I first became interested in veggie sandwiches in 2011. I was not eating meat at the time due to some
heel pain that seemed to be linked to consumption of animal protein. Yes, I know it sounds crazy. Anyhoo.
I had potato, egg, and cheese soft tacos on most days that I taught at
community college. Twice a week for an
entire semester equals a lot of breakfast tacos. On class days, I didn’t really have time to
heat a lunch, and needed something I could eat at my desk while grading
papers. I set out to brainstorm and
research vegetarian sandwiches. I came
up with a nice collection of options for meatless sandwiches.
So, in this post I’ll share the sandwiches I have tried so
far. Some are savory, and some are
sweet. The sautéed greens and brie
sandwich is a new favorite. Tomato
sandwich and pimento cheese sandwich are favorites of mine among the
classics. The portabella sandwich is
pretty fabulous. Banana sandwich with
pineapple cream cheese spread is a new favorite. Read on and enjoy. I have personal photos of all the sandwiches
described below.
Photo
image of Sautéed Greens & Brie Sandwich
Sautéed
Greens & Brie Sandwich:
This is an excellent sandwich. I
used baby greens from Costco, a blend of spinach, kale, and chard. I sautéed the greens in coconut oil, as well
as my mushrooms and onions. Place your
wilted greens on one side of a baguette.
Top with sautéed mushrooms and onions.
Finish your sandwich with brie cheese.
Roasted
Beet Sandwich
Roasted
Beet Sandwich: Start
building your sandwich with a thick, dense bread. Use your preference of marinated vs plain
sliced beets. Sprinkle beet slices liberally
with cheese, such as feta or gorgonzola.
Finish off your sandwich with a few veggies, such as sliced mushrooms
and spinach leaves.
Pesto
Tea Sandwiches
Pesto
Tea Sandwiches: I think
this sandwich is beautiful. The original recipe has instructions for basil pesto, roasted red pepper pesto, and Kalamata
tapenade. I had jarred basil pesto and
sun-dried tomato pesto, and olive tapenade, so that’s what I used. If you want a strictly vegetarian sandwich
however, you will need to make your own tapenade so that you can leave out the
anchovy filet.
Eggplant
Parmesan Sandwich
Eggplant
Parmesan Sandwich: I used
leftover Eggplant Parmesan from Zio’s for my sandwich. It was a large, thick round of eggplant,
which was battered, fried, and topped with marinara sauce and cheese. I placed my eggplant on a piece of garlic
toast.
Photo
image of Spaghetti Sandwich
Spaghetti
Sandwich: I made my sandwich
with my favorite vermicelli pasta tossed with my favorite sauce, which is
Mezzetta Napa Valley Bistro Arrabbiata Sauce.
I put my spaghetti in a baguette, which I slightly hollowed out. I topped it with Italian blend cheese. I slathered some sun-dried tomato pesto on
the other side of bread.
Mock
Tuna Salad
Mock
Tuna Salad: A few years ago I
researched mock tuna salad recipes on YouTube.
My favorite was made with walnuts.
It had mayo, sweet pickle, and red onion, which is similar to what I
usually do. It also had a little cumin,
which I really liked. I think I liked
this one because the flavor profile is similar to what I ordinarily do, which
is probably key for mock tuna salad.
Soak the walnuts for a few hours.
Drain and chop in the food processor.
Mix in pickles, onions, mayo, and cumin, or whatever you ordinarily put
in tuna salad. An alternative mock tuna
used canned chickpeas. I liked it pretty
good, but the peas were a little firm. I
prefer to cook dried peas until soft.
Photo Image
of Greek Chickpea Salad Sandwich
Greek
Chickpea Salad Sandwich: I
found this recipe on SheLikesFood.com.
It was for 4-6 servings. I cut the
recipe down for 2-4 servings. I mashed 1
cup cooked chickpeas and stirred in a heaping tablespoon of peanut butter. (The recipe called for tahini, which I am
tired of buying for a couple tablespoons, a couple times a year, so I just
decided to go with peanut butter, which I actually use often.) I added about 2 tbsp diced cucumber, 1 tbsp quartered
Kalamata olives, 2 tbsp diced red onion, 1 tbsp diced roasted red pepper, and ¼
cup diced artichoke hearts. I used 1
large garlic clove, minced, and 1 tbsp lemon juice. The recipe also called for fresh dill, but I didn’t
have any. You can add salt and pepper to
taste. I piled my chickpea salad on a
baguette bun, and added lettuce and tomato.
Fried
Egg Sandwich
Fried
Egg Sandwich: I
consider an egg sandwich to be a classic.
One of those universally accepted sandwiches that meat eaters don’t even
think of as “vegetarian”. I like to fry
my egg on one side for a few minutes, then burst the yolk with the spatula, and
spread the yellow over as much of the egg as possible. Then after another minute or two, turn the
egg. Probably my favorite is egg and cheddar
cheese, or egg and tomato. I put baby
spinach on my egg sandwich above.
Double Egg with Pimento Cheese
Egg
Salad, Fried Egg, and Pimento Cheese: Prepare a simple egg salad by boiling eggs,
mashing them, and mixing in mayonnaise.
