Roasted Asparagus Hoagies
Roasted Asparagus Hoagies

Well this is a weird little recipe, now isn’t it? I blame it on the asparagus explosion that is happening in our garden right now. I love asparagus seasonโ€”LOVEโ€”but like every other veggie in a garden, there comes a time where you have more of it than you know what to do with, so you start to do crazy things like make asparagus hoagies. We’ve eaten our weight in roasted asparagus, asparagus frittatas, and asparagus fettuccine, and it was time to do something different with those beautiful little green spears. Enter the asparagus hoagie.

It is also worth mentioning that we kinda accidentally became at-home vegetarians over the past few months. There was never really a decision made or a tipping point (and we still eat meat when we’re eating away from home), but at some point, we just stopped buying meat. For years now, we’ve been trending to eating less meat, so it’s not really a shocker. Plus, when the garden starts producing tons of veggies (like, say, asparagus) our diet always leans a little more plant-centricโ€”it just makes sense. Why go out and buy meat when you’ve got a produce department right in your backyard, you know? Once the chickens start laying, we could probably go weeks and weeks without ever hitting the grocery store. That sounds pretty awesome to me!

Roasted Asparagus Hoagies

I’m not putting out any diet declarations, but I just figured it was worth mentioning in case you’ve noticed an uptick in veggie recipes around here. You probably will still see your fair share of bacon recipes, because (a) bacon is delicious and (b) I have a bunch of really expensive, really delicious, local bacon stashed in my freezer that I refuse to let die by freezer burn.

I think what has made the transition to eating veggie at home so seamless is that I’ve really been working hard to make our veggie meals feel super substantial. Sure, sometimes (not often), all you want is a light dinner salad, but more often than not, you want some heft for dinner, and that can be a tricky thing to achieve when you’re working with vegetarian meals. I’ve been really trying to build vegetarian meals that are balanced, filling, tasty, and mostly importantly, feel substantial. I don’t want it to feel like I’m eating bird food for dinner!

Veggie sandwiches are one of our go-to dinner meals this Spring. They come together in a flash, and roasting (or grilling, that works, too) imparts such rich flavor that it doesn’t feel like you are eating just vegetables, you know?

Roasted Asparagus Hoagies

Asparagus spears are the perfect option for filling hoagie buns. They’re like the hot dog of the vegetable world! To make these hoagies, I quick roasted some asparagus spears, red pepper slices, and sliced redonion. I then loaded that onto a crusty whole grain hoagie roll that was slathered with a lemon-feta mayo, and then a light blanket of pepperjack cheese. It goes under the broiler to get all melty and ooey-gooey, and then it’s ready to eat! Enjoy.

 
Roasted Asparagus Hoagies

Roasted Asparagus Hoagies

Yield: 4 sandwiches
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes

Roasted Asparagus Hoagies are hearty veggie sandwiches that will satisfy both the meat-eaters and vegetarians in your house.

Ingredients

  • 1 pound asparagus, trimmed
  • 2 red bell peppers, sliced
  • 1 large onion, sliced
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • Salt and pepper, to tasted
  • 1/4 cup mayo
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup crumbled feta
  • 4 whole wheat hoagie rolls
  • 4 ounces pepperjack cheese, sliced

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 425°. Fit a baking sheet with a baking mat or spray with cooking spray. Place the aparagus, bell peppers, and onion on the prepared baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast in preheated oven for 10-12 minutes, or until the veggies are very tender. Remove from oven. Preheat broiler.
  2. While the veggies are roasting, stir together the mayo, lemon juice and feta, set aside.
  3. Place the bottom of the hoagie rolls on a baking sheet, and stack roasted veggies on top. Place pepperjack cheese on top, and then place under broiler until cheese is melted, about 2 minutes.
  4. Spread the mayo on the top of the hoagie buns, then place on sandwiches. Serve!

Notes

Look for thin asparagus (less than the size of a pencil)โ€”those tend to be the least stringy. Stringy asparagus is hard to bite through in sandwich form!

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1 hoagie
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 1095Total Fat: 37gSaturated Fat: 12gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 23gCholesterol: 53mgSodium: 759mgCarbohydrates: 156gFiber: 28gSugar: 9gProtein: 47g

At Wholefully, we believe that good nutrition is about much more than just the numbers on the nutrition facts panel. Please use the above information as only a small part of what helps you decide what foods are nourishing for you.

 

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7 Comments

  1. I’m so jealous of your asparagus abundance. I just bought my first bunch this morning at the Farmer’s Market and I don’t know if I’ll get my hands on more or not. Thanks for sharing another great recipe.

  2. ohhhhhh ohhhhhhh well yes that o word is how good this is!!! Thanks so much for sharing this recipe with us. I will be eating variations of it all summer as different veggies come in. YUMMMMM.!!!

  3. I’m not sure I could ever get enough of asparagus… But then I don’t have a garden, so I’m not really sure. Might need to convince my dad to get some in his so I could check if my previous statement is true (plus I’d use any excuse for veggie sandwiches, really!)!

    Sandra
    http://cakeandwhisky.wordpress.com

  4. Yum!! We make something similar with roasted zucchinni, carots, onion, tomato and a mayo chili mixture. I will definitely have to add asparagus next time!

    Do you have to cover your asparagus plants over the winter or do they die in the fall adn regenerate in the spring?

    1. We cut down the stalks in the Fall, put a heavy layer of compost on top, and then cover it all in a blanket of straw. In the Spring, we rake back the straw, put on another layer of compost, and wait for the delicious spears to poke through! ๐Ÿ™‚

  5. Roasted asparagus is the best! I bet it’s even better when it’s picked from the backyard the same day.