Name: Vegetable Grilled Cheese
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients: 2 slices whole grain bread; 1 ounce provolone cheese; 1 ounce cheddar cheese; ½ zucchini; ¼ onion; ½ red bell pepper; 2 tbsp buffalo style cauliflower dip (choose any dip or spread you wish. These nutrition facts were based on a tzatziki dip.); olive oil spray

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Need to prioritize veggies but also craving a grilled cheese? You can have both! It’s important to add more vegetables to our meals but equally important to honor satisfaction. This recipe easily does both.

What You’ll Need

Whole grain bread
Red bell pepper
Zucchini
Your favorite cheeses (at least two)
Spread – By spread I mean some kind of sauce, dressing or cheesy spread.
- Whipped cream cheese, cheese spread, hummus, mustard, balsamic glaze, etc
- I love the hummus options at Aldi

How to Make

Raw vegetables are fine but for a better texture experience I recommend you sauté the vegetables in a small amount of olive or avocado oil until cooked. I added bell pepper, onion and zucchini. Feel free to choose any vegetables you like! See below for more veggie ideas.

For the perfect grilled cheese I recommend spreading a light amount of butter on the back of the bread. Alternatively, if you have a spritzer you can spritz the back of the bread with an olive or avocado oil instead.

Heat your pan for two to three minutes and add your spread to the bread. Lay the bread down, butter/oil side down, and add your toppings. Add more cheese and the other slice of bread.

Gently lift the sandwich after 5-7 minutes and see if it’s golden brown yet. If so, flip the sandwich by getting the full spatula under the sandwich, use your hand to keep it together and flip it quickly. Cook the other side and enjoy!

Nutrition Boosts

Looking to boost your nutrient intake? You could add protein sources to this sandwich in the form of animals or plants. Find a deli meat you like, mash or slice a hard boiled egg, or even mash up some chick peas (garbanzo beans) or black beans.

There’s still room for other nutrients such as quality fats. Sliced or mashed avocado could be the spread you add to or in addition to your vegetables. Hemp hearts can be sprinkled on or mixed into your spread. Lastly, using an olive oil as a spray for that golden crispy outer crust or as a drizzle on your cooked veggies will up your omega-3 consumption.

What Veggies Work Well On Sandwiches

If you can name it, there’s a way it can go on a sandwich! But how? For some vegetables such as zucchini, eggplant, squash or even potatoes I suggest thinly slicing them. For carrots, sweet potatoes / potatoes, or parsnips I’d recommend shredding them on the large side of a grater. If you wanted to try Brussels sprouts you could thinly slice them or use a food processor to grind them into a slaw-like texture.

Leafy greens are of course an easy add too! Use sandwiches as a way to try greens you wouldn’t normally eat.

Storage

Grilled sandwiches are best fresh, I won’t lie. However I have made a toasted sandwich, wrapped it well once cooled, and enjoyed it the next day for lunch.

Serving Suggestions

A sandwich can be a great, main part of a meal! I’m a fan of course of pairing it with some more plants like additional vegetables or a side salad. Fruit is another great pairing or heck, can even be added to a sandwich!

Other Recipes to Enjoy with a Sandwich