The Lasagna Bolognese Sandwich is riddled with layers of Vegan Bolgnese Lasagna and served between two slices of a crusty bun. This sandwich soon became one of our favorites on the America’s To 10 New Sandwiches Veganized series.
The story you are about to read is true. Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent. Wait, I don’t think we’ve changed any names in this post, but you get the point.
Imagine, if you will, a dark, dreary night in January. A hand reaches out, clutches a mouse, extends a finger, and clicks “publish” which sets in motion a series of events, the ramifications of which could not have been foreseen.
America’s Top 10 New Sandwiches. That’s what the published post was titled. A simple topic of pleasure, but screams of terror were heard everywhere, including places with happy names like Fiesta, Texas. Of course, those screams could be attributed to the thrilling rides at Six Flags Over Texas, but that’s beside the point.
Dripping with cholesterol and oozing with fatty cheeses, these rogue sandwiches were set to launch widespread destruction. That was until the Vegan Avengers saved the day. In classic Dragnet fashion, we’ll provide you with just the facts, ma’am.
Original place of publication: A post called America’s Top 10 New Sandwiches by the amazingly popular Endless Simmer
Further promotion: The post received front-page coverage and a wild response from the online news source and content aggregating blog, the Huffington Post. It seemed like these unmasked super heroes, the Vegan Avengers, were toast. No wait, they eat toast. They had their work cut out for them.
Today’s Sandwich: Number Three, the Lasagna Bolognese
Challenge: Transformation to a healthier sandwich
One by one the Vegan Avengers have apprehended these villainous sandwiches and changed them into tasty and healthier versions of their previous selves. It was a tough task, but someone had to do it.
Number Three on the list? The Lasagna Bolognese Sandwich. Riddled with thin layers of marinated, lightly breaded and fried pasta, this sandwich soon became a new target for our Vegan Avenger team. It was a challenge to veganize this sandwich which boasted “a doughy roll joined by sweet peppers, smoked mozzarella and sharp provolone.” Lucky for us, one member of our team was up for the task.
Vegan Avengers
A team of vegan bloggers combined their recipe transforming super skills to rebuild these sandwiches into tasty and healthier members of the American diet. We stand with hands on hips, capes billowing in the wind while calling out the name of our vegan series “America’s Top 10 New Sandwiches…Veganized!” Here’s what we’ve published so far:
- Sandwich No. 10 the Vegan Spuckie Sandwich, prepared by Your Vegan Mom and featured a carrot salad on top of vegan deli slices.
- Sandwich No. 9 the Bulgogi Steak Sandwich by Manifest Vegan showcased tender strips of marinated tofu topped with caramelized onions.
- Sandwich No. 8, the Crispy Drunken Chicken Sandwich showcased two unique vegan recipes by Veggie Num Num and Epicurean Vegan who both provided recipes with sweet, spicy sauces.
- Sandwich No. 7, the Cheesy Mac and Rib Sandwich featuring a thick barbecue sauce grilled over thinly sliced tofu and served with caramelized onions and oh-so-vegan mac and cheese.
- Sandwich No. 6, The Pibil Torta Sandwich spotlighting crusty bolillo bread spread with a black bean paste, marinated wild mushrooms and finished with a layer of pickled red onions.
- Sandwich No. 5, The Fried Chicken Sandwich, a cashew cream encrusted fried *chick’n* patty topped with a lip-smacking, zesty slaw.
- Sandwich No. 4, The Maple, features two hot slices of maple-currant french toast loaded with a savory tempeh, white bean sausage and smothered with “mapleized” onions and vegan chipotle cheddar cheese.
Today’s recipe, The Lasagna Bolognese, was veganized, developed, and photographed by caped crusader Mandi of Chic Vegan.
Lasagna Bolognese Sandwich
Recipe makes approx 10 sandwiches.
- 1 of your favorite sandwich rolls, round works best
- 1-2 roasted sweet peppers, sliced
- 3 Tbs Mozzarella spread (Recipe below)
- 1 piece of lasagna (approximately 4 inches square.) (Recipe below)
Directions:
- Cut bun in half.
- Smother mozzarella spread on top half of bun.
- Place peppers on top of mozzarella spread.
- Place lasagna on bottom half.
- Put top and bottom together and ENJOY!
Bolognese Sauce
Ingredients:
- ½ Cup TVP (uncooked)
- 2 links of Field Roast Italian Sausage, Chopped
- 1 ½ cups chopped Shitake Mushrooms
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 1 celery stalk, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 Tb EVOO
- 28oz can of whole peeled tomatoes
- 1 cup Vegetable Broth
- 1 cup canned coconut milk
- 1 clove, ground
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp salt
- Dash of cinnamon
Directions:
- Saute celery, carrot, onion, mushrooms and garlic in EVOO for about 10 minutes until carrots are soft, onions are translucent and mushrooms are juicy.
