You know those days when you are craving something cheesy and comforting, but you can't decide between a pizza or a sandwich? Well, how about you have both with this Vegetable packed Pizza Sandwich? Crunchy peppers, garlicky pizza sauce and covered in cheese in a sandwich. It's what dreams are made of.
Lunchtime never has to be boring again. This is a great fridge raid sandwich, as it's easy to adapt with whatever bread, cheese and vegetables you have on hand. All the flavours of a pizza in a deliciously comforting sandwich that can be nutrient dense too.
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Why should you try it?
- An exciting new sandwich option
- Saves making a whole pizza
- Kids love it
- Easy to adapt
- Can be packed with vegetables.
What you will need
- Bread - You could use any bread for this, but sourdough is our preference. Tiger loaf slices work well, or you could even make a pizza bagel or panini.
- Tomato puree (paste) - This is a great time saving option, but you could use a pizza sauce instead, or even BBQ sauce to add extra flavour.
- Garlic - Use pre crushed garlic in a jar if you prefer.
- Oregano - You can use a mixture of dried oregano and basil.
- Olive oil
- Bell peppers
- Cheese slices - We used Emmental for this, as it adds a lovely creamy and nutty flavour. But you could use any cheese that melts well.
- Beef tomato
- Rocket lettuce (arugula) - you could swap this for spinach.
Step by Step
One: In a bowl, mix together the tomato puree, garlic, salt, pepper and oregano.
Two: Add the oil to a pan and add the mixed peppers. Gently cook for 3-4 minutes until softened.
Three: Spread the tomato sauce on 2 of the bread slices then top the bread with the cooked peppers.
Four: Add the cheese slices on top and put them under the grill for 3-4 minutes until melted.
Five: Top with tomato slices and add rocket lettuce.
Six: Top with other slices of bread and serve.
Pizza sauce
We wanted this pizza to be as easy as possible, so we just spread some tomato puree on the bread and let all the other flavours shine though. However, if you want that more authentic pizza flavour, then you could use a more traditional pizza sauce.
You could even use a really good quality BBQ sauce instead, or our Healthy Homemade BBQ Sauce, to add a nice sweet and smokey flavour to it.
What vegetables can you add?
These Vegetable Pizza Sandwiches are packed full of vegetables, so you can make your favourite comfort foods that little bit healthier, and we could all do with some more vitamins and minerals in our life, right? We are all about the colourful meals and this is bursting with colour.
We added bell peppers and rocket lettuce, but this sandwich is easy to adapt with whatever you have on hand. You could add mushrooms and courgettes and swap the rocket lettuce for other greens like spinach or even crunchy romaine.
How to adapt
Apart from adding different vegetables, there are other ways that you can adapt these too. Can't have a meal without meat in it? This pizza sandwich is a good way to use up some leftover roast meat, so shred up some chicken (from our Slow Cooker Whole Chicken) and add it before you put the cheese on.
Speaking of cheese, you can use lots of different cheese in this recipe. We went with slices of Emmantal, but mature cheddar or mozzarella work well.
How to cook it
We put the halves of the sandwich under the grill to melt everything. However, you could put it all in a sandwich toaster or even cook it in a pan with a little bitter - that would make the outside of the bed get nice and crispy and golden.
Frequently Asked Questions
This is a delicious meat free sandwich, however if you wanted to add some meat then there are lots of options. Shredded chicken works well, or you could go with some more traditional meaty pizza toppings like chorizo, pepperoni or salami.
These are best made fresh, otherwise they will go soggy when stored. So try to only make as much as you need, to avoid waste.
If you don't have a grill to put these under, then you can form the sandwiches and gently cook them on a griddle pan. But really careful when turning them over, so everything doesn't fall out.
Extra tips
- Don't like the peppery taste of rocket? Swap it for spinach for an iron boost.
- We used Emmantal cheese in this recipe, but you could use mature cheddar or mozzarella instead.
- Feel free to swap the vegetables to use what you have, or what you prefer. Mushrooms and courgettes work well.
- If you feel the need to add meat to this, add some shredded cooked chicken just before adding the cheese.
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Recipe
Vegetable Pizza Sandwich
Ingredients
- 4 slices Sourdough bread
- 4 tbsp Tomato puree
- 2 Garlic clove crushed
- 1 tbsp Oregano
- 1 pinch Sea salt and Black pepper
- 1 tsp Olive oil
- 1 Yellow bell pepper sliced
- 1 Red bell pepper sliced
- 2 g Cheese slices
- 1 Beef tomato sliced
- 2 handful Rocket (arugula) lettuce
Instructions
- In a bowl, mix together the tomato puree, garlic, salt, pepper and oregano.
- Add the oil to a pan and add the mixed peppers. Gently cook for 3-4 minutes until softened.
- Spread the tomato sauce on 2 of the bread slices. Top the bread with the cooked peppers and cheese.
- Put them under the grill for 3-4 minutes until melted.
- Top with tomato slices and rocket.
- Finish with other slices of bread and serve.
Notes
- Don't like the peppery taste of rocket? Swap it for spinach for an iron boost.
- We used Swiss cheese in this recipe, but you could use mature cheddar or mozzarella instead.
- Feel free to swap the vegetables to use what you have, or what you prefer. Mushrooms and courgettes work well.
- If you feel the need to add meat to this, add some shredded cooked chicken just before adding the cheese.
Whitney James
I'm going to transition to veggie soon and this little recipe looks lush x
Natasha Mairs
oh, these look and sound really nice! Will be trying these out with the kids.
Mary
These look gooood! A great twist on a regular sandwich. I must admit I do tend to eat pizza with a knife and fork but this is a lunch to pick up and enjoy getting messy with! ;)
Maria @ runningcupcake
It looks delicious! Although I am one of those people who eats pizza with a knife and fork- I really hate picking up food with my fingers, so even things like a burger I will cut up and eat with a knife and fork!
Sally Akins
Yum!! This looks like just the sort of thing I'd enjoy at lunchtime - one of the great things about working from home is being able to cook something like this!
Rachel
This looks just amazing and I bet it is just so filling x
Sam B
What a fabulous idea! These look amazing and perfect for kids that are fussy (Like mine)
Tanya Brannan
This looks absolutely scrummy and so very easy! I will be trying it soon
Kira
Sounds delicious! I always love it when you can incorporate pizza into things!
Helen Costello
If you did manage to take these sandwiches to work, they would be the envy of the office! We use loads of pizza sauce for snacks for the kids but they are normally in tiny jars - Tins are so much better for large families.
Life as Mum
This looks so tasty! Never done these before.
Manali@CookWithManali
What a delicious looking sandwich, yum!
WhatLauraLoves
Ooh yummy, these look so tasty! I love pizza so a pizza style sandwich is right up my street! xxx
Harriet from Toby & Roo
Yum yum yum! I love the idea of a pizza sandwich :)
Anna @AnnaTheApple
Omg this is amazing. Probably very messy (in my case most foods are messy because generally I'm so clumsy and I'm too concerned with lobbing food into my mouth to care about grace and elegance - what a girl, eh?). Sounds delicious!!
tp keane
who doesn't love pizza and sandwiches... winner.
Jess
Oh no, you can't eat pizza with a knife and fork - it's just wrong! I'm all about the fingers for pizza. Love this idea, too!