Can’t be bothered to make lasagna? This is the sandwich for you! Get all the goodness of a vegan lasagna without having to actually make it.
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A hot vegan sandwich works well as a main dish, like honeynut stuffed squash and vegan beans and greens. If you have an air fryer, a side of crispy sweet potato fries from TJ’s would not cause any complaints.
Reasons to make a vegan lasagna sandwich
- You have ZERO time to make actual lasagna with pasta sheets.
- You just want to have lasagna for 1-2 people, not 6-9 people that a 13×9″ pan of lasagna could feed.
- You want to eat in 30 minutes or less.
Not completely inauthentic
There is actually such a thing as bread lasagna, where you substitute slices of bread for lasagna sheets.
Chef Lidia Bastianich makes a version with zucchini.
This sandwich just puts that bread lasagna into sandwich form.
Vegan cheese…let’s discuss
Vegan cheese has a come a long way. By long, I mean at least 10 years.
What used to be veritable rubber balls actually taste very similar to really dairy cheese now!
Having experimented with various brands, I like the Violife brand the best so far.
Their smoked provologne slices work particularly well in this recipe.
It does not melt terribly well, but I haven’t found any other vegan cheeses that melt spectacularly well either.
Step by Step Instructions
Making a hot sandwich isn’t hard. It just requires some timing and a hot pan.
1. Prep Ingredients
The cooking and assembly of this sandwich go quick. Have all the garlic chopped, mushrooms cleaned, and onions sliced before you start cooking.
2. Saute Spinach
Stir fry baby spinach with some garlic, salt, and oil. Set aside to keep warm in a covered bowl.
3. Make the Mushroom Marinara
In the same pan you used to saute the spinach (you don’t have to wash it out!), saute the onions and mushrooms. A pinch of fresh or dried rosemary is nice too.
Add your favorite jarred tomato sauce, and keep stirring until the mushrooms are cooked through. Cover with a lid or some foil, and set aside.
4. Toast bread
Butter and toast your bread in a toaster or a 350 degree oven, just until the butter is melted, and the bread gets that slightly crispy layer on top.
5. Top with chese and layer on the mushrooms
Layer on the sliced vegan cheese and the mushroom marinara.
6. Top with cooked spinach
Avoid adding any of the excess cooking liquid that may be in the pan from the cooking the spinach.
7. Serve hot
Top with the other piece of toasted bread and serve hot.
In the photo below, I put the cheese on top of the spinach. But I really think it would work better beneath the mushrooms.
Substitutions
- Instead of portabella mushrooms, you could use whatever mushroom you like (except woodear mushrooms. I wouldn’t use woodears for their crunchy texture.). Crimini, white button, oyster, or shiitake mushrooms would be wonderful.
- If you don’t have mushrooms, canned and drained jackfruit would be very nice. Cooked cubes of sweet potatoes or butternut squash or zucchini would work well too.
- Instead of spinach, you could use kale, swiss chard, collard greens, or any other leafy green vegetable of your choice. Sliced zucchini would also be kind of amazing.
FAQ
It depends on what you define as healthy. This does have a good amount of vegetables, and a little bit of processed vegan cheese. It’s also baked and uses a minimal amount of oil. Overall, it seems like a health conscious option.
You could, but it might get soggy. Using a crusty loaf soaks up the wet ingredients and still holds its shape. Regular sandwich bread will just need to be toasted longer, so it is nice and firm to add some sturdiness to the sandwich construction.
Not really. Marinara sauce, spaghetti sauce, or pizza sauce work equally well, since they’re meant to be used straight from the packaging without adding additional seasoning. Avoid a canned tomato sauce or pureed tomatoes that need to be seasoned with salt, herbs, etc (because we just don’t have time for that).
Helpful Tips
- Use designer bread: This is the time to use that crusty loaf from a fancy bakery. While meat would normally provide the “chew” in a sandwich, in this case it is the bread.
- If you can’t find vegan cheese, you can skip it. You don’t have to have it, but it adds some saltiness and creaminess.
- Baby spinach vs. regular spinach. We like baby spinach in this recipe because it is pre-washed and ready to go. Washed regular spinach would work too though.
- Portabella mushrooms are extra “meaty,” but use any mushrooms that you like.
- If you are toasting your bread in the oven, start preheating the oven before you prep any ingredients. (Just so you’re not waiting later for the oven to get hot, so you can toast your bread.)
More Vegan Recipes
Vegan Lasagna Sandwich
Ingredients
- 4 slices good quality bread
- 2 Tb vegan butter
- 4 slices vegan cheese
Sauteed Spinach
- 1 Tb oil
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 5 oz baby spinach or regular spinach
- salt to taste for me this is about 1/2 tsp of pink Himalayan salt
Mushroom Marinara
- 2 ea portabella mushrooms gills removed and sliced about 1/2" thick
- 1/2 ea onion sliced about 1/4" thick
- 1 tsp oil
- 1/2 c tomato marinara sauce
- salt to taste for me this is about 1/4 tsp of pink Himalayan salt
Optional
- 1 tsp fresh rosemary chopped, or 1/2 tsp dried
Instructions
Sauteed Spinach
- Heat a pan to medium heat. Add the oil and garlic. Stir fry for 30 seconds – 1 minute to cook the garlic and remove its harsh bite.
- Add the baby spinach, and stir fry for 1-2 minutes just until the spinach is wilted and cooked. Don't forget to add salt to taste, so the spinach tastes like something besides green leaves.
- Remove spinach to a bowl, and partially cover to keep warm until the rest of the sandwich is ready to assemble.
Mushroom Marinara
- In the same pan the spinach was in, add the oil and onion. Stir fry for 2-3 minutes until the onion starts to become translucent, browned, and cooked through.
- Add the mushrooms and saute for 2-3 minutes just to caramelize and develop flavor in the mushrooms before adding the tomato sauce. Don't forget to add some salt to taste.
- Add the marinara sauce. Keep stirring for 2-3 minutes until hot and the mushrooms are cooked through.
- Cover and set aside while the bread toasts.
Toast bread
- Spread butter onto 1 side of each bread slice. Toast in the toaster or a 350 degree oven for 2-4 minutes, until the butter is melted and the bread is just getting that toasty, crunchy layer on top.
Assemble sandwich
- Remove from the toaster and add 2 slices of cheese to the unbuttered side of 2 toasted bread slices.
- Divide the mushroom marinara between the 2 cheese topped bread slices.
- Put the spinach on top of the mushrooms. Careful to drain the spinach from the excess water that has probably started to pool in the bottom of your bowl.
- Top the spinach with the 2 remaining bread slices. Cut in half if you like, and serve hot and delicious.
Notes
- Use designer bread: This is the time to use that crusty loaf from a fancy bakery. While meat would normally provide the “chew” in a sandwich, in this case it is the bread.
- If you can’t find vegan cheese, you can skip it. You don’t have to have it, but it adds some saltiness and creaminess.
- Baby spinach vs. regular spinach. We like baby spinach in this recipe because it is pre-washed and ready to go. Washed regular spinach would work too though.
- Portabella mushrooms are extra “meaty,” but use any mushrooms that you like!
- If you are toasting your bread in the oven, let it start preheating before you start prepping any of the ingredients. (Just so you’re not waiting around for an oven to get hot.)
Nutrition
Fortune Cookie 🥠
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Vegan Cheese
Great recipe! So easy and so tasty!
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Thanks so much Vegan Cheese! 🙂