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Sloppy Joe Cups are an easy dinner recipe with only 4 ingredients! A fun twist to traditional sloppy joes made with crescent dough, ground beef sloppy joe filling, and melted American cheese.
Do you love biscuit cup dinner recipes? You must try my Cheeseburger Biscuit Cups and Mini Chicken Pot Pies – both are made with biscuit dough and they are the cutest, handheld little biscuit cups that the whole family will LOVE.
Sloppy Joe Crescent Cups Recipe
This easy dinner idea takes a classic comfort food – like Classic Sloppy Joes – and turns them into a fun dinner idea that’s perfect for weeknights when you need a super quick & easy school dinner idea.
This ground beef recipe uses an entire pound of ground beef so it’s a great way to use up frozen ground beef in the freezer or take advantage of the smaller price tag on ground beef these days.
Buttery, flaky crescent dough is baked to golden brown perfection filled with a 2-ingredient sloppy joe mixture (ground beef + canned sloppy joe sauce) and then topped with cheese.
Super kid-friendly and so easy to make. Your family will want this one on repeat!
Only 4 Ingredients Needed
- Ground Beef : I prefer using a lean ground beef like 93/7, but use your preferred ground beef.
- Sloppy Joe Sauce : I know, it’s a canned sloppy Joe sauce but honestly, in this quick & easy recipe you’ll find that it’s delicious and totally worth it for only 4 ingredients.
- Crescent Rolls : These are the refrigerated, tube crescent rolls that come with 8 triangular crescent rolls in the tube.
- Sliced American Cheese : This is the best to use because it melts quickly and smoothly.
How To Make Easy Sloppy Joe Cups (Printable Recipe Card)
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly spray a muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray (a regular-size muffin cups muffin tin with 12 spots in it). You will only need to spray 8 of the muffin cups.
In a large skillet pan, over medium-high heat, cool and crumble the ground beef until it’s no longer pink. Drain excess grease from the pan.
Add the sloppy joe sauce to the skillet and stir until the beef is fully coated. Let the sloppy joe mixture simmer for 5 minutes or until slightly thickened.
On a lightly floured surface, unroll the crescent dough and pinch the seam together to form a single large square of dough. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough evenly to smooth the seams and slightly enlarge the square. Cut the dough into 8 equal squares. Gently press each square into a muffin cup to form open-faced cups.
Spoon the sloppy joe filling evenly into each dough cup. Top each cup with a quartered slice of American cheese.
Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until the dough is golden brown and cooked through, and the cheese is melted and slightly bubbly.
Allow the cups to cool for a few minutes before removing them from the muffin pan. Serve warm and enjoy!
How To Store Leftover Sloppy Joe Cups (With Crescent Dough)
Store leftovers inside an airtight container, in the refrigerator, for up to 3 days. Reheat leftover sloppy joe cups in the microwave until heated through.
Substituions & Variation Ideas
- Ground Beef : Use any percentage of ground beef that you prefer; the recipe does call for the excess fat and grease to be drained, so use what you have or prefer. You could also switch it up and use ground turkey or ground chicken instead. I prefer using lean meat such as 93/7 or 96/4 ground beef.
- Canned Sloppy Joe Sauce : This ingredient is what makes this dinner recipe so easy to make with only 4 ingredients. Choose your favorite variety of sloppy Joe sauce such as bold, zesty, chunky, or classic. I’ve seen a few different options from the Manwich brand in the store. You could also use homemade sloppy Joe sauce but that kind of defeats the purpose of this simple recipe.
- American Cheese : This is the preferred cheese because it melts smooth and quickly; use yellow American cheese, white American cheese, or a pepper jack American cheese for some spice. Sliced cheese such as sliced cheddar cheese or Colby jack can be used, but please note that it does not melt as quickly or smoothly as the pasteurized American cheese, which may affect the final look and taste of the sloppy Joe cups.
- Additions : Some ideas to switch up this recipe include adding a finely ground bell pepper and/or onion in with the ground beef. Add a dash of Worcestershire sauce, or 1-2 teaspoons of brown sugar, in with the sloppy Joe sauce for some added flavor or sweetness of wanted.
More Sloppy Joe Recipes You’ll Love
- Copycat Manwich Sloppy Joe Recipe
- Hawaiian Sloppy Joes
- Gumbo Soup Sloppy Joes
- Frito Pie Sloppy Joes
- Cheez Whiz Sloppy Joes
- Chicken Alfredo Sloppy Joes
- Chili Cheese Sloppy Joes
- Crockpot Sloppy Joes
Sloppy Joe Cups
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef (I use 93/7)
- 1 can (15 oz) sloppy joe sauce
- 1 tube (8 oz) refrigerated crescent rolls
- 2 slices yellow American cheese (cut into quartered squares)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375℉. Lightly spray a muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray (a regular-size muffin cups muffin tin with 12 spots in it). You will only need to spray 8 of the muffin cups.
- In a large skillet pan, over medium-high heat, cool and crumble the ground beef until it's no longer pink. Drain the excess fat and grease from the pan.1 pound lean ground beef
- Add the sloppy joe sauce to the skillet and stir until the beef is fully coated. Let the sloppy joe mixture simmer for 5 minutes or until slightly thickened.1 can (15 oz) sloppy joe sauce
- On a lightly floured surface, unroll the crescent dough and pinch the seam together to form a single large square of dough. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough evenly to smooth the seams and slightly enlarge the square.1 tube (8 oz) refrigerated crescent rolls
- Cut the dough into 8 equal squares. Gently press each square into a muffin cup to form open-faced cups.
- Spoon the sloppy joe filling evenly into each dough cup. Top each cup with a quartered slice of American cheese.2 slices yellow American cheese
- Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until the dough is golden brown and cooked through, and the cheese is melted and slightly bubbly.
- Allow the cups to cool for a few minutes before removing them from the muffin pan. Serve warm and enjoy!
Notes
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