Sloppy Joes with Chicken Gumbo Soup give you a saucy ground-beef sandwich with tender celery and onion, tangy ketchup and mustard, and a little sweetness from brown sugar. Make them for a weeknight dinner when you want something warm and messy in a good way, but still sturdy enough to pile onto a bun.
How to make sloppy joes with chicken gumbo soup: Brown the beef in a skillet, soften the celery and onion, then stir in the condensed soup and sauce ingredients. Simmer over medium-low heat for 10 minutes before serving on hamburger buns.
Why You’ll Love It
- Dinner in 25 minutes: The filling takes 10 minutes to prep and 15 minutes to cook.
- One skillet: You brown the beef, cook the vegetables, and simmer the sauce in the same pan.
- A spoonable filling: Condensed soup helps coat the beef, while an uncovered simmer lets you judge when it is thick enough for buns.
- Familiar sandwich flavors: Ketchup, yellow mustard, and brown sugar give the filling its tangy-sweet finish.
Ingredient Notes
Ground beef: Buy ground beef for a skillet filling, rather than switching to a cooked or shredded meat. You will break it into small pieces as it browns, so the sauce can coat the beef and the filling is easy to spoon onto buns. I like to get those pieces small before the vegetables go in; it is easier to work with the beef while you can still see it clearly.
Celery and white onion: Chop both before you turn on the heat. They go into the skillet when the beef is almost no longer pink, then cook until tender. If you leave large pieces, you will notice more of the vegetables in each bite; keep the chop fairly even if you want the beef and vegetables together on the spoon.
Condensed chicken gumbo soup: Get a can labeled condensed chicken gumbo soup, not a soup that is already prepared with water. The can goes straight into the skillet. I keep it beside the measured ketchup and mustard before cooking so the sauce ingredients are ready when the vegetables soften.
Ketchup, yellow mustard, and brown sugar: Measure these rather than guessing; each has a distinct job in the finished flavor. Ketchup and mustard bring tang, and brown sugar adds sweetness. Stick with yellow mustard here so you get the sauce described in the ingredients, without trying to adjust a different mustard as the skillet simmers.
Hamburger buns: Have them ready for serving, though you can decide how many to set out for your table. My pick is to keep the filling in the skillet until everyone is ready to assemble a sandwich.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 cup celery, chopped
- 1/2 cup white onion, chopped
- 1 can condensed chicken gumbo soup (10.5 ounces; do not dilute)
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 2 tablespoons yellow mustard
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- Hamburger buns, for serving
How to Make Sloppy Joes with Chicken Gumbo Soup
1. Brown the beef. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef, break it into small pieces, and season with the salt and black pepper. Keep moving the beef as it browns so you can see where larger pieces still need to be broken up.
2. Cook the vegetables. When the beef is almost no longer pink, add the chopped celery and onion. Sauté for 3 to 4 minutes, until the vegetables are tender. Watch the celery as well as the onion; both should have a chance to soften before the sauce goes into the skillet.
3. Add the sauce. Stir in the condensed chicken gumbo soup, ketchup, yellow mustard, and brown sugar. Do not add water to the soup. Stir through the beef and vegetables until you no longer see separate pockets of ketchup, mustard, or condensed soup.
4. Simmer and serve. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes. Check that the ground beef reaches 160°F with a food thermometer. When the filling is thick enough to spoon onto buns, divide it among the hamburger buns and serve.
Get the Soup and Filling Texture Right
The soup should go into your skillet condensed and undiluted. Adding water gives you a thinner mixture to deal with at serving time, when what you need is beef coated in sauce rather than beef sitting in liquid. Once you have stirred the soup together with the ketchup, mustard, and brown sugar, the filling will look looser than it does on a finished sandwich.
Let the skillet simmer uncovered. After the 10-minute simmer, look at how the sauce sits around the beef: you want a coating that comes up with a spoonful of filling, not a pool of sauce left behind. If the mixture still seems too loose for a bun, keep it uncovered and simmer until it reaches the thickness you want. I would rather give the skillet a little more time than put a runny spoonful straight onto bread.
Tips for Success
Why is sauce sticking to the bottom of my skillet?
You may see dark sauce catching on the pan while the rest of the filling is still loose. Check that the heat is at medium-low rather than the higher setting used to brown the beef, and stir the filling as it simmers. If it begins sticking again, turn the heat down before continuing.
Why does one bite taste sweeter or sharper than another?
Look for streaks of ketchup or mustard, or a pocket of brown sugar that has not been stirred through. Those ingredients went into the skillet together, but they need to be mixed throughout the beef. Stir from the bottom of the skillet and check a spoonful before you serve.
Storage & Reheating
USDA FSIS says to refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours in shallow covered containers; keep them refrigerated for 3 to 4 days or frozen for 3 to 4 months. Thaw frozen filling in the refrigerator, cold water, or microwave, not on the counter. Reheat it on the stove or in the microwave to 165°F, checking with a food thermometer; do not use a slow cooker to reheat leftovers.
What to Serve With It
Serve these on hamburger buns for a skillet sandwich dinner. If you are planning other comfort-food meals, try slow cooker beef sloppy joes or Philly cheese steak sloppy joes. For a different beef dinner, there is beef and barley soup; for soup nights, look at 8-can chicken taco soup or creamy chicken noodle soup. Ritz cracker chicken casserole is another condensed-soup dinner to keep in mind.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I dilute the condensed chicken gumbo soup?
No. Empty the condensed soup directly into the skillet with the ketchup, mustard, and brown sugar. Stir until you have a sauce coating the beef and vegetables.
Can another soup replace chicken gumbo soup?
Keep chicken gumbo soup in the filling. You can add tomato soup alongside chicken gumbo soup if you want to change the sauce, but tomato soup is not a one-for-one replacement for it.
Can I toast the hamburger buns?
Yes. Toasted hamburger buns are an option if you want a firmer surface and a little contrast with the soft filling. Spoon the hot beef mixture onto them when you are ready to serve.
Final Notes
Keep a spoon by the skillet so you can serve the filling as soon as it has the texture you want. If you have a question or make these sloppy joes, tell me how they turned out in the comments.
Sloppy Joes with Chicken Gumbo Soup
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Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 cup celery chopped
- 1/2 cup white onion chopped
- 1 can condensed chicken gumbo soup 10.5 ounces; do not dilute
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 2 tablespoons yellow mustard
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- hamburger buns for serving
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef, break it into small pieces, and season with the salt and black pepper.
- When the beef is almost no longer pink, add the chopped celery and onion. Sauté for 3 to 4 minutes, until tender.
- Stir in the condensed chicken gumbo soup, ketchup, yellow mustard, and brown sugar. Do not add water to the soup.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes, until the filling is thick enough for buns. Check that the ground beef reaches 160°F with a food thermometer. Spoon the filling onto hamburger buns.
