A super tasty and nutritious filling to liven up your workaday cheese sandwich. This recipe for carrot and cheese sandwich filling will revolutionise your lunch box and it’s great for picnics too.
I love a cheese sandwich, but with all things it’s good to ring the changes. This carrot and cheese sandwich filling is not only delicious, but it’s a really good one for picnics and lunchboxes. This is mostly because the filling tends to stay inside the sandwich rather than bits and pieces falling out all over your lap as you eat.
Carrot Sandwich
Carrots aren’t the most obvious choice for a sandwich, but they can work really well. As a vegetarian, they’ve been a life saver for me on many an occasion.
The only vegetarian sandwich on offer, at one place I worked, was a carrot and peanut one. It was surprisingly good.
Salad sandwiches are also improved with a little grated carrot I find. And if I have any of this Moroccan carrot dip going spare, I’ll spread that in my sandwiches too.
Anyway, several years ago, I discovered that grated carrot is absolutely delicious when paired with grated cheese. Add some mayonnaise, onion and hot sauce and wow, you have a sandwich filling recipe you’ll want to keep forever.
Carrot and Cheese Sandwich Filling
This sandwich filling is quite a healthy one with lots of calcium and vitamin A. And as long as you use wholemeal bread to put it in, you’ll get plenty of fibre too. But as it contains both cheese and mayonnaise, it’s quite calorific.
Those calories can be pretty useful though. Sandwiches made with this vegetarian filling are sustaining. They certainly kept us going on a 20 km hike through the forest recently and have done so on many a Cornish coast path walk too.
In fact carrot and cheese has become my favourite sandwich filling for when we’re out and about. The resulting sandwiches are not only delicious, but they’re really easy to eat as they hold together so well. The filling is also:
Mayonnaise is the key ingredient here. It gives cohesiveness to the filling. For not only does it give a creamy quality to the whole, but it literally binds the ingredients together.
You can make your own super quick and easy mayonnaise for this sandwich if you like. It only takes a few minutes. It’s vegan, but so much nicer than anything you can buy. I use it all the time now, even if I’m making a dairy cheese sandwich like this one.
I also use my own homemade chilli sauce. But I can’t promise you that this is as quick and easy to make. It takes a while, but gosh, is it worth it.
How To Make Carrot and Cheese Spread
First off, top, tail and scrub a carrot. There’s no need to peel it, unless it’s really manky. Then grate it with the largest setting on a box grater. If your carrot is organic, so much the better.
Use the same grater for the cheese. I mostly use cheddar, but Red Leicester is good too. A more or less equal amount of carrot and cheese makes the perfect combination.
Neither of these activities takes very long. If I had a lot of carrots and cheese to do, I’d probably use a food processor, but it’s really not worth it for a small amount.
Once you’ve done the grating, the rest is super easy. Slice up a spring onion (scallion), then put it into a mixing bowl along with the carrots and cheese. Add the mayonnaise and hot sauce and stir it all together. Easy peasy.
Spread your bread slices or rolls with the filling, then sandwich them together. The amount stated in the recipe below makes a generous amount of filling for one large sandwich or two bread rolls.
Add lettuce if you like to have something green in your sandwiches. A few crisp leaves add additional texture as well as freshness.
If you’re planning on making this carrot and cheese filling in advance, it will keep in the fridge for three to four days. Just make sure it’s stored in an airtight container and give it a good stir before using.
Optional Extras
Add a small handful of raisins to the mix. They pair particularly well with carrots and add little bursts of sweetness to an otherwise, very savoury sandwich.
A squeeze or two of lemon or lime juice adds a little zip to proceedings.
If you’re big on onion, swap the spring onion for some finely chopped red onion. It works a treat. And if you’re not keen on raw onion, snip in a few chives instead.
Vegan Carrot and Cheese Sandwich Filling
Once upon a time, I’d have said there was no decent vegan alternative to this carrot and cheese sandwich filling. But these days, things have improved a lot and it’s entirely possible.
