A light and delicious lunch that looks like a rainbow between bread? Yes, please! This salad sandwich recipe is the perfect way to fill up on a hot summer day.
I must admit, I’ve never been so excited to eat this many vegetables at once, but who can resist soft bread, crisp veg, and a delicious drizzle of Homemade Ranch all in one bite? Certainly not me.
If your down for the best sandwich of your life, keep scrolling. It gets even better.
What is a Salad Sandwich
This is a special kind of sandwich, with lots of fresh ingredients like tomato, avocado, onion, and crisp lettuce loaded between 2 slices of hearty, multi-grain bread smeared with hummus or sauce. Whew! That was a mouthful.
It’s completely refreshing, delicious, and a change of pace from the usual ham and cheese sammich.
Ingredients
Salad sandwiches are big in flavor and made with simple ingredients, most of which you probably have in the vegetable drawer.
This list includes the basic ingredients with examples of each to make this your own masterpiece.
- Bread of your choice: multi-grain, sourdough, or grain-free bread
- Salad greens: arugula and spring mix are the bomb.com
- Sandwich fillings: avocado, tomato, onion, carrots, cucumbers- go wild
- Dressing/spread: mayo, hummus, Ranch, or favorite vinaigrette
- Cheese: goat cheese, Provolone, Havarti, Gouda, etc.
Make it a low carb sandwich by using cloud bread!
Can you add protein?
Yes! Adding your favorite deli cut or hard-boiled eggs will amp up the flavor and keep you fuller, longer. Here are some delicious proteins you can tuck in between the bread:
- Grilled chicken, sliced
- Hard-boiled eggs, sliced
- Deli turkey or ham
- Cooked bacon
- Prosciutto
With the idea of all those fresh veggies and a protein, like cooked bacon, I could see where this would easily turn into a loaded BLT Salad. But for today, I’m sticking with the bread.
How to Make a Salad Sandwich
Are you ready for this? Grab a plate, kitchen knife, and let’s make this salad sandwich together.
- First layer
Spread the mayo over both slices of bread. - Add the sandwich fillings
Layer one slice with the greens, tomato, avocado, and additional veggies. - Drizzle
Add a dash of Ranch or your choice of dressing over the veggies and top with cheese. - Assemble
Place the remaining slice of bread over the veggies, and cut in half (so you can see the rainbow). - The best part
Now, it’s time to taste the rainbow. Make sure to snag a photo before you dig in 😉
Want to see it come together? Watch this quick recipe video!
Packing It for Lunch
Okay, let’s say you make the sandwich above but want to pack it for lunch without everything falling apart or the bread going soggy. We can do that, and here’s how:
Prepare the sandwich
Follow the recipe above, but make sure the lettuce goes on the bottom, and the cheese is the last ingredient on top. Both act as “barriers” and prevent excess moisture from seeping into the bread.
Also, hold the Ranch dressing or vinaigrette and pack it into a lidded sauce container to be added to the sandwich just before eating.
Use a thick bread
Options like thickly sliced sourdough, multi-grain, or ciabatta are sturdy enough to hold up to the abundance of veg and keep the sandwich intact until lunch.
Use a container that fits
Find a lunch container, like this one, with a compartment just big enough to fit the sandwich. Anything larger, and you risk the chance of ingredients spilling out.
If you are looking for more epic lunches like this one that you can pack for lunch, then you NEED a copy of my cookbook, 101 Packed Lunches. It’s filled with lunch ideas that are healthy, filling, and perfect for the office.
Salad Sandwich
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
- 2 slices favorite sandwich bread
- Salad greens
- 1 ripe tomato, sliced
- ¼ avocado, sliced
- ¼ cup red onion, sliced, optional
- Ranch dressing, for drizzling
- 1 slice Provolone cheese
Instructions
- Spread the mayonnaise on both slices of bread.
- Layer one slice with salad greens, tomato, avocado, red onion, if using, and a drizzle of Ranch. Top with the cheese and remaining slice of bread.
- Slice in half and serve or pack into a lunch container.
Matt
I LOVE a salad sandwich and make one every weekday for breakfast and sometimes also lunch!
I use seeded wholemeal bread filled with lots of lettuce (round soft leaf and iceberg), tomatoes and cucumber. I don’t use any dressing or spread so its really healthy and the water content in the salad still keeps it nice and moist.
Chrissy
I love these ingredients in a bagel with cream cheese!