Roasted Eggplant Sandwiches with Vegan Arugula Walnut Pesto
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These Roasted Eggplant Sandwiches with Vegan Arugula Walnut Pesto are packed with roasted red peppers, eggplant, fresh arugula and pesto mayo.
It is officially SPRING people! Which in my mind means pesto, pesto, pesto. Ok, I guess it also means fresh, green veggies. But also…PESTO!
And this arugula walnut pesto mayo is what takes this sandwich from an “eh” to a “HELL YA”. It is zesty, creamy, hearty and fresh. You are going to want to put this on EVERY sandwich, like, for the rest of your life.
Now, an important part of any good sandwich is of course, the bread. And I went with my all time fave – sourdough. Not just any sourdough. A loaf of sourdough. You know, the kind you cut yourself. This way you can cut some nice, thick slices.
You can obviously swap out the sourdough for something different. My second choice would definitely be ciabatta!
For the eggplant, you can either roast it like I did, or, in the warmer months, throw it right on the grill for a more charred flavor.
These sandwiches are completely addicting and got me super excited for Spring!
Roasted Eggplant Sandwiches with Vegan Arugula Walnut Pesto
Ingredients
FOR THE ROASTED EGGPLANT
- 1 eggplant sliced in 1/2″ rounds
- 1-2 tbsp olive oil
- salt & pepper to taste
FOR THE ARUGULA WALNUT PESTO MAYO
- 1 cup arugula
- 1 cup basil
- 1/3 cup walnuts unsalted
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/2 lemon juiced
- salt & pepper to taste
- 3 tbsp vegan mayo
FOR THE SANDWICHES
- 1 loaf sourdough bread cut in 8 slices & toasted
- 8 oz jar roasted red peppers drained & patted dry
- 2 cups arugula
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Place your sliced eggplant on a cutting board and sprinkle with salt.* Allow to sit until the oven is done preheating. Wipe the salt (and the liquid released) off of the eggplant slices with a paper towel or clean kitchen towel. Place them on the baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil, salt & pepper. Place in the oven for 20 minutes, flipping halfway.
- While the eggplant is cooking, prepare the pesto mayo. Combine the arugula, basil, walnuts and garlic in a food processor. Pulse until combined, scraping down the sides as needed. Add the olive oil, lemon juice, salt & pepper and pulse until smooth. Taste and adjust as needed. Spoon the pesto into a bowl and add the mayo. Stir to combine and place in the fridge until ready to use.
- To assemble the sandwiches. Spread a layer of pesto mayo on 4 slices of bread. Top with roasted red peppers, arugula and eggplant. Top with remaining slices of bread – you can add another layer of pesto mayo to the top slice of bread too, if you’re feeling adventurous. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
This post may contain affiliate links. If you click on one and make a purchase I will receive a small percentage of the sale. Please know I would never link a product unless I have personally used it and loved it!
If you make any of these recipes be sure to snap a photo + post it + and tag #thissavoryvegan and @thissavoryvegan!
Made this last night and we all loved it!! The arugula pesto puts it over the top and was so easy to make, even with roasting fresh red peppers.
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Really enjoyed this the first time around and about to make it again! We grill the eggplant since it’s too hot to turn on the oven.
I like the way you’re thinking – I have been on the same page!
These sandwiches are so tasty. I’ve made them for dinner twice in the last week! The pesto mayo is so good!
I have made buffalo cauliflower a long while ago and it came out overcooked and mushy. This one was the perfect amount of cooked while still having that crunch you want with your veggies.. Already have plans to make them again. However next time I think I will make them into a wrap to make it easier to hold and eat.
These are so tasty. I double the recipe so we can have leftoers, we just reheat the eggplant in a skillet.