- Add Field Roast, clove, cinnamon and black pepper and cook for 5 more minutes.
- Stir in tomatoes, TVP , and vegetable broth and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir frequently.
- Add coconut milk and salt. Turn down heat a bit and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
While the bolognese sauce is cooking, prepare the béchamel sauce.
Bechamel Sauce
Ingredients:
- 2 cups soy milk (unsweetened and unflavored)
- ¼ cup of Earth Balance margarine
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp garlic salt
Directions:
- Heat soy milk to almost boiling.
- In a separate pan melt Earth Balance.
- Slowly add flour to margarine, whisking with a fork the whole time to create a roux.
- After the flour is completely mixed in and there are no lumps, slowly mix in the soy milk, stirring constantly.
- Stir until no lumps remain and then remove from heat.
Time to Make the Lasagna!
Vegan Bolognese Lasagna
Ingredients:
- Bolognese sauce
- Béchamel sauce
- 2 boxes of oven ready lasagna noodles
- 1 16 oz jar of marinara sauce
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast
- ¼ cup of Italian style bread crumbs
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350°
- Pour 8oz of marinara into the bottom of a 13 ½ x 9 inch glass dish.
- Line with lasagna noodles.
- Cover with a layer of bolognese sauce.
- Pour half of the béchamel mixture on top
- Sprinkle with some nutritional yeast.
- Line with lasagna noodles.
- Repeat steps 3-6.
- Pour the remaining marinara on top and cover with breadcrumbs and a sprinkle of nutritional yeast.
- Cover with aluminum foil and bake for about 30 minutes.
**While the lasagna cooks, wrap 5-10 sweet peppers in aluminum foil and throw them in the oven too! Remove after 20 minutes and let cool.**
Mozzarella Spread
Ingredients:
- ½ cup cashews, soaked overnight
- 10 macadamia nuts, soaked overnight
- ½ cup sunflower seeds, soaked overnight
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp onion powder
- ½ cup water
Directions:
Take all ingredients and blend in a food processor or blender until creamy.
Conclusion
We hope you enjoyed this eighth post in our Vegan Sandwich Series! We’ll be publishing more recipes soon.
America’s Top 10 New Sandwiches Veganized! Participating Bloggers:
- Trina at Your Vegan Mom. Follow Trina on Twitter too.
- Allyson at Manifest Vegan. Follow Allyson on Twitter too.
- Trudy at Veggie NumNum. Follow Trudy on Twitter too.
- April at Epicurean Vegan.
- Morgan at Little House of Veggies. Follow Morgan on Twitter.
- Noelle at Opera Singer in the Kitchen. Follow Noelle on Twitter.
- Leinana at Vegan Good Things. Follow Leinana on Twitter.
- Nora at Pride and Vegudice. Follow Nora on Twitter.
- Mandi Hoffman at Chic Vegan. Follow Mandi on Twitter.
- Jennifer Sweet on Veg. Follow Jennifer on Twitter.
- Ashley at Never Homemakers. Follow Ashley on Twitter.
- Marly at Namely Marly. Follow Marly on Twitter.
Jennifer
Yes, please! This looks incredible!
Morgan
Wow! That is one serious sandwich! Awesome job Chich Vegan!
Morgan
I mean CHIC!!! Sorry…typo
Jeanette
Yet another amazing vegan sandwich! This looks a bit involved, but so creative!
Elizabeth
This looks fantastic! Is it lunchtime yet?
Mandi
Glad everyone is liking this! Even though the ingredients list seems daunting it is actually pretty easy to make. You could always use Daiya Mozzarella instead of the spread and save some time and effort.
Thanks for the opportunity Marly!
Rizla
Hello!
I’d like to know if it’s healthy to put tofu or mock meat in bread.
Actually i love veggie burgers (mushrooms + eggplants are my fave)! but i usually eat them alone and not in bread because i feel that it’s too much “dough” afterwards.
what do you think and what do you usually do?
cheers
Marly
We regularly use tofu based products on our sandwiches. For example, look at one of our favorites, Eggless Egg Salad: https://namelymarly.com/2010/04/the-vegan-sandwich-with-an-identity-crisis-eggless-egg-salad/
For me personally, I’ve been on a mission to minimize gluten in my diet so I frequently will use lettuce as my “bread” – putting the sandwich contents in the middle of two slices of lettuce or rolled into one big leaf. I love that! I think it matters what works best for you. If you think it’s too much dough, have you ever considered using thinly sliced bread or sandwich thins? I’m not certain if these are vegan because I couldn’t find the nutritional info on the website, but I think they are.
Hopefully those are some good sandwich ideas for you!