I often hear that people find it hard to find a vegan replacement for their sandwich topping that is often meat or cheese. On this page I’m sharing 10 vegan ways to top a sandwich (or a cracker of course). Vegan sandwich toppings are better for the environment and the animals and in most cases they’re more healthy too. Continue to read my top 10 vegan ways to top a sandwich.
1 Hummus
I love hummus as a sandwich topping. It’s healthy as it’s made from mashed chickpeas (hello vegetables for lunch). Besides you can top it with all kinds of things; add some pepper, avocado, tomatoes, za’atar, pine nuts… you name it.
2 Avocado
Avocado is a great vegan sandwich topping. You can mash it and make an avocado spread or cut it to slices. On this picture I’ve topped my home-made gluten-free bread with hummus, lettuce, tomato and avocado.
Avocado is another great healthy sandwich topping and full of good fats!
3 Margarine
Did you already know that you can easily swap butter for margarine to make your sandwich vegan? On this picture I used margarine, avocado, cherry tomatoes, pumpkin seeds and a bit of chives on my sandwiches. Margarine is a great spread to give your sandwich more flavor, no matter what the topping is. And it’s more neutral in taste than the garlic-heavy hummus. So when I’m packing my lunch for a work day I prefer margarine over hummus on my avocado sandwich.
4 Jam
Jam (or marmelade) is also vegan. It’s made of fruit and sugars so no dairy or other animal products are used. The downside of jam is the high sugar amount, luckily there are more and more fruit spreads available with less or even nog added sugar at all. I think fruit doesn’t need any added sugar as it’s already sweet enough!
5 Peanut Butter
Peanut butter is my favorite guilty pleasure vegan sandwich topping. Its so good! I always get the 100% peanut peanut butter, so that you don’t have any added sugars or (palm)oil. It’s great with banana and/or cacao nibs.
Extra tip: toast your slices of bread first and top it with the peanut butter while the bread is still warm.
6 Vegan meat-replacements
More and more vegan meat replacements for on sandwiches are available in the supermarkets. On the picture you see several varieties of vegan Filet Americain, and there are also vegan sliced sausages available.
7 Scrambled tofu
You don’t need eggs if you’ve got tofu. A sandwich with scrambled tofu has got the same feel as scrambled eggs. The first time I had scrambled tofu was at Ottolenghi’s restaurant in London. It was so tasty that I decided to make it myself as well. You can watch my video to see how to make scrambled tofu.
8 Facon
Facon stands for vegan bacon. Facon looks and tastes like bacon but is completely vegan. Besides it’s super easy to make. To make facon you cut a rice paper sheet in strips. Brush both sides with your choice of marinade. I used vegan barbecue sauce. Warm a skillet and shortly fry the rice paper bacon on each side.
You can see the video recipe of Facon here.
9 Chocolate Sprinkles
If you live in the Netherlands, you’re lucky. It’s normal to have chocolate on your sandwich if you’re Dutch.We call these chocolate sprinkles ‘hagelslag’. The dark version (puur) is most often vegan. Spread some margarine or peanut butter on your sandwich first, so that the chocolate sprinkles don’t fall off. A fresh slice of toast with margarine and dark chocolate sprinkles is almost like a pastry!
10 Vegan Club Sandwich
You can even enjoy a club sandwich that is completely vegan. I got the recipe for this vegan clubsandwich from the book Vegan Smaaksouvenirs. It’s made with margarine, tempeh, avocado, aubergine and tomatoes. Tempeh is made by soaking dehulled soy beans, cooking them and then fermenting them. Tempeh has a firm texture, unlike the softer tofu.
On this page I’m telling you more about the differences between tofu, tempeh and seitan. This seitan, marinated in soy sauce and maple syrup, has quite a strong flavor. If you spread your bread with margarine first you’ll get a smoother taste.
Want to make more vegan spreads? Check my 3 margarine recipes here.
