Healthier Tempeh Reuben.

Feeling like our Thursday needs a sandwich.

More specifically, a giant healthier tempeh reuben. Or really, a vegetarian and almost vegan, reuben inspired sandwich. Ahh, what? Let me explain. Basically this sandwich is simple. I took all the flavors of a classic reuben, and adapted them to be healthier and lighter. I removed the meat, but not the cheese. 🙂 You all know that leaving off the swiss was just not an option for me. Everything else layered between these two pieces of bread is one hundred percent perfectly vegetarian and even vegan friendly.

I am not a vegan. I mean, obviously, but I am loving having fun experimenting with vegan recipes this month, and this reuben is one of my favorites. The idea came from my family, as a lot of the recipes this month have. Lyndsie was telling me all about a tempeh reuben she had at a restaurant, I think it was in San Fransisco? Anyway, she said it was one of the best sandwiches ever and that I really needed to try to recreate it. Apparently it was layered with cashew cheese, tempeh, vegan cheese, sauerkraut, and 1000 island dressing. To be brutally honest, listening to her explain the sandwich did not excite me at all. I’m not a fan of tofu too much, so I figured I wouldn’t like tempeh. I explained all this and then Lyn’s said that there’s also a brown rice tempeh. When I heard that I was sold.

Something about the brown rice sounded really appealing, so I picked up a whole bunch at Whole Foods and got started building my own tempeh reuben.

I decided to marinate the tempeh in soy sauce, black pepper, and mustard seeds. I wanted the salty soy to help flavor the tempeh. Once the tempeh has marinated for a bit, all you do is pan fry it in a skillet. It’s surprisingly delicious and I think the salty soy really helps, especially if you’re someone who is new to tempeh.

From here, it’s time to build up this sandwich…

…toasted rye bread: find a good whole grain rye bread, mine was seeded, which was delish. Also, I like to use organic butter, which many people are saying is healthy for us…going with it.

…cashew cheese: possibly the most addicting thing ever. It’s not a must for the sandwich since there is already a lot going on, BUT it’s definitely a must try. It’s great as a dip or spread and perfect for making healthy, cheese free sandwiches or sauces.

…marinated, pan-fried tempeh: the perfect meat substitute for a hearty sandwich.

…sauerkraut: I bought mine at the grocery store, but also threw in some shredded, sautéed brussels sprouts…because those are my favorite.

…swiss cheese: a must for me, but if you are vegan, just use extra cashew cheese.

…healthier 1000 island dressing: zero mayo or other incredibly weird ingredients here. I used tahini, flavored with spicy chili paste, in place of the mayo. I’ve never actually had real deal 1000 island dressing, but whatever I created tastes pretty darn good, so I’m going with this too.

…and DONE.

Kind of a loaded sandwich though, right? And I’m not really sure how much it resembles, or even tastes like a true reuben, but just know that it’s super good and a much healthier sandwich option, which I am thinking we can all get on board with!

SIDE NOTE: my brother Creighton is going to be incredibly disgusted with me when he finds out I made a meat free Reuben. He might even disown me for a quick second. Ahh, sorry Creigh, but it had to be done.

Perfect for a fancy ass Thursday lunch or a quick and easy dinner. I highly recommend serving this up with a side of pickles, and maybe even some homemade oven baked french fries? Yes and YUM. Either way you serve it, it’s going to be good.

PS. apparently the pickle was my first ever solid food. My mom gave me my first one on a trip to Washington DC to shut me up while I was teething. I guess that was just the first of many, because I ate them all the time when I was younger. Somehow that changed over the years, seems I only eat now them when they come on the side of my plate at a restaurant…gotta change that!

Question: are you a slice down the center or slice at an angle kind of person? Me? depends on my mood…and the sandwich.