Garlic Bread Sloppy Joes are open-faced sloppy joes: a tangy ketchup, mustard and Worcestershire beef filling spread over crisp, buttery garlic bread, then covered with cheddar and broiled until the cheese bubbles. They make an easy weeknight dinner, serve 8 and are ready in 20 minutes.
How to make it: Bake frozen garlic bread or garlic Texas toast according to the package while you brown a pound of lean beef to 160°F and simmer it in the sauce for 4 to 5 minutes. Spread the filling over the bread, add the cheese and broil for 2 to 3 minutes.
Why You’ll Love It
- 20 minutes, start to finish: the beef cooks while the bread bakes, so nothing waits on anything else.
- Pantry sauce: ketchup, mustard, Worcestershire, garlic powder and pepper make the filling, so there is no can of sauce to buy.
- Dinner or party food: cut the bread into big pieces for a meal, or into small pieces for an appetizer or an after-school snack.
- Easy to change: swap the sauce for spaghetti sauce, change the cheese, or use ground turkey.
Ingredient Notes
Garlic bread: A 10-ounce package of frozen garlic bread or an 11.25-ounce box of garlic Texas toast. The section below helps you choose between them.
Lean ground beef: One pound (16 ounces), browned in a skillet while the bread bakes.
The sauce: Three-quarters of a cup of ketchup is the base, with 2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce and 1 tablespoon of yellow mustard. Garlic powder and black pepper season it, and 1/3 cup of water goes in with them.
Cheese: One cup of shredded cheddar blend. Mozzarella has a subtle flavor and melts well, a mix of mozzarella and sharp cheddar works, and colby jack is another good choice.
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef (16 ounces)
- 10 ounces frozen garlic bread (1 package), or one 11.25-ounce box of garlic Texas toast
- 3/4 cup ketchup
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, ground, or to taste
- 1/3 cup water
- 1 cup cheddar cheese blend, shredded
How to Make Garlic Bread Sloppy Joes
1. Bake the garlic bread. Place the frozen garlic bread on a baking sheet, lined with aluminum foil if you like, and bake it according to the package instructions.
2. Brown the beef. Meanwhile, brown the ground beef in a medium skillet over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes, breaking it up as it cooks, until it reaches 160°F on a food thermometer. Drain the excess grease if needed.
3. Simmer the sauce. Turn the heat down to medium-low. Stir in the ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, garlic powder, black pepper and water. Simmer for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thickened; add another splash of water if you want it saucier. Turn off the heat until the garlic bread is ready.
4. Heat the broiler. When the garlic bread is done, take it out of the oven and leave it on the baking sheet. Set an oven rack 3 to 4 inches from the broiler and turn the oven to broil, using oven mitts because the oven is still hot.
5. Top the bread. Spread the sloppy joe mixture evenly over the garlic bread and sprinkle the cheese on top.
6. Broil and serve. Broil for 2 to 3 minutes, until the cheese is bubbly. Slice the garlic bread if you used a loaf, and serve right away.
The Best Bread for Sloppy Joes on Garlic Bread
The bread has to carry a saucy filling and a layer of cheese. Here is how the usual choices compare.
Garlic Texas toast. Thick garlic Texas toast holds the sloppy joe mixture without falling apart. Each slice is one portion, so 8 slices serve 8.
A frozen garlic bread loaf. A loaf gives you two long halves to top and cut into pieces after broiling.
Homemade garlic bread. No frozen bread in the house? Slice a loaf of Italian bread in half lengthwise and spread the cut sides with 1/2 cup of softened unsalted butter mixed with 1 teaspoon of garlic salt. Use plain butter if you want a milder flavor. A French baguette, ciabatta or sourdough works the same way.
| Bread | How it bakes | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Garlic Texas toast or frozen garlic bread | Bake by the package, add the filling and cheese, then broil | 2 to 3 minutes under the broiler |
| Frozen garlic bread loaf, topped before baking | Let it start to thaw, separate the halves, top them cut side up and bake at 375°F | 15 minutes, until the cheese melts and the beef bubbles |
| Homemade garlic butter on Italian bread | Butter the halves, top them and bake at 350°F | 12 to 14 minutes, until golden brown |
Bake the bread before it gets the filling. For toast or a pre-baked loaf, give it the full package time and make sure each piece is brown on both sides. Then the filling and cheese only need a short trip under the broiler.
