this high protein focaccia sandwich is delicious to make and the perfect summer sandwich. it is light and filling while still being 29g plant protein!

the inspiration

I love a sandwich. One of my biggest flaws with sandwiches is that I do have protein goals so I like for my bread to be as macro friendly as possible. When I was thinking about this sandwich I really wanted to make focaccia for it.

Now, of course focaccia is amazing and delicious. I am a big believer of enjoying everything in moderation. But I wanted to make a high protein focaccia so that way I can have a delicious high protein focaccia sandwich.

This sandwich also has a whipped basil tofu cream on it, along with thinly sliced cucumber and marinated tofu. Finish it off with a drizzle of balsamic glaze for something incredible.

ingredients for High Protein Focaccia Sandwich

the ingredients

Vital Wheat Gluten: this will add protein and texture into our high protein bagel. Vital wheat gluten is not just great for making seitan with, it is great for adding into breads and cakes. I do not have a substitute for this, as it is where most of the protein is coming from.
All Purpose or Bread Flour: to balance out the vital wheat gluten and make sure this actually comes out like bread and not seitan we are going to use all purpose or bread flour. Either work fine for this recipe I just prefer bread flour in general so that is what I use.
Yeast: we will be proofing this dough, so you either need active or instant yeast. If you use active yeast be sure to activate beforehand. I prefer instant yeast as it is one less step.
Olive Oil: the olive oil adds fat to the focaccia.
Salt: to add flavor to the focaccia, whipped basil tofu cream cheese, and tomatoes.
Garlic Powder: to add flavor to the sandwich.
Non-Dairy Milk: we will use this in the tofu cream cheese you can use any unsweetened and unflavored non-dairy milk you like. I do recommend staying away from coconut milk.
Tomatoes: we will thinly slice a tomato for our sandwich. I used a tomato on the vine but you can use beefsteak as well.
Cucumber: I like an English cucumber, but feel free to use any cucumber you like.
Basil: of course we need basil for our whipped basil tofu cream cheese.
Tofu: for this recipe we will use extra firm tofu. It creates a good consistency for thickening up in the fridge.
Nutritional Yeast: we will use the nutritional yeast to add cheesy umami flavor to the vegan cream cheese.
Balsamic Glaze: I love the sweetness the balsamic glaze adds to this recipe. It is a thickened and reduced down balsamic vinegar that becomes very thick.

how make high protein focaccia sandwich

dry ingredients for High Protein Focaccia Sandwich

In a large bowl combine the dry ingredients: flour, vital wheat gluten, instant dry yeast, and salt.

wet ingredients for High Protein Focaccia Sandwich

Add in the olive oil and water.

Mix together to form a shaggy dough.

Knead the dough into a ball for about 1 to 2 minutes.

Cover for 1 hour and let it rise. It does not rise as much as traditional dough but it should rise and puff up.

Lightly grease a 9×9 inch baking dish. Then, spread the dough out in the pan.

Cover and let this rise again for 1-2 hours. Use your knuckles to make the classic focaccia pattern.

Bake for 15 to 17 minutes or until golden brown.

Meanwhile, thinly slice the tomato. Pat dry. Then, top with salt, black pepper, and red wine vinegar.

Thinly slice the cucumber.

Prepare the whipped basil tofu cream cheese. In a blender combine the nutritional yeast, tofu, salt, garlic powder, basil, and water. Blend until smooth and creamy. Place in the fridge to thicken.

After the focaccia has cooled cut it in half. Then, add the whipped basil tofu cream cheese to both halves of the bread. Layer the tomatoes, cucumber, and drizzle with balsamic glaze.

Add the top half of the bread to the top.

Cut into quarters and enjoy.

where does the protein come from?

A big question I tend to get asked with high protein recipes is where does the protein come from?! And I totally get it! Let’s do a little breakdown.

The main driving force of protein in this recipe is the vital wheat gluten. We are using 100g which will have 75g of protein, divided by 4 that is 18.75g protein right off the bat. From there we will also get an additional 13.3g protein from the flour, divided by 4 that is 3.3g. Finally, the whipped tofu basil cream cheese has 200g of extra firm tofu which has 21.2g protein, divided by 4 is 5.3g. So, right there that is 27.3g protein. The remaining around 2g of protein will come from the veggies and nutritional yeast.

So, as you can see it really all adds up quite quickly which is awesome for us. Plus, the total calories for the sandwich is around 310! So, you can’t really beat these macros for a sandwich.

high protein focaccia sandwich recipe variations

Of course you can have a lot of fun with this recipe. Here are some more ideas and additions!

Add more veggies. I think thinly sliced zucchini, roasted red peppers, red onion, or chopped mushrooms would be a great addition to this focaccia sandwich. Any vegetable would taste great on here!
Add vegan cheese. You can add a vegan fresh style mozzarella, you can use my recipe and just make bigger pieces of tofu instead of the balls. You can also add store-bought vegan cheese if you like.
Add different herbs. You can add in so many fresh herbs to the focaccia. Sage, rosemary, parsley! So many options.
Play around with dressing. If you want to add in hot chili pepper, red wine vinegar, or whatever else it may be you like.

high protein focaccia sandwich faq

Is this recipe allergy friendly?

It does use tofu and gluten. At this time I have no substitute for the vital wheat gluten. Unless, you simply wanted to use a gluten-free bread that works for you. For the tofu, you could substitute it with a nut like cashews, you would need about ¼ cup. You can also try sunflower seeds. The recipe is nut free.

How do I store leftovers?

Wrap in foil and place in the fridge for up to 4 days. The longer the sandwich sits the soggier it will get. I did eat it all 4 days in a row and it was yummy but the middle tends to get soft.

How can I make this in advance or meal prep it?

I would suggest making the protein focaccia and the whipped basil tofu cream cheese first. Then, store them separately. The focaccia in a container on the counter cut into 4 pieces, and add the tofu cream cheese to a container in the fridge. Then, just assemble it the day of.

Do I need to press the tofu?

No. We want the liquid from the tofu.

Can I use frozen tofu for this?

No.

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