Vegan Tofu Banh Mi - Vietnamese Street Food Sandwich

A vegan twist on the popular Vietnamese street food sandwich, the banh mi, a delicious sandwich of tofu, pickles & salad on crispy baguette.

My latest sandwich is a colourful and absolutely delicious vegan tofu banh mi sandwich.

My husband loves this one, and I'm happy to make it for him as it has tofu and extra veg, so it's healthier than the vegan cheese and Branston pickle sandwich he would make on repeat with no salad or anything nutritious involved.

This Vietnamese-style sandwich is a much better option and so much tastier.

I hope you try it, I'm sure you'll love it.

I've included the recipe for Gochujang tofu 'bacon', but you could use pre-made vegan bacon, although it's nowhere near as good as this tofu bacon.

Jump to:

• 🥖 What is a banh mi?
• 🥓 What can you replace the meat in a banh mi with?
• 🥓 Is tofu bacon easy to make?
• 📋 What you need to make a tofu banh mi
• 🥓 Making vegan bacon? Here's what you need
• 🥣 Daikon & carrot pickle
• 🥢 Use quick pickles
• 🥣 Flavoured vegan mayonnaise
• 🥕 Peeled carrot strips
• 🥗 Serving banh mi sandwiches
• 📋 Related recipes
• ⭐ Save your recipes for free!
• 👩🏻‍🍳 How to make vegan tofu banh mi
• 📖 Recipe
• Comments

🥖 What is a banh mi?

Banh mi or banh my is a popular Vietnamese street food.

It's a sandwich made with a crusty baguette and usually stuffed with meat, salad, and pickles, as well as fresh coriander (fresh cilantro).

It sometimes includes chilli peppers too, but that is optional.

Of course, it can be made meat-free, and if you dislike coriander, you can substitute it with fresh parsley or other herbs instead.

🥓 What can you replace the meat in a banh mi with?

If you are vegetarian or vegan you can swap the meat in a banh mi with a few different plant-based options to make it a meatless banh mi.

I replace it with tofu bacon, but here are some more ideas:

• Vegan pepperoni - it's very moreish
• Deli slices - try these sundried tomato deli slices or use shop-bought slices
• Falafel - homemade or shop-bought
• Plant-based meatballs - again, make your own or buy them

Do try my vegan tofu bacon though, it's gorgeous stuff and so easy to make.

🥓 Is tofu bacon easy to make?

Homemade tofu bacon is super easy to make, I promise you!

Use a potato peeler or cheese plane to slice extra firm tofu (or pressed firm tofu) into thin strips, then marinade it, lay it in a single layer on a lined baking tray (sheet pan) and cook until chewy and crisp at the edges.

Lovely crispy tofu.

My recipe for vegan bacon is lush and has a bit of a kick!

I've included the recipe along with the banh mi sandwich recipe below, but skip it if you are buying deli slices to use.

📋 What you need to make a tofu banh mi

Here are the simple ingredients you need to make these banh mi sandwiches which are so popular in Vietnamese cuisine.

• French baguette - or a similar crispy baton roll
• Mayo - you can spice it up (see below)
• Tofu bacon - or other vegan deli meat
• Salad Leaves - I like to use crispy iceberg lettuce
• Cucumber
• Carrots
• Pickles - I used quick pickled radish this time
• Fresh coriander (cilantro) - or other fresh herbs

🥓 Making vegan bacon? Here's what you need

If you're making your own vegan bacon from tofu slices for this vegan tofu bánh mì, here's what you need, including the tofu marinade.

• Extra-firm tofu - or pressed firm tofu (it's a great plant-based protein)
• Olive oil - sesame oil or another mild oil
• Gochujang paste - you can less and include tomato puree for a milder version (you will find this an asian market, but most supermarkets sell it too now)
• Soy sauce
• Maple syrup
• Water
• Salt & black pepper - to season

See the fully printable recipe card at the bottom of this page for quantities, method, notes and nutritional values or use the jump to recipe button in the index below the first paragraph.

🥣 Daikon & carrot pickle

Traditionally, crunchy daikon and carrots pickles are added to these Vietnamese sandwiches.

Daikon is a South Asina mooli (large root) which is also called white cabbage, winter cabbage or oriental cabbage.

These are easily found in Asian supermarkets and grocery stores.

🥢 Use quick pickles

Instead of daikon radish and carrot pickles, you could use quick and easy homemade pickles.

I used quick-pickled radishes for this sandwich this time, but here are a few easy quick pickles you could add to this traditional Vietnamese sandwich for a superior lunch or dinner.

• Radish pickles - cut thinly and pickled
• Cabbage pickles - a good all-rounder pickle
• Red onion pickles - which are rather special

You decide which quick pickled veggies you would prefer in this gorgeous sandwich.

🥣 Flavoured vegan mayonnaise

I used plain plant-based mayo for this vegan banh mi sandwich, but a flavoured mayo does elevate the sandwich and is quick to make using ready-made mayonnaise.

Here are some ideas for flavoured mayo:

• Lemon mayo - mix some lemon juice and zest, with a little salt into mayo
• Lime mayo - add lime juice, lime zest and some paprika
• Sriracha mayo - mix some sriracha sauce with mayo, lemon juice is a good addition to this one, to tingle your taste buds
• Dill mayo - mix fresh dill and lemon juice with mayo or other fresh herbs like mint, coriander (cilantro), basil or parsley
• Garlic mayo - mix garlic powder or crushed fresh garlic with mayo
• Firecracker mayo - it has a bit of a kick, a real spicy mayo

Thousand Island dressing would be good too, instead of mayo.

I'm sure you could come up with some good ideas for pimping up mayo.

🥕 Peeled carrot strips

Generally, people add grated carrot to this Vietnamese classic sandwich.

You could definitely do that for your sandwich.

However, if you peel a carrot into strips using a potato peeler, it looks affy bonnie as we say here in Scotland.

🥗 Serving banh mi sandwiches

Here are a few ideas of what to serve with this popular Vietnamese sandwich for a hearty lunch or dinner.

• Green salad - with dressing
• Coleslaw - with some salad and dill coleslaw
• Potato wedges - and salad
• Potato salad
• Crisps - flavoured chips
• Fresh fruit

Just remember it's quite filling.

📋 Related recipes

Looking for more vegan baguette sandwich recipes? Try these:

⭐ Save your recipes for free!

Hit the heart (on the left) to save this and other recipes.

Once logged in, you can save your favourite recipes and access them by hitting the heart on any of my recipes or going to grow.me where they will be stored for you for free.

👩🏻‍🍳 How to make vegan tofu banh mi

These step-by-step photos will show you how to make these delicious bánh mì sandwiches with pickled vegetables.

Step 1

• Preheat your oven and prepare the tofu 'bacon'.
• Make your marinade in a tub that has a tight-fitting lid.
• Slice the extra firm tofu (or pressed firm tofu) into thin strips with a potato peeler or cheese plane.
• Place the tofu in the tub the the marinade, secure the lid and shake for a few seconds to coat the tofu. You can set it aside to marinade while you shred the lettuce, peel or grate the carrot and slice the cucumber.
• Spread out the marinated tofu in a single layer on a couple of lined baking trays (sheet pans) and roast in the oven until golden, chewy and crisp at the edges.

Step 2

• Once the vegan 'bacon' has cooled, if you are using it, cut your chunk of baguette or baguette baton in half, then spread each side with mayo.
• Add cucumber slices, shredded lettuce and slices of carrot.

Step 3

• Add slices of tofu bacon or deli slices
• Then add pickles veggies and fresh coriander (cilantro) or other fresh herbs.
• Serve and enjoy!