These veggie sandwiches are jam-packed with hearty roasted broccoli, juicy bell peppers and mushrooms, then slathered in creamy to-die-for avocado aioli. Easy, vegan, delicious, and perfect for lunch or dinner!
We've all been there: you're at a restaurant with friends or family and the only thing on the menu you can eat is some boring veggie sandwich. Raw veggies, no dressing and very little flavor. Such a bummer.
But don't let that ruin all veggie sandwiches for you! These suckers here are anything but boring.
A good sandwich isn't just about the fillings, but also about the dressings. These particular roasted vegetable sandwiches are all about the aioli. Avocado basil roasted garlic aioli, that is. SO GOOD! Truth be told, I really just came up with the sandwiches as a vehicle for the aioli, which I've been eating by the spoonful all week.
Let's talk about how this sandwich is made!
Roast the Garlic
Knowing how to roast some garlic is obviously important to making aioli that has roasted garlic as one of the main ingredients.
Start with a couple of nice-sized garlic bulbs. Yes, we're using whole garlic bulbs. I always get a reader or two who thinks I'm nuts for using a whole bulb (or in this case, two) in a recipe. Sounds crazy, but it works with roasted garlic, because roasting mellows the flavor so much.
Grab a nice sharp knife and carefully cut the tops off of your garlic bulbs. You should be able to see the tops of all those little garlic cloves in there.
Next, place each of your garlic bulbs on a sheet of foil (or on the base of a garlic-roaster, if you're anti-foil) and drizzle them with olive oil.
Loosely close up the foil and roast until the cloves are soft and browned.
Roast the Veggies
While you've got the oven on, get started on roasting your veggies. They cook up a bit quicker than the garlic, so you can start prepping them after the garlic is in.
Chop the veggies and arrange them on a baking sheet. Rub them with oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and pop them into the oven. Let them cook until they're tender and starting to brown.
Make the Aioli
Once your garlic is out of the oven and has had some time to cool, you can make your aioli.
Place some avocado, lemon juice, and salt into a food processor bowl. Now grab one of your roasted garlic bulbs and squeeze it to extract the roasted garlic. It'll be super soft, and maybe even mushy — that's good! Place the roasted garlic into the food processor bowl and blend away.
Add your basil and thin the mixture with some non-dairy milk. Use as much milk as you like — less will give you a thicker, mayo-like aioli, while more will give you something you can drizzle over your sandwiches.
Assemble the Veggie Sandwiches
Slather the inside of some rolls or baguette sections (optionally toasted) with aioli, and stuff them with the roasted veggies.
These sandwiches are best eaten right away while the veggies are hot and the aioli is fresh.
FAQ & Roasted Veggie Sandwich Making Tips
- Feel free to switch things up by using different veggies. Cauliflower, eggplant, and zucchini would all be delicious!
- Can these sandwiches be made gluten-free? Yup! Just use your favorite gluten-free rolls.
- How long with the aioli keep once it's made? That really depends on how fresh your avocados are — the fresher, the better! I used just-ripe ones for these sandwiches and the aioli stayed green in a sealed container in the fridge for 2 days. It might have kept longer, but it all got eaten by then.
- For an extra hearty vegan sandwich, add some vegan cheese or plant-based protein. Mozzarella shreds would be an excellent topper. I've also made these with some sliced up Field Roast Italian sausage mixed in with the veggies, and they were excellent!
- How can I reduce the fat/calories in this recipe? Most of the fat come from the aioli, so using less of that will lower both the fat and calories. You can also use less olive oil (cut it by no more than half) to lower the fat and calories, or a smaller roll to reduce the calories.
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Roasted Veggie Sandwiches with Garlic Avocado Aioli
These veggie sandwiches are jam-packed with hearty roasted broccoli, juicy bell peppers and mushrooms, then slathered in creamy to-die-for avocado aioli. Easy, vegan, delicious, and perfect for lunch or dinner!
