This hearty and comforting Sloppy Joe Cornbread Casserole is an easy to make meal that is sure to satisfy the entire family. Loaded with sloppy joe beef, sweet cornbread, and shredded cheddar cheese.
If you're craving more quick and easy casserole recipes, then be sure to try making a Chicken and Broccoli Casserole or Meatball Casserole. For more yummy cornbread recipes, try making some Barbecue Cornbread Muffins or a batch of Sweet Potato Cornbread.
Just made it home from a long day at work and realize that you still have to prepare dinner for your family?
The last thing you want to do is spend time making something overly complicated that requires multiple pots and pans. And let's not even get started on the hassle of cleaning up afterwards. It's no wonder we prefer ordering a pizza or take-out and calling it a night.
But if you do prefer to cook something that is super simple and requires very little effort, then let me tell you right now that they're a few dinners that you can whip up in minutes and sloppy joe just so happens to be one of them.
Now making sloppy joe the good old fashion way is perfectly acceptable, but this recipe puts a new twist on an old classic by adding corn, cornbread, and cheese!
Let's get started!
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Ingredients You'll Need
- Cornbread Mix - Use any box of cornbread mix that you prefer. You may select a savory or sweet version, but I prefer to use a single box of regular Jiffy cornbread mix for this recipe. It's a little sweet, but balances out the rest of the ingredients really well.
- Cheddar Cheese - Adds sharp and cheesy flavor to the cornbread mixture as well as topping the casserole. You may grab the pre-shredded bag version, but I prefer to shred a bulk/block of cheddar using a box grater because it melts better and doesn't contain any additonal ingredients.
- Milk - Use whole milk to make the cornbread that serves as the base of the casserole.
- Egg - A single large egg is all that is needed to make the cornbread and help it to bind together.
- Corn - A single can of cream-style corn is added to the cornbread mixture to bulk it up and add in an additional vegetable with a slight amount of sweetness. This ingredient also helps the casserole to come together.
- Sloppy Joe Sauce - You may use a can of premade sloppy joe sauce or make your own.
- Ground Beef - Try to use a pound of lean ground beef to mix with the sloppy joe sauce to create the meaty portion of the casserole.
- Butter - Used to saute the onion and bell pepper and adds a nice buttery flavor to the casserole. If you prefer to substitute oil instead or omit, then you may do that as well.
- Onion - Select a yellow or white onion to add to the ground beef mixture for additional flavor.
- Bell Pepper - Chop a green bell pepper to saute along with the onion to add to the ground beef mixture. If you know anything about sloppy joe, then you know that bell pepper is a main component. You may substitute red bell pepper instead if you prefer or use a combination of both green and red.
See the recipe card below for exact ingredients and quantities.
Step By Step Instructions
Begin the casserole recipe by preheating the oven to 400 degrees F. and lightly spray a 9x13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
In a medium-sized bowl, add the cornbread mix, half a cup of shredded cheddar cheese, milk, egg, and a whole can of cream-style corn. Stir well until combined. Pour into the prepared baking dish. Bake for about 15 minutes, until it begins to softly set.
While the cornbread is baking, heat a large skillet over medium heat and add the butter. Once the butter has melted, add the chopped onion and bell pepper.
Cook until they begin to soften, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add the pound of ground beef to the skillet and cook until the beef is no longer pink. Drain off any excess fat if necessary.
Add half of the can of sloppy joe sauce to the pan along with the beef and cook until it is heated thoroughly. Carefully remove the cornbread from the oven and use a fork to prick holes all over the top of the cornbread.
Pour the remaining half of the sloppy joe sauce evenly over the top of the cornbread. Evenly add the meat sauce over the baked cornbread and top with the remaining cheddar cheese that is left.
Return the casserole to the oven and bake for about 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve the sloppy joe casserole while it is still warm. Enjoy!
Recipe Tips and Tricks
- Use a box of your favorite cornbread mixture. I prefer to use an 8.5-ounce box for a thinner cornbread crust, but you may also use a 15-ounce mix as well for a thicker cornbread layer.
- Try not to overcook the cornbread mixture, it will finish cooking once the sloppy joe beef is added and it's returned to the oven.
- A traditional sloppy joe is made with ground beef, but you may substitute with a pound of ground turkey if you prefer.
Storage
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat in the oven for a few minutes at 350 degrees F. or in the microwave.
This casserole can also be stored in the freezer for up to a month. Remove it from the freezer the night before you're ready to serve to allow it to thaw in the refrigerator. Heat in the oven as normal and have some additional sloppy joe sauce on hand to add if needed.
📖 Recipe
Sloppy Joe Cornbread Casserole
Equipment
- 1 9x13-inch rectangle baking dish
Ingredients
- 1 8.5 ounces cornbread mix
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided in half
- ⅓ cup milk
- 1 large egg
- 1 can cream-style sweet corn (14.75 ounces)
- 1 24 ounces sloppy joe sauce, divided in half
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 tablespoon butter
- ½ cup yellow onion, diced
- 1 large green bell pepper, chopped into smaller pieces
Instructions
- Begin the casserole recipe by preheating the oven to 400 degrees F. and lightly spray a 9x13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
- In a medium-sized bowl, add the 8.5 ounce package of cornbread mix, ½ cup of shredded cheddar cheese, ⅓ cup milk, 1 large egg, and a whole can (14.75 ounces) of cream-style corn. Stir well until combined. Pour into the prepared baking dish. Bake for about 15 minutes, until it begins to softly set.
