Today I am going share an easy, no fuss, and cold Mediterranean style Eggplant Mozzarella Sandwich with grilled eggplant, zucchini, pesto and of course mozzarella. It’s a great make-ahead sandwich. All you need to do is prepare it, wrap it tightly with plastic wrap or brown paper and store it. A delicious grab and go lunch perfect for your preteens, teens and of course adults too.
Somedays you need this fancy yet straightforward lunch too. Kids these days have a lot of preferences and so does my 9-year old. I can’t believe he will be hitting the two-digit age next year. The vegetable sandwich is my go-to option, but during Jan it was even hard to prepare that. That’s how crazy it was on weekdays.
That’s when I came across these pressed eggplant sandwiches recipe. Given the fact that we love Mediterranean and eggplant, I thought of giving it a try. Of course, it was a hit if not I wouldn’t be posting it here. :-) The recipe as such is simple. But I further made it simple.
I did not use bell peppers in this Eggplant Mozzarella Sandwich recipe, and also instead of the whole ciabatta, I went with French bread slices, same with eggplant and zucchini. I get the enormous zucchinis for this sandwich. Usually, I choose eggplant and zucchini based on the bread slices. Also, I use mozzarella log cheese for this as it’s easy to cut. I allow the grilled veggies to cool and make the sandwich and wrap it up and stock it in the fridge.
Tenali Rama and the Brinjal Curry
The blog needs no intro about my love for aubergine/brinjal/eggplant. But I know it is a hit or miss vegetable. Vaandu likes it in only specific forms that too after we read this story. I love Tenali Rama stories, and we bought a small collection when vaandu was around four years. One of the stories was this Tenali Rama and the Brinjal Curry, and I used that story as an opportunity and coaxed him to try eggplant. I would say I succeeded 60%, but I am happy about it. Thanks to the pesto and that big mozzarella chunk, that made kiddo, to approve this sandwich.
Eggplant Mozzarella Sandwich
An easy, no fuss, and cold Mediterranean style sandwich with grilled eggplant, zucchini, pesto and of course mozzarella.
Ingredients:
- Eggplant Slices (rounds) – 4
- Zucchini Slices (rounds) – 4
- Mozzarella Slices (rounds) – 4
- Bread Slices – 8
- Salt – ¼ tsp + ¼ tsp
- Oil – 1 tsp + 1 tsp
- Pesto – 6 tsps (1.25 tsp for each sandwich)
Steps:
- Heat skillet or pan and add ½ tsp of oil and spread it evenly with a tissue.
- When it is hot, place the eggplant slices and sprinkle ¼ tsp of salt on top.
- Let it cook for two to three minutes and flip them.
- Spread the remaining ½ tsp of oil and let it cook for three more minutes or until they are soft and tender and seared like below.
- Carefully remove them and add ½ tsp of oil and spread it evenly with a tissue.
- Now place the zucchini slices and sprinkle ¼ tsp of salt on top.
- Let it cook for two minutes and flip them.
- Spread the remaining ½ tsp of oil and let it cook for two more minutes or until they are soft and tender and seared like below.
- Allow them to cool.
- Now take the bread slices and apply a tsp of pesto.
- Then arrange one eggplant and zucchini slice either side by side or on top of one another.
- Then place the mozzarella slice. Apply ¼ tsp pesto over the other slice and cover it.
- Wrap it tightly with plastic wrap or brown wax paper. Store in refrigerator.
Recipe Notes:
- Make sure your eggplant and zucchini slices are clean and dry.
- The grilling time varies depending on the skillet/pan material, i.e., I used my iron skillet for this. Also, you can bake them in the oven too.
- You can use any bread variety and same if you cannot source mozzarella logs, you can use mozzarella slices or chunks.
- Add other condiments/sauces as per your preference.
📖 Recipe
Eggplant Mozzarella Sandwich:
Ingredients
- Eggplant Slices rounds – 4
- Zucchini Slices rounds – 4
- Mozzarella Slices rounds – 4
- Bread Slices – 8
- Salt – ¼ tsp + ¼ tsp
- Oil – 1 tsp + 1 tsp
- Pesto – 4 tsps 1 tsp for each sandwich
Instructions
- Heat skillet or pan and add ½ tsp of oil and spread it evenly with a tissue.
- When it is hot, place the eggplant slices and sprinkle ¼ tsp of salt on top.
- Let it cook for two to three minutes and flip them.
- Spread the remaining ½ tsp of oil and let it cook for three more minutes or until they are soft and tender and seared like below.
- Carefully remove them and add ½ tsp of oil and spread it evenly with a tissue.
- Now place the zucchini slices and sprinkle ¼ tsp of salt on top.
