I Finally Found My Dream Sandwich—It’s Salty, Sweet, and Totally Unstoppable

Sometimes you get a sandwich craving so intense that it has you rummaging through the back drawers of your brain, perusing childhood memories of boardwalks, picnics, and boxed lunches until you find it. For me, it was the flavor profile of a West Coast health food store-style veggie sandwich, decked out with early-2000s sandwich shop favorites, such as alfalfa sprouts, seedy bread, roasted red peppers, pungent mustard, and slabs of cucumber. Not required, but nice for the ambiance: the subtle scent of fresh-pressed wheatgrass shots and a sprinkling of psyllium husk on every surface. 

Beyond the nostalgia factor, this sandwich is also a stealthy meal-prep strategy. While it’s easy to assemble for a crowd, the baked, chewy, savory tofu sheets can be made in advance and refrigerated for up to five days—stored like deli meat for freshly assembled sandwiches throughout the week. A simple marinade of balsamic vinegar, maple syrup, and soy sauce strikes a balance between savory, tangy, and sweet, making it a versatile match for just about any sandwich. 

Extra-firm tofu is key here for its low moisture content, which allows the edges of each sandwich-sized slab to get the crisp yet chewy texture that defined the tofu sandwiches of the early 2000s. There’s no need to press the tofu—the sheets are thin enough that a pat between paper towels is enough to wick away any lingering moisture before they’re doused in marinade. Because the tofu is sliced thin, it absorbs the flavor of the marinade in just 30 minutes. If you’d like to plan ahead, you can marinate the slices overnight. Baking works best for these delicate sheets, but the tofu is also delicious when grilled. Just cut the block of tofu into thicker slabs so that it doesn’t stick and crumble on the grill grates, and baste it with each turn. 

While avocado, cucumber, roasted red peppers, and sprouts evoke the most nostalgia for me, any mix of your favorite savory sandwich additions would work well here. Lettuce and leafy greens, pickled carrots or radish, a dash of your favorite hot sauce, or a swoosh of hummus would all make stellar additions.  

As for the sandwich itself, there’s no denying it: It’s large and in charge. Keep napkins handy for dribbles down your chin and wrist. Wrapping the sandwich and letting it rest help it hold together, as can the heft of toasted bread, but a bit of mess may be inevitable. Then again, isn’t that the fun of a really good sandwich?

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