Vegan Francesinha
Picture this: layers upon layers of meat — everything from steak and two types of ham to not one but two kinds of sausage! And if that weren’t enough, the sauce alone can contain an intense mix of three types of wine, beer, and whiskey. It’s no wonder that many find this classic Porto sandwich indulgent, but for me, it is something truly decadent.
Living in Portugal, though, I felt it was necessary to get to know this iconic dish better and eventually find a vegan version that respects its essence. But read its original, simpler story – it might help you to love a more simply layered sandwich à la Francesinha 😉
As in its early days, the Francesinha was a relatively simple affair — a hot sandwich in the style of the French croque-monsieur, with layers of meats and cheese, served with a spicy twist from piri-piri. This sandwich was almost exclusively found in the cafés and snack bars of Porto, where it had developed a loyal following but remained humble in its presentation.
Then, a pivotal change came along when restaurants started to sell their versions on the “special” menu. One particular restaurant added a thick, spicy tomato-based sauce that elevated the former sandwich from a snack to a hearty meal. From this point on, the Francesinha began its transformation — from a café staple to a celebrated, but increasingly complex and overloaded, restaurant dish.
By the late 20th century, the lines around the Francesinha started to blur. Many restaurants and cafés serving this “special” version with spicy sauce stopped calling it a “sandwich” and dropped the “special” qualifier altogether. With this shift, online publications and media outlets began to fuel exaggerated stories about the origins and ingredients of the Francesinha.
Today, if you order a Francesinha with spicy sauce, it’s technically understood to be the “special” Francesinha. Any claims that the Francesinha was anything other than a simple café sandwich with a Portuguese twist are little more than urban myth, embellished for effect.
As the popularity of the Francesinha continues to grow, it’s worth remembering its roots — a delicious yet straightforward nod to the French croque-monsieur, made Portuguese.
And let us have here one that complements both, the special feature as well as the simplicity of the sandwich, a Francesinha with delicious sauce made fully plant-based!
Enjoy!
Vegan Francesinha
Ingredients
- 1/2 block smoked tofu
- 4 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp smoked paprika
- 3 tbsp olive oil
For the molho (sauce)
- 3 ripe tomatoes
- 1 tbsp ginger, chopped
- 3/4 cup red pepper, finely cubed
- 4 dried tomatoes in oil cut into pieces
- 1/2 tsp paprika powder
- 1/3 cup tomato sauce
- 1 tsp dried or fresh herbs (cilantro, parsley, thyme, oregano)
- 1 tsp vegetable broth powder (optional)
As well
- 4 vegan sausages (see our delicious homemade ones clicking on the links below)
- 1 tbsp mustard
- 8 slices vegan cheese
- olive oil, salt, pepper
- 6-8 slices toast bread
Instructions
Marinate the tofu
- Cut the tofu horizontally into 4 thin slices. Mix the soy sauce, paprika and oil, marinate the tofu in the mixture for a few hours.
Prepare the sauce
- Shortly boil the tomatoes until their skin breaks (max. 3 minutes). Peel and cut them into pieces.
- Sauté the ginger in 3 tbsp of oil for 30 seconds.
- Add the dried tomatoes, sauté for ca. 2 minutes.
- Add the red pepper, continue to sauté.
- Add the fresh tomatoes, let roast for a few minutes.
- Finally add the tomato sauce, herbs, 1/2 cup of water, the broth powder (optional), some salt and cook for ca. 20 minutes, pot covered.
- Finely blend the sauce, season with salt and pepper. Keep warm.
Assemble
- Brown the tofu in oil on both sides.
- Fry the sausages if you haven’t done so yet. Cut them into slices.
- Preheat the oven to grill function or 180℃/345℉.
- Spread four slices of toast with the mustard.
- Place two of them into two small oven dishes or one large oven dish or a baking tray lined with baking paper. Nicely arrange some sausage slices on them, cover with the other toast slices with mustard. Place one tofu slice each onto them, as well as two cheese slices. Cover with the third toast slice.
- Place the rest of the cheese on top (2 slices each). Bake in the oven until the cheese has melted.
- Coat with the sauce or just pour the sauce around the pile of toasts, and serve.