Sloppy joes are a crowd-pleasing sandwich that both kids and adults love But trying to figure out how much ground beef to buy per person for sloppy joes can be tricky. You want to make sure you have enough – but not too much.
As an experienced home cook and mom, I’ve hosted my fair share of sloppy joe nights. Over the years, I’ve refined my calculations for how much meat to prepare for this saucy sandwich.
In this article, I’ll share my handy guidelines on how much ground beef you need per person when making sloppy joes. You’ll learn:
- How much meat fills an average sloppy joe sandwich
- How to estimate portions based on appetite
- Tips to stretch the meat for a crowd
- Ideas for using up leftovers
With my simple formulas you’ll shop for the perfect sloppy joe meat amount and avoid either running short or having loads of leftovers. Let’s get saucy!
How Much Ground Beef Fits on a Sloppy Joe Bun?
First, let’s talk about how much meat goes into a single sloppy joes sandwich. This will help you gauge portions.
For a classic sloppy joe on a regular hamburger bun (around 31⁄2 inches wide):
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1⁄3 to 1⁄2 cup of sloppy joe meat filling is ideal, This equals about 2 to 3 ounces of uncooked ground beef
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1⁄4 pound (4 ounces) of raw ground beef makes enough cooked meat for 1 big sandwich or 2 smaller sandwiches.
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1 pound of ground beef cooks down to make sloppy joe filling for 4 to 6 sandwiches.
The meat shrinks as it cooks – raw beef becomes about half the amount after browning and simmering in the sauce. So remember to buy extra meat!
Figuring Portions Based on Appetite
Now that you know how much meat goes on each sandwich, how do you estimate portions per person? Here are my rules of thumb:
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For most older kids and adults, plan on 2 sloppy joes sandwiches per person. So figure about 1/2 pound of raw meat per person.
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With smaller kids (under 10), 1 sandwich per child is usually plenty. Go with around 1/4 pound of meat per kid.
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For teens and pre-teens, count on 1 1/2 to 2 sandwiches per person. Estimate 1/3 to 1/2 pound of meat per teen.
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Big eaters may want 2-3 sandwiches each. Allow 2/3 to 1 pound of meat per extra-hungry guest.
Take your group’s demographics into account, and adjust portions as needed. It’s better to have extras than run short!
Tips for Stretching the Meat
Cooking for a crowd on a budget? Here are my best tips for stretching the ground beef when making sloppy joes:
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Add extra vegetables like diced onions, peppers and mushrooms. They add more volume.
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Serve it on smaller slider buns – less meat needed per sandwich.
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Provide lots of toppings – cheese, pickles, coleslaw, etc. They make the meat go further.
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Make tasty side dishes like baked beans, fries or slaw. Filling sides means people eat less meat.
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Cook a little extra meat and save leftovers for chili or casseroles later in the week.
With a few adjustments, you can easily stretch 1-2 pounds of ground beef to feed quite a crowd.
Leftover Sloppy Joe Ideas
No one wants to eat sloppy joes 4 nights in a row. So what can you do with any extra meat filling? Here are some creative ideas:
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Stuff it into burritos, quesadillas or baked potatoes.
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Make a sloppy joe pizza with meat topping and mozzarella.
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Toss with pasta and cheese for an easy sloppy joe pasta bake.
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Freeze leftover meat in portions to mix into chili, soups or casseroles later.
How to Make Your Favorite Childhood Sloppy Joes
How much meat do you need to make sloppy joes?
But at a party, if you have a limited budget : You need about 1 pound of ground meat to make sloppy joes to feed 6 people. However, you can stretch the meat for a large crowd. Increasing other non-meat ingredients in the sloppy joes filling adds bulk, reducing the quantity of meat you need. Add more onions and bell peppers.
How many sloppy joes should a group eat?
The average serving size for sloppy joes is about 1/2 cup, and the standard recommendation is to plan for one to two sandwiches per person. Keeping this in mind, you can calculate how much ground beef will be needed to prepare the dish for your specific group size. Additionally, it’s important to consider the composition of your group.
How much Hamburger per person for sloppy joes?
Here’s a breakdown of how much hamburger per person you should plan for when making sloppy joes. When determining the amount of hamburger needed per person for sloppy joes, several factors come into play. The average serving size for sloppy joes is about 1/2 cup, and the standard recommendation is to plan for one to two sandwiches per person.
How many sloppy joes sandwiches per person?
Supply enough filling and buns for 1½ sloppy joes sandwiches per person. Some people will have two, most will have one, and a few won’t eat one at all. (Like the vegetarians in the crowd.) If you plan on 1½ sandwiches per person, you should have enough food for everyone. Especially if you have sloppy joes toppings and generous side dishes.