These pizza sauce sloppy joes are a quick, easy and cheap weeknight meal idea. Ground beef, onion, carrots, and black beans are mixed with pizza sauce and spices. All on top of toasted hamburger buns with melted mozzarella. It's an easy family favorite!

Close up of pizza sloppy joes with melted mozzarella cheese on a white plate.

Pizza Sloppy Joes Overview

These pizza sloppy joes are easy, cheap and fast. There's not a lot of fuss here. Just a few ingredients are cooked in a frying pan and then everything is broiled in the oven.

If you need a cheap meal, this is a great option! Ground beef is affordable. Hamburger buns and black beans make this recipe extra filling. If you want to cut back, even more, consider using ground pork instead which is even cheaper.

Recipe Ingredients

1 cup chopped onion
1 lb lean ground beef
1 Tbsp all purpose flour
1 cup black beans
1 grated carrot
14 oz pizza sauce
¼ cup parmesan cheese
1 tsp italian seasoning
1 tsp garlic powder
½ tsp dried oregano
4 hamburger buns - sliced in half
2 Tbsp butter - for spreading on buns
1 ½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Three images grouped together. First is chopped onion, second onion with raw ground beef. Third is cooked ground beef and onion.

How To Make Pizza Sauce Sloppy Joes

STEP 1: Add a bit of oil to a frying pan over medium-high heat. Cook 1 cup chopped onion until it turns translucent, about 1-2 minutes.

STEP 2: Add 1 lb ground beef. Break apart with a flat wood spatula and mix in with the onion. Cook until beef turns brown and is no longer pink.

Three images grouped together. First is onion and ground beef. Second and third are various ingredients in frying pan first unmixed, then mixed.

STEP 3: Sprinkle 1 Tbsp all-purpose flour overtop and mix together.

STEP 4: Add 1 cup black beans, 1 grated carrot, 14 oz pizza sauce, ¼ cup parmesan cheese, 1 tsp italian seasoning, 1 tsp garlic powder, and ½ tsp dried oregano. Mix together and cook until it thickens, 1-2 minutes.

Four images together. First two are baking sheets with hamburger buns, untoasted then toasted. Last two are pizza sloppy joes with mozzarella cheese, first unmelted then melted.

STEP 5: Preheat the broiler. Spread butter over both sides of 4 hamburger buns (there will be 8 pieces total). Broil the buns on the middle rack for 1-3 minutes on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Until it reaches your desired crispiness (we like ours crispy!).

STEP 6: Remove buns from the oven. Spoon the ground beef mixture on top of each piece. Divide the 1 ½ cups shredded mozzarella evenly over top of each.

STEP 7: Place back in the oven to broil on the middle rack for another 2-3 minutes, until cheese is melted and bubbling. Remove and serve immediately.

Close up of pizza sloppy joes on a white plate.

Recipe Tips

Ground beef can be substituted with any other ground meat. Pizza sauce can be substituted with spaghetti sauce. Black beans can be replaced with kidney beans, chickpeas or lentils. Any kind of shredded cheese can be used here too. You can also add mushrooms, canned pineapple, chopped bell pepper, or pepperoni slices. You can use this recipe as a guide but create your unique variation.
I prefer to cook on the middle rack when using my broiler. The top rack burns too easily in my oven.
Watch the recipe carefully when using a broiler. Things can burn quickly, so it's best to keep an eye on them. You only need a minute or two to toast the hamburger buns. And another minute or two to melt the cheese.
Any style of bun will work for this meal. I used white hamburger buns, but hot dog buns or toasted bread will also work.
There will be some leftover sloppy joe mixture which is great to eat the next night with more hamburger buns. You can also serve it on top of rice or pasta.

How To Store Leftovers

The ground beef mixture makes delicious leftovers! Just store it separately from the hamburger buns so that the bread doesn't get soggy. Store the leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days.

Consider meal-prepping this recipe by cooking double the amount of the ground beef mixture and freezing half for a future meal. The sloppy joe mixture can be stored frozen without the buns.