Classic Spoon Burgers
Spoon Burgers are a classic spin on sloppy joes that is easy to make, budget-friendly, and hearty. This quick recipe idea also freezes great so you can make a double batch and save some for later.
If you are looking for some other unique and classic sandwiches ideas, make sure to check out our Sloppy Chicken Sandwich (which is a famous Ohio sandwich).
You can serve these sandwiches with chips, homemade mac and cheese, Tator tots, or fries.
I found a recipe in the Pine Grove Mennonite church cookbook from 1981, to use as the base for this recipe.
Another easy dinner idea is our Tomato Soup Meatloaf. This moist meatloaf will have your family asking you to make it again!
🥘 Ingredients
- ground beef (80/20)
- onion
- green pepper
- garlic cloves
- kosher salt
- ketchup
- ground mustard
- cream of chicken gumbo soup
See recipe card for quantities.
🔪Instructions
You will find full instructions in the recipe card below.
🧾Substitutions
- ground mustard – you can use regular mustard if you do not have any ground.
- garlic cloves – feel free to sub minced garlic for the garlic cloves.
📖Variations
- Spicy – if you want to, feel free to add some jalapeno peppers to the mixture.
- Kid friendly – if they don’t like peppers and onions, omit the peppers and use minced onions for the fresh onions. That way they don’t see it.
🍽 Equipment
A great thing about this recipe is that all you need is a heavy skillet, cutting board, knife, and spatula.
🥫Storage
You can store this loose meat in the freezer, in a freezer safe container for up to three months.
You can also store this for up to 5 days in your fridge.
💭Top tip
- Use 80/20 ground beef for the best result.
FAQ
Sloppy joes are more tomato based and don’t use condensed chicken gumbo soup.
From what I can find, they became popular in the 1960s due to ketchup ads. Maid-Rite, in Iowa, has a loose meat sandwich that came to be in 1926 that is similar to a spoon burger, but a little bit different. They also called it a “Tavern Sandwich”.
This was previously on Modern Vintage Recipes. We have combined both sites into one.
Classic Spoon Burgers
Equipment
- large skillet
- cutting board
- Knife
- Spoon
Ingredients
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 1 green pepper diced
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 cup ketchup
- 2 teaspoons ground mustard
- 10 3/4 condensed chicken gumbo soup
- 6 buns
Instructions
- Season the ground beef with salt and pepper.
- Brown the beef in a large skillet.
- Then add the onion, pepper, and garlic and let them cook down until they are softened.
- Add in the ketchup, ground mustard, and soup.
- Stir together and simmer for 30 minutes.
- Serve on your favorite buns.
This recipe is absolutely delicious!! I didn’t change a thing!! I did add a slice of cheese on the sandwich!! So good!! Thank you for sharing!! This recipe is a keeper!!