Breadless? Still enjoy your sandwich!
Giving up bread is more than a dietary change. It is a lifestyle change. After all, bread is BREAD! No bread means no sandwiches, right? No! You can have your sandwich and eat it, too, with these bread less sandwich solutions.
Lunch is saved!
1. Portabello “Sandwich Bread”
Grilled portabello mushrooms provide savory bread substitute for sandwiches. Get the recipe from Food For My Family.
2. Butternut Flatbread
My reliable Grain Free Butternut Flatbread comes together in a flash. These save well in an airtight container in the fridge for a day or two, but they are still best they day they are made. I haven’t tried freezing them but I’m guessing they will freeze well.
3. Tomato Slider Sandwiches
Brilliantly simple tomato sandwiches. Slice a tomato and stuff with your fillings of choice! The trick is removing the seeds to prevent the juice running out when you bite it. Get the recipe at The Iron You.
4. Cucumber Boats
Hollowed out cucumbers make another one-ingredient shell for sandwich fillings. The picture in the collage above is from Make The Best of Everything. You can also peel the cucumber, if desired.
5. Plantain Tortillas
To satisfy a wrap craving, try rolling up a Plantain Tortilla. (Plantains contain a concentration of starch and they are not suitable for the SCD or GAPS Diet)
6. Paleo Sandwich Rounds
With a base of coconut flour and shredded carrot, these paleo sandwich rounds require only five minutes of prep time.
7. Tapioca Wraps
My waters just looking at these grain-free Tapioca Wraps stuffed with melted cheese. (The wraps also contain cheese as a binder and the tapioca flour is not suitable for SCD/GAPS diet).
8. Eggplant Bread Sandwiches
Simply slice eggplant lengthwise, grill lightly, and fill with your favorite sandwich fixings. Marathon Momentos gives a quick explanation and offers a really tasty filling combination.
9. Sweet Potato Sandwich Buns
Sweet Potato Buns look like a great substitute for hamburger buns and for sandwich bread. This recipe from Paleo Fondue includes coconut and tapioca flour.
10. Bell Pepper Sandwich Slices
For a colorful and crunchy bread alternative, try slices of bell pepper. The Primal Parent shows us this creative sandwich solution.
11. Cauliflower Rolls
These Cauliflower Rolls Cauliflower Rolls are very similar to the Cauliflower Wraps but it skips the step of steaming and squeezing the cauliflower. The recipe takes a flavor hint from “Everything Bagels.”
12. Grain Free Hamburger Buns
There are numerous recipes for grain free hamburger buns, which made excellent sandwiches. Try Sesame Hamburger Buns from The Paleo Mom or Coconut Flour Hamburger Buns from SCD Foodie.
13. Butternut Squash or Sweet Potato Sandwich Rounds
Simply slice peeled sweet potatoes or a butternut squash (the stem end) into 1/4 inch thick rounds. Toss with coconut oil and roast at 400 degrees F. Bake for about 30 minutes, until tender but firm. The baked squash/sweet potato rounds make a sandwich bread substitute. You can see step-by-step instructions in my Butternut Squash Pizza Crust recipe.
14. Oopsie Sandwich Bread
Flourless Oopsie Bread makes a great substitute for bread. The recipe calls for cream cheese. For those on the SCD or GAPS diet, substitute my homemade goat cheese or dripped homemade yogurt.
15. Lettuce Cups
Lettuce cups are another favorite wrap for sandwich innards. Butter lettuce leaves and romaine lettuce leaves make good options. Try these Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps. Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Do you use any of these breadless sandwiches? Do you have any other solutions for no bread sandwiches?
I love bread (sad, but true), however I am not a fan of sandwiches because there is too much bread. These are great options! It would be super if you would consider linking this post up to my #throwbackthursdaylinkup as I know some of my friends and readers would love these recipes!
Any Jimmy John’s sandwich can be ordered as an “un-wich”; they just serve the sandwich wrapped in Iceberg lettuce. It’s a good alternative to fast food or when my office orders lunch in for us. I like their veggie sandwich served this way, it’s usually served on wheat bread.
