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This quick and simple pan-fried sweet potato sandwich is loaded with texture and flavor and can be thrown together in under 15 minutes for a satisfying meat-free meal!
Quick, Simple, Nutrient-Packed Sweet Potato Sandwiches
If you’re a lover of carbs on carbs (like vegan pizza and fries or a vegan mac and cheese grilled cheese) and love the sweet and savory flavor of vibrant sweet potatoes – let us introduce you to this simple yet super satisfying sweet potato sandwich recipe.
This vegan sweet potato sandwich combines pan-fried sweet potato slices with tender garlic and onion loaded with salad veg like lettuce, tomato, and avocado, all slathered with vegan mayonnaise and mustard. The result is full of flavor and texture but made entirely of simple, inexpensive pantry ingredients in under 15 minutes!
Enjoy it for a quick meal, at picnics, in lunchboxes, and more – or check out other simple vegan sandwich ideas like our crispy buffalo tofu sandwich, pesto tofu sandwich, BBQ tempeh sandwich, or coffee rub portobello mushroom sandwich.
The Ingredients and Substitutes
The Sweet Potato Sandwich Filling
- Sweet potato: Use a medium sweet potato. Choosing one with a fairly even shape makes it easier to slice and fit in a sandwich.
- Olive oil: Or another neutral cooking oil, like avocado oil.
- Aromatics: Both garlic and onion (yellow, white, or red) help to add heaps of flavor to the sweet potato sandwich.
The Other Sandwich Ingredients
- Bread: We love using ciabatta rolls, but you can use your favorite rolls/bread instead.
- Vegetables: Add extra texture, freshness, and nutrients with a combination of:
- Avocado (rich and creamy element with healthy fats)
- Tomato (in slices)
- Lettuce (Romaine or Iceberg chopped or mini gem whole leaves add crunch. However, you could also use spinach, kale, arugula, or other leafy greens)
- Caramelized onions: (optional) The richness and flavor pairs perfectly.
- Sauces: (Optional) A combination of vegan mayonnaise and Dijon mustard (or regular yellow mustard) adds wonderful creamy, tangy, slightly spicy flavor and extra moisture. Garlic mayo (or aioli) would also work wonderfully.
What Else Could I Add to Sweet Potato Sandwiches?
- Gherkins/Pickles: For a sweet, tangy, crunchy addition.
- Beets: Regular or pickled, shredded or sliced for color, earthy flavor, and nutrients.
- Pesto: Use your favorite kind (like arugula pesto, sunflower seed basil pesto, or walnut pesto) for salty, herbal flavor and richness.
- Hummus: For extra moisture, protein, and a slight tang.
- Vegan cheese: A vegan spreadable blue cheese or salty, creamy whipped vegan feta would work well to contrast the sweetness of the sweet potatoes.
- Grilled vegetables: Like bell peppers, zucchini, eggplant, etc.
- Spices: To season the sweet potato, like smoked paprika or cayenne pepper.
If you want to make a sweet potato grilled cheese sandwich, replace the lettuce with spinach or kale and add some melty vegan cheese (like cheddar/mozzarella), then assemble and grill in a panini press or grill. Pesto works great in this, too.
How To Make Sweet Potato Sandwiches
Keep scrolling to the recipe card for the complete list of ingredients and recipe instructions.
- First, slice the potato into ½-inch thick lengthwise slices. Then peel and finely dice the onion and mince the garlic.
- Then, slice the tomato and avocado and chop the lettuce.
- Next, heat the oil (or a splash of water/broth) in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, sauté the onion and garlic for about 3 minutes, until the onion turns translucent and tender.
- Add the sweet potato, mix, and cook for several minutes until tender-crisp (or a little longer, until tender).
- To assemble the sweet potato sandwiches, cut the ciabatta rolls in half, then top with the sweet potato mixture, avocado, tomato slices, and lettuce. Optionally, top off with vegan mayonnaise, mustard, and some caramelized onions. Enjoy!
Enjoy the vegan sweet potato sandwich alone or alongside some fries/wedges, a side salad, crudites and dips (like hummus), quinoa salad, coleslaw, etc.
Recipe Notes and Tips
- Optionally toast the ciabatta: For a crisper texture.
- The cooking time varies: We prefer to cook the sweet potato until tender-crisp, but you can leave it longer for more tender results.
- Experiment with the seasonings: You can easily transform the overall flavor profile of the sweet potato sandwich by seasoning the sweet potato in different ways. E.g., curry powder/garam masala, Italian seasoning, chili or cayenne pepper and smoked paprika, fajita seasoning, BBQ seasoning, etc.
FAQs
Absolutely! In fact, roasted sweet potatoes will have even more caramelization. Simply spread on a baking tray and bake at 350F/180C for 15-20 minutes.
There’s no need, but you can if you aren’t a fan of the texture. We like to leave it for extra fiber and nutrients.
While an assembled sandwich would probably be fine for about a day, we prefer to simply make a large batch of the sweet potato filling to store in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days, then make the sandwiches fresh each time, adding the remaining ingredients.
Butternut squash or pumpkin have similar enough flavors and cooking times to work as great substitutes.
Storage Instructions
Once assembled, it’s best to enjoy the sweet potato sandwich as soon as possible before it gets soggy. However, if you wait for the potato-onion mixture to cool before assembling, you can store leftovers wrapped in the fridge for an extra day.
Any leftover sweet potato mixture will store in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-5 days.
More Vegan Sweet Potato Recipes
- Vegan mashed sweet potatoes
- Chickpea sweet potato boats
- Fully stuffed sweet potatoes
- Sweet potato enchiladas
- Sweet potato burritos
- Easy sweet potato fries
- Creamy sweet potato pasta sauce
- Sweet potato and kale salad
Or browse through our entire collection of vegan sweet potato recipes here!
Photos by Alfonso Revilla
Sweet Potato Sandwich
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 small-medium sweet potato
- ½ tablespoon of olive oil
- ½ cup diced red, white, or yellow onion
- 3 garlic cloves
- 2 ciabatta rolls (or your favorite rolls)
- 1 avocado, sliced
- 1 tomato, sliced
- ½ head romaine lettuce, chopped
- Vegan mayonnaise (optional)
- Dijon mustard (optional)
- Caramelized onions (optional)
Instructions
- Slice the sweet potato lengthwise into ½-inch slices.
- In a medium pan over medium-high heat, heat the olive oil (or water). Add the onion and garlic and saute for 3 minutes or until the onion becomes tender and translucent.
- Add the sweet potato and mix so it can absorb the onion and garlic flavor. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes.
- Cut the ciabatta rolls in half lengthwise. Top with the sweet potato mixture, avocado, tomato, and lettuce. Optionally add the vegan mayo, dijon, and carmelized onions.
Notes
- Optionally toast the ciabatta: For a crisper texture.
- The cooking time varies: We prefer to cook the sweet potato until tender-crisp, but you can leave it longer for more tender results.
- Experiment with the seasonings: You can easily transform the overall flavor profile of the sweet potato sandwich by seasoning the sweet potato in different ways. E.g., curry powder/garam masala, Italian seasoning, chili or cayenne pepper and smoked paprika, fajita seasoning, BBQ seasoning, etc.
A little confused by this as sweet potato has a lot longer cooking time than onions so by cooking it in the order mentioned my onions burnt. Next time I would cook the onion & garlic and then remove them from the pan to cook the sweet potato in the same oil. It was still tasty with some cooked spinach, sliced tomatoes & cucumbers, hummus and avocado. Some spice or salt would be good though.
You can always adapt as needed 🙂 so glad you still enjoyed it!
Such a filling sandwich!