When it comes to making a delicious vegan sandwich, you have endless possibilities. Vegan sandwiches are quick to make, deliver solid nutrition, and take unlimited forms.
Consider all the breads, spreads, and fillings you can choose from, and you’ll realize there’s an infinite assortment of possibilities. We’ll give you plenty of tips below for bumping your sandwich-making skills up a notch. If you want to go deeper still, there’s a cookbook devoted to the topic called Vegan Sandwiches Save the Day.
Elevate Your PBJ
When thinking about vegan sandwiches, a classic peanut butter and jam (PBJ) is a great place to start. Anybody can make a PBJ sandwich, but let me tell you how to make a great one.
Opt for jam, preserves, or conserves instead of jelly since you’ll get more fruit and less sugar.
Next, select a high quality bread. You have plenty of fantastic bread options. Maybe an organic whole grain sandwich loaf, or a freshly-baked sourdough baguette. Ideally, get your bread from a local bakery. If you’re lucky, you’ll live near a good bakery that makes excellent vegan bread. If not, bread machines are a surprisingly affordable appliance. Whatever bread you choose, toasting it will give your sandwich more flavor and some crunch.
You can further increase your options by swapping in a different type of nut butter: almond or cashew is delicious, while pistachio or macadamia is sublime.
A nice alternative to PBJ is vegan cream cheese and sliced dates. It’ll give you the same sweetness intermingling with a rich spread.
Vegan Sandwich Possibilities You’ll Adore
You’ll enjoy your sandwiches more if you don’t get into a rut by using the same bread time after time. Mix it up between bagels, rolls, bread slices, English muffins, and so forth. Many breads irritatingly contain a small amount of dairy or egg products. And whole grain breads, as often as not, contain honey. So always check the ingredients when buying bread. No matter what sort of bread you choose, toasting it will add flavor and crunch.
Now let’s go through some more options:
Breads:
- Bagels (usually vegan)
- Buns (hot-dog or veggie burger)
- French bread and baguettes (opt for whole grain)
- Rolls (poppy seed is a nice touch)
- Sourdough (nearly always vegan)
- Sprouted multi grain
- English muffins (toasted)
- White
- Whole grain
Spreads:
- Avocado
- Butter/Margarine (Vegan)
- Cashew cheeze
- Cream cheese (Vegan)
- Guacamole
- Hummus
- Ketchup
- Marinara
- Mayonnaise (Vegan)
- Mustard (Try to keep at least two very different varieties on hand)
- Olive oil
- Olive tapenade
- Pesto (Vegan)
Savory Vegan Sandwich Fillings:
- Cheese slices (Vegan: Top Brands are Daiya & Field Roast)
- Deli slices (Vegan: Popular brand is Tofurky)
- Greens (lettuce, spinach, sprouts, arugula)
- Grilled onions
- Pickle slices
- Raw onions or thinly sliced red or sweet vidalia onion
- Roasted veggies (eggplant, bell peppers, zucchini, mushrooms)
- Sliced vegan sausage
- Tofu (marinated)
- Tomatoes
- Veggie burgers (Choose a vegan brand)
Remember that any sort of vegan sandwich can also be turned into a whole grain tortilla-based wrap. And don’t forget that veggie burgers are sandwiches, too.
