Vegan Tofu Banh Mi Sandwich Recipe - Choosing Chia (2024)

This Tofu Banh Mi Sandwich is a take on the Vietnamese classic and is loaded with marinated tofu, herbs and homemade picked veggies for a sandwich filled with flavour!

I’m not generally a huge sandwich person, but if there’s one sandwich I can get behind, it’s this tofu banh mi!

I first tried a banh mi sandwich on a trip to Vietnam a few years ago, and I instantly fell in love. Vietnamese food is bursting with vibrant fresh flavours, and the banh mi sandwich is no exception!

So first let’s cover some basics here.

What exactly is a Banh Mi Sandwich?

Banh mi is a Vietnamese sandwich made with a baguette type of bread and traditionally filled with meat, pork pate, pickled vegetables and mayonnaise. Fun Fact, the term “banh mi” refers to “baguette in Vietnamese!

For today’s recipe, we’re doing a vegan take on the classic and using some marinated tofu in place of the meat, and a vegan mayonnaise.

Vegan Banh Mi Ingredients

• Tofu: for this vegan Banh Mi sandwich we’re using tofu as a protein instead of meat.
• Tofu marinade: the tofu gets marinated to infuse it with flavour. This is the most important step for a delicious Vegan Banh Mi sandwich!
• Pickled veggies: for this recipe, I like to pickle carrots and daikon (a type of radish), but you can pickle any type of veggies you like.
• Bread: you can use a baguette or a soft baguette depending on the texture you like
• Cucumber: fresh cucumber to add to the sandwich.
• Cilantro: for some freshness. If you don’t like cilantro you can leave this out.
• Green onions: another optional ingredient but helps add more flavour.
• Vegan mayonnaise: you can use any brand you like.

How to Make a Banh Mi Sandwich

Banh mi (like most sandwiches) are pretty easy to make, but will require a bit of prep work. For starters, you’re going to want to marinade the tofu and pickle the veggies overnight for best results. Though if you’re short on time, at least one hour should do .

Once the ingredients are prepared, it’s as simple as cooking up the tofu and then assembling the sandwich.

Many traditional banh mi recipes will use a soft variety of baguette, but I love making this sandwich with a crusty Italian baguette.

What is banh mi sauce made of?

Banh mi sauce is made from a mix of mayonnaise, hoisin sauce and sriracha. You can make a mixed sauce out of these or just add them separately spread onto your Vegan Banh Mi.

Storing Your Tofu Sandwich

If you want to prep this sandwich the day before eating it so you can have it ready to go for lunch, just prepare the sandwich and wrap it tightly in plastic wrap or place it in a ziplock bag in the fridge.

If you prefer to assemble the sandwich fresh, (which I recommend if you are able to) store all the sandwich ingredients separately in the fridge and the bread stored on the counter. Then assemble to sandwich right before eating.

Banh Mi Sandwich Recipe FAQ

A few notes on Vegan Banh Mi

This tofu banh mi sandwich starts by marinading some lemongrass tofu. If you can’t find fresh lemongrass, you can just leave out this ingredient entirely.

The tofu is best marinaded overnight, so I’d definitely recommend doing so if you have the time. But if you’re a bit pressed on time, just marinade it for at least an hour. Same goes for the picked veggies. The longer you let them soak the more “pickled” they’ll get!

I use a mix of daikon and carrots for the pickled veggies, but you also use some radishes, red onion or even some purple cabbage to mix things up!

If you love this make sure to check out this banh mi bowl with sticky tofu for a fun twist on this classic recipe!

More Vietnamese-inspired recipes to try

• Vietnamese Fresh Spring Rolls
• Vegan Pho
• Vietnamese Noodle Bowls with Lemongrass Tofu

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