If you eat vegan cheese, you can just swap the cheddar cheese for a vegan equivalent. It’s easy to buy vegan mayonnaise too. However, I’ve not been particularly impressed with any I’ve tried and as I’ve already mentioned, it’s so easy to make your own. And its much more satisfying too. In case you missed it, here’s my recipe for vegan mayonnaise.
Other Sandwiches and Filling Recipes You Might Like
- Avocado & egg filling
- Cucumber cream cheese spread
- Tempeh bánh mi (vegan)
- Toasted tortilla wrap with peanut butter, banana & chocolate
- Tofu lettuce & tomato sandwich
- Vegan ‘cream cheese’ & pickled beetroot sandwich
Keep in Touch
Thanks for visiting Tin and Thyme. If you make this carrot and cheese sandwich filling, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below. And do please rate the recipe. Have you any top tips? Do share photos on social media too and use the hashtag #tinandthyme, so I can spot them.
For more delicious and nutritious recipes follow me on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest. And don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE to my weekly newsletter. Or why not join the conversation in our Healthy Vegetarian Whole Food Recipes Facebook Group?
If you’d like more carrot recipes, follow the link and you’ll find I have quite a lot of them. All delicious, of course.
Choclette x
Carrot and Cheese Sandwich Filling. PIN IT.
Carrot and Cheese Sandwich Filling – The Recipe
Carrot and Cheese Sandwich Filling
Ingredients
- 1 medium carrot trimmed, but not peeled
- 60 g cheddar cheese (2oz) Red Leicester is a good alternative
- 1 spring onions (scallions) can swap for a little red onion
- 2 tsp mayonnaise
- 1 tsp chilli sauce or just a few drops if you prefer less heat
- 2-4 lettuce leaves (optional)
- 2 thick slices wholemeal bread or two wholemeal rolls
Instructions
- Grate the carrot and place it in a mixing bowl. I use the main side of a box grater. It's such a small amount and it doesn't take long at all.1 medium carrot
- Grate the cheese using the same grater and add to the bowl.60 g cheddar cheese
- Finely chop the spring onion and add to the bowl.1 spring onions (scallions)
- Add the mayonnaise and chilli sauce and stir until everything's well mixed and clings together.2 tsp mayonnaise, 1 tsp chilli sauce
- Spread over one slice of bread and top with the lettuce leaves, if using. Place the other slice of bread on top and cut into two halves. If using rolls, place half the mixture inside one and half the mixture inside the other.2-4 lettuce leaves, 2 thick slices wholemeal bread
Notes
Nutrition Estimate
Sharing
I’m sharing this recipe for easy carrot and cheese sandwich filling with My Dinner for #CookBlogShare.
Sandhya says
Super tasty filling of school lunch boxes. I am going to try it this week for my little’s school dinner.
Choclette says
Ooh, I hope it gets a good rating Sandhya!
Helen says
I would never have thought of putting carrot and cheese together but this look absolutely delicious! I’ll be giving it a try very soon 🙂
Thanks for joining in with #CookBlogShare
Choclette says
Yes, they’re an unlikely combination, but a good one.
Corina Blum says
I really like carrots in sandwiches too! This sounds delicious with the cheese and would make a great sandwich filling for picnics.
Choclette says
I can attest it works very well as a sandwich filling for picnics. All we need is the weather!
Kate - Gluten Free Alchemist says
I love the idea of carrot sandwich filling! Sort of cheesy carrot coleslaw… Delicious! I’d happily eat that for lunch xxx
Choclette says
Yes exactly Kate and what could be nicer than that?
Mary says
Oh my goodness, what’s not to like with a Carrot and Cheese filling. It will be on my next picnic sandwich. Sounds delicious. :))
Choclette says
Glad you’re with me on this Mary. And I hope you get to have a lovely picnic very soon.
angiesrecipes says
Looks filling and delicious! I love aged Cheddar.
angiesrecipes
Choclette says
Aged cheddar is the absolute best Angie. There are some really good ones out there, but they’re not particularly easy to get hold of.
Janice says
I love this idea. Cheese and carrots are very much in favour in our house so I’ll add this to the lunch menus soon.
Choclette says
Just be careful you don’t get addicted Janice. I have to try and stop myself having it too often!