Veggie Bagel Sandwiches
You’re going to love this veggie bagel sandwich! It’s simple to make, absolutely delicious, and packed with garden fresh vegetables like tomatoes, cucumbers, and red onion. The sandwich gets a little tangy zip with a healthy dose of stone ground mustard and peppery arugula. It’s the perfect summer sandwich that will leave you feeling full and satisfied!
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Back when I lived in Boulder, CO, there was a fairly new bagel place that was extremely popular. It was not only known for its fresh, homemade New York style bagels all the East coast transplants longed for, but for the amazing breakfast and lunch sandwiches they put on those soft, delicious bagels. Seriously, it was so good the line was always out the door, and you needed to get there before they ran out of bagels!
My favorite sandwich was the veggie-lover’s delight on a soft, fresh everything bagel. Onion bagel if they were out of the everything, for anyone interested. The combination of crisp lettuce and firm tomato, peppery arugula, sweet roasted red peppers, tangy red onions and pickles all nestled between those soft bagel halves and slathered with a generous amount of spicy brown mustard was an absolute delight for the taste buds.
It’s also filling without weighing you down. I particularly loved this as a pre-hike sandwich or as a take-along option for a day hike. But some days, I’d just get the sandwich and chips and people watch the line-waiters who anxiously waited to see if they’d arrived too late, constantly looking at their watches and hoping.
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Why We Love This Garden Vegetable Sandwich
- It’s a fresh, filling sandwich that is perfect for either lunch or dinner.
- It’s a great, easy, make-ahead meal for lunch out in the park or at the beach.
- It just tastes SO good! Really! Even B eats all her veggies with this sandwich!
Whether you’re going on a hike, heading to the skate park, or just sitting around the pool, you’re going to love this sandwich too. It’s easy to make, super versatile to personal tastes, and absolutely delicious. And again, it doesn’t weigh you down or leave you feeling bloated or bogged down.
Ingredients in Veggie Bagel Sandwich
To make the bagel sandwich itself, you’ll need just 8 plant-based ingredients:
- Everything bagels – You can make our homemade vegan bagels (always fun!) or buy your favorite at the store or bakery. Always check ingredients to be sure the bagels you’re buying are vegan-friendly.
- Stone ground mustard – We like to use Organicville stone ground mustard for this!
- Greens – spring mix and baby arugula
- Roasted red peppers – if you are using roasted red peppers from a jar, get the ones jarred in water not oil.
- FRESH VEGGIES – Tomato, red onion, cucumber
- Pickle slices – Use store-bought pickles or make your own no-cook refrigerator pickles!
A few optional toppings we like include:
- Smoked paprika or cayenne pepper
- Hot or sweet pepper rings
- Plain or pickled jalapenos
- Spinach or fresh garden herbs
Substitution Options
If you don’t have or can’t tolerate one of the above ingredients, here are our best substitution tips. Remember though, substituting any of the ingredients may lead to a varied degree of difference in the final product. Let us know in the comments if you try any subs and how they work out for you!
For the mustard: If spicy or stoneground mustard isn’t your thing, you can use yellow mustard. If you don’t like mustard at all, vegan cream cheese, herbed cashew cheese, or our vegan goat cheese would all be really good to switch it up a bit. Hummus is also a great option that will help give an extra boost of plant protein.
For the greens: Other lettuces or greens can be used if you don’t like mixed salad greens. Shredded iceberg lettuce or spinach is great if that’s all you got or want. I also really like fresh sprouts for their natural pepperiness if I can’t find baby arugula. Have fun with available options.
For the roasted red peppers: You can use fresh red, or yellow or green, bell peppers. If you are using raw peppers, I recommend cutting them into rings instead of slices. This will help them stay on the sandwich better since they aren’t as soft as their roasted counterparts.
For the veggies: I prefer red onion for this sandwich because of its mildly spicy-sweet flavor. You can also use yellow or white onion slices if you want something sweeter. And raw green squash rounds are actually a surprisingly nice alternative to cucumbers.
