Incredibly Easy, Healthy Barbecue Broccoli Sandwich Filling (Vegan)

If your taste buds are craving a great big sandwich, piled high with steaming stacks of smoky barbecue, but eating healthy is your priority, then look no further than this plant-based version of the all-American favorite summer sandwich.

This recipe started with a 99¢ bag of broccoli slaw and ended in a taste so divine that my kids are already begging me to make it again. That’s a “win!” in any mom’s book.

Okay, what’s so great about this barbecue filling?

  • 30-minute prep time
  • No cholesterol
  • No fat
  • Kid friendly
  • Plant-based
  • Cheap to make
  • Easy-to-find ingredients
  • Lightly crisp (because of the broccoli)
  • Your kids won’t even realize that it’s good for them
  • Freezes well

This recipe would be super simple to make for a summer get together and would be appreciated by meat-eaters and vegans alike. It’s so easy to assemble.

It goes together and cooks in thirty minutes flat. It has the perfect blend of barbecue flavors surrounding the slightly crisp texture of the broccoli stems.

You’ll describe it using words like:

  • Yummy
  • Fresh
  • Flavorful
  • Amazing
  • I can’t believe it’s good for me!
  • Smoky
  • Spicy-Sweet
  • Filling

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Ingredients:

  • 1 – 12-16 oz. bag of broccoli slaw
  • 2 chopped green onions (both white and green parts)
  • 1 tsp. onion powder
  • 1 tsp. garlic powder
  • 1 tsp. smoked paprika
  • 1 -2 cups of Easy Spicy Blender Barbecue Sauce

Honestly, the ingredients could not be easier. I started with a bag of broccoli slaw that I found marked down to 99¢ at Kroger.

I heated a few tablespoons of water in a pan. I use just enough water to keep the ingredients from drying out and sticking to the pan.

After the water was hot, I added two chopped green onions. Use all the onion, both the green and white parts. Once the onion has cooked two minutes, I poured in the contents of the bag of broccoli slaw.

At this point I used what I refer to as “the big three”. These are three spices that I cook with on a nearly daily basis: onion powder, garlic powder, and smoked paprika.

Finally, the contents of the pan were all topped with a healthy amount of one of my son Daniel’s signature recipes, Easy Spicy Blender Barbecue Sauce. The heat was reduced to simmer the contents of the pan for 15-20 minutes.

The barbecue sauce will thicken slightly as it cooks, leaving you with a final product that looks an awful lot like a traditional meat-based barbecue filling, but without all the fat and cholesterol.

You can use bottled barbecue sauce if you want, but my son’s recipe is so simple to make and goes together in about ten minutes in the blender. Plus, it’s absolutely delicious!

If you’re looking for a homemade barbecue sauce without all the salt and fillers in the commercial brands, then I think your new favorite recipe is our Easy Spicy Blender Barbecue Sauce .

Holy cow! My kids were repeatedly lining up like they were deacons going through the food line at a church potluck for the fourth time.

Need the recipe? (I know you do!)

Click that red button for your free, downloadable copy of the recipe. If you make it, I’d love to know what you think. Leave your comments below or snap a photo of your finished broccoli barbecue and tag at @underthemedian on Facebook or Instagram.

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