Personally? I’m thrilled. I’m so excited for cooler weather, boots, and all of the cinnamony things.

But if you’re looking for a way to soak up these final fleeting days of summer, allow me to introduce you to my absolute favorite summer sandwich.

Those hunks up there are one of the reasons why this sandwich is so good.

End-of-summer tomatoes just… hit different. They are so juicy and plump and tart and sweet and umami-y. Not to mention totally beautiful.

If you have a local farmers market where you can get some big heirloom tomatoes, I’d vote for that option. You want to find ones that seem heavy for their size to really make sure they’re nice, ripe, and juicy.

Slice them thin, and be sure to season them –– it’s amazing what a little salt and pepper can do to a slice of fresh tomato!

You’ll also need some kosher dill pickles, sliced super thin. I bought “sandwich style” pickles at the store, and they’re perfectly thin to add just a tangy, vinegary bite to our sandwich.

We’ll also need some cheese! In this case, I used Dairy-Free Garlic & Herbs Boursin Cheese. This spread is so good, and I prefer it 1000 times over to any store-bought vegan cheese slices. I get it at Trader Joe’s, but it looks like a few grocery stores around me carry it.

The vegan cheese slice texture just does not do it for me. But this spread? It’s awesome. It’s tangy and herby and a little garlicky, and just really great as a sandwich spread. It sort of reminds me of an herby cream cheese that you’d put on a bagel, and it’s very similar to their dairy-full counterpart as well!

Again, you’ll need a thin layer on one side of each of your slices of bread.

Speaking of, get yourself some good sourdough, sliced thin if you can. We’re all about those thin layers with this sandwich –– no need to unhinge your jaw to devour this bad boy!

Then we toast it in some oil or vegan butter, slice diagonally, and dive right on into those warm and juicy layers.

This is just like… my ideal end-of-summer meal. Effort level is minimal, prep time is basically non-existent, but the flavor?

Let’s just go with what my taste-tester called it: “stupidly, ridiculously good.”

My Favorite End-of-Summer Sandwich

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This is the end-of-summer sandwich of my dreams! An herby dairy-free cheese spread, ripe heirloom tomatoes, dill pickles, and toasty sourdough bread make up this warm and juicy beauty!

• Author: Alexa [fooduzzi.com]
• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Cook Time: 8 minutes
• Total Time: 13 minutes
• Yield: 1 sandwich
• Category: Sandwich
• Method: Grill
• Cuisine: American
• Diet: Vegan

Ingredients

• 2 thin slices sourdough bread
• Dairy Free Garlic & Herbs Boursin Cheese
• 1 heirloom tomato, sliced thin
• a few thin kosher dill pickle slices
• salt + pepper
• oil or vegan butter, for cooking

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Instructions

1. Spread a thin layer of your dairy-free Boursin on one side of both slices of bread (so each slice of bread has one side covered).
2. On one of the cheese-covered sides, add your tomato slices and season with a bit of salt and pepper.
3. Top with your pickle slices, and then top with your other slice of bread, cheese-side down. The cheese should be on the inside of the sandwich.
4. Heat a pan with a drizzle of oil or butter over medium heat.
5. Add your sandwich and cook on one side until browned, 2-4 minutes.
6. Carefully flip and cook the other size until browned.
7. Slice diagonally and enjoy!

The post My Favorite End-of-Summer Sandwich appeared first on Fooduzzi.

Just because you don’t eat meat / are vegan doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a BLT this summer.

And yes, I guess by definition, you can’t enjoy a traditional BLT because the B in a BLT stands for bacon and bacon is decidedly not vegan.

But if we rethink our definition of bacon… stick with me… then just maybe we can BLT just like our omnivore friends.

Today, we are entering the world of coconut bacon.

Stay! I promise it’s good. In fact, it’s SO good. I’ve been using the leftovers all week on… everything.

Coconut bacon is kind of crazy because the texture is just… very bacony. It’s crisp, kind of chewy, nice and fatty, and actually really flavorful (think: salty, smoky, and sweet) if you do it right.

And you know we like to do it right here at Fooduzzi.

A lot of the coconut bacon recipes I’ve seen (and tried) have called for a little ingredient called liquid smoke, but I do not like it. Feel free to try it here if you so desire, but I really don’t like the artificial smoke flavor. I feel like we get enough of the smokiness from the use of smoked paprika, an ingredient I always have because I love it on roasted sweet potatoes, so that’s our only “smoke source” here.