Bagel Options
You can switch up to any bagel you like, though I would recommend sticking to the savory flavors. This sandwich is also really good on a long roll or in a pita if a bagel sandwich is a bit too much for you. I’ve never had it on regular “sandwich bread”, but feel like I wouldn’t recommend it.
How to Make This Vegetarian Sandwich Recipe
These veggie bagel sandwiches are so easy to make. From start to finish (including chopping!), it takes no more than 15 minutes.
- Prep the bread: Slice and lightly toast the bagel to soften it if needed or if that’s your personal preference
- Prep the greens: Combine the lettuce and arugula and roughly chop.
- Add the mustard: Spread 1 tablespoon of mustard on the inside top and bottom of each bagel.
- Add the greens: Lightly place half of the lettuce mix on the bottom half of the bagels.
- Layer the rest: Place the sliced red peppers on the bed of lettuce and top this with the cucumber, tomato, red onion, and pickle slices. Repeat for the other sandwich.
- Finish the sandwich: Cover the sandwiches with the top half of the bagel and use a proper knife to slice the sandwiches in half. I like a bread knife or a long serrated blade for doing a clean job on these.
How to Serve These 15-Minute Veggie Sandwiches
Serve these veggie bagel sandwiches with a side of your favorite chips! I personally love corn chips or thick-cut potato chips with this sandwich.
Other serving ideas: Cast Iron Potato Wedges or french fries would be nice if you’re looking for something more substantial. A side salad with vegan caesar, dairy free ranch, or homemade Italian dressing could also be nice if you’re looking for something lighter.
How to Store Leftover Vegan Bagel Sandwich
This sandwich, once it’s made, is good for about 1 day when stored properly. You can make it ahead if you plan to eat it within a day. But it is at its best eaten within a few hours of being made.
If you want sandwiches for the next day, I recommend just doing the prep work of slicing the veggies, etc the night before and making the sandwich real quick and fresh in the morning.
More Easy Vegan Lunch Recipes
- White Bean Toona Sandwich
- Avocado Chickpea Mash Sandwich
- Mediterranean Hummus Wrap
- Vegan Chickpea Bacon Ranch Wrap
- Vegan Goat Cheese and Blueberry Sandwich
…so I just did a Google search and realized the name of the bagel place is Moe’s Broadway Bagels, and not only are they still open, it has become a staple in Boulder. They just celebrated the 30th anniversary of their first store that opened in 1992 and now have seven stores in the area and quite a larger menu. Congratulations and thanks for all the great sandwiches and memories!
If you make this veggie bagel sandwich, we’d love to hear all about it! Tag us in your photos on Instagram @theplantpowercouple with the “the” Or you can leave a rating and comment in the section below. Hope you enjoy it!
Easy Vegan Bagel Sandwich
Ingredients
- 2 everything bagels
- 1/4 cup stone ground mustard
- 1 cup spring mix
- 1/2 cup baby arugula
- 1/4 cup sliced roasted red pepper
- 6-8 thin slices tomato
- 2-4 thin slices red onion
- 2-4 thin slices cucumber
- 2-4 large pickle slices
Optional Toppings
- Smoked paprika or cayenne pepper
- Hot or sweet pepper rings
- Plain or pickled jalapenos
- Spinach
Instructions
- Lightly toast the bagel to soften it if needed or if that’s your personal preference
- Combine the lettuce and arugula and roughly chop.
- Slice the bagels in half and spread 1 tablespoon of mustard on the inside top and bottom of each.
- Lightly place half of the lettuce mix on the bottom half of the bagels.
- Place the sliced red peppers on the bed of lettuce and top this with the cucumber, tomato, red onion, and pickle slices. Repeat for the other sandwich.
- Cover the sandwiches with the top half of the bagel and use a proper knife to slice the sandwiches in half.
- Serve with corn chips or potato chips.
Nutrition
Watch our Simple Cold Vegetarian Sandwiches web story!
