Straight from Heaven Sandwich–the name says it all! A loose meat sandwich with the most amazing sauce and melty cheese. All together it tastes like manna in your mouth. Make this in your Instant Pot or on the stove.

Straight from Heaven Sandwich
I was shocked at how amazing these sandwiches were. My whole family agreed. All who ate them said audible “yums” and “mmmms.” The sauce is the special ingredient that makes the sandwich come together into a beautiful experience. I highly recommend doubling the recipe!
This sandwich recipe comes from a sandwich shop that started in the 1980s in Reidsville, Georgia. The owner of the shop, Al Hodges, named the sandwich “manna sandwich” because it came to him “straight from heaven.” He said that on the morning he opened the sandwich shop he didn’t know what the signature sandwich would be. He prayed. God, if you’re not going to show me the ingredients, I’m just going to do the best I can. He dropped some diced onions into a skillet, and then God’s voice came, “I was given all of the ingredients that are supposed to go in a manna sandwich,” he says. “It was simple as that. I just started putting them in, and the recipe hasn’t changed since.”
These days the sandwich is perpetuated by his son, Houston, who runs a restaurant called Hoody’s Hoagies in Claxton, Georgia. “The manna sandwich—well, if people like it, that’s all they eat,” he says. “We’ve come up with a lot of sandwiches over the past thirty years, but some people here act like it’s still the only thing on the menu.” I really can see why! This sandwich is amazing. I think you’ll agree! Try it out this week.

Ingredients
For the meat:
- Shallot–or ½ cup of diced onion
- Water
- Low sodium soy sauce–Kokkoman’s is the preferred brand
- Dried parsley
- Dried basil
- Garlic powder
- 85/15 ground beef–you can also use 90/10 ground beef
For the special sauce:
- Mayonnaise
- Catalina–or French dressing
- Ketchup
- Spicy brown mustard
For serving:
- Hoagie buns
- Swiss cheese–you can also use another cheese of your choice
Instructions
Instant Pot Steps:
- Cook shallots: Turn Instant Pot to sauté setting (“more”). When display says hot add in the shallot, water, soy sauce, parsley, basil and garlic powder. Cook for about 3-4 minutes.
- Brown beef: Add in the beef and break it up and brown for about 5 minutes. There will still be a little pink in the meat, that is okay.
- Slow cook the beef: Cancel off the sauté setting. Cover the Instant Pot. Turn Instant Pot to the slow cooker setting (“more”) and set the time to 30 minutes. (This stays good on the keep warm setting for several hours until you are ready to serve).
- Prepare the sauce by stirring the mayo, dressing, ketchup and mustard together in a small bowl. Refrigerate until ready to eat.
- Serve: split the rolls, slather with sauce and put cheese on top. Place under oven’s broiler until cheese melts (1-2 minutes). Heap the meat mixture on top and serve.
Stovetop Steps:
Heat a pan over medium heat and add in the shallot, water, soy sauce, parsley, basil and garlic powder. Cook for about 3-4 minutes. Add in the beef and break it up and brown for 5 minutes. Turn heat to low and cover the pan. Let cook on low for 30 minutes and then serve (sauce and serving instructions listed in Instant Pot version).
Notes/Tips
- This recipe can easily be doubled or tripled. Increase ingredient amounts but keep the same cooking time.
- You can use ground turkey in the place of ground beef
- Use a hamburger chopper tool* to break up the meat. They are the best!
- Try my favorite measuring spoons* for cooking and baking!
- I used a 6 quart pot* but you make this in a 3 or 8 quart pot with no changes.
- View the original recipe for this sandwich (I tweaked my version a bit)
- As with any sandwich the bread you use can make or break the meal. Use a fresh hoagie bun that you love for best results.
- Serve alongside a side salad or BBQ chips.
- Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container* in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- The seasoned ground beef can be used in everything from chili to spaghetti sauce. You can make a big batch and freeze whatever you don’t use in the hoagie roll.
More Amazing Sandwich Recipes…
Who doesn’t love a good sandwich? Sandwich night should be a thing…like instead of Taco Tuesday do Sandwich Saturday or something.
- Instant Pot Roast Beef Commercial
- Instant Pot Sloppy Ottos
- Instant Pot Hot Beef And Cheese Sandwich
- Instant Pot Big Mac Sloppy Joes
- Instant Pot Meatloaf Melts
- Instant Pot Pizza Joes
- Instant Pot Crumbly Burgers
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.

