Sloppy beans, because we're not working
Joes, without the beef.
Welcome to my newsletter, a place for budget-based recipes that are flavorful and exciting—not just cheap. I am so glad you’ve placed your attention here for a moment. If you’re interested in more, please do subscribe below.
How’s everyone feeling? I’m tired. And while I’ll always love to cook, I bet you’re tired too, and maybe don’t love to cook. But you still need to feed yourself, right? And maybe even other people if you found yourself volunteering to host one of those late summer barbecues. So what’re you going to make? I think you should keep things chill, with a bit of fun. I’ve found that when I have people over in the summer, I get sad being inside cooking while everyone else is outside vibing. Now, obviously there’s nothing that hits a high point on the simple/affordable scale better than grilling hot dogs, but perhaps you want to make something meatless in addition to your dogs that isn’t a $20 bag of faux-meat? To answer that question, I propose these baked bean sloppy joes. Less than $3 each, who could ask for anything more?
Now, I grew up in New Jersey, where a sloppy joe is something totally different, but for those who know joes as a saucy meat sandwich, there isn’t too much of a stretch here. Except instead of a ground beef base, we’re going baked beans. From a can! With a snappy celery slaw! It honestly couldn’t be easier. Maybe make a chic potato salad from the Big Night book (we riffed on Katherine’s Mom’s recipe for this one, so you know it’s good—and easily prepped in advance!) to go alongside? Or just open up a bag of chips.
For dessert: You think you want to bake something, but maybe you don’t actually? The answer is make ice cream sundaes. No one is ever upset about that.
Baked Bean Sloppy Joes With Celery Slaw
I developed this recipe in partnership with Heyday Canning Co., but if you don’t want or can’t find Heyday beans, use any 15-ounce can of baked beans—or what the heck, if you feel like it, make your own. I like this recipe which is relatively simple; or if I’m keeping things meatless, the version from the Superiority Burger Cookbook.