- While the cornbread is baking, heat a large skillet over medium heat and add 1 tablespoon of butter. Once the butter has melted, add the ½ cup chopped onion and chopped large bell pepper.
- Cook until they begin to soften, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add the 1 pound ground beef to the skillet and cook until the beef is no longer pink. Drain off any excess fat if necessary.
- Add half of the 24 ounce can of sloppy joe sauce to the pan along with the beef and cook until it is heated thoroughly. Carefully remove the cornbread from the oven and use a fork to prick holes all over the top of the cornbread.
- Pour the remaining ½ of the sloppy joe sauce evenly over the top of the cornbread. Evenly add the meat sauce over the baked cornbread and top with the remaining ½ cup of cheddar cheese that is left.
- Return the casserole to the oven and bake for about 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve the sloppy joe casserole while it is still warm. Enjoy!
Notes
- Use a box of your favorite cornbread mixture. I prefer to use an 8.5-ounce box for a thinner cornbread crust, but you may also use a 15-ounce mix as well for a thicker cornbread layer.
- Try not to overcook the cornbread mixture, it will finish cooking once the sloppy joe beef is added and it is returned to the oven.
- A traditional sloppy joe is made with ground beef, but you may substitute ground turkey if you prefer.
Nutrition
*All nutritional information is based on third party calculations and is only an estimate. Each recipe and nutritional value will vary depending on the brands used, measuring methods and portion sizes per household.
Original post date 04/09/2015. Updated 04/02/2018 and 10/20/2022.
More Recipes You'll Love
Have any comments, questions, or other delicious ideas and ways to serve this Sloppy Joe Cornbread Casserole Recipe? Please share them in the comments below!
Katy
4.5⭐️My family really loved this Sloppy Joe Cornbread Casserole!! Ate the whole 9x13”, much to my chagrin. Had hoped for leftovers for a second night! Very tasty and pretty easy to make. Maybe a little too sweet for my taste, probably from the creamy sweet corn, but they all loved it and definitely want to see it in the rotation.
LaKita
Thank you so much Katy! Leftovers for this recipe rarely happen in my home too 😉
ramona
This is such a delicious recipe and it is definitely a common comfort food! Thank you for sharing this recipe, I cant wait to try it out!
LaKita
Thank you Ramona! I agree, so comforting.
Lori | The Kitchen Whisperer
2 amazing comfort foods combined to create one killer casserole! This was so SO good! Definitely a keeper!
LaKita
Thank you Lori, the perfect combination 🙂
Dani
A sloppy joe casserole is like the ultimate comfort food and your recipe hit the spot. Everyone loved it.
LaKita
Thank you Dani and I agree the ultimate comfort food!
Tristin
My kids loved this spin on sloppy joes! It was pretty easy to put together and will be added into the dinner rotation.
LaKita
Thank you Tristin, happy to hear your kids loved it!
Katie Crenshaw
This was so easy to make and turned out so delicious. It is the perfect comfort meal for the cold months. I will be adding this to my regular rotation.
LaKita
Thank you Katie, so great for the colder months!
Loreto and Nicoletta
I have not had a sloppy Joe in ages. What a brilliant idea to make a casserole out of it especially with cornbread. A beautiful pairing all in one dish with gooey melted cheddar. A must try for us busy working class!
LaKita
Thank you so much, definitely a great quick to make meal 🙂
Ann
This dish was delicious! My family loved it and requested I make it again! Thanks for the share! Will definitely make this again!
LaKita
Thank you so much Ann, glad to hear it!
Veronika
Love this recipe! It was so easy to make and I loved the flavor combination. Going to make it again this weekend for the family dinner.
LaKita
Thank you Veronika, glad you enjoyed the casserole!
Lauren Michael Harris
What an interesting combination! I haven't had sloppy joe in forever, but I've been craving it lately. So glad I came across this recipe - can't wait to try it!
LaKita
Thank you so much Lauren, hope you enjoy!
Gloria
Sloppy Joes and cornbread combined together. Awesome. My family will love this for dinner one night this week.
LaKita
Thank you Gloria, it is a great pairing!
Tamara
I read this and then reached for the phone to call my husband because it's cold and rainy here (expected to warm up finally tomorrow) and I am craving comfort food badly.
admin
Awesome! Well this recipe will surely provide some comfort and warmth, but I am glad to hear that things will be warming up your way tomorrow.
Sonya
This looks yummy!!! I'm a big fan of cornbread and miss it a lot since I've been trying to eliminate corn from my diet. However, this would be a must make if I was eating corn. I recently found that cream of buckwheat is a good subsitute for grits. So I've been happily eating my faux grits the past couple of days.
admin
Thank you so much! I love cornbread as well and unfortunately there really is no substitute is there...sorry...I have cut things out of my diet as well so I completely understand...but faux grits now that sounds very interesting.