Want More Tried And True Instant Pot Recipes?
- Sign up to receive daily Instant Pot recipes (it’s FREE)
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- Buy the 365 Days of Pressure Cooking Cookbook

Straight from Heaven Sandwich
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
The name says it all! A loose meat sandwich with the most amazing sauce and melty cheese. All together it tastes like manna in your mouth. Make this in your Instant Pot or on the stove.
Ingredients
For the meat:
- 1 shallot, diced (or 1/2 cup of diced onion)
- 2 Tbsp water
- 2 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce
- 1 1/2 tsp dried parsley
- 3/4 tsp basil
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1 pound 85/15 ground beef
For the special sauce:
- 1/4 cup mayo
- 2 Tbsp Catalina or French dressing
- 1 1/2 Tbsp ketchup
- 1 Tbsp spicy brown mustard
For serving:
- 4 hoagie buns
- 4 slices of Swiss cheese
Instructions
- Turn Instant Pot to sauté setting (“more”). When display says hot add in the shallot, water, soy sauce, parsley, basil and garlic powder. Cook for about 3-4 minutes.
- Add in the beef and break it up and brown for about 5 minutes. There will still be a little pink in the meat, that is okay.
- Cancel off the sauté setting. Cover the Instant Pot. Turn Instant Pot to the slow cooker setting (“more”) and set the time to 30 minutes. (This stays good on the keep warm setting for several hours until you are ready to serve).
- Prepare the sauce by stirring the mayo, dressing, ketchup and mustard together in a small bowl. Refrigerate until ready to eat.
- To serve: split the rolls, slather with sauce and put cheese on top. Place under oven’s broiler until cheese melts (1-2 minutes). Heap the meat mixture on top and serve.
Notes
Stovetop directions: You can also make this on the stove. Heat a pan over medium heat and add in the shallot, water, soy sauce, parsley, basil and garlic powder. Cook for about 3-4 minutes. Add in the beef and break it up and brown for 5 minutes. Turn heat to low and cover the pan. Let cook on low for 30 minutes and then serve.
This recipe can easily be doubled or tripled. Increase ingredient amounts but keep the same cooking time.
- Category: Beef

*Karen Petersen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
So yummy! You’re right – the sauce makes it. We definitely spoon more on top of the meat after building the sandwich. Fantastic!
★★★★★
Thanks for the 5 stars Caitlin!
Can you use ground turkey in place of the hamburger?
Yes!
I actually made this recipe and followed the given directions, with only a minor deviation. When I added the soy sauce and water with the shallots the Instant Pot was fully “hot” for sautéing. The (non-oil) liquids went poof! with a cloud of steam and I thought they were going to evaporate in one minute let alone 3 minutes. I just added the ground beef after about 40 seconds and I got a fine crumble with little effort as described by Jamie.
Everything else went by the numbers, and the sandwiches were a hit. The sauce reminds me of “special sauce” that is sometimes on the more deluxe hamburgers from the big burger chains (except with probably better ingredients). The family liked it because they like sloppy joes in concept but don’t like the drippy mess. This does not taste like a sloppy joe but it is a loose meat sandwich. It was easier to eat and quite tasty. I would splurge on a quality hoagie roll for these as well as toasting them with cheese under a low broil.
Well done!
★★★★★
Thank you Jim for your review! So glad you all liked it!
To get the proper crumble of the ground beef, do not brown the beef first. Place raw meat with all the other ingredients in pan and cook and stir. The beef will have much more flavor and will crumble to very fine particles.
★★★★
Sorry, I meant to say, put all the ingredients in at the same time. Don’t cook the veggies first. The meat will break up perfectly without having to chop it.
Ok! I will try this next time!
This was amazing! I made in a micro-steamer. Substituted soy sauce for coconut aminos and shallots for onion powder. Ready in 10 min!
★★★★★
So glad you liked it Nina! Thanks for the 5 stars!