Instant Pot Sloppy Joe Cosmo–homemade sloppy joes served on top of a buttered and toasted hoagie bun and topped with Monterey Jack cheese.
Note: the SLOW COOKER instructions are listed in the recipe card below

Instant Pot Sloppy Joe Cosmo
All it takes for a good sloppy joe recipe to go to a GREAT sloppy joe recipe is a buttered and toasted fresh hoagie roll that has melty cheese on top. It’s kind of like grilled cheese meets sloppy joe! And you’re going to love it. (A Cosmo is a hoagie that is toasted in the oven until the meat and cheese are hot and the bun toasted slightly…and it’s so much better than a regular sandwich!)
By making the meat in the Instant Pot or slow cooker you can keep the meat at the perfect temperature (the warm setting) until right up until you’re ready to serve. This makes serving in shifts super easy. For some reason at my house it seems like we’re always serving food in shifts.
Try making this with ground turkey instead of ground beef, if you prefer. That’s what I did and it worked great! I loved the addition of the diced green bell pepper too. You can even add some lettuce and tomato to your sandwich to make it even better and more filling.
Ingredients/Substitution Ideas
- Lean ground beef or ground turkey
- Kosher salt
- Black pepper
- Garlic powder
- Better than Bouillon Beef Base or chicken base
- Dry minced onion or a half cup of diced fresh onion
- Water
- Yellow mustard
- Worcestershire sauce
- Green bell pepper or red bell pepper
- Ketchup or chili sauce
- Hoagie buns or another bread of your choice
- Butter
- Monterey jack cheese or another cheese of your choice…white cheddar is good
Steps
- Brown the meat: Turn Instant Pot to sauté setting. When display says HOT add in the ground meat and break it up. Brown for about 5 minutes. If there is excess grease drain it off.
- Season the meat: Add in the salt, pepper, garlic powder, beef base and onion. Stir to coat the meat.
- Deglaze: Add in the water and scrape bottom of pot so nothing is sticking. Turn off sauté setting.
- Add ingredients: Dump in the mustard, Worcestershire, green pepper and ketchup. Don’t stir.
- Pressure cook: Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 5 minutes. When time is up let pot sit for 5 minutes. Move valve to venting. Remove the lid. Stir well.
- Toast it and cheese it: Slice the hoagies in half. Spread butter on top and bottom. Broil until crispy and browned. Lay slices of Monterey Jack on each bread halve. Broil until cheese has melted. Top the bottom of each hoagie bun with the meat mixture. Place another piece of bread on top and serve immediately.
Notes/Tips
- Serve with a side salad and some fruit like watermelon or sliced strawberries. This sandwich also tastes great with some of your favorite potato chips (my son puts the chips in his sandwich).
- I used my 6 quart Instant Pot*. You can also use a 3 or 8 quart pot.
- Double or triple the recipe to feed a crowd. Use only a half cup of water even if you double the recipe. Keep cooking time the same.
- Store the sloppy joe mix leftovers in an airtight container* in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. This makes for an easy meal another night in the future. Try reheating the sloppy joe meat using the pot-in-pot method.
- This recipe can be gluten-free. Use gluten-free Worcestershire, beef base and buns.
- Other recipes you can make with green bell pepper are Instant Pot Christmas Confetti Pasta or Instant Pot Cheesy Bacon Breakfast Potatoes.

More Sloppy Recipes…
- Instant Pot Philly Cheesesteak Sloppy Joes
- Instant Pot Big Mac Sloppy Joes
- Slow Cooker Creamy Sloppy Joes
- Slow Cooker Chicken Sloppy Joes
- Instant Pot Sloppy Dorothy Sandwiches
- Instant Pot Sloppy Ottos
Did you know you can filter the recipes on my website to search by meat type, IP or Crockpot, low carb, gluten free, etc.? Use the filter to find exactly what you are looking for.
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Instant Pot Sloppy Joe Cosmo
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes (plus 5 minute NPR)
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
Homemade sloppy joes served on top of a buttered and toasted hoagie bun and topped with Monterey Jack cheese.
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef or ground turkey
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 Tbsp Better than Bouillon Beef Base
- 1 Tbsp dry minced onion
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 Tbsp yellow mustard
- 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 of a green bell pepper, chopped
- 1/3 cup ketchup
- 4 hoagie buns
- Butter
- Monterey jack cheese
Instructions
Instant Pot Instructions:
- Turn Instant Pot to sauté setting. When display says HOT add in the ground meat and break it up. Brown for about 5 minutes. If there is excess grease drain it off.
- Add in the salt, pepper, garlic powder, beef base and onion. Stir to coat the meat.
- Add in the water and scrape bottom of pot so nothing is sticking. Turn off sauté setting.
- Dump in the mustard, Worcestershire, green pepper and ketchup. Don’t stir.
- Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 5 minutes. When time is up let pot sit for 5 minutes. Move valve to venting. Remove the lid. Stir well.
- Slice the hoagies in half. Spread butter on top and bottom. Broil until crispy and browned. Lay slices of Monterey Jack on each bread halve. Broil until cheese has melted. Top the bottom of each hoagie bun with the meat mixture. Place another piece of bread on top and serve immediately.
Slow Cooker Instructions:
- Add the raw ground meat into the slow cooker and break it up.
- Add in the salt, pepper, garlic powder, beef base and onion. Stir to coat the meat.
- Add in the water, mustard, Worcestershire, green pepper and ketchup. Stir well.
- Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours or on high for 2-3 hours. Remove lid and stir to break up meat.
- Slice the hoagies in half. Spread butter on top and bottom. Broil until crispy and browned. Lay slices of Monterey Jack on each bread halve. Broil until cheese has melted. Top the bottom of each hoagie bun with the meat mixture. Place another piece of bread on top and serve immediately.
- Category: Beef or Turkey
- Method: Instant Pot or Slow Cooker

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