Sloppy joes have been a favorite around family dinner tables for a long time. But as delicious and crowd-friendly as they are, they're not really great for parties. They're a little messy, and that huge bun with bits of beef spilling out are just too hard to hold on to and be social at the same time. When you use the recipe that follows, you can have your party and your sloppy joes too!

The actual meat that fills these sandwiches is really just a typical sloppy joe recipe. But it's all done in your slow cooker! That means you can get it going hours before the party and even keep it warm until your guests have arrived and are ready to start snacking. And while there may still be some mess, those little slider buns are a lot easier to pick up than big hamburger buns. You may just start subbing them in for regular sloppy joes for family dinnertime too!

Slow cooker sloppy joe sliders
Servings: 12
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 8 hours
Total time: 8 hours, 10 minutes

Ingredients
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 1/2 pound lean ground beef
1 onion, chopped in a small dice
1 green pepper, seeded and chopped in a small dice
1 15-ounce can tomato sauce
1/2 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon dry ground mustard
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
12 slider buns

Directions
Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet set over medium heat. When hot, add ground beef and cook until no longer pink, stirring regularly.

Drain beef and place into a 6-quart slow cooker.

Add all other ingredients except slider buns into the slow cooker, then mix well to ensure all ingredients are thoroughly incorporated.

Place lid on slow cooker and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or on high for 2 to 3 hours.

Spoon sloppy joe meat onto slider buns.

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