You know those days when you are craving something cheesy and comforting, but you can't decide between a pizza or a sandwich? Well, how about you have both with this Vegetable packed Pizza Sandwich? Crunchy peppers, garlicky pizza sauce and covered in cheese in a sandwich. It's what dreams are made of.
Lunchtime never has to be boring again. This is a great fridge raid sandwich, as it's easy to adapt with whatever bread, cheese and vegetables you have on hand. All the flavours of a pizza in a deliciously comforting sandwich that can be nutrient dense too.
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Why you will love it
- An exciting new sandwich option
- Saves making a whole pizza
- Kids love it
- Easy to adapt
- Can be packed with vegetables.
Ingredients needed
- Bread - You could use any bread for this, but sourdough is our preference. Tiger loaf slices work well, or you could even make a pizza bagel or panini.
- Tomato puree (paste) - This is a great time saving option, but you could use a pizza sauce instead, or even BBQ sauce to add extra flavour.
- Garlic - Use pre crushed garlic in a jar if you prefer.
- Oregano - You can use a mixture of dried oregano and basil.
- Olive oil
- Bell peppers
- Cheese slices - We used Emmental for this, as it adds a lovely creamy and nutty flavour. But you could use any cheese that melts well.
- Beef tomato
- Rocket lettuce (arugula) - you could swap this for spinach.
A full ingredients list with measurements is in the recipe card below.
Step by Step
One: In a bowl, mix together the tomato puree, garlic, salt, pepper and oregano.
Two: Add the oil to a pan and add the mixed peppers. Gently cook for 3-4 minutes until softened.
Three: Spread the tomato sauce on 2 of the bread slices then top the bread with the cooked peppers.
Four: Add the cheese slices on top and put them under the grill for 3-4 minutes until melted.
Five: Top with tomato slices and add rocket lettuce.
Six: Top with other slices of bread and serve.
Pizza sauce
We wanted this pizza to be as easy as possible, so we just spread some tomato puree on the bread and let all the other flavours shine though. However, if you want that more authentic pizza flavour, then you could use a more traditional pizza sauce.
You could even use a really good quality BBQ sauce instead, or our Healthy Homemade BBQ Sauce, to add a nice sweet and smokey flavour to it.
What vegetables can you add?
These Vegetable Pizza Sandwiches are packed full of vegetables, so you can make your favourite comfort foods that little bit healthier, and we could all do with some more vitamins and minerals in our life, right? We are all about the colourful meals and this is bursting with colour.
We added bell peppers and rocket lettuce, but this sandwich is easy to adapt with whatever you have on hand. You could add mushrooms and courgettes and swap the rocket lettuce for other greens like spinach or even crunchy romaine.
How to adapt
Apart from adding different vegetables, there are other ways that you can adapt these too. Can't have a meal without meat in it? This pizza sandwich is a good way to use up some leftover roast meat, so shred up some chicken (from our Slow Cooker Whole Chicken) and add it before you put the cheese on.
Speaking of cheese, you can use lots of different cheese in this recipe. We went with slices of Emmental, but mature cheddar or mozzarella work well.
How to cook it
We put the halves of the sandwich under the grill to melt everything. However, you could put it all in a sandwich toaster or even cook it in a pan with a little bitter - that would make the outside of the bed get nice and crispy and golden.
Frequently Asked Questions
This is a delicious meat free sandwich, however if you wanted to add some meat then there are lots of options. Shredded chicken works well, or you could go with some more traditional meaty pizza toppings like chorizo, pepperoni or salami.
These are best made fresh, otherwise they will go soggy when stored. So try to only make as much as you need, to avoid waste.
If you don't have a grill to put these under, then you can form the sandwiches and gently cook them on a griddle pan. But really careful when turning them over, so everything doesn't fall out.
More sandwich recipes
If you’ve tried this or any other recipe on the blog then let us know how you got on in the comments below, we love hearing from you!