Spread egg salad on one side of bread.
Top with a fried egg. On the
other side of bread, spread pimento cheese.
I make a very mild flavored “pimento” cheese with 4 oz each shredded
mozzarella, and mild cheddar cheese. I
add in 1-2 oz queso fresco, ½ teaspoon of sugar, and about 2 tablespoons of
roasted red peppers. It looks just link
pimento cheese, but has a milder flavor.
Portabella
Sandwich
Portabella
Sandwich: The portabella
sandwich was one of my first forays into the “veggie burger”. This was an incredibly good sandwich. Choose large portabella mushrooms, so that
the cap will cover your bun. Scrape the
gills out if desired. I don’t mind them,
but my brother definitely prefers them removed.
We grilled ours on the Foreman grill.
Spread mashed avocado on one bun.
Place mushroom cap, and fill with caramelized onions. Top with your favorite cheese. My portabella sandwich above has Garlic &
Herb cheese, on an Oraweat sandwich thin.
It’s great on a soft onion roll too.
Veggie
Reuben Sandwich
Veggie
Reuben Sandwich: I have
to admit that I don’t enjoy rye bread, so I used sourdough. I had some leftover sauerkraut. I added a small can of crushed pineapple to
my kraut, which a friend recommend to me years ago. I put sauerkraut on one side of the
bread. I fried up some thin potato
rounds, and put them on top of the kraut.
For the other side of the bread, I mixed up some Thousand Island
dressing. I used a rounded tablespoon of
mayo, about a teaspoon of sweet pickle relish, about a half teaspoon of
ketchup, and about a quarter teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce.
Grilled
Vegetable Wrap
Grilled
Vegetable Wrap: Grill
or sauté your favorite vegetables, and wrap them in a tortilla. I used yellow pepper, purple onion, zucchini,
and tomato. This was my version of
fajitas without meat.
Grilled
Vegetable Sandwich with Tomato Jam
Grilled Vegetable Sandwich
with Tomato Jam: I found this recipe for Grilled Vegetable Sandwich with
Tomato Jam on CherryOnMySundae. There
are recipes for pesto and tomato jam, but I already had store-bought pesto, and
home-canned tomato jam. I used sourdough
bread, and spread pesto on one piece and tomato jam on the other. I had leftover grilled zucchini and eggplant
which I placed on the pesto side. I then
topped the vegetables with roasted red peppers, which were packed with garlic
in oil. The recipe called for goat
cheese. I used feta and mozzarella. I fried my sandwich in coconut oil.
Meatless
Muffaletta
This is a Rachael Ray sandwich. You can find the recipe on Food Network, and
in her cookbook, 2, 4, 6, 8 Great Meals for Couples or Crowds. You will need green & black olives, giardiniera,
sharp provolone cheese, artichoke hearts, roasted red peppers, and Kaiser rolls
or other favorite bread.
This was a surprisingly good sandwich. I was able to find jarred Muffuletta Salad. It already had the olives and giardiniera
vegetables. Giardiniera is pickled vegetables,
typically diced carrots, cauliflower, and peppers. The carrots and cauliflower gave small bits
of crunch to the sandwich. I used a
small baguette, because that’s what I had on hand. I drained some Muffuletta and arranged it on
the bottom bread. I put a slice of sharp
provolone cheese on top of the veggies.
I drained my artichoke hearts, sliced each quarter into three slices,
and arranged them on top of the cheese.
Then I topped with another slice of cheese. I had roasted red pepper, but just forgot to
add them to my sandwich. I pressed my
sandwich on my George Foreman multi-function grill.
Tomato
Sandwich
Tomato
Sandwich: I grew up on tomato
sandwiches! They are wildly popular in
the South. Nothing better than sliced
garden-grown vine ripe tomatoes with Duke’s mayonnaise. I have to admit, I like my tomato sandwiches
on plain ole white bread.
Green
Club Sandwich
Green
Club Sandwich: I found
this recipe for the green club sandwich in the Weight Watchers Make & Take
cookbook. Each sandwich takes 3 slices
of ultra thin bread. I believe I used
Pepperidge Farm. Spread 2 slices of
bread with a mixture of mashed avocado and chopped artichoke. Top one slice with thin slices of Granny
Smith apple. Spread another slice of
bread with hummus, and place over apples.
Place spinach leaves on second bread.
Top sandwich with other piece of avocado-spread bread.
My
Favorite Salad Sandwich
My favorite salad is made with romaine, tomatoes, sweet
onion, Kalamata olives, and feta cheese.
It is dressed with Good Seasons Italian dressing made with olive oil and
balsamic vinegar. For this sandwich, I used
a soft store-baked bun, and filled it with my favorite salad ingredients. I brushed a little dressing on each side of
the bread. I poured a couple tablespoons
of dressing in a stainless mixing bowl.
First I placed my lettuce pieces in the bowl and coated them with
dressing, and placed on one side of the bun.
