Canning sloppy joe mix is a great canning recipe to prepare for those busy weeknights when you don’t have much time to cook but want a homemade meal on the table. Homemade sloppy joes are never more than a few minutes away with this sitting in your mason jars.

Having a homemade, ready made, quick meal that kids will eat isn’t an easy task. This sloppy joe recipe will not only give you that but you can feel good about not having to run through the drive-through because once this is on your shelves, it’s faster than waiting in line. 

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Let’s make this American classic sandwich filling together. Since the meat will be canned in the jar already, that makes this a low acid canning project. That means you will need a pressure canner. Any pressure canner will work, but the All American 941 Pressure Canner has been my work horse for almost a decade now and it has been worth it’s money over and over again. 

Watch the Video Tutorial Here:

Ingredients Needed

Sloppy joe filling doesn’t have complicated ingredients. Also, the wonderful thing about making your own homemade sloppy joe sauce is that you can remove or add any ingredients to fit your family’s tastes. This recipe makes 5 quarts of sloppy joe mix.

• ground beef, 7 pounds
• onions, 2 diced 
• green bell peppers, 2 diced
• garlic, 10 minced
• worcestershire sauce, 4 tbsp
• brown sugar, 1/2 cup
• tomato sauce, 6 cups
• apple cider vinegar, 1/2 cup
• beef broth, 3 cups
• ground mustard, 1 tbsp
• salt, 2 tbsp

If your family likes things spicy, add red pepper flakes or jalapeños to your homemade sauces. Also, ketchup is a typical sloppy joe ingredient, however I don’t find it cost efficient. If you would like to add ketchup, remove the apple cider vinegar and tomato sauce. 

The amount given makes approximately 5 quarts. Add more or less depending on how much you would like to make. 

Preparing for Canning Sloppy Joe Filling

Getting things ready before being in the thick of it will make things go much smoother. Start by making sure all your jars, lids, and rings are washed in hot soapy water. 

Place pressure canner on stove and add a few inches of water. Place canning jars in the water and turn stove on medium-low heat. This will allow the jars to warm up so they won’t break when adding the hot food to them.

Dice up all vegetables you will be using in the sloppy joe sauce recipe. 

Making the Sloppy Joe Mixture

Brown up ground meat in a big batch in a large pot over medium heat.

When it is close to being done, add in the onion. When ground beef has been browned, drain off excess fat. 

Add in all remaining ingredients to cooked ground beef and bring to a boil. Once it has reached a boil, bring meat mixture down to a simmer for 20 minutes. 

Canning Sloppy Joe

Pack meat mixture into hot jars, leaving one inch headspace.

Remove air bubbles and re-check headspace. The meat’s own fat can mess up the seal if there isn’t enough headspace, so be sure it is good.

Wipe jar rims and place lids and bands on. Load hot jar into canner and put lid on canner to start the canning process.

After steam has escaped from the vent pipe for 10 minutes, add the weighted gauge. 

Bring the pressure canner up to 11 pounds of pressure for a dial gauge canner or 10 pounds pressure for a weighted gauge canner. If you live in a higher altitude area (above 1000 feet elevation),  you will need to adjust weight for that elevation.

Once the pressure is correct, start the processing time. 

• Quart jars for 1 hour, 30 minutes 
• Pint jars for 1 hour, 15 minutes.

After the processing time is complete, turn off the heat but leave weight on. Walk away and allow pressure to reduce naturally. When the pressure has hit zero, remove gauge and wait 5 more minutes.

After waiting, remove canner lid by opening it tilting away from your face so the steam doesn’t burn you. 

Remove jars with a jar lifter and place on a towel on the counter. Wait 12-24 hours before checking seals. Store jars in a cool, dark place.

Using Home Canned Sloppy Joe Mix

Now that the sloppy joe mix is ready to for later use, what do you do? Use it for easy meals! For a really simple eat, warm it up and place on hamburger buns. Add a slice of cheese on top. Serve with french fries or corn on the cob. Bake up a sweet potato and serve it on top of that with a side of broccoli for a really healthy meal. Pressure canning has allowed you to have this ready to go option that can be used multiple ways!

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