Spoon Burgers are a quick and easy freezer friendly meal your family is sure to love!
Some of you might be wondering what exactly a spoon burger is because you have never heard of them. Basically a spoon burger is a form of a sloppy joe.
I have heard regular sloppy joes called spoon burgers, but most spoon burgers are a little different version of a sloppy joe. They are the same basic idea of a meat sandwich, but with slightly different flavors than we normally think of when it comes to sloppy joes.
The version of spoon burgers I am sharing with you today is one that I have been making for years. They can either be called spoon burgers or sloppy joe burgers.
My family likes these because they do not have the typical tomato based sauce that sloppy joes have. Don’t get me wrong, we love sloppy joes, but we love these for a fun change.
I started making these years ago as part of my freezer cooking meals. I would make a large batch of the meat filling and freeze it in freezer bags. It made for an easy, inexpensive freezer meal and all I had to do was add the buns and a side dish for an simple dinner.
We normally serve this over buns or bread, but it is also really good served over baked potatoes.
I am curious if any of you have heard sloppy joes or that type of a recipe called spoon burgers? It is a regional thing or maybe an older term for them? I would love to hear your thoughts on it.
Spoon Burgers {Sloppy Joe Burgers}
Spoon burgers aka sloppy joe burgers are a quick and easy dinner!
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 3 tablespoons flour or gluten free flour blend
- 1 can french onion soup ( If you are gluten free be sure to read labels, most are not gluten free, but a few brands are gf)
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- hamburger buns or bread
Instructions
- In a skillet brown beef until cooked and no longer pink. Drain off any fat.
- Stir flour, soup, and Worcestershire sauce into meat.
- Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat and cook until the mixture thickens. This will take 2-3 minutes. Stir often while it is cooking.
- Serve over buns or bread. Or cool completely and freeze in zip top freezer bags.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 379Total Fat: 14gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 75mgSodium: 273mgCarbohydrates: 32gFiber: 1gSugar: 2gProtein: 29g
Nutritional values are approximate and aren't always accurate.
Thanks Lynn! Making this again tonight after reading your email. Such a quick supper and is great with venison!
growing up this was what my grandma called busy Day burgers and much like the first recipe was the worst of your sauce flower Lipton onion soup packets and a little bit of tomato paste That’s what the canned manwich and sloppy Joe mixes have too much of I think it’s tomato glob. But tonight I made some and everybody said that I just outdid myself and I don’t measure I do it I’ll just buy site how I used to watch my grandma do it but I do the I did two packets of onion soup beefy onion soup mind you then some organic chicken bone broth instead of mixing water into make the soup mixture with flour and a little bit of tomato paste and ground beef on buns. It was the bomb! son said extra good tonite! 5 generation handed down recipe… Also my mother and I like to leave it open face and eat it with a fork lol.
We grew up on my mom’s Spoonburgers – and they were called that, not Sloppy Joes! Most people know Sloppy Joes, but have never heard of Spoonburgers. I think it might have originally been a Campbell’s Soup recipe on the back of the can? Here recipe is as follows:
1 lb ground beef
1/4 cup diced onions
1 can chicken gumbo soup (sometimes hard to find now)
2 to 3 tablespoon ketchup
1 tablespoon yellow mustard
1 t Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 dash pepper
6 to 8 hamburger buns
opt. sliced mild American or Colby Jack cheese
1.Brown ground beef and onions together. Drain off grease.
2.Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Simmer at least 15-20 minutes.
3.Serve hot on hamburger buns.
4.Can add a slice of mild American or Colby Jack cheese to each bun.
When my boys were young I would make both the Spoonburgers and Sloppy Joes. Now I make only the Spoonburger recipe as that is what I prefer – sort of comfort food.
Thank you for sharing your version. I don’t think I have ever seen the chicken gumbo soup, but I will have to look for it. My husband would probably like that version. I think you might be right about spoon burgers being a campbells soup recipe. I have also seen a version that is more sloppy joe like, but it called for canned tomato soup. So maybe the original difference was that spoon burgers had canned soup in the sauce part.