I also see a lot of coconut bacon recipes getting roasted. And like… I don’t know about you, but I really don’t want to turn on my oven when it’s 90 degrees outside. So I decided to see if I could make my coconut bacon on the stove, and it worked great! Just make sure to keep:

1. The pieces moving constantly
2. An eye on the bacon at all times because it burns quick
3. The heat in the medium-low range so things don’t get too crispy too quick

Of course, we’ve got our other normal BLT ingredients here –– crisp iceberg lettuce, fresh salt + pepper tomatoes, creamy vegan mayo, and golden fried bread. You can’t mess with a classic too much, right?

So good. So summery. So easy.

Enjoy, friend!

Easy Vegan BLT

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A super easy vegan spin on the classic summer sandwich: the BLT! It comes together in just minutes, and you’ll have extra vegan bacon for more vegan BLTs all week long!

• Author: Alexa [fooduzzi.com]
• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Cook Time: 10 minutes
• Total Time: 30 minutes
• Yield: 1 sandwich
• Category: Sandwich
• Method: Pan Fry
• Cuisine: American
• Diet: Vegan

Ingredients

VEGAN COCONUT BACON:

• 3 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons neutral oil (like grapeseed)
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 and 1/2 cups unsweetened coconut chips

FOR EACH SANDWICH:

• 1/2 tablespoon neutral oil
• 1/2 tablespoon vegan butter (or more oil)
• 2 slices of bread (I used sourdough)
• vegan mayo
• iceberg lettuce, shredded or separated into leaves
• sliced tomato, salt and peppered

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Instructions

1. COCONUT BACON: In a medium bowl, combine your soy sauce, oil, maple syrup, tomato paste, and smoked paprika. Whisk to combine.
2. Add your coconut chips and toss to coat completely. Allow to marinade for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, line a large plate or cookie pan with paper towels.
3. Heat a large pan over medium-low heat. Working in two batches, scoop out some of the coconut bacon and add it to your pan, leaving any additional liquid in the bowl to discard.
4. Cook your bacon, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until golden. If certain pieces start to get darker than others, you can use tongs to remove them and place them on your paper towel-lined plate. Try to keep the pieces of coconut separated as they cook. They’ll crisp further as they cool.
5. Repeat with your second batch of coconut bacon, leaving any excess liquid in the bottom of the bowl to discard.
6. In a separate large pan, heat your oil and vegan butter over medium heat. When melted and your pan is hot, add your bread, and toast until deeply golden, about 3 minutes. Remove and allow to cool on a cooling rack.
7. ASSEMBLE: Liberally spread both of the non-toasted sides of your bread with vegan mayo. Add your lettuce, tomato, and a large handful (or two!) of your coconut bacon. Top with your other mayo-spread piece of bread and enjoy!

The post Easy Vegan BLT appeared first on Fooduzzi.

1. Why are sandwiches so hard to photograph?
2. Why don’t I eat more sandwiches?

Okay, honestly, I think I know the answer to both of them.

Sandwiches are hard to photograph because… um… the colors are often a lot to be desired.

In this vegan reuben situation, you’ll see that we have a smattering of lovely colors that consist of: brown, slightly browner brown, and yellowy brown. Not super appealing. Not like a grain bowl or some donuts.

And why don’t I eat more sandwiches? Well… have you had a veggie sandwich? Not super awesome.

There are a few sandwich restaurants around me that offer vegetarian items that consist of things like shredded iceberg lettuce, cucumbers, and green peppers. Not super yum.

That said, I will live with the browny hues of this sando because it is not your typical sad vegan sando.

Oh no. We have a deliciously tangy and oniony spread, lots of zesty sauerkraut, roasty toasty bread, and a thiiiiiinly sliced homemade seitan situation that is very very delicious.

Is this a reuben in the traditional sense? No, of course not.

But is it delicious enough to have 5 days in a row for lunch? Oh very much yes.

Alright, let’s talk elements.

Rye Bread

A must! And one of my all-time favorite breads. Whenever I’m at a diner (which, admittedly, isn’t often enough), I always order the rye bread when it’s an option. Especially if it’s seeded.

It’s a rich and nutty bread with a distinct malty flavor that is absolutely required for any of your reuben-y needs.

I found a nice marbled, seeded rye (pre-sliced!) at Trader Joe’s, but it’s relatively easy to find at any mega mart.

Vegan Thousand Island Dressing

One of the two “this requires a bit of work” elements in this sandwich is the vegan thousand island dressing. But… it’s easy.

