I have been desperately craving a sandwich the past few days. DESPERATELY. Usually, such cravings are only reserved for chocolate, so this was a big deal.
But in order to make a sandwich, you usually need some bread in the house. Problem: I haven’t baked or purchased any sandwich bread the past few weeks. Undeterred, I scanned the kitchen for the starchiest food I could find. All I came up with was a sweet potato.
I made potato noodle cakes a few months ago with spiralized potatoes and eggs, and I wondered if I could make “bread” with spiralized potatoes. Why, yes you can!
I wasn’t exactly sure how to execute the cooking, so I consulted a recipe for spiralized sandwich buns on Inspiralized. If you haven’t visited the website before, Ali at Inspiralized has created a wealth of recipes, all using the spiralizer. Whenever I have any questions about the spiralizer, I turn to her blog.
Adapting Ali’s recipe, I formed 2 squares of potato noodles on a pan to be used as the bread. Although the “bread” had less structure, it successfully kept everything together while I ate the sandwich!
My initial vision was to makeover the traditional club sandwich, so here are the swaps that I made (in addition to the sweet potato bread):
- Instead of slathering mayo onto the sweet potato bread, I used my caramelized onion hummus.
- I know that the traditional club sandwich includes red tomatoes and lettuce, but I used spinach and heirloom tomatoes instead.
- Most club sandwiches use three slices of bread, but I didn’t want a big sandwich, so I used only 2 slices.
This sandwich, hands down, has been one of the best I’ve had in a long while. And I’m not just saying this because I made it!
Sweet Potato Turkey Sandwich
Ingredients
- 1 medium sweet potato (~7.5 oz/210g), peeled
- 1 1/2 TBS oil, divided
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1/2 tsp salt, add more to taste
- 1 large egg
- 2 TBS hummus, I used this caramelized onion hummus
- 2 ounces (~55g) deli sliced turkey
- 2 slices of heirloom tomatoes, or any type of tomato
- small handful of spinach, about 1/4 cup
Instructions
- Create sweet potato noodles with Blade B of the spiralizer. I chopped off the pointy ends of the sweet potato to make it easier to spiralize. Slice up any parts of the sweet potato that did not get spiralized, and add it to the noodles.
- Over medium-high heat, pour the olive oil in a sauté pan. Once the pan is hot, add in the sweet potato noodles and stir. Let the noodles cook for about 4 minutes and season with garlic powder, thyme, and salt. Turn off the heat.
- In a bowl, mix the cooked noodles with the egg until well-incorporated.
- Oil the pan with the rest of the olive oil.
- When the noodles are cool enough to handle, form them into two squares directly on the oiled pan. Make sure that the squares are about the size of sandwich bread.
- Turn the stove on to medium-high heat. Cook each side of the squares for about 2-3 minutes.
- Once the sweet potato bread is cool enough to handle, start making the sandwich. I spread 1 tablespoon of hummus on each slice, and stacked the turkey, tomatoes, and spinach on the bottom slice. Top with the other slice of bread, hummus side down.
- Cut the sandwich in half and enjoy!
Notes
Hungry for more spiralized dishes?
Asian Slow Cooker Pork with Zucchini, Carrot & Apple Noodles
Yellow Squash Noodles with Tomato Basil Sauce
Joanne says
I actually think I would prefer this sweet potato bun to bread! Sweet potatoes are my favorite carb all day every day!
Lisa says
Thanks, Joanne! When you get your spiralizer, you have to make sweet potato noodles!
Kelli @Hungry Hobby says
This looks DELICIOUS! I pinned it to my sandwich board, I love sweet potatoes I want to make this tonight! Still don’t have a spiralizer though! Think it would work with shredded sweet potato?
Lisa says
Thanks, Kelli! I think this could work with shredded sweet potatoes too, I might add any extra egg of egg white so that everything stays together. Let me know how it goes!
CINDY says
I will try shredding- thanks for the recipe!
Lisa says
Thank you for stopping by, Cindy!
Kimberly says
Positively genius! And I would literally pay you $500 to deliver one to me right now!
Lisa says
Thanks, Kimberly! You won’t need to pay me, but we could do a recipe swap! 🙂
Meme says
I am SO intrigued by this! When I get my spiralizer I just ordered, I will have to try this! Such a great idea for using it that isn’t noodles… not that “noodles” are a bad thing 😉
Lisa says
Thanks, Meme! Can’t wait to see what recipes you create with the spiralizer!!
Liz @ Floating Kitchen says
Love this idea, Lisa! Can’t wait to try it!
Lisa says
Thanks, Liz! Let me know how it goes!
purelytwins says
Wish you could send us one through the computer screen 😉
Lisa says
Haha, I wish all bloggers were able to send each other food through the computer screen!
Kristi Rimkus says
Hi Lisa! I found your blog over at the Weekend Re-Treat Linkup. I love this sandwich idea. You have all of my favorite foods in one sandwich. I have a Family Pleasing Healthy Recipe board I’d love for you to contribute to if you’re interested. Send me an email if you’re interested and I’ll send you the link so you can follow the board, then I can send you an invite. Have a terrific weekend!
Lisa says
Thanks for stopping by, Kristi! I’ll send you an e-mail about the Pinterest board soon!
Sarah @ The Woks of Life says
OK, as soon as I get my vegetable spiralizer and in the vicinity of decent cold cuts, I must try this. Thanks Lisa!
Lisa says
Let me know how this goes for you, Sarah!
diana says
thank you so much for this recipe. I am anticipating the arrival of my spiralizer today! Wooooooooooooo hoooooooooooooooo , i think this will be the first recipe i give a shot too!! How could I not? Jersey tomatoes are ripe and in season, perfect sandwich topping for all my favorite things!
Lisa says
Thanks, Diana! Let me know how it goes!
Angelina says
I absolutely love this idea! I am considering completely changing my dinner plans tonight!!
I was wondering if you’ve experimented with making them ahead of time and, if you have, how you’d recommend storing/reheating them. Thanks!!
Lisa says
Thanks, Angelina!! I haven’t experimented with making them ahead of time, but I would put refrigerate them in a large container and use parchment paper to separate the layers. Then, when I’m ready to eat it again, I would just heat it on a pan or skillet. I tend not to freeze things like this because the food always picks up extra moisture in the freezer. These are a bit messy but so tasty!
Kathy says
This recipe is fantastic! We ate it with a knife & fork but the potato bun was firm enough that we could have picked it up. I was thinking of the flavors of Thanksgiving dinner so I left out the tomato & added cranberry sauce instead. Outstanding! Thanks for the great idea.
BTW – I found the link to your recipe on “MyFitnessPal”.
Lisa Lin says
Kathy, I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe!!