Manwich is the brand name of a canned sloppy joe sauce  introduced in 1969. The can contains seasoned tomato sauce that is added to cooked ground beef in a skillet. It is marketed as a quick and easy one-pan meal for the whole family. Manwich’s slogan is, “A sandwich is a sandwich, but a Manwich is a meal.”


Manwich is also commonly used as an alternate name for a Sloppy Joe, an American dish of ground beef, onions, sweetened tomato sauce or ketchup and other seasonings, served on a hamburger bun.  Commercially made sauces are also available. Textured vegetable protein may be used as a vegetarian substitute for the meat. The Original Sloppy Joe Sandwich was invented by a cook named Joe at a cafe in Sioux City, Iowa, as a variation of the popular “loose meat” sandwich.

Sloppy joes are also referred to as:

  • Barbecues in other areas of the Upper Midwest, and also in some parts of Southeastern Pennsylvania.
  • Dynamites in northern Rhode Island.
  • Gulash (not to be confused with Goulash) in parts of the Upper Midwest, especially in areas where people of Scandinavian heritage are prominent.
  • Hot Tamales in parts of Southeastern Wisconsin (Sheboygan), a misnomer as actual tamales are a completely different food item.
  • Manwich in parts of Northern New Jersey, after the popular name brand sauce, as a distinction from the local variant also known as a “sloppy joe”.
  • Sloppy Janes in parts of central Minnesota.
  • Slushburgers in parts of the Upper Midwest, particularly in eastern Montana and western North Dakota
  • Spanish Hamburgers in parts of East-central Wisconsin (Neenah).
  • Steamers in parts of Virginia, West Virginia, and Maryland.
  • Taverns in parts of northwest Iowa, Minnesota, and South Dakota.
  • Victory burgers in parts of Canada.
  • Wimpies in parts of the Northeast USA, especially Northeastern Pennsylvania
  • Yum Yums in parts of the Midwest USA, particularly in Nebraska