Ingredients like vegan mayo, ketchup, pickles, onion, garlic powder, lemon juice, smoked paprika, and sugar get whisked together in a bowl. That’s it.

I highly recommend you make it the day before you’re going to eat it to let the flavors all mellow and balance with one another. It’s like a whole different dressing the next day!

Vegan Seitan

One of the other things you’ll need to prep ahead of time is your vegan seitan. I just used this tried-and-true recipe, and it worked beautifully. Once you bake it, you’ll let it cool, keep it wrapped, and pop it in the fridge to chill out overnight.

It’s 1000x easier to slice real thin once it’s cold, and real thin slices are the name of the game when you’re trying to make a vegan reuben!

Vegan Cheese

Okay. I’m making this ingredient optional. Why? I really don’t like it. At least: I haven’t found a vegan cheese I actually like.

The texture just always seems off to me, as well as the flavor. I made this vegan reuben with vegan cheese for the photos, but I made it every other time without. I don’t feel like I’m missing anything by leaving it off.

Sauerkraut

Hello my lil fermented friend! I love sauerkraut so much. It’s tangy and crunchy and such a nice, cool element against all of your other warm ingredients.

Pro tip: I highly suggest you go heavy-handed when it comes to sauerkrauting your reuben. Trust me.

Oh how I love this roasty toasty, texture explosion of a sandwich. Truly will be on repeat all summer long.

Hope you love it, too!

The post Vegan Seitan Reuben appeared first on Fooduzzi.

And today is the day!! 

If you’re not quite sure what you’re looking at, my guess is that you’ve never been to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

That’s alright. I love you anyway.

A Primanti’s Sandwich is the food anthem of this city. And if you can’t already tell from the pictures, it’s a complete hot mess of a sandwich.

If you’re sitting there thinking, “What in the heck is Alexa doing right now,” I get it. This is so not “Fooduzzi food.”

In fact, quite the opposite.

But I make exceptions for nostalgic foods. And there is none more nostalgic than the Primanti’s Sandwich.

Some of my most vivid food memories growing up were at Primanti’s. At the outlet mall with my mom, at a Pens game, with my co-workers in high school…

If you ever come to the city and ask a random Pittsburgher for the one place you should eat while you’re here, 99.9% of the time you’ll get the same answer: Primanti’s. And the other .1% is lying.

It is Pittsburgh in food form, and I couldn’t be more proud that this pile of complete and total madness is what we’re talking about today.

If you couldn’t already guess, Primanti’s the kind of place where even the bread isn’t vegan. But that’s okay.

I’ve got your back.

As sacrilegious as it might seem to the most die-hard yinzer, we’re making Primanti’s vegan. And I pinky promise you that it’s going to be the perfect substitute to this Steel City staple.

By definition, a typical Primanti’s Sandwich is made up of two thick slices of Italian white bread, a huge ol’ pile of meat, cheese, french fries, coleslaw, and tomatoes. Yes, all on one sandwich.

You can add eggs, you can substitute the meat, but if you go there, you’re getting some variation on the classic equation.

To vegan it, we’re (surprisingly) keeping most of it: light and fluffy Italian bread, a vinegar-based slaw, crispy fried fries, and tomatoes. To make it easy, I bought frozen fries from Whole Foods. Feel free to fry your own. Or you can bake them! I really love this recipe.

And then comes the meat. Remember that recipe of the extremely unphotogenic log of seitan I shared last week? Yep. Slice it paper thin. So thin it’s practically one-sided. And pile it high on your sammich.

I like adding hot sauce to my sandwich (they use Red Devil; I used Franks), but eat it as-is for the quintessential Pittsburgh experience, made vegan in your very own home.

I can’t exactly tell you why this recipe works, but it does. The tangy slaw, the salty fries, and the meaty seitan are the perfect complements to soft white bread.

It’s a mess, but a big beautiful Pittsburgh-flavored mess. And I love it.

So make this Vegan Primanti’s Sandwich. Be a Pittsburgher for a day. We’d be honored to have you as our neighbor.

The post Vegan Primanti’s Sandwich appeared first on Fooduzzi.

If this doesn’t get you mucho excited for summer, I don’t know what will.

In theory, I love veggie burgers.

Toppings for days, delectable sauces, toasty buns, and a thick and chewy burger ? pretty much the best thing ever, right?

Right. But does it turn out that way all the time? Not so much.

While the toppings, sauces, and buns are usually fine, your regular ol’ veggie burger typically falls flimsy and flat. Bleh.

