I have another awesome vegan sandwich for you! Although it is tough to mimic corned beef with a vegan substitute, my tofu shaved meat makes for a delicious sandwich. This vegan reuben is packed with protein, gooey, and absolutely delicious!
Filled with...
Savoury tofu shaved meat
A tofu based (and oil-free) Russian dressing
Stretchy cashew cheese
And as much sauerkraut as you like!
Ingredients For A Vegan Reuben
A classic reuben sandwich is made up of corned beef, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese, and Russian dressing on toasted rye bread. Natasha's Kitchen has a nice recipe for a traditional reuben you can take a look at.
Since this is a vegan recipe it certainly deviates from a traditional reuben! But, I think that this is an absolutely delicious way to get close to the feel of a classic reuben.
My vegan reuben has:
- Tofu shaved meat instead of corned beef.
- A Russian dressing made from soft tofu instead of mayonnaise which makes it oil-free! You can use a vegan mayonnaise you love and I have instructions in the recipe card to help you make that change!
- My cashew mozzarella instead of Swiss cheese. Although, again, you could use your favourite plant based "Swiss cheese" slices.
- Sauerkraut which is delightfully vegan and needs no substitutions.
- And finally, I love using dark rye bread (which is usually vegan but you can double check the label).
Method
If you make all of these elements from scratch as I do, this recipe will likely take about an hour.
I would suggest getting the tofu shaved meat in the oven and then making the Russian dressing and the cashew mozzarella while the tofu meat bakes.
The Russian dressing can be made in 5 minutes or less. You just have to add a few ingredients to a blender and blend.
The cashew mozzarella can be made on the stovetop in 15 minutes. The only preparation you need to do is soak your cashews. Usually, I quick soak them by pouring boiling water over them and letting them soak for 15 minutes. I would get the cashews soaking before I start preparing the tofu meat. This way, by the time the tofu meat is in the oven and the Russian dressing has been made... your cashews will be ready. Alternatively, you can soak the cashews in cold water in your fridge overnight!
Recipe Cost For This Vegan Reuben
Other than the bread for this vegan reuben, I make every element at home which helps to keep the cost lower. Sometimes vegan cheese slices and deli meat can be higher in price if store-bought. I have also priced out this recipe using store-bought sauerkraut but making mine from scratch definitely saves us more!
This vegan reuben recipe makes 4 sandwiches and costs us about $14.75 Canadian. That works out to costing us around $3.70 per sandwich.
For a pretty loaded and special sandwich... I think we've done pretty well!
Let me know in the comments below if you make yourself a delicious vegan reuben! Make sure to try using my tofu shaved meat on my vegan gyro too!
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Vegan Reuben With Tofu Shaved "Meat"
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 4 sandwiches 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
A delicious & protein packed vegan reuben with tofu shaved meat, a quick tofu based Russian dressing, sauerkraut, and my cashew cheese.
Ingredients
Tofu Shaved "Meat"
- 350 g firm tofu (best if frozen & defrosted)
- 2 tbsp + ½ teaspoon tamari (or soy sauce)
- 1 tbsp vegan worcestershire sauce (or more tamari)
- 1 tbsp water
- ½ tbsp neutral oil (to prevent sticking in oven)
- ½ tsp liquid smoke
- 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- ¾ tsp garlic powder
- ½ cup vegetable broth (homemade for extra savings)
Vegan Russian Dressing
- 150g soft tofu (or silken tofu)
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp ketchup*
- ½ tsp smoked paprika
- ½ tsp vegan worcestershire sauce
- ¼ tsp onion powder
- ¼ - ½ teaspoon wasabi (or 1 tsp prepared horseradish)
- ¼ tsp salt
- pinch pepper
Additional Ingredients
- 8 slices rye bread*
- Sauerkraut*
- Cashew mozzarella or plant-based cheese slices of choice
*Ingredients you need that are not part of our pantry and freezer tips.
