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This delicious vegetarian banh mi sandwich features egg on a chewy baguette, topped with pickled vegetables and doused in mayo and hot sauce.
Are you a banh mi fan? Since our first trip out of the country in our teens, my sister and I have been smitten with visiting new places and tasting new foods. This vegetarian banh mi was inspired by a trip to Laos to visit my sister who’s living abroad there.
One of my favorite memories was eating a delicious meatless banh mi with a hearty egg filling, and I couldn’t stop thinking about it after I returned home. Here’s my take on recreating it at home!
Notes on this vegetarian banh mi
Banh mi is a Vietnamese sandwich that consists of a chewy baguette with spiced meat or tofu, pickled vegetable condiments, and typically doused in mayo and hot sauce. There are various ways to make a banh mi, and for vegetarian the filling is typically either egg or tofu. Here I’ve attempted to create the egg banh mi my sister and I enjoyed at a Vietnamese bakery in Vientiane, Laos.
- The hearty egg filling contrasts the crunchy pickled vegetables and creamy mayo. Stuffed into a chewy baguette, it’s truly one of my favorite sandwiches.
- If you prefer a vegan version to vegetarian, try our Vegan Banh Mi! It’s filled with ginger lime hummus, pickled veggies and hot sauce.
- You could also use tofu as a filling. Try our Baked Tofu, Crispy Tofu, or Breaded Tofu recipes!
More vegetarian sandwiches
Outside of this vegetarian banh mi, here are some other vegetarian sandwiches we love:
- Try pir 20 Great Vegetarian Sandwiches
- Make a Coleslaw & Swiss Melt or Jackfruit BBQ Sandwich
- Try a Chickpea Salad Sandwich
- Mix up an Italian Eggplant Sandwich or Rainbow Vegetable Sandwich
- Make an Egg Salad Sandwich or Vegetarian Reuben
Dietary notes
This vegetarian banh mi recipe is vegetarian. For vegan, plant-based, and dairy-free, see our Vegan Banh Mi.
Frequently asked questions
A banh mi is a Vietnamese sandwich typically made with a baguette, pickled vegetables, fresh herbs, chili peppers, and a protein filling. It’s known for its unique combination of flavors and textures, including the crispness of the bread, the tanginess of the pickles, the freshness of the herbs, and the spice of the chili peppers.
The most common sauce for a banh mi is a combination of mayonnaise and sriracha. You can also use a vegan mayonnaise alternative or experiment with other sauces like hoisin sauce, chili garlic sauce, or peanut sauce.
It’s best to assemble banh mi right before serving to maintain the crispness of the bread. However, you can prepare the individual components ahead of time, such as the pickled vegetables, protein filling, and sauce.
Vegetarian Banh Mi
This vegetarian banh mi sandwich features egg on a chewy baguette, topped with pickled vegetables and doused in mayo and hot sauce.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 2 sanwiches 1x
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Vienamese
Ingredients
- 2 large carrots (1 ½ cup shredded)
- ½ cup white or rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon honey
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 English cucumber
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro
- 4 eggs
- ½ tablespoon butter
- Kosher salt
- Black pepper
- 2 baguettes
- Mayonnaise
- Hot sauce (Sriracha)
- Soy sauce
Instructions
- Peel and shred the carrots. Combine the vinegar, honey, and red pepper flakes in small bowl. Add the carrot and stir to mix. Let stand 15 minutes.
- Peel the cucumber, then peel into long strips. Chop the cilantro.
- In a small bowl, beat together the eggs, one pinch kosher salt and a bit of black pepper. In a large skillet, heat the butter over medium heat. Pour half of the eggs into the skillet. As the eggs just start to set, scrape them towards the center of the skillet into the shape of the baguette. Cook until just firm but not dry. Repeat with the other half of the eggs for the second sandwich.
- Cut each baguette in half. (If desired, toast the bread lightly prior to serving.) Spread mayonnaise on both sides of bread, then sprinkle with Sriracha and soy sauce (to your own taste). Fill each sandwich with egg, cucumber, and cilantro. Drain carrot mixture and spread on each sandwich. Season with kosher salt and black pepper. Press top half of baguette on each sandwich, then slice sandwiches in half.
Notes
Adapted from Vegetarian Times
You can put anything you want in a baguette, and leave out anything you want. But a ham sandwich without ham isn’t a ham sandwich. Same goes for a banh mi.
Made this tonight and it rocked! Radishes were listed in the recipe instructions but not in the ingredient list, I pickled them along with the carrots and it turned out great. Added half a smashed avocado to each one. Best food decision I made all day. YUM.
As my friend just recently quoted “travel is the only thing you spend your money on that makes you richer.” I think this is so very true. I love travelling and cannot wait to start planning our next trip. It’s great to break routine and just get out there and explore. I’ve been wanting to try a vegetarian banh mi but needed a good recipe to try. This looks perfect! :)
It’s hard to recreate dishes that we associate with such a special travel memory, but I can imagine this delicious sandwich comes pretty close. I love love those quick pickles you made for this- can’t wait to try it!
Thank you, Jess! Let us know if you try it out — or if you have any other banh mi tips! :)
I’ve been meaning to make a banh mi forever! Yours looks delicious, as does everything you make. :)
Just made this for lunch and YUM it was delicious! Thanks for the idea :) I love it when you just happen to have all the right ingredients on hand to appease a craving!
Wow, you had all these ingredients on hand? It was meant to be! So glad you enjoyed it!
Love your new header! SO cute! er, and, modern. (sorry Alex) Seriously, clean and simple and so you guys! Great thoughts on travel, too! We had big dreams of traveling all around Asia when we came here, and slowly those changed into dreams of traveling just the Philippines, and finally we settled with just traveling around the little island of Cebu. :) And even in this one place there’s so to learn and love. Your love for Indy is contagious and making us want to come back again for Road Trip 2013! XO
Thanks, I think the header is quite dude-ish. We tend to change it about once every 24 hours, so who knows what you’ll see next! How can you plan road trips when you are still in Cebu? Your brain must be near exploding at all times.
I’m literally crazy for Banh mi! When we moved to Sydney with my boyfriend, we first lived in Marrickville, a neighborhood with lots of Vietnamese people. There, we found the best Banh mi of the whole city (maybe the whole world – except Vietnam of course). Now that we’ve moved to another neighborhood, we still go to that tiny restaurant about once every other week, even if it takes us about 1 hour to get there. But it doesn’t matter, we’re in love. I can’t wait to be able to visit Vietnam, their food is by far one of my favorite cuisine! I’ve never tried making Banh mi myself but your version sounds like the perfect start :)
Thank you for sharing this! I think this might be one of my favorite sandwiches as well — and they never get old! Hope that you’ll be able to make it to Vietnam someday!
YUMM! I love banh Mi! I made a burger Banh Mi with an drippy egg and fell in love!! I love this all egg version!! What a good idea =!
DROOOOOL. This looks my dream of a Banh Mi! Yum!