I put a thin slice from a large sweet onion on the other side. I put slices of tomato, pitted Kalamata olive
halves, and feta cheese in the remaining dressing, then topped the onion with
this mixture. Then I put the two halves
together, and—dinner!
Qu
Frescie Panini
Qu
Frescie Panini: Okay, I
made this name up. This is like a
Mexican caprese panini. I had some
cilantro, so made pesto with cilantro instead of basil. I processed olive oil, parmesan cheese, and
almonds in the food processor, just like I would with basil, but substituted
cilantro. I had some Mexican Queso
Fresco cheese, so used it instead of mozzarella. No substitutions on the tomato J
Grilled
Cheese Sandwich
Grilled
Cheese Sandwich: Another
classic! Who doesn’t love a great
grilled cheese sandwich, right?! This
one was made with slices of American and cheddar cheese. I often use a soft sourdough bread, and fry
my sandwich in coconut oil. I comes out
with a nice little crispness.
Photo
image of Pimento Cheese Sandwich
Pimento
Cheese Sandwich: I’m
usually lukewarm about pimento cheese, but a friend recently turned me on to a
really mild and mellow version. She used
8 oz shredded cheddar, 8 oz shredded mozzarella, and a few ounces of queso
fresco crumbles. Instead of pimentos,
she used finely chopped roasted red peppers.
And of course, she used Dukes mayo, which makes everything good! Add a little ground cayenne pepper or some
diced jalapeno or serrano pepper for a little kick if desired.
Poblano
Cheese Sandwich
Poblano
Cheese Sandwich: I
recently discovered that I really like roasted poblano peppers. I avoided them for years thinking they were
hot, but I found the heat to be negligible.
The flesh is not as thick as green bell peppers. The flavor is similar, but much milder. I cut my poblanos into quarters, and cooked them in the skillet. When tender, I set them
aside to cool, then removed the skin. I
chopped my roasted poblano, and combined with about equal parts of mozzarella and
white cheddar cheeses. I added a bit of
queso fresco, then added enough mayo to make it spread easily.
Cold
Cheese Sandwich
Cold
Cheese Sandwich: Try
layering up 3 or so different cheeses on one of your favorite breads. I used baguette because I put some Abruzzi
tomatoes on my sandwich, and wanted something that wouldn’t get soggy. I bought a jar of these tomatoes from
Pastaria 811 in Pawley’s Island, SC.
They are really delicious, but unfortunately the restaurant does not
sell them on their website. I used sharp
cheddar cheese, pepper Jack, and cream cheese.
If just putting cheeses on your sandwich, I think it would do well on
soft bread, like a brioche bun.
Banana
Sandwich
Banana
Sandwich: Another simple,
classic sandwich. I like to use oat nut
bread, such as Brownberry. Spread bread
generously with mayo. I prefer
Duke’s. I slice my banana lengthwise,
but I had a friend who cut hers into rounds.
Photo
image of Banana Sandwich with Pineapple Cream Cheese Spread
Banana
Sandwich with Pineapple Cream Cheese Spread: This is one of my new favorite
sandwiches. A number of companies, such
as Ruth’s and Duke’s make pineapple cream cheese spread with chopped
pecans. Slather spread on thin white
sandwich bread or sourdough. Add sliced
banana.
Banana
Peanut Butter Wrap
Banana
Peanut Butter Wrap: Here’s
a super easy one. Spread some peanut
butter on a wrap. Add a banana and roll
it up.
Nutella
Banana Panini
Nutella
Banana Panini: This was
a gooey good sandwich. Use a bread thick
or dense enough to hold up. Spread one
piece of bread with hazelnut spread.
Place sliced banana on top, or spread mashed bananas on other slice of
bread. Assemble and heat on sandwich
press.
Cream
Cheese and Grape Jelly Sandwich
A friend introduced me to the cream cheese and jelly sandwich
in junior high school. I highly
recommend grape jelly, strawberry jam, or peach preserves. I made the sandwich above with Welch’s
Natural Concord Grape Spread. It really
does spread easily. And when it comes to
grape jelly or grape juice, Welch’s is my absolute first choice.
Pineapple
Cream Cheese Spread with Pecans
Pineapple
Cream Cheese Sandwich: I used Duke’s,
a commercially prepared pineapple cream cheese spread with pecans. Ruth’s also makes one. You could make your own with softened cream
cheese, well-drained crushed pineapple, and finely chopped pecans.
Fig
Preserves with Brie & Nutella
Fig
Preserves with Brie & Nutella: This was a tasty but extremely messy
sandwich. It was supposed to be a
panini, but I was at Mom’s house, and she doesn’t have a sandwich press. She does however have homemade fig
preserves! I had seen suggestions for
brie and Nutella sandwiches, and brie and fig.
I decided to use all three in one sandwich. I slathered my cocoa hazelnut spread on one
piece of thin sandwich round bread, slathered Mom’s homemade figs on the other
side. I added my brie, and put the
sandwich in a non-stick skillet. The
result was a big mess. Lessons learned: don’t slather, and consider using a thick
absorbent bread, especially if you plan to use a sandwich press.