Tips for Success
How much filling goes on each slice?
About 1/4 to 1/3 cup of filling on each slice of garlic toast, then about 2 tablespoons of shredded cheese.
Why does my filling taste greasy?
The fat from the beef was left in the pan. Drain off the excess fat after browning and before you add the sauce, so the filling doesn’t have a greasy texture.
Variations
- Italian-style: brown 1 pound of lean ground beef, drain it and stir in 2 cups of spaghetti sauce, more or less to taste. Simmer for 7 to 10 minutes, spoon it over 8 slices of garlic toast and top with 1 cup of shredded mozzarella. Italian sausage, casings removed, can replace the beef.
- Tomato soup filling: simmer the browned beef with one 10.75-ounce can of condensed tomato soup, 2 tablespoons of ketchup, 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce, 1 teaspoon of yellow mustard, 1 teaspoon of onion powder, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder for a few minutes. Top with colby jack.
- Ground turkey: use ground turkey or a plant-based meat alternative in place of the beef. Cook ground turkey to 165°F.
Storage & Reheating
These are best served fresh. USDA FSIS says to refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours in shallow, covered containers and eat them within 3 to 4 days. Reheat them in the oven or air fryer until they reach 165°F; do not reheat them in a slow cooker. The filling freezes on its own: freeze extra sloppy joe mixture for 3 to 4 months, thaw it in the refrigerator, and reheat it to 165°F before spreading it on freshly baked garlic bread.
What to Serve With It
Serve them on their own or with a side salad, such as spinach salad with warm bacon dressing, and scatter chopped parsley or sliced green onions over the top. If you like your sloppy joes on a bun, try slow cooker Amish beef sloppy joes or Philly cheese steak sloppy joes. For another dinner built on garlic bread, there’s Philly cheesesteak garlic bread, and when you want the bread by itself, make cheesy Texas toast or homemade cheesy garlic breadsticks.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does garlic bread go with sloppy joes?
Yes, and here it does more than sit on the side. The sloppy joe filling is heaped right on the toasted garlic bread and topped with melted cheese, like an open-faced sandwich.
Can I make garlic bread sloppy joes ahead of time?
Make the filling ahead. Cook the beef with the sauce, let it cool, and keep it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 to 3 days. Reheat it as described in Storage & Reheating, spread it on the baked bread, add the cheese and broil.
Can I use canned sloppy joe sauce?
Yes. Soften 1 small onion in 1 tablespoon of butter, brown the beef with it and drain, then stir in a 15-ounce can of sloppy joe sauce and simmer for 5 minutes. Spread it over a split garlic bread loaf and top each half with 1 cup of shredded cheddar.
Can I make them in the air fryer?
Yes. Put the topped garlic bread in the air fryer basket and cook it at 400°F for about 5 minutes, until the cheese is melted and golden brown. The bread comes out a little darker than it does in the oven.
Final Notes
For a little more flavor, sprinkle Italian seasoning over the cheese as it melts. If you make these, tell me in the comments which bread and cheese you used.
Garlic Bread Sloppy Joes
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Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef 16 ounces
- 10 ounces frozen garlic bread 1 package; or one 11.25-ounce box of garlic Texas toast
- 3/4 cup ketchup
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper ground, or to taste
- 1/3 cup water
- 1 cup cheddar cheese blend shredded
Instructions
- Place the frozen garlic bread on a baking sheet, lined with aluminum foil if you like, and bake it according to the package instructions.
- Meanwhile, brown the ground beef in a medium skillet over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes, breaking it up as it cooks, until it reaches 160°F on a food thermometer. Drain the excess grease if needed.
- Turn the heat down to medium-low. Stir in the ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, garlic powder, black pepper and water. Simmer for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thickened; add another splash of water if you want it saucier. Turn off the heat until the garlic bread is ready.
- When the garlic bread is done, take it out of the oven and leave it on the baking sheet. Set an oven rack 3 to 4 inches from the broiler and turn the oven to broil, using oven mitts because the oven is still hot.
- Spread the sloppy joe mixture evenly over the garlic bread and sprinkle the cheese on top.
- Broil for 2 to 3 minutes, until the cheese is bubbly. Slice the garlic bread if you used a loaf, and serve right away.