Here’s a recipe to grain free sandwich buns that have been an absolute lifesaver for me: http://lifeofagrainfreemom.wordpress.com/2013/03/01/grain-free-sandwich-buns/.
Okay I officially have a crush on you haha
…Seriously though. First blogger crush. Keep up the good work =)
On a completely ..unrelated note I’ve noticed we have three reasonably large things in common.
Great ideas. Another wonder substitute is very thinly sliced jicama. And it’s even great a tad bit warmed. The first time I had jicama as “bread replacement” was at a wonderful San Antonio Mexican restaurant. I had ordered shredded beef tacos on jicama. The slices had been sliced very thin and warmed, making a delightful corn taco substitute. Since then I’ve experimented with it and have yet to be disappointed!
Thank you so, so much for this- I’ve been looking for a post like this for months!
Thankyou so much Lauren for your kindness and selflessness in helping others. I very much appreciate your website, i and my children have been very unwell and we just hadnt even considered low atomach acid so you have just saved us a few more years of suffering! We are now following your instructions/ ideas and are excited at the thoughts of getting our bodies and energy back. My 22 year old and 12 year old daughters have very bad digestive systems and me too, we have been popping many supplement pills trying to remedy poor health, but you have made it clear to understand about why nutrients are not absorbed, and how increased acid will help.
Your sandwich ideas are wonderful.
I bet your mum is so proud of you. Ps a lady up the top someplace was saying she would like you to do guest posts on her blog – i think you have become very popular.
May you be blessed for your help. I thank God for coming across your articles.
I would like to become a nutritional therapist too as you have inspired me, but i dont have the funds at present, as i am on disability benefits but im hoping to get well and be able to work 🙂 i have been lonely like a hermit from my illness, i cant wait to socialise again 😀 so exciting! Big hugs x yolanda and family.
I love this post♡
I’ll try this right now! Thank u^-^
#7 “My waters…”???
Most comments here are saying what people are using as alternatives to bread etc, but none are actually saying what benefits the changes they are making are doing for them. We were all brought up on bread as our daily food for breakfasts, lunches, dinners and generations and years of consuming bread products, now dietitians and food gurus say we shouldn’t be eating any type of bread unless it’s this or that (gluten free, sesame seeds, organic etc) which doe’s not make sense. I find it would be impossible to turn around the daily calorie intake from years of eating normal bread products and change to these substitutes, plus who really wants to change their eating habits and go for cucumber sandwiches without bread, for example, most of us do not have these products to change to or know even where to get them. Why in the ‘new’ generation is everything from past generations so bad for us now? People making these claims need to have some backup rather than just printing recipes that they think will change peoples habits. We are all concerned about a healthy lifestyle, but too many different ideas and suggestions just make it all confusing.
Replying to CD, albeit late: Most of us who decline to eat bread are doing so not only because we “want” to be healthier, but because we have endured some major health challenges and been forced to change our habits or remain sick. Bread is magic. The breads of 100 years ago are rare. The wheat has been obliterated on a molecular level (GMO) and the grain itself has been grown with chemicals and sprayed with chemicals upon harvesting. On top of that, everything “unnatural” is added to bread and most processed grain products. All of these things have added up to sensitivities in younger folks. I am not that young, 36, but I was really sick in my early twenties and cutting out wheat and dairy made a world of difference. I still have to be mindful of what I eat. I still have sensitivities. My immune system is still “not that strong” and can crash after a period of ongoing “cheating” which leads to developing mono or shingle. So, what I have experienced, on the positive side, is that I can more easily digest food (chronic constipation otherwise), my skin looks great (it didn’t for a good part of my life) and I don’t get sick often…in fact, I haven’t been “sick” in years.
That being said, one can sprout ancient grain and ferment bread starters to adhere to the methods of bread-making that initially evolved to support our species. One can even buy sprouted grain flours now. I think the biggest point is that we have lost what made bread “magic” in the BigAg convenience world we live in.
And if I could eat bread and grains everyday without repercussions, I would. I love bread. And cheese. But I am grateful to know what to NOT eat to live my best life.
AMEN!! Very well written. 🙂