like this too! ooh will try all these versions.. I’m from bay area silicon valley CA a single mom of 3 plus 1. I’ve been auntie/momma for the past 7+yrs (auntie the entire 18 hahahah) to my youngest brothers son, and my mother too. I love and appreciate the recipes for easy quick meals to feed this army
Im curious and will need to try this recipe… the mustard intrigues. I’m a true mustard lover by the way. And my grandmother also would make a pot of boiled beans. She would soak them overnight pinto beans and and boil them slow boil all day long and put a ham hock in it that we would either most time have it frozen and saved from Christmas Easter Thanksgiving as well So then we make fried potatoes with just oil usually bacon grease cuz they didn’t really found him and then we would put mustard on the fried potatoes beans as well and cornbread and mix it all together and it was the bomb
I think yes, it was a Campbell’s recipe, and Mom used to make it several times a year (1960s). This is what Campbell’s has online for it now: https://www.campbells.com/recipes/chicken-gumbo-sloppy-joes/ I’m certain it had an onion, the soup, and not much else — certainly no more spices than your recipe. Mom always toasted the buns, but never used cheese.
I think they have discontinued the soup a few times, but the grocer has it this year. Cream of celery is an OK substitute.
I grew up in Michigan, and my mom made spoon burgers. Her version didn’t have the soup. She just mixed mustard, mayo, and Worcestershire together and added it to the ground beef.
Omg. My mom used to make these all the time when I was a kid. No one I know has ever heard of them. When I got married my husband didn’t know what they were. Now we have them all the time! I use your exact recipe except I leave out the Worcestershire sauce. We eat them on white bread with mayo and a side of tater tots.
I love hearing stories like this! I am glad to know that others enjoy these too. I have never had them with mayo, but will have to try it.
I grew up in Rockford, Illinois in the 70’s-80’s. My mom is a Rockford native. Spoon burgers came from her side (Irish Catholic) and that’s what we always called them, as long as she used chicken gumbo soup. We also had manwiches and sloppy Joes, but they were totally different.
I went to Crestview elementary in Brooklyn park, MN in the late 60’s early 70’s. They made white sloppy Joe that was called a spoonburger, and it was the best thing they made! We got seconds and thirds on spoonburger day! Going to try your recipe and see if it’s close…
I would love to hear if it is close. I think they may vary slightly by region, so I will be curious if these are what you remember.
Just found this recipe, but wanted to add my Mom made them with both chicken gumbo and with cream of mushroom soup. I suspect the white version uses cream soup. I’ve also used celery instead of mushroom. Mom picked up the recipe from school cooks at the school where she was teaching. I still make them and my hubby loves them.
My grandmother always called a sloppy Joe spoonburgers we always loved her version of this classic. My family is from south western Ontario Canada 🇨🇦.
My Sister use to make these for her Pajama Parties, the recipe was on the side of the Heinz Chili Sauce bottle. She passed away in 1999 and I am still looking for the recipe. Heinz had no record of it. They were delicious and if anyone has that recipe, please share.
Was the chili sauce the sauce instead of ketchup based? I think I have seen recipe where you use chili sauce in place of the tomato sauce or ketchup.
I was 13 at the time and now I am 71, I don’t remember. Lol. I don’t remember any soup in it though.
My father loved these so much we always called them “Bob’s Delight” (try Googling that). He always claimed it was a “secret recipe. Our family cookbook has been lost over the years, but I remember that he used tomato soup (and hamburger and onion of course) I’ve tried to recreate the recipe but I’m not quite there yet. Loved them – it was a special day when we had them for supper.
I am so glad that your family enjoyed these spoon burgers. I love to hear the stories behind family recipes. I also love it when a reader shared that one of my recipes reminds them of one they remember. Thank you so much for letting me know!
I was just watching a C.D. of an old “Red Skelton Show” and there was an advertisement from Pet Milk where they were making Spoonburgers with Pet Milk. No other ingredients were mentioned. I have not noticed any of the recipes using Pet Milk in their Spoonburgers.
I have not seen a recipe for them using Pet Milk either. That is interesting. Now I want to try to find one! I am sure it would be very good.
Teresa, thank you, thank you for sharing this recipe for “Spoon Burgers”. I live in South Carolina and my Mother always made us “Spoon Burgers”. My best friend would always spend the night with me and my Mother made us Spoon Burgers. I always liked them better than Sloppy Joes, as I did not like the ketchup taste in Sloppy Joes. I know the Chicken Gumbo Soup and Mustard is what gave Spoon Burgers their taste. Thank you so much for sharing this and bringing back Memories!!
I grew up with my mom making these. No one else I know has ever heard of them, but I’ve got my husband hooked. Quick, easy, and satisfying, they’re great for dinner after a busy day when you want something simple and tasty.
I agree! Quick, easy, and satisfying is a great way to describe spoon burgers.
Our family always made Spoonburgers using Cream of Mushroom Soup.