3 Ways To Thicken Sloppy Joes

Why would you want to thicken sloppy Joes?

Besides hamburger, sloppy Joe is also a favorite kind of messy sandwich with rich flavor from beef or fork with a delicious sauce.  It’s a traditional American dish for decades and due to a long time of its existence, there are plenty of old or new recipes to make this dish. 

However, what we need to avoid when processing a sloppy Joe is making a watery filling. The result that way will be more of a ground-beef stew than a thick sandwich filling and this thing will not only cause difficulty in eating but also affect the flavor of the dish.

Can you thicken Sloppy Joes?

What a relief to know that we can totally thicken sloppy Joes with some simple ingredients in a way that doesn’t take a lot of time. 

Therefore, just be confident to make your most perfect sloppy Joe because you still have a salvation if you accidentally ruin or make it unsuccessfully. Let’s get further knowledge in the article below and keep it in your mind.

Tips to thicken Sloppy Joes

• Make sure to dissolve the cornstarch in the water by stirring constantly and  use the back of the spoon to press against the walls of the bowl to break up any clumps of cornstarch that form. If the mixture is clumping and added to the sloppy Joes, then you will fail to thicken the sloppy Joes and even create small, chewy dumplings in the sauce
• If your sloppy Joes still don’t reach the desired thickness, you can repeat to make another the mixture of the cornstarch and warm water again and follow the same manner until the right consistency is achieved
• If you do not have cornstarch available at your kitchen, just substitute 1 tbsp. of cornstarch with 2 tbsp. of all purpose flour
• While simmering the sloppy Joes, don’t forget to stir occasionally to avoid sticking and remove the pan or pot from the heat immediately after the mixture has thickened

Things you’ll need

• A stove top
• A large pan or pot with lid
• A spoon
• Thickener such as flour or cornstarch

  How to thicken Sloppy Joes

  1. Add a bit cornstarch into a bowl of lukewarm water (use for every 3 cups of sloppy Joe mixture you need to thicken)
  2. Stir the cornstarch and water mixture with a spoon until it is completely smooth
  3. Pour the cornstarch and water into the sloppy Joes mixture in a large enough pan or pot and stir with a spoon until thoroughly combined
  4. Cover the sloppy Joe mixture by a lid and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally 
  5. Check the consistency if it reaches your desire