- Let it cook for two minutes and flip them.
- Spread the remaining ½ tsp of oil and let it cook for two more minutes or until they are soft and tender and seared like below.
- Allow them to cool.
- Now take the bread slices and apply a tsp of pesto.
- Then arrange one eggplant and zucchini slice either side by side or on top of one another.
- Then place the mozzarella slice and cover it with the bread slice.
- Wrap it tightly with plastic wrap or brown wax paper. Store in refrigerator.
Notes
- Make sure your eggplant and zucchini slices are clean and dry.
- The grilling time varies depending on the skillet/pan material, i.e., I used my iron skillet for this.
- Also, you can bake them in the oven too.
- You can use any bread variety and same if you cannot source mozzarella logs, you can use mozzarella slices or chunks.
- Add other condiments/sauces as per your preference.
I am not a nutritionist. The nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. It varies depending upon the product types or brands.
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My daughter refuses to eat anything but cheesy pasta at school. However I guess this makes an interesting snack for her.
Oh yeah, this is great during hunger pangs.
Your sandwich recipe looks fantastic… awesome bread wrap style.
Thanks, Preeti.
Ohh i remember the tenali raman story vidhya!! i love eggplants and cheese, these make ahead sandwiches look terrific! I love breakfast that can be made in a jiffy or prepped ahead, i would surely give this a try for my kiddos too!!
Love that story. Glad you liked it Priya. Please let me know how your kids liked it.
Seriously I am amazed that your kiddo love eggplants. My girls hate the name eggplant and run away if I try o feed them. Th sandwich looks perfect for me as I love eggplants.
Thanks Sapana.
The elder one and I are huge fans of brinjal but my little one does not even taste it! This is a fantastic recipe to make with eggplants! Awesome idea Srividhya! Will go back and read the tenali raman story and maybe coax my kiddo to try eating the veggie!
he he Thanks PJ… Love the Tenali Raman stories.
Yes I agree, I am so impressed your son eats eggplant, a big pat on the back to him!..and for you for having packed such a fantastic looking sandwich, super duper one Srividhya!
Thank you so much. :-)
Very interesting preparation. Wondering how the eggplant wouldn’t sweat after you add salt. I always end up with soggy eggplants. Could it be the variety of eggplant I use? Owing to allergies, I rarely use eggplant but my older one loves it so I wear gloves and cook for her.
oh no, sorry to hear you have eggplant allergies. As we sandwich it between bread and mozzarella, the bread takes all the liquid and tightly wrapping also helps. Hence, ciabatta or thick french loaf is recommended for this recipe.
This is such a delightful sandwich. This has all the ingredients that I like and this would work great as a cold or warm sandwich. I am bookmarking this to try soon. I have a block of mozzarella cheese in my refrigerator.
Glad you liked it Sandhya. Thanks much.
I would thoroughly enjoy this sandwich Vidhya :-) Love the addition of sliced mozzarella — that’s one of my favorite – easy to work with and super cheesy. This sounds like a perfect lunchbox sandwich.
Thanks, Pavani.
That is an amazing sandwich as it has all my favourtie veggies and cheese. Unfortunately, I could never make my daughter eat eggplant. She hates it to the core. I am really hoping that her taste changes and she loves it as much as I do..
I really hope too. :-) But you can replace eggplant with other veggie or ignore and add more zucchini too.
The first thing…I am amazed the kiddo eats eggplants !..Kids are so fussy with veggies. I love the way you have made this sandwich, it looks fantastic, beautifully packed.
Lucky kid to have such a super talented mom:))
Thanks much for your kind and appreciating words Vaishali. :-)
Absolutely an interesting sandwich to pack a kid’s lunch box with an ease. Such a delicious sandwich, am sure my kid will be very happily if i pack this sandwich in his lunchbox.
That’s great Priya. Please do try and let me know how you all liked it.
I knew your love for eggplants and was expecting the same for the letter “E” . Here you are with eggplant sandwich. Interesting recipe and it would surely be a treat for all eggplant lovers. Still i have to develop taste for eggplants!!!
Thanks Sandhiya. Guess panara alavuku eruka namma eggplant love… ;-)
Neatly packed lunch box with sandwich and fruits ,looks more like a burger stuffing for me !! Cheese and eggplant so yummy!!
Thanks da
wow, this such a perfect kid’s friendly sandwich :) looks so delicious with some zucchini, eggplant, and pesto in it.. I love cold sandwiches too, this version is so inviting .. Ha ha I get you kids these days are too choosy and we keep breaking our head what to pack for lunch daily , You have such amazing kids friendly lunch box recipes it would be so helpful for all .. Fantastic looking sandwich vidhya :)
Thanks a lot, Manjula.