Southwest Black Bean Messy Janes
with Pickled Red Onion & Creamy Corn Slaw
- Eggs
- Soy
- Wheat
- Milk
Sloppy Joes with beef? Bean there, done that. Ooo, but beans? Now there’s an idea! This version stars Southwest-spiced black beans and pickled red onion, sandwiched between toasty buns. On the side, those Tex-Mex flavors pair perfectly with a corn-studded slaw—featuring cabbage, lime zest, and sour cream. Serve with a big stack of napkins (or don’t) and you'll see that these meat-free sandwiches are just as fun to eat as the original.
Ingredients
½ tablespoon
Cornstarch
1 unit
Red Onion
2 tablespoon
Sour Cream
2 clove
Garlic
1 unit
Ketchup
1 unit
Black Beans
2 tablespoon
Mayonnaise
(Contains: Eggs)
1 unit
Lime
2 unit
Potato Buns
(Contains: Soy, Wheat)
4 ounce
Coleslaw Mix
1 unit
Tex-Mex Paste
1 tablespoon
Southwest Spice Blend
½ unit
Corn
Not included in your delivery
1 tablespoon (tbsp)
Butter
(Contains: Milk)
1 teaspoon (tsp)
Cooking Oil
teaspoon (tsp)
Salt
teaspoon (tsp)
Black Pepper
½ teaspoon (tsp)
Sugar
Nutrition Values
Utensils
Cooking Steps
• Wash and dry produce. • Halve, peel, and thinly slice half the onion; finely chop remaining. Zest and quarter lime. Drain corn. Peel and mince or grate garlic.
• In a small microwave-safe bowl, combine sliced onion, juice from half the lime, 1⁄2 tsp sugar (1 tsp for 4 servings), and a pinch of salt. Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and microwave until onion is bright pink, 30 seconds. Set aside to pickle, tossing occasionally, until ready to serve.
• In a second small bowl, combine Tex Mex paste, ketchup, half the cornstarch (all for 4 servings), half the Southwest Spice (you’ll use the rest in the next step), and 1 TBSP water (2 TBSP for 4).
• In a medium bowl (use a large bowl for 4 servings), combine coleslaw mix, mayonnaise, sour cream, lime zest, half the corn (all for 4), remaining Southwest Spice, juice from remaining lime, and 1⁄4 tsp sugar (1⁄2 tsp for 4). Season generously with salt and pepper.
• Halve and toast buns. • While buns toast, heat a drizzle of oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add chopped onion and a pinch of salt; cook, stirring, until softened and translucent, 3-5 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, 30 seconds. • Stir in beans and their liquid and sauce. Using the back of a wooden spoon or spatula, roughly mash beans. (TIP: Leave some beans whole for texture!) Cook until beans are warmed through and sauce has thickened, 2-3 minutes. • Remove from heat and stir in 1 TBSP butter (2 TBSP for 4 servings). Season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Divide toasted buns between plates; fill with as much filling and pickled onion (draining first) as you like. (TIP: You may have some filling leftover—serve on the side, with tortilla chips if you have some on hand!) Serve messy janes with slaw on the side.
Customer reviews
Review summary
Updated on Dec 2025- Flavor: Many loved the delicious Southwest-spiced beans and pickled onions, with some finding it surprisingly tasty for a meatless option.
- Ease of prep: Simple to make, though a few found mashing the beans challenging; some suggested longer cooking time for tender beans.
- Suggestions: Consider adding cheese or meat substitute for extra flavor and texture; try serving open-faced or in tortillas for easier eating.
- Portions: Several noted excess filling; some wished for extra buns to use up all the bean mixture.
- Texture: The runny bean mixture made sandwiches messy; some preferred a thicker consistency for better bun adherence.
- Slaw: Many praised the corn slaw as a delicious side, though a few found it bland; try adding a splash of vinegar for extra tang.
Reviews from our home cooks
I was surprised how much I liked this. The seasoning & pickled onions really made the bean mixture quite delicious & putting it on the toasted bun made it even better. I really liked the corn slaw as well. I put a little bit of it on the sandwich with the beans and really enjoyed it. Another recipe I will keep!
WOW. This was absolutely delicious. Added the slaw to the top of the sandwich for an extra textural component and DANG would I recommend adding that to the recipe card. If we're being honest - this was WAY too messy to be a sandwich. I just piled it all on the buns and ate it with a fork. Can't wait for the leftovers.
Tastes great and makes a lot! Ended up being enough for 2 dinners and 2 smaller lunches as well. The pickled onions were a nice flavor addition to the "Sloppy Jane"
I loved this meal it was easy and quick. The beans had a beautiful taste full of flavor and cured my meat craving. The slaw with the corn was a perfect addition adding a crunch for the side dish.
This black bean recipe isn't our favorite sandwich, but it went well with the corn slaw. Also, we used brioche bread from our local grocery store instead of the included rolls, which were too small. (Used for a different meal.) We prefer the hello fresh Messy Janes recipe made with the meat substitute, (as I am vegetarian anyway). But on the flipside, I used the whole can of corn in the slaw instead of just half. So, between that, and the sandwich filling there was actually enough leftover for my son's dinner, too!
This was very very good. It needs another packet of ketchup. Out bag was kind of old so I tossed the cabbage & just used the whole can of corn to make Mexican street corn salad. I just toasted the drained corn in the frying pan while I chopped & got the onions ready. Then i made the salad "sauce" as directed (without southwest spice). It was excellent.
Careful not to add too much liquid or the beans will be too runny. The pickled onions were delicious and this was super easy to make.
We skipped tex mex sauce because its too spicy for us, so I just added a bit more ketchup. We added extra corn into the sandwich part. The "meat" did not stay together very well (maybe I added too much bean juice or the corn did me in). So the eating as a sandwich was a fail. So we actually ate it with tortilla chips and put slaw mixed it. Loved it
This was an interesting and unique meal! I liked the flavors, I just felt like texture wise it was a lot of wet/soggy things (the filling, with creamy cole slaw). I liked them both just wasn't sure about them together. I feel like the slaw would be great with a cheeseburger which is sturdier!
It was sooo delicious! I enjoyed every bite! Also, I learned how to make pickled onions, so thanks for teaching me something new!
