This is a revised recipe for a grilled vegan kale pesto sandwich with seitan and apples. I did very little to change anything, because let’s face it, this is plant based excellence. It’s warm, savory, a touch sweet, cheesy, and very satisfying.
This recipe makes enough for 1 very large sandwich or 2 medium sized sandwiches. Much of the yield will depend on the size of your bread, and how generous you are with toppings.
A few things…
- ・In the past, I’ve used baby kale and curly kale for the pesto. I have a feeling that other types of kale would also work just fine, like lacinato, but I have not tried it.
- ・You have many options for the seitan. Make your own and slice it up. Buy some at the store. Or if you’re super in a bind, use something like Tofurkey Oven Roasted Deli Slices. If you use the Tofurkey Deli Slices, you do not need to pan fry them before putting them on the sandwich.
- ・Sometimes, instead of grilling this vegan kale pesto sandwich, I like to put it in the toaster oven. I preheat the toaster oven to 400º F, place the fully assembled sandwich on a cookie sheet lined with non-stick foil, and toast it for 4 minutes on each side. You may need to adjust the cook time based on the size of your sandwich, but it’s a very nice way to enjoy it.
- Please enjoy this grilled vegan kale pesto sandwich with seitan and apples! And explore more UVK recipes, like Herbed Black-Eyed Pea and Cannellini Bean Salad with Garlic Toast, Vegan Basil Pesto, Gnocchi with Pesto and Grilled Eggplant, Zucchini and Cherry Tomatoes, Vegan Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto, or Sunflower Pesto Pasta Salad with Artichoke Hearts, Grape Tomatoes and Black Olives.
- Let’s get grilling!
Kale Pesto Sandwich with Seitan and Apples
Pesto:
2 large garlic cloves
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup chopped curly kale, packed
½ cup flat leaf parsley, stems and all, packed
⅓ cup walnut halves
2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp white miso
¼ tsp dijon mustard
Salt and black pepper, to taste
Sandwich:
1 Honeycrisp apple, thinly sliced
~4-8 slices store bought or homemade seitan (see note above)
¼ cup shredded vegan cheese, divided
2-4 slices of bread (I used sourdough)
Vegan butter
1. First, you’ll make the vegan kale pesto for the sandwich. Add the garlic and olive oil to a small skillet over high heat. When the oil starts to sizzle around the edges of the garlic, turn the heat down to medium-low. Move the garlic around until it’s golden on all sides. Then, remove the skillet from heat and allow it to cool.
2. Put kale, parsley, walnuts, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, miso, dijon and black pepper in a food processor or blender. Add the cooled garlic and olive oil. Blend until it’s like paste, and set aside.
3. Now, it’s time to prep the seitan for the vegan kale pesto sandwich. In a skillet, heat 1 Tbsp olive oil and add seitan. Pan fry the seitan until lightly browned or for ~1-2 minutes on each side over medium-high heat. Remove from skillet, and set aside.
4. Finally, we’re ready to start putting together the vegan kale pesto sandwich. Butter one side of a piece of bread. Place the bread, buttered side down, in the middle of a skillet. Next, layer the sandwich ingredients onto that piece of bread (pesto, vegan cheese, seitan slices, apple slices, more vegan cheese). Grab a second piece of bread. Butter one side, and then, spread pesto across the other side. Place the second piece of bread, pesto side down, on the top of the sandwich in the skillet.
5. Grill over medium-low heat for ~2 minutes, and then, flip over. Grill until the vegan kale pesto sandwich is cooked through. Remove from the skillet, and serve.