What is the name of the American sandwich made with ground beef, sauce, and served on a bun? Sloppy joe is the standard answer. It consists of seasoned ground beef simmered in a loose, savory sauce and spooned onto a hamburger-style bun.
The sauce commonly includes tomato ingredients such as ketchup or tomato sauce, along with onion, mustard, vinegar, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, or chili seasoning. Recipes differ by region and household, but the filling is deliberately loose and messy rather than shaped into a firm patty.
The sandwich became associated with American diners, school cafeterias, home cooking, and canned-sauce products during the 20th century. Its exact origin is disputed: competing stories connect the name to cooks in Sioux City, Iowa, and Havana, Cuba, while other accounts describe it as a loose-meat sandwich that gradually acquired the name.
Sloppy joes are often confused with hamburgers because both use ground beef and buns. The difference is texture and preparation: a hamburger is normally a formed patty, while a sloppy joe uses saucy crumbles. A patty melt is also distinct because it is a griddled sandwich with a formed beef patty and melted cheese.