Sometimes we post really elaborate recipes here, but we also like to make and eat meals that are really easy yet still tasty. That’s what we’re going to feature here today: two vegetarian sandwiches that are super simple to make. One is a fancy upgrade on a childhood classic, while the other is more inventive and uses some interesting ingredients but only takes just a few minutes to prepare and assemble. Either one of these is a great on-the-run lunch that you can make in a jiff, especially on a hot summer day when you don’t want to turn on your oven.
The first sandwich is our take on grilled cheese – we’d call it the Ultimate Grilled Cheese because it’s stuffed with lots of different things. You can see our version below – to make it, we first spread mayo on the outside of each slice of white bread (while it might sound weird, using mayonnaise to toast the bread instead of butter is a great chef secret). Next we spread store bought pesto on the inside of the bottom slice of bread, then we layered on half of a sliced avocado, a slice of sharp cheddar, a slice of Muenster cheese, thin slices of jalapeño, another cheddar slice, another Muenster slice, and basil and oregano leaves, and finally more pesto on the inside of the top slice of bread. Then we grilled the whole thing over medium-low heat until it was lightly browned on both sides, and here’s the result:
Now if you’re looking for something equally cheesy but perhaps a little more elevated, you can try this second sandwich that we made based on a recipe we found in Bon Appétit – we’ll call it the Mozzarella and Greens sandwich. For this one, you’ll first need to make a sauce from 1/4 cup of chopped chives, 1/4 cup of basil leaves, 1/4 cup of mayonnaise, 1/4 cup of plain Greek yogurt, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and the zest and juice from half a lemon. Put all these ingredients in a food processor and blend them together until you have a mostly smooth mixture.
Now cut two thick slices from a loaf of sourdough bread and spread some of this sauce on the inside of each slice. Place the slices from half an avocado on the bottom piece of bread, then several slices of fresh mozzarella, then a handful of alfalfa spouts. Place the other slice of bread, sauce side down, on top and voilà – there’s your sandwich!
See, we told you these would be easy – in fact, probably the hardest thing about these sandwiches is making sure that all these delicious ingredients can fit between two slices of bread. In just a few quick minutes you can make yourself an over-the-top grilled cheese or a crunchy, cool, herb-filled fresh mozzarella sandwich. These are both so decadent all on their own, proving that you don’t need meat to make a good sandwich. So if you’re tired of plain grilled cheeses or boring old PB&Js, these are some impressive vegetarian sandwiches that take almost no effort at all.