Move over grilled cheese, my Vegan Spinach Cheese Melts are here to curb even the most serious cravings for a cheesy, melty and comforting lunch sandwich! Layers of browned mushroom, garlicky spinach and homemade cashew mozzarella cream take these to the next level.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 10 minutes
  • Cook time: 15 minutes
  • Total time: 25 minutes
  • Yield: 4
  • Category: Breakfast, brunch, dinner, lunch
  • Cuisine: American

Ingredients

For the spinach:

  • 1 Tbsp vegan butter
  • 4 to 6 oz of frozen spinach or chopped spinach
  • 1 clove garlic (minced)
  • ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • ⅛ to ¼ tsp salt

For the mozzarella cream:

  • ½ cup raw cashews (soaked in hot water for at least 15 minutes)
  • 1 cup water
  • 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 small garlic clove (or use ½ teaspoon of garlic powder.)
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
  • 1 pinch onion powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon miso paste
  • 2 teaspoons flour (, I use all-purpose, see notes for Glutenfree)

For the mushrooms:

  • 1 Tbsp vegan butter
  • 8 oz mushrooms (sliced)
  • ⅛ teaspoons salt
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper

For the rest of the ingredients.

  • sliced bread as needed
  • sliced tomatoes

Method

  1. Cook your spinach by adding vegan butter to a skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook until it starts to turn golden on some of the edges. Add in the spinach, pepper flakes, and salt, and cook until the spinach has wilted. If using frozen spinach then cook until the water is evaporated.

To make the Mozzarella Cream:

  1. Drain the Cashews, then add to a blender, add water and the rest of the ingredients and blend until it's smooth. You can blend for a minute then let it sit for a few minutes and then blend again for a minute.
  2. Add the blended mixture to a skillet over medium heat, cook, stirring occasionally to thicken for six to seven minutes until it's thickened evenly. Let it cool for a few minutes before adding it to the sandwich to serve.

To make the mushrooms:

  1. Add vegan butter or oil to a skillet over medium heat, add sliced mushrooms, salt and pepper and cook until the mushrooms are golden around the edges, or cook until your preferred state of the mushrooms.

Assemble:

  1. Toast your bread slices in a toaster or on a skillet then assemble with some tomato slices, then top the slices with the cooked mushrooms, then add a good helping of the mozzarella cream and top it with the spinach. Too with another toasted bread and serve
  2. Store the spinach and mozzarella separately refrigerated for upto 3 days. Reheat on a skillet and use. Or assemble Sandwich and bake for 10 minutes to reheat entirely

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.