 mg
- Fat: 12.2 g
- Saturated Fat: 3.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 22 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 8.8 g
- Cholesterol: 34 mg
Kathy Burns says
I haven't made this but it would be great for a Super Bowl party!
Kate says
It totally would thank you Kathy! If you end up making it sometime I hope you enjoy it 🙂