Instructions
Tofu Shaved "Meat":
- Follow my original recipe for more detail. The only thing I change for this recipe is that I slice the tofu lengthwise so that the slices are longer. Using previously frozen tofu provides a chewier and more “meat-like” texture.
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
- Thinly slice the tofu. You want the slices to be thin but if they are too thin they will likely break apart. They will still taste good but you won't have long strips in your sandwich.
- Mix 2 tablespoon tamari, vegan worcestershire sauce, water, oil, liquid smoke, nutritional yeast, smoked paprika, and garlic powder in a shallow bowl and gently coat the tofu slices. Reserve any leftover marinade.
- Lay the tofu slices in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for 30 minutes. At the 20 minute mark, turn the slices and baste the other side with any leftover marinade. Remove from the oven when the slices are crispy and browned around the edges.
- Before serving, rehydrate the slices just a bit to get them feeling “juicy”. Bring ½ cup vegetable broth and the remaining ½ teaspoon tamari to a low boil. Add the shaved tofu meat and cook until the tofu has just absorbed the liquid.
Vegan Russian Dressing:
- Add all of the ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth. (Alternatively, use ½ cup vegan mayonnaise in place of the tofu and reduce the lemon juice to 1 teaspoon or use 1 teaspoon vinegar).
Compile The Sandwiches:
- If using my cashew mozzarella, spread a generous amount on the bottom slice of rye bread. Otherwise, use your sliced “swiss cheese”.
- Add 4-6 strips of tofu shaved meat.
- Top with as much sauerkraut as you like.
- Spread a generous amount of Russian dressing on the top slice of rye.
- To heat the sandwich through and get the bread nice and crispy, add vegan butter to the top slice of rye. Lay the sandwich, buttered side down, on a warm pan and allow to brown for 1 minute or so. Using a lower heat will give the cashew mozzarella or cheese slices more time to melt. When ready, add vegan butter to the other slice of rye and flip the sandwich so the other side browns as well.
- Enjoy your toasted sandwich immediately with some pickles on the side!
Notes
Approximate Cost: $14.76 Canadian ($3.69 per sandwich). Each of the components break down as follows: $5.15 for the tofu shaved meat, $1.25 for the Russian dressing, $2.28 for my cashew mozzarella, and $6.08 for the bread and sauerkraut.
I did try adding beet juice to the marinade for the tofu shaved meat to try and add a reddish colour to the tofu. The difference in colour wasn’t obvious enough for me to include it as a step in this recipe. However, if you do want to try adding some beet juice into the marinade you can. Using sauerkraut made from red cabbage is another way to get some good colour into this sandwich.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Sandwich
- Method: Various
- Cuisine: American
DeeAnn
This recipe is amazing! I felt like I was re-enacting Bill Murray’s character during the dinner scene from What About Bob?
Kathryn Alexandre
Hahahaha 🤣 love it! Thanks for trying it and letting us know it was worthy of so many "mmm's" 😝
Susan
This sandwich meat recipe was a game changer for our family. We’ve been vegan for 6 plus years and have never veered off the normal tofu cubes. I probably buy 8 packs of “extra firm” every week to make the meat and your delicious cheeses. Thanks so much for sharing!! Looking forward to trying many of your recipes on the future.
Keep up the amazing work!!
Kathryn Alexandre
👏 This is so wonderful to hear!! I'm so glad you all love this recipe and the cheeses too! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a star review and encourage us to keep creating. It really means a lot and helps us stay motivated to keep it up. Enjoy all the delicious sandwiches you make!
Chris
We have prepared this several times and love it. We tried with super firm without freezing and firm with freezing. Freezing definitely creates the best flavor for us. We also need to double the marinate.
Kathryn Alexandre
We're so glad you're loving this one Chris! It's great to know that you've tried it with both previously frozen tofu and fresh tofu and prefer the frozen version. It's helpful to know you've preferred doubling the marinade as well. Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a detailed star rating! We really appreciate it!