These are by far the best sloppy Joe’s I’ve ever made. I do have a version that doesn’t use ketchup (for those days during the pandemic where we run out of ketchup) but this one is really easy.

If you have not tried the Hunt’s 100 percent natural ketchup, do try it. It’s honestly the best ketchup I’ve ever had (it tastes more tomato-y? or more fresh? This is not sponsored, I just really like it).

Start with your ground beef in the Instant Pot. Yes, that is a dead-frozen chub. DEAD FROZEN. To this you’re going to add 1 1/2 cups beer (I used Coors Banquet) or water. Of course the beer is going to add flavor.
I currently use the Instant Pot Max and I live the max pressure feature as well as the automated releasing. So handy when you’re multi-tasking.

Cook for 14 minutes on max pressure or about 16 minutes on high, and quick release. It’s not going to cook all the way through at this point, and that’s fine. There’s another cooking step.

Add spices, onion, dried bell peppers (or fresh if you have them. I just love to have these on hand because I don’t always have peppers), Maggi Beef Base, and brown sugar.

And bash around the ingredients to mix and break up the beef. The Pampered Chef Mix And Chop is the best instrument I have found for this.

Cook on max pressure for 4 minutes or high pressure for 5, and quick release. It should look like the above but if not give it another minute or two. If the mixture is too wet at this point, cook it down for a couple of minutes using the saute function (I have found that ground beef can vary widely in the liquid content).

Add ketchup and mustard.

And stir.

These were seriously great the first night and even better for leftover lunches.
IF YOU LIKE THIS RECIPE YOU WILL ALSO LIKE:
- Instant Pot Meatballs With Mushroom Gravy
- Instant Pot Triple Mac and Cheese
- Instant Pot Johnny Marzetti
- Instant Pot Beef Stroganoff
- Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese
- Instant Pot Chicken Tetrazzini
Instant Pot Sloppy Joes
Equipment
- Instant Pot
Ingredients
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup ketchup
- 1 ½ cups beer
- 1 large onion diced
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 4 tablespoons dried red and green peppers
- 1 tablespoon beef base
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 4 tablespoons mustard
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 3/4 teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Instructions
- Add ground beef and beer or water to the Instant Pot. If your ground beef is not frozen you can cut back to 3/4 cup beer or water. Cook on max pressure for 14 (10 minutes for non-frozen beef) minutes or high pressure for 15 minutes (11 minutes for non-frozen beef) and quick release. Add onions, spices, brown sugar, beef base and dried bell peppers (basically, everything with the exception of ketchup and mustard) and mix and chop up ground beef. Cook on max pressure 2 minutes or high pressure 3 minutes and quick release. If beef is still pink you may have to add more time by the minute. If the mixture is too wet, cook on the saute function for a few minutes to reduce the liquid. Add ketchup and mustard and mix. Serve on a bun.
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