Tag us in your creations on Instagram @hungryhealthyhappy - we love sharing photos when people make our recipes. You can use the hashtag #hungryhealthyhappy too.
Recipe
Pizza Sandwich
Ingredients
- 4 slices Sourdough bread
- 4 tablespoon Tomato puree
- 2 Garlic clove - crushed
- 1 tablespoon Dried oregano
- 1 pinch Sea salt and black pepper
- 1 teaspoon Olive oil
- 1 Yellow bell pepper - sliced
- 1 Red bell pepper - sliced
- 2 g Cheese slices
- 1 Beef tomato - sliced
- 2 handful Rocket (arugula)
Instructions
- In a bowl, mix together the tomato puree, garlic, salt, pepper and oregano.
- Add the oil to a pan and add the mixed peppers. Gently cook for 3-4 minutes until softened.
- Spread the tomato sauce on 2 of the bread slices. Top the bread with the cooked peppers and cheese.
- Put them under the grill for 3-4 minutes until melted.
- Top with tomato slices and rocket.
- Finish with other slices of bread and serve.
Notes
- Don't like the peppery taste of rocket? Swap it for spinach for an iron boost.
- We used Swiss cheese in this recipe, but you could use mature cheddar or mozzarella instead.
- Feel free to swap the vegetables to use what you have, or what you prefer. Mushrooms and courgettes work well.
- If you feel the need to add meat to this, add some shredded cooked chicken just before adding the cheese.
Kari @ bite-sized thoughts
This is a great idea for sandwiches. Perfect for an easy lunch!
Alison
Love these sandwiches, I bet they are really tasty. Great use for that sauce.
Jemma @ Celery and Cupcakes
Cirio products are wonderful and I always make sure I have a couple of their tinned tomatoes in the cupboard. Great idea for a sandwich filling!
Claire
I love the sound of that sauce - what a great product to have in the cupboard!
Paula K
Cheese and vegetables together and I am happy!
Angie
We are going to have these for lunch today, but I am going to add some leftover shredded chicken from last nights dinner (your Facebooo photo gave me a craving for salad, so we had chicken salad).
The London Mum
Delicious and I love the jam packed vegetables!
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These sandwiches look amazing Dannii! I am on a sandwich kick lately and love this pizza version!
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This is a great and very different "pizza" Dannii, I love it
I'm currently dabbling with the Cirio pizzassimo sauce at the moment too, to see what I can come up with. :-)
Naturalhealing
Hmmmm great recipe
Thanks for sharing this Dann
John Adams
Going to try this with my kids. Reckon they'd love it.
Sara Field
love the recipe.. gonna try soon.
Tandy | Lavender and Lime
I think I might be tempted to turn these into a snackwhich to avoid the mess. They look scrummy
Rhian Westbury
Pizza sandwiches?! This just sounds insane! Definitely something I'd never thought of x
Alida @My Little Italian Kitchen
I didn't know about this "pizza" tomatoes by Cirio.
Your sandwich is perfect for these nice hot summer days we are having! Looks really fresh and delicious.
fashion-mommy
They look like the epitome of comfort food, I love this idea so much.
Liz Mays
Mmm, I know I'd love these sandwiches. They look amazing! I think this would be a fun new lunch to try.
Kelly
Pizza is a favorite around here and I love that you made them easier in sandwich form! Such a great idea! They would be a hit with my family for sure!
Cheyanne @ No Spoon Necessary
I've never heard of or seen Pizzassimo sauce around here.. not sure if it's in the states? But i'll have to look next time I'm at the store, because I know if you recommend it, then it must be good! Love that you took the problem of deciding between pizza and a sandwich out of the equation with this bad boy creation! And I LOVE that it's also packed with veggies! Nothing better than being able to satisfy naughty cravings and still staying healthy! YAY! Cheers, girlfriend!
Amy Deverson
Ahhh such a good idea! Two of the greatest things in one - definitely giving it a try :)