What better way to jazz up your leftovers than with a holiday sandwich! Use this holiday squash sandwich recipe as inspiration for whatever leftovers you have in your fridge! We use our leftover squash and cranberry sauce and add quick caramelized balsamic onions and a stretchy cashew mozzarella to breathe new life into them!
If this looks super tasty to you and if you want to recreate this recipe exactly… I’ve detailed how to make it from scratch in the recipe below!
Pepper crusted butternut squash
Sweet balsamic onions
“Cheesy” stretchy cashew mozzarella
Tart cranberry sauce
And your favourite crunchy bread!
Pepper Crusted Butternut Squash
Feel free to make this recipe with squash or other fall vegetables that have been cooked in either a sweet or savoury manner. Depending on how soft they are, you can still roll them in this quick pepper crust to give them a different flavour!
- Wash, peel, and deseed your squash. (Make sure to roast the squash skins and seeds for a crispy snack!)
- For circular slices use just the neck of the squash OR slice the squash in half and make half moon slices as pictured.
- Working one slice at a time, roll the edges in olive oil and then the coarse pepper, garlic powder, and salt mixture.
- Lay on a prepared baking sheet and roast at 400 degrees F for 15 – 20 minutes until soft.
Jazz Up Your Holiday Squash Sandwich
True caramelized onions take quite a while to make! So, I love this balsamic vinegar shortcut!
- Peel and slice you onion into thin strips.
- Heat a pan over medium heat with a dash of oil (you can skip the oil and either use a dash of water or broth OR lower the heat and let the onions sweat out their own liquids if you have a good non-stick pan!)
- Add the onions and soften for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar and ½ teaspoon cane sugar.
- Watch your onions darken, soften, and get nice and sweet with a bit of bite! Ready in another 5 – 10 minutes!
15 Minute Cashew Mozzarella
Make the cashew mozzarella just before serving.
If you have not pre-soaked your cashews overnight, use the quick soak method while you prepare the squash and onions! Boil water in your kettle and pour the boiling water over your cashews in a heat safe bowl or measuring cup. Soak for 15-20 minutes.
For ultimate stretchy drama… make your cashew mozzarella last so it’s warm and ultra stretchy when you add it to your sandwiches!
- Add ½ cup soaked and drained cashews to your blender with the remaining ingredients.
- Blend until smooth and creamy.
- Pour into a small pot and heat over medium low.
- Stir quite constantly to ensure the sauce doesn’t stick to the bottom or sides.
- Watch it thicken in 5-8 minutes! As it thickens you will have to stir quite vigorously and it will start forming more of a ball and pulling away from the sides of the pot. When it has achieved ultimate stretchiness (like in the pictures) your cashew mozzarella is ready!
Finish off your sandwiches with leftover cranberry sauce if you have it OR make our Easy 15 Minute Holiday Cranberry Sauce!
Recipe Cost
This holiday squash sandwich recipe costs us approximately: CAD $10.58 or $2.65/sandwich. AND… that cost accounts for a full batch of our cranberry sauce, the bread, the onions, the “cheese”, and ½ a butternut squash!
If we were to make this recipe using 2 oz turkey deli meat per sandwich, the meat would cost us roughly $7.92. A traditional dairy mozzarella ball would be at least $5. Those two substitutions would bring the sandwich over $15 SO…
This loaded leftover squash sandwich is a great, thrifty way to have some fun with your leftovers!
Make sure to check out our Beautiful Hasselback Butternut Squash Tray Bake and our Ultimate Leftover Roasted Veg Salad!
Print
Squash Sandwich With Simple Cashew Mozzarella
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 4 sandwiches 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
You can jazz up your leftovers with this holiday squash sandwich recipe! 15 minute stretchy cashew mozzarella makes your leftovers fun again!
Ingredients
For the squash: use your leftovers OR…
- ½ butternut squash, sliced thin
- ½ tbsp coarse black pepper
- ½ tsp granulated garlic
- ½ tsp sea salt
- 1 tbsp olive oil
For the balsamic onions:
- 1 medium onion, sliced thin
- ½ tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- ½ tsp cane sugar
For the cashew mozzarella:
- ½ cup raw cashews (soaked for 15 min in boiling water)
- 1 cup fresh cool water
- 3 ½ tbsp tapioca starch (or tapioca flour)
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- ½ tsp sea salt
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
The rest:
- 8 slices bread of your choice
- cranberry sauce (optional, use up your leftovers!)
Instructions
*Feel free to use up whatever leftovers you have for this sandwich! Add in other roasted vegetables, leafy greens, use mustard instead of cranberry sauce. Get creative!
- If roasting the squash from scratch, preheat your oven to 425 degrees F and prepare two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.
- Wash, peel, and deseed your squash. Don’t throw away the peel and seeds. Check out our blog for making roasted squash skins and seeds!
- You can use just the long neck of the squash for this recipe and slice your squash into thin circular pieces OR slice the squash in half lengthwise and you will have half moon slices. Make ¼” slices. If too thin you may end up with squash chips (which isn’t too bad!) and if too thick the squash will take longer to cook.
- Place olive oil in a shallow dish and combine the dry spices on a small plate. You can keep half the spice mixture separate if you’d like. You may find that the spices on the plate get too oily to stick well after some time; this way you can switch to the dry spices or just top them up if needed.
- Roll the edges of the squash slices in the olive oil, then through the spice mixture to get a nice coating on the edges. Then lay the slices on the prepared baking sheet. Continue until all slices are coated and roast in the preheated oven for 15 – 20 minutes.
- While your squash is cooking, prepare the balsamic onions by peeling and slicing the onion into thin strips. Heat a skillet with a dash of olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and stir until sweated and softened, about 5 minutes. Add the balsamic vinegar and sugar. Continue to cook the onions for another 5-10 minutes until nicely softened and caramelized.
- Make the cashew mozzarella last so it’s warm and stretchy when you assemble the sandwiches! Drain your cashews of the water they soaked in (either in cold water in the fridge for 4-8 hours or for 15 minutes in boiling water). Add the drained cashews to your blender with the remaining ingredients (making sure to use fresh water). Blend until smooth. Pour the blended sauce into a small saucepan and heat over medium low, stirring quite constantly, until thickened and stretchy (5-8 minutes)!
- To construct the sandwich, toast your slices of bread. Spread the mozzarella on both pieces of bread. Layer in multiple slices of squash. Spoon onions on top. Drizzle with cranberry sauce. And dig in while it’s hot!
Notes
Approximate Cost: CAD $10.58 ($2.65/sandwich) for half a butternut squash, the balsamic onions, a full batch of cashew mozzarella, a full batch of festive cranberry sauce, and the sliced seeded bread. Vs. upwards of approximately $15 to make this recipe with 2oz deli turkey meat per person and dairy mozzarella. (Roughly $7.92 for 8oz deli turkey slices and at least $5 for a dairy mozzarella ball).
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Burgers & Sandwiches
- Method: Various
- Cuisine: American
Maria
I have never loved leftovers this much! I used both the squash & the beets to make these gourmet sandwiches. The mozzarella is quick & easy & oh so gooey delicious. Far better than any sandwich I’ve ever ordered at a restaurant!
Kathryn Alexandre
Oh wow that is so wonderful to hear! I’m so thrilled you loved the sandwich and loved your leftovers! Thank you so much for trying it!