You may recall that we ended up at by CHLOE. when I went to Boston a few weeks ago. There, we had some veggie burgers. Mushy, mediocre, very…meh veggie burgers.

The toppings? Awesome. Liz ordered a Guacamole Burger that was full of salsa, guac, tortilla chips, and more. Fab idea.

But the actual burger in the mix? Totally a letdown IMO.

This subpar burger experience got me thinking: why can’t we have epic toppings and an equally (if not more) epic burger?

Well, friends. We can! And we shall!

Vegan Guacamole Crunch Burgers. MY new favorite thing at the moment. Super easy to throw together, and way way delicious and satisfying.

Is there anything more satisfying than sinking your teeth into a good burger? No way, josé.

I based these chickpea-based burgers off of my Vegan Curry Chickpea Burgers, which, not to toot my own horn or anything, Mark constantly calls his “favorite vegan burger of all-time.”

And it’s because: 1. the flavors and 2. the texture. This ain’t no flat, lifeless veggie burger. Nada. They are chunky and “meaty” and chewy and perfect in every way. That’s thanks, in part, to the addition of cashews (you can also use almonds) to the mix. They soften just enough, but they add a wonderful chewiness to the burger that makes it so…burgery. I love it!

So we piggy-backed off of that recipe with some Mexican flavors like cumin, chili powder, smoked paprika, and dried oregano. Form into patties and set aside.

Then, the creme de la creme: the toppings.

Are you ready for this? Toasted buns, vegan chipotle aioli, tomato, lettuce, guacamole, and…potato chips. Yeah, kind of overboard, but MAN. So good. The crunch of those chips? Totally unnecessary and necessary in every way. Not sponsored, but I am hella obsessed with these (affiliate link). Plus, they’re pretty!

You will love these burgers. Like so much.

I mean, how could you pass up an excuse to eat chips and burgers together for dinner? I know I surely couldn’t.

The post Vegan Guacamole Crunch Burgers appeared first on Fooduzzi.

But I’m super excited about today because…this sandwich!

I know, I don’t really post many sandwich recipes. I think I’ve posted one tbh. But sandwiches were a favorite of mine back in the day.

Little ol’ Alexa would have her way with sandwiches every day for lunch and sometimes for dinner (grilled cheese and tomato soup was a fave!). Put anything between two slices of bread and I.was.in.

That said, when I started on my gluten free / vegetarian health kick, sandwiches fell by the wayside.

But now? I’m slowly getting in the sandwich groove once again, and I’m totally lovin’ it.

And what a better way to do that than with this Rainbow Veggie Sandwich from The Pretty Dish (affiliate link)!!

The Pretty Dish (affiliate link) is the marvelous second cookbook from Jessica from How Sweet Eats. Fun fact: she’s also from Pittsburgh! Other fun fact: I used to work for her!

I had always looked up to Jessica. Ever since starting my blogging “journey.”

She is one of the hardest working person I know. Raising two small kids, running her own business with employees, and posting every day (sometimes multiple times per day) on her blog? Superwoman in blogger form. It’s crazy.

And she’s helpful. Like when I text her at 10:30 pm asking for blogging advice, she’s always willing to help.

That might have happened this week. ?

And this cookbook is just magnificent! Each recipe is so beautifully styled and photographed, and the flavors of each dish are really something special. While most of the book is not vegan or vegetarian, a lot of the recipes can be made vegan or vegetarian with a few adaptions. Plus, there are beauty DIYs that I can’t wait to try out!

One of those already-vegetarian options? This sandwich! This gloriously colorful sandwich!

The ingredient list is…a bit long for a sandwich. But SO good and necessary. I couldn’t believe how well all of these flavors worked together; the tang from the pickled radishes, the sweetness from the roasted sweet potato and peppers, the herbaciousness from the “cheese” spread…Mark and I fan-girled over this combo hard.

A prep tip: prepare your pickled radishes, roasted sweet potato, and roasted peppers the night before. That’s what I did, and the sandwiches came together in no time.

And in typical Alexa form, I made a few adaptations: I skipped the goat cheese spread and made my Cashew Ricotta instead, and I couldn’t find purple sweet potato, so I just used orange.

And you know what? It still came out awesome.

Congrats on this amazing book, Jessica!

And friends, I hope you love this sandwich as much as we did. Mark and I both devoured it less than 5 minutes after I was done shooting, so…

ps. Affiliate links were used in this post. That means if you click the link and purchase through that link, Fooduzzi will get some moolah at no cost to you. Kinda cool, right? Thanks for supporting more plant-based yum on the blog!

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