There aren’t a lot of vegetarian proteins out there these days that I can really go out and purchase due to my gluten intolerance. Yet, there is one tried and true protein that I do find myself using a lot these days, as I know it is healthy, delicious, and can be seasoned any way and cooked to perfection.
Tofu.
Don’t wrinkle up your nose until you’ve tried it. When prepared properly, tofu has an amazing texture and flavor to it. The secret is in the preparation. And for these sandwiches, I simply marinated tofu in bar-b-que sauce overnight in the fridge, flipped it over in the morning and left it until it was time to prepare dinner.
This recipe was super simple…and super delicious.
Recipe: Gluten-Free Bar-B-Que Grilled Tofu Sandwiches with Oven Roasted Vegetables
Servings: 2
Time: Prep 15 minutes; Cook 20 minutes
Ingredients:
- 2 sub sandwich rolls (I used Schär)
- 6 oz extra firm tofu
- 1/4 cup gluten-free bar-b-que sauce (I used Stubb’s Original Bar-B-Q Sauce)
- 1 heirloom tomato
- 1 slice of a large red onion, rings separated
- olive oil
- balsamic vinegar
- Baby spinach
- Mozzarella cheese (I used Daiya Vegan Mozzarella Style Shreds)
Directions:
Place 6 oz of tofu (cut into 4 1.5 oz rectangles) into a plastic bag and pour in bar-b-que sauce. Close bag, shake to coat, and place in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours, or overnight, to marinate.
Once tofu has marinated for desired time, preheat the oven to 450° F.
Slice tomato and onion and place on baking sheet. Spray with olive oil and drizzle with a touch of balsamic vinegar. Add salt and pepper, to taste. Place in oven to roast for 15-20 minutes.
Meanwhile, place sub rolls on a baking sheet.
While the veg is roasting, get out a grill pan (or any pan if you don’t have one…or use an actual grill) and begin to heat it up.
Take marinated tofu and place on hot grill, allowing to cook on one side. Flip and use left over sauce to brush sauce over the tofu as it grills. Flip a couple more times to get grill lines and heat tofu throughout. Set aside.
Place sub sandwich rolls into the oven for 5 minutes to warm.
Remove vegetables from oven and slice to desired size. Then remove sandwich rolls from oven and split open. Place 1 tablespoon of bar-b-que sauce on each side of the roll. Top with a small pinch of mozzarella cheese.
Place roll in the microwave and heat for 30 seconds to allow cheese to melt. Remove from the microwave and top with a a handful of spinach.
Slice the tofu into long strips and stack inside the sandwich. Top with the sliced roasted vegetables.
Close sandwich roll and enjoy.
~*~*~
The flavors in this sandwich were amazing. The tofu really absorbed the sweet, smokey flavor of the bar-b-que sauce, and it paired really well with the roasted vegetables over the top of it. It was a deliciously filling sandwich that had a great play on each flavor bite-for-bite.
I can’t wait to build this sandwich again. And maybe this time try it with sun-dried tomatoes. It’s fun to play around with…so go ahead…have some fun with it. But, most importantly…enjoy!
The Celiathlete 