It’s no secret that I love sandwiches or that my husband really loves sandwiches. I’ve made tons of sandwiches from Cranberry & Feta, to the Mushroom Reuben, or the Vegan Pastrami Reuben and my famous Vegan Tuna Sandwich, and all of them have been pretty good. Okay, maybe not my first attempt at a Reuben but it wasn’t bad either.
You know what’s funny? I used to love pastrami and rye but the Reuben wasn’t really high on my list of favorite sandwiches. I’m from Chicago so there are Italian Beef Sandwiches, Italian Sausage, the famous Chicago-style hot dog and our riffs on plenty of another favorites. But there is the deli in Chicago that does sandwiches like nobody’s business and I guess since I’ve been away for so long, sometimes the nostalgia or homesickness hits me…in the form of food.
Unlike my last attempt at a vegan Reuben Sandwich, I kept this vegan sandwich recipe simple. Well, simpler. I didn’t bother with trying to squeeze the juice of a beet just to get that bright pink color, because let’s be honest I’m not here for that. What I really wanted was to just get close enough with the herbs and spices to give my husband the taste of a classic Reuben Sandwich since he didn’t grow up in the United States.
This attempt was much better than the last because as I said, I kept it simple and focused on the flavors.
How do you like your vegan Reuben sandwich?
Kitchen Tools:
*Cutting board
*Kitchen knife
*Plastic container with lid
*Baking sheet
Ingredients:
*Sauerkraut
*Smoked tofu
*Rye bread
*Vegan yogurt
*Dill pickles, diced
*Shallots, diced
*Smoked paprika
*Maple or Agave syrup
*Apple cider vinegar
*Soy sauce
*Cumin
*Onion powder
Directions:
*Marinate the smoked tofu: Slice the tofu and place in a plastic container with a lid. Add soy sauce, apple cider vinegar, agave or maple syrup, smoked paprika and onion powder on top. Season with salt and pepper and cover with a lid. Shake it up and set aside.
*Pre-heat the oven to 175C/350F
*Make the vegan Russian dressing by mixing vegan yogurt, ketchup, hot sauce, vegan Worcestershire sauce, chopped pickles & shallots, paprika, cumin and a pinch of lemon juice in a small mixing bowl. Set aside or refrigerate until it’s time to assemble the sandwich.
*Place the tofu slices on a baking sheet and pop in the oven for about 15 minutes, checking it once about halfway through to flip over the slices. You want to keep the tofu more moist than crispy so don’t be afraid to touch it with a finger if you can handle the heat.
*Toast your bread for 60 to 90 seconds in the oven until warm but still soft.
*Assemble the sandwich: slather the vegan Russian dressing on both sides and stack with sauerkraut and then the tofu slices and finally the vegan Russian dressing. You can make this an open faced sandwich or not, the choice is yours. I made myself a traditional sandwich and the hubs had his open faced because that’s just how he prefers it.
I found some onion rings at the grocery store that didn’t have any egg or milk in them so I bought them because I used to love onion rings. But something else I learned or maybe re-learned is more accurate, is that I’m not a big fan of onion rings anymore. They are incredibly greasy and honestly that’s all I tasted.
Lesson learned…again.
Overall this vegan Reuben sandwich was delicious. We both really enjoyed it and though it was much better than the Mushroom Reuben that I made previously. I’ll keep trying my hand at some of our favorite sandwich recipes veganized but I think next time I’ll try a Reuben bowl without the bread…maybe?
Possibly.
Who can say.
Enjoy your Wednesday!
Some links are affiliate links which means I’ll earn money if you buy these products. Feel free to click on the links to help a fellow blogger out! Thanks.
The Spicy Spatula 
Leave a reply to Stephanie Cancel reply