Ultimate vegan sandwich with red lentil spread
Is anyone taking part in Veganuary this year? I’m not (evidently) but I do love vegan food, and this seems as good a time as any to share this awesome vegan sandwich recipe.
The basis of this sandwich is a creamy red lentil spread. Lentils have an awful lot going for them – they’re cheap, super healthy, and really easy to cook – but unfortunately their appearance isn’t one of their main selling points, so I’m not giving you any close-ups here. But if you can picture a bowl of baby food, you can pretty much picture this red lentil spread.
It couldn’t be more straightforward – it’s literally just lentils cooked in stock until they break right down. I know it sounds a bit overly simple, but I always find that lentils (red lentils especially) really don’t need much doing to them – a bit of veggie stock is all they need to be really tasty. Of course you can add extra herbs and spices if you like, but I don’t think it’s necessary.
Instead, I topped it with this crunchy salad.
Cucumber, tomatoes, parsley, and black olives. Again – simple! It doesn’t even need any dressing – the veggies are anything but dry, and nobody likes a soggy sandwich in any case.
I used some particularly wrinkly black olives that I picked up back in November in Provence (which is in the south of France, in case you didn’t know) – apparently the wrinkliness is a speciality of the region! If you follow me on Instagram or Twitter you might have already seen some photos from my trip – if not, I’ll be sharing a few more soon.
The trip was organised by Olivence (olives + Provence, geddit?), who look after five of the top olive oil producers in France. Over the weekend, we ate soo many olives and so much amazing food prepared with French olive oil, and somehow didn’t even begin to get sick of them. I came home with a bumper haul of olives, and they were great in this simple vegan sandwich!
I used plain white bread for my vegan sandwich, but as I was eating it I decided that something a bit crustier would have been even better – the red lentil spread and simple salad would be amazing in a baguette! The recipe makes enough for about 3 sandwiches, so if you’re only cooking for yourself, you can store the leftovers in the fridge until you’re ready for the next one.
What’s your favourite vegan sandwich filling?
Ultimate vegan sandwich with red lentil spread
Ingredients
For the red lentil spread:
- 120 g dried red lentils (~ 1/2 cup)
- 450 ml vegetable stock (~ 1 1/2 cups)
- Black pepper
For the simple salad:
- 4 inch chunk of cucumber, diced
- ~ 6 cherry tomatoes, diced
- ~ 10 black olives, chopped
- Small handful fresh parsley, chopped
- Salt
- Black pepper
To assemble:
- 6 slices of bread or 3 pieces of baguette
- 1 leaves handful mixed salad
Instructions
- Add the red lentils and vegetable stock to a small saucepan, and bring to a gentle boil. Cook for around 20 minutes, until the lentils are thoroughly cooked and beginning to break down. Stir thoroughly, especially towards the end of the cooking time, to ensure the lentils don't stick and to help break them up. If the liquid has all disappeared before the lentils are completely soft, just add a dash more water. Season generously with black pepper, and set aside to cool.
- To prepare the simple salad, combine the diced cucumber, tomatoes and olives in a bowl with the chopped parsley and a pinch of salt and pepper. Mix well.
- When the lentil spread has completely cooled, serve it with your choice of bread (I think something crusty would be best) with the simple salad and some mixed salad leaves.
Note: Nutritional information is approximate, and will depend on exactly what ingredients you choose. Information above is for 1 sandwich.
Love a good sandwich? Try my Greek salad sandwich with black olive hummus and feta:
Note: This is not a sponsored post. I was taken to Provence in November by Olivence, but all opinions are my own.
This is ideal for me as I am not a big fan of hummus. Simple and tasty. I made mine using an organic onion stock cube. It gave a good flavour.
Thanks Shirley, glad you liked it!
Red lentils are fab! I mostly use them in curries and dhals and had never considered making a pate with them! I bet a curry pate would be good in a sandwich, maybe with some chutney and baby spinach. Definitely got to give this a try now :D
Ooh yes that sounds great! A dollop of curry paste would be a nice easy addition to the simple lentil spread :)
Hummus and salad / veg is my go to vegan sandwich. I didn’t do Veganuary as we were away but I’m going to do it in Feb instead, and hopefully stick with it!
I love vegan sandwiches! As a vegan for 2017, this is one of my goal. Thank you Becca for the nicely written recipe!
Are you going vegan for the whole year? That’s fantastic! You weren’t even vegetarian before, right? Looking forward to seeing what vegan recipes you come up with :)
Red lentils are highly underused in my kitchen. I really need to remedy that – this spread sounds fantastic!
What a fantastic idea for a sandwich filling and makes a change from hummus. I’m going to make a batch of this for my veggie husband’s sandwiches for work. Thanks for the inspiration!
You’re welcome, enjoy!
Those olives look awesome. I love good olives and haven’t come across any in a long time. I used to make a mean lentil spread / pate, but it’s been such a long time since I did it, I can no longer remember how I made it – doh! Great idea for a sandwich.
They’re so tasty! I’m sure your lentil spread was much less simple than mine haha, I do get a bit lazy when I’m cooking sometimes! I really don’t think lentils need much doing to them though :)
This sandwich looks amazing! I’m not a huge fan of lentils, but I’m willing to give them a try again just so I can make this sandwich!
You could always just use a regular hummus instead if you’re not keen on lentils :)
Love the idea of a healthy lentil spread on a sandwich. The sandwich itself looks so colorful and appetizer. Such beautiful pics too, especially love the open faced one :-)
I’ve not cooked lentils yet and have been a bit nervous about it, but this sandwich is making me want to try straight away! Love all the fresh, colourful veggies and those lovely olives too. This is sandwich heaven!
Lentils are so great to cook with, you must try them! They’re so cheap and easy to cook with, and super healthy too :)
What a great idea, I’d never have thought to add lentils to a sandwich like this but it makes so much sense! Great to keep in mind for any vegan friends too :)
It looks so good! Would never think to put this together but it’s easy and delicious. I am not doing Veganuary but I realised I have been having veggie lunches everyday which works out well for me!
My favorite vegan sandwich is an everything bagel (here in NYC bagels are accidentally vegan), with tomato, thin red onion, dijon mustard, pickle slices and avocado The mix of textures and the bite from the onion and dijon are fantastic all together. The guy at the bagel shop looks at me like I’m insane
Haha no that sounds delicious!
Nom..so healthy. I love veggie. I had curried coconut quinoa and greens with roasted cauliflower last Wednesday. It was tasty. Have you ever tried made that before? Well, actually ate quite much sweet for Christmas, so now I gotta be on diet all the time. Gonna stick to veggie for long time ?
That sounds delicious!