Vegetarian sandwiches and packed lunch ideas

I take a packed lunch to work most days and my kids take a packed lunch to school. Quite frankly, we're all getting a bit bored with our sandwich fillings!

Of course if you're veggie, you'd better like cheese, as the most common sandwich option in your average cafe or pub will be a Cheddar cheese sandwich with tomato, onion, pickle or coleslaw. If they use a good tasty or mature cheese you might be onto a winner, but a sandwich made with sliced white bread and mild Cheddar cheese is about as boring and bland as you can get.

I think you need to use a good bread to make a great sandwich, so either make your own, buy a good rustic loaf or even opt for a decent wholemeal sliced loaf (I like Hovis wholemeal granary). If you're a fan of 'real' bread, you might be interested in joining the Real Bread Campaign.

I've compiled the following ideas for vegetarian and vegan sandwiches, paninis and wraps, in the hope that this inspires me to make some of them for myself and my girls.

Cold Sandwiches
Here are some filling ideas for the humble cold sandwich...use thicker, rustic breads for the wetter fillings, especially if they will be sitting around for a while before lunchtime:

• Ploughman's - mature Cheddar, salad and Branston-type pickle.
• Wensleydale/Brie/Goat's cheese and cranberry sauce.
• Cheese and colesalw
• Quorn/meat-free slices, sliced pickles and salad.
• Cold, sliced veggie sausage with tomato chutney.
• Cold veggie BLT.
• Hummus and cucumber.
• Cold nut roast or veggie pate.
• Cold roasted vegetables with olive paste.
• Marmite with or without cheese. 
• Egg mayo/egg salad.
• Peanut butter - plain or with sliced banana/chocolate hazelnut spread/jam
• Thick cut heirloom tomatoes topped with mango-pomegranate guacamole, roasted garlic aioli, radish sprouts and thinly sliced dill pickle.
• Greek salad - cream some feta cheese with a drop of plain/Greek yogurt, sprinkle with oregano. Spread onto bread. Top with a salad made from diced tomato, cucumber and olives and pepper.
• Vegetarian coronation 'chicken'
• Sweet options - jam, chocolate hazelnut spread, marmalade.

Hot Sandwiches
Here are some ideas for the slightly more sophisticated toasted sandwich, panini, pitta or wrap...

• Goats cheese, rocket and onion chutney or cranberry sauce.
• Mozzarella, veggie pesto and rocket/sliced tomato.
• Cheese/vegan cheese, tomato, onion and basil.
• Roasted vegetables (home made or use anti-pasti) with sliced olives and a balsamic dressing.
• Sun-dried tomato paste and feta cheese.
• Falafel and salad drizzled with tzatziki.
• Hot veggie BLT.
• Veggie bacon, mushroom and cheese/vegan cheese.
• Veggie sausage/burger, salad/fried onions/sliced mushrooms and ketchup.
• Grilled flat mushroom with peri peri marinade and a slice of halloumi cheese (a la Nando's).
• Garlic mushrooms.
• Veggie pizza filling - tomato purée/sun dried tomato paste mixed with diced and roasted onion, pepper, sweetcorn, mushroom, courgette/zucchini (grated cheese - optional) .
• Cheese/vegan cheese and baked beans
• Refried beans, salsa and grated cheddar. 
• Hawaiian - veggie bacon, pineapple and cheese/vegan cheese.
• Chocolate hazelnut spread and sliced banana/strawberries

Any more ideas? Comment below with your favourite veggie/vegan sandwich filling and I'll add them to my list.

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