Ingredients
For the Roasted Garlic Aioli
- 2 medium garlic bulbs
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 ripe avocados
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- ¾ teaspoons salt, or to taste
- ½ cup fresh basil leaves
- 3-4 tablespoons unsweetened non-dairy milk, as needed
For the Roasted Veggies
- 8 ounces cremini mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
- 1 medium broccoli crown, broken into florets
- 1 medium red bell pepper, sliced into strips
- 1 small onion, roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ teaspoon salt or to taste
- ½ teaspoon black pepper, or to taste
For the Sandwiches
- 4 (6 inch) sandwich rolls, sliced open and optionally toasted
- Fresh basil
- Red pepper flakes, optional
Instructions
To Roast the Garlic (for the Aioli)
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Preheat the oven to 425ºF.
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Use a sharp knife to cut the top off of each garlic bulb.
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Place each garlic bulb on a sheet of foil, then drizzle it with about ½ tablespoon of olive oil.
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Loosely close the foil to enclose the garlic.
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Bake the garlic until the cloves are soft and lightly browned, about 30 minutes.
To Roast the Veggies
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Line one large or 2 medium baking sheets with parchment paper.
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Arrange the veggies on the baking sheet(s).
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Drizzle the mushrooms with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and split the remaining tablespoon of oil evenly among the rest of the veggies.
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Gently rub the oil into the veggies to evenly coat them. Distribute them in even layers on the baking sheet(s), then sprinkle them with salt and pepper.
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Place the baking sheet(s) into the oven with the garlic, and roast the veggies until tender and browned in spots, about 20 minutes.
To Make the Aioli
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Remove the garlic from the oven when it has finished roasting, then open the foil and allow it to cool while you gather the rest of the ingredients for your aioli.
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Place the avocado, lemon juice, and salt into the bowl of a food processor fitted with an s-blade.
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Squeeze the garlic bulbs to extract the roasted garlic, then add the roasted garlic to the food processor bowl.
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Blend everything until smooth.
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Add the basil and thin with non-dairy milk to your desired thickness. Blend again until smooth.
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Taste-test and add more lemon juice and/or salt if you like.
To Assemble the Sandwiches
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Slather the insides of the rolls with aioli, then stuff with roasted veggies and sprinkle with basil and optionally red pepper flakes.
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Serve.
Oh, with French baguette, it looks delicious!
I love vegetables!
Love the aioli! Sounds absolutely delicious. I totally agree that sometimes all it takes is a snazzy sauce to make those veggies pop.
Looks so good! Any idea how long the aoli will keep?
Thank you! It should be good for a couple of days, but the avocado turns brown pretty quickly, so by day 2 it might not look that appetizing. You could try squeezing a little extra lemon juice on top and store it in a well sealed container to slow this process down.
This sandwich looks super awesome. Loved this garlic avocado aioli so much! :)
Just made this tonight for dinner. OMG! that aioli is heaven! I want to slather it on everything!
Awesome! I'm so glad you liked it - I felt the same way. Thanks Liz!
I made some veggie sandwiches just like that last week for a Sunday lunch. My aioli was done with avocado, roasted garlic, lemon and milk and basil, but I left the oil out. Nobody missed the oil and we had less calories. I do not cook with oil or fats. All meals come out just as good or better. Have been vegan for 20 years and follow Dr. McDougall and PRCM
Pretty much the same aioli! It really is a wonderful flavor combination!
Your recipes are always AMAAAAZING! I've got your recent email about Kid Friendly Vegan and I"m excited to be helping a Day Camp of kids (and rescued farm animals) make their own Vegan Lunches.Well, not the actual animals - they'll eat their usual lunches, but I wonder if this roasted Veg sandwich would work as a Grilled Sandwich? I also want to try your Grilled Almond Butter and Mango sandwiches. But this veggie one looks awesome too. Think it will Grill well? PS: We'll also be making good use of the Sprializer and veggie noodles - lots of fun!
Thanks Shirley! I'm so glad you're enjoying the recipes! I think this would work well grilled! I'd recommend chopping the veggies up extra small and keeping the aioli pretty think so that it binds the sandwich together. You could also use sliced vegan cheese to hold it together, if that's your thing. :) Enjoy!!
I always have to cook extra garlic, because I spread it on everything I can, abd also just eat it squeezed from the blove into my mouth. This aioli sounds perfect and we are in the midst of an avocado glut here in NZ so that is on tomorrow's list.
I usually make extra too - roasted garlic is so good! Enjoy!