You guys are not ready for this recipe! It is too divine and beautiful not to share, and the best part is that it is all vegan! I am not vegan but have been cutting down on animal products for the past couple years. I don’t typically purchase vegan products because they are expensive, so I typically end up making my own, but I went on a vegan food haul recently and found some products to be surprisingly delicious. In all honesty, it was pretty difficult to distinguish that the products were vegan!

I created two types of grilled cheese sandwiches: a pesto, ricotta, and spinach sandwich as well as a cheddar and tomato sandwich. The vegan products I used in these sandwiches are:

• Kite Hill Ricotta Cheese
• Field Roast Tomato Cayenne Slices
• Vegan Pesto by the Minimalist Baker

 

 

Feel free to use other vegan cheese brands such as Daiya or Treeline, but I found these cheeses to work well in this flavor profile. Also if you are not vegan, feel free to use regular cheeses. For the pesto sandwich, you may find that using mozzarella or goat cheese is a good swap for ricotta and in the other sandwich, you may find meunster cheese to be better than cheddar. This is a sandwich, so unlike baking, there aren’t as many hard-cut rules.

For the type of bread to use, a harder bread without any animal products work best for grilled cheese since they do not get soggy and the crispiness complements the gooey interior perfectly. Ciabatta, sourdough, or Pullman breads are great options and they are naturally vegan. In this sandwich, I did not have any of those on hand so I used a simple whole wheat toast but from past experience, I know that a sturdy bread is the best type of bread to use. It seriously ups your grilled cheese game.

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Vegan Grilled Cheese Sandwich

yield: 1 sandwich

For pesto spinach Sandwich:

Ingredients:

• 2 slices bread
• 1/4 c. cooked frozen spinach and patted dry
• 1/4-1/3 c. vegan ricotta cheese (I used Kite Hill Ricotta Cheese)
• 2 tbsp. vegan pesto (I used Vegan Pesto by the Minimalist Baker)
• 1 tsp. margarine for buttering bread

Directions:

1. Spread pesto on one slice of the bread, and then layer on the ricotta cheese. Press the spinach on top and place the other bread on top.
2. Butter the pan on low heat and butter the top of the bread that will not be face down first on the pan. Place the sandwich on the pan and cover with a lid. Flip after 3-5 minutes or until the bottom is golden browned.
3. Flip the sandwich and cook for the same time or until the sandwich is golden brown.

For Tomato Cheddar Sandwich:

Ingredients:

• 2 slices bread
• 3 slices vegan cheddar cheese (I used Field Roast Tomato Cayenne Slices)
• 2 tbsp tomato sauce
• 1 tsp. margarine for buttering bread
• 1/4 c. cooked frozen spinach and patted dry

Directions:

1. Lay down two slices of cheddar cheese on the bread, add the tomato sauce and spinach, and then layer on the last slice of cheese on top.
2. Butter the pan on low heat and butter the top of the bread that will not be face down first on the pan. Place the sandwich on the pan and cover with a lid. Flip after 3-5 minutes or until the bottom is golden browned.
3. Flip the sandwich and cook for the same time or until the sandwich is golden brown.

Sandwiches taste the best freshly cooked with the cheese gooey, melty, and the bread toasted and buttered. The sandwiches to not store well and will become soggy so I do not recommend saving the sandwiches for later consumption.

Hope you guys are able to get around and make these sandwiches because they are so good and I bet they would taste even more delicious with a bowl of tomato soup! If you have any delicious, fun, or crazy sandwich combos you would like me to try, please leave a comment down below as I do love hearing from you all… Happy cooking!