Baked Eggplant Parm Vegan Sandwich
The soft, savory goodness of eggplant is matched with the brightness of tomatoes in this baked eggplant parm sub, and accompanied by some fresh basil, a cheesy, miso and cashew sauce, and a crispy topping made with deep fried onions and instant ramen noodles. It’s a fun and playful (and vegan) take on a baked eggplant parm sandwich! With all the classic eggplant parm flavors, and all the great eggplant parm textures, but shaken up in a fun new way.
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Why Do You Have Ramen on Your Baked Eggplant Parm?!?
And there is a reason- but also, do you really need a reason? If you do, it’s mostly because I’m all for trying new things and using what you have. But let’s back up a little. To me, eggplant parmesan is crispy eggplant, with a tomato sauce, and a cheesy element. It’s often served on pasta, and sometimes served on a sandwich. One one mind-blowing occasion, I got an eggplant parm sub that was stuffed with the eggplant and pasta. And that’s sort of where the inspiration for ramen on a sandwich comes in. But I went for deep-fried ramen, and not just cooked spaghetti. Because eggplant parm does need a crispy element, but I don’t think that crisp has to be the eggplant- in fact, eggplant that hasn’t been fried well ends up soggy, oil-filled, and sad. So I decided to roast my eggplant, which is always delicious and never tastes like straight canola oil, and get my crunchy, crisp, fried-ness from some instant ramen, instead of fried eggplant on pasta. It was an technique I tried once when making an Indian recipe that called for sev, deep fried chickpea noodles which I didn’t have on hand. They taste different, but they have the same crispy result. And if you’re going for a healthy option, you can be happy that we just used a little fried garnish instead of a whole fried eggplant.
Looking for Vegan Sandwiches? Try one of these!
- Cucumber and Jicama Vegan Tea Sandwiches
- Tomato and Garlic Vegetarian Sandwich Meat
- Mushroom Bao from Meera Sodha
- Spicy Black Bean Vegan Deli Slices
- Mushroom Vegan Po’boy (Aborted Entoloma Recipe)
- Vegan Tuna Salad (Made with Jackfruit, not Chickpeas!)
Got Eggplant? Try one of these eggplant recipes!
- Eggplant and Heirloom Tomato Cobbler (Vegan)
- Eggplant, Chestnut, and Mushroom Vegan Holiday Loaf
- Air-Fried Eggplant in Spicy Garlic Sauce with Jicama
How to Make Baked Vegan Parm Subs
It all starts in the oven. They key to getting good eggplant is to roast it at a high temperature in fairly large pieces, so the outsides get some nice caramelization and charring, while the insides become soft. We roasted them at the same time as our tomatoes (which are canned- nothing wrong with canned tomatoes) and some garlic, and that’s what makes up the bulk of this sandwich. While the eggplant cooks, you can get all the other sandwich elements done. The cheesy sauce starts with cashews- and cashews need to be softened. Now you can do that by soaking your cashews in water overnight, but who has time for that. You can also cook yours in an instant pot- 10 minutes on high pressure will give you some of the softest cashews you’ve ever seen. But in this particular recipe, you don’t really need the softest cashews ever, so just boiling them for 10-15 minutes will do the trick. Once softened, the cashews and other cheese ingredients all get blended together until silky smooth. To finish the cheesy sauce, we need to cook it. We’ve used tapioca starch in the cheesy sauce, which, when cooked, will thicken the cheesy sauce to a thick, almost stretchy texture. It’s important to move the cheesy sauce around as you cook it, so it heats evenly and doesn’t burn. And once your cheesy sauce is thickened and shiny, you’re done. Set it aside. Finally, you’ve just got the crispy topping to make. Cut the onions into half-moons, and toss them in a little cornstarch. Grab some instant ramen- any type is fine since we’re not using the seasoning package, but there are several vegan ramen varieties you can put your money towards – keep a good eye out for shrimp and other seafood when you’re looking at the labels. Get your vegetable oil good and hot- you’ll want a couple inches at least- and add the onions first. Since they take a little longer to cook than the ramen, wait a few minutes before tossing the noodles in the hot oil as well. Once the noodles have turned a golden-brown, remove them from the oil, pat them gently with paper towels or let drain, and toss them in some nutritional yeast. At this point, whatever you do don’t try the finished crispy topping. Because it’s addictive as hell, and you’ll be lucky if you manage to have any left for your sandwich. Once the eggplant is cooked, assemble. You should have enough of all the elements to make four sandwiches. Start with some cheesy sauce, add the roasted tomatoes and eggplant, top with some freshly chopped basil and a generous portion of crispy onion and ramen.
Baked Eggplant Parm Vegan Sandwich
Ingredients
- 1 large eggplant
- 2 cloves garlic
- 28 oz. can peeled whole tomatoes
- Olive oil, as needed
- Salt and Pepper, to taste
- 4 sandwich rolls
- Fresh basil, for garnish
- 1 cup raw, unsalted cashews
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast
- 1 tbsp. miso paste
- 1 tbsp. tapioca flour
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
- 1 medium-sized onion
- 1 package instant ramen noodles (noodles only, no seasoning packet)
- 1 tbsp. nutritional yeast
- 1 tbsp. cornstarch
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450°F (230°C). Cut your eggplant into large chunks (approximately 1 ½ inch cubes). Drain and rinse your tomatoes, and cut them in half. Thinly slice the garlic. Use olive oil to grease a baking sheet, and place the eggplant on it. Add the tomatoes, cut side up, and sprinkle the sliced garlic onto the pan as well. Season the eggplant and tomatoes with salt and pepper, and drizzle with olive oil. Once the oven is hot, place in the oven for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, remove from the oven, flip the vegetables, and cook for an additional 15 minutes.
- While the eggplant cooks, soften your cashews by adding them to water, bringing that water to a boil, and boiling for 10 minutes. Drain the water, and blend the softened cashews with the other ingredients for the cheesy sauce, along with ¾ cup of water until smooth. Transfer the mixture to a medium-sized saucepan, and heat, scraping the sides with a silicone spatula. After a few minutes the cheesy sauce will be thick and glossy. Remove from the heat and set aside.
- Start on the crispy topping. Heat a generous amount of oil for deep frying in a medium-sized saucepan. Slice the onions into thin half-moons, and toss in the cornstarch. Once the oil is hot, add the onions. While the onions cook, crush your ramen noodles into smaller pieces. After the onions have been cooking for a few minutes, add the crushed ramen noodles in as well (make sure not to dump the spice packet in!). Deep fry until the noodles are golden. Remove the onion and noodles from the oil, and toss them with 1 tbsp. nutritional yeast and a pinch of salt. Set aside.
- Once the eggplant is cooked, assemble your sandwiches. Slather on a generous portion of cheesy sauce. Add some of the tomatoes and eggplant. Sprinkle with a good portion of the crispy topping, and garnish with some chopped fresh basil.
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