These Beet Reuben Sliders Might Just Outshine The Original
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Beet Reuben sliders are a creative way to enjoy the spirit of a traditional reuben sandwich in vegetarian form. Traditional Reuben sandwiches are grilled deli items normally including a thick heap of corned beef on buttered rye with Russian dressing, sauerkraut, and Swiss cheese. Recipe developer Michelle Bottalico has created a tasty meatless recipe featuring roasted beets instead. Roasting is a favorite way to prepare beets because it brings out a bold, sweet, earthy, and caramelized flavor that takes beets to another level. To mimic the meat, the beets are rolled in a pastrami spice mixture before roasting. Homemade Russian dressing, Swiss cheese, and sauerkraut (warmed in a pan so it's not soggy) complete the dish. The sandwiches in this recipe are in slider form, but the buttered buns are sprinkled with caraway seeds as a nod to buttered rye. Grilling tall sliders in a pan like the original is a bit difficult, so the sliders are baked. This makes it easier to pop a whole tray in the oven at once.
There's a lot going on in vegetarian beet Reuben sliders recipe, but it all works. These delicious sliders are warm and browned, rich and buttery, and tender, crunchy, spicy, creamy, mild and sharp all at once. You can roast the beets ahead to save time making the sandwiches, since that part takes the longest. These sliders are fantastic for a special warm lunch at home, and if you scale up the recipe they're a perfect party dish for a crowd.
Gather your beet Reuben slider ingredients
For the spiced beets, you will need small fresh beets and olive oil. The spices for the beets are black peppercorns, coriander seeds, yellow mustard seeds, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, brown sugar, and salt. For the sliders, you will need softened butter, drained sauerkraut, slider rolls, sliced deli Swiss cheese, and caraway seeds.
The Russian dressing ingredients are mayonnaise, ketchup, grated onion, horseradish, relish, apple cider vinegar, paprika, vegan Worcestershire sauce, salt, and black pepper. Make sure the check the Worcestershire ingredients if you're vegetarian or vegan, since regular versions usually contain anchovies. It that's not an issue for you, you can use the regular version. Or, consider substituting the sauce with sherry vinegar, balsamic vinegar, or soy sauce if you don't want to buy a special product. The dressing is vegetarian, but to make a vegan version just use plant-based mayonnaise.
The recipe makes a generous quantity of dressing. It's enough for both sides of the buns. If you prefer the dressing to be less noticeable, you can choose to halve the recipe and just spread it on the bottom of the buns.
Step 1: Preheat the oven
Preheat the oven to 400 F.
Step 2: Crush the whole spices
Place the black peppercorns, coriander seeds, and yellow mustard seeds in a mortar and crush them to a medium grind with a pestle.
Step 3: Whisk all the spices
Transfer the ground spices to a small shallow bowl. Add the paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, brown sugar, and salt and whisk until evenly combined.
Step 4: Peel the beets
Peel the beets and tear off 2 sheets of aluminum foil large enough to wrap each whole beet in.
Step 5: Coat the beets
Drizzle or rub the olive oil over the beets and then roll them in the spice mixture until the outsides are fully coated. Place them on the foil sheets.
Step 6: Wrap the beets
Wrap and seal the beets in the foil sheets and place them in a baking pan.
Step 7: Roast the beets
Roast the beets for 60-70 minutes, until tender. Remove the beets from the oven, unwrap them, and set them aside to cool.
Step 8: Lower the oven temperature
Lower the oven to 350 F.
Step 9: Make the dressing
Meanwhile, make the Russian dressing. Add all of the dressing ingredients to a small bowl and whisk until evenly mixed. Set aside in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Step 10: Melt the butter
Melt ½ tablespoon butter in a small frying pan on medium.
Step 11: Cook the sauerkraut
Place the sauerkraut in the pan and let cook until warm and extra liquid is evaporated, about 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside.
Step 12: Slice the beets
When the beets are cool enough to handle, thinly slice them and set the slices aside.
Step 13: Butter the rolls
Cut the rolls in half and spread the remaining 1 tablespoon softened butter on the outside top and bottom of the rolls.
Step 14: Spread the dressing on the rolls
Spread the Russian dressing on the inside top and bottom of the rolls. Place the bottom halves of the rolls on a baking sheet optionally lined with parchment paper.
Step 15: Add the beets
Place 2-3 slices of beets on each roll on the baking sheet. (You may have a few slices left over, depending on the size of the beets.)
Step 16: Top with sauerkraut
Evenly divide the warm sauerkraut on top of the beets.
Step 17: Add the cheese
Cut large slices of Swiss cheese into smaller pieces if needed and evenly divide them on top of the sauerkraut.
Step 18: Finish the sandwiches
Close the sandwiches with the top halves of the rolls and sprinkle the caraway seeds on top.
Step 19: Bake and serve the beet Reuben sliders
Place the tray in the oven and bake for 12-15 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the rolls are browned. Serve hot.
What to serve with vegetarian beet Reuben sliders
Vegetarian Beet Reuben Sliders Recipe
These vegetarian beet Reuben sliders capture all those essential Reuben flavors, from the Russian dressing to the caraway seeds to the Swiss cheese.
Ingredients
- For the spiced beets
- 1 ¼ teaspoons black peppercorns
- ½ teaspoon coriander seeds
- ¼ teaspoon yellow mustard seeds
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon brown sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 2 small beets
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- For the Russian dressing
- 2 ½ tablespoons mayonnaise
- 2 teaspoons ketchup
- 1 teaspoon grated onion
- ½ teaspoon horseradish
- ½ teaspoon relish
- ¼ teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- ⅛ teaspoon vegan Worcestershire sauce
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 pinch black pepper
- For the sliders
- 1 ½ tablespoons softened butter, divided
- ½ cup sauerkraut, drained well
- 6 slider rolls
- 6 slices deli Swiss cheese
- 1 teaspoon caraway seeds
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 400 F.
- Place the black peppercorns, coriander seeds, and yellow mustard seeds in a mortar and crush them to a medium grind with a pestle.
- Transfer the ground spices to a small shallow bowl. Add the paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, brown sugar, and salt and whisk until evenly combined.
- Peel the beets and tear off 2 sheets of aluminum foil large enough to wrap each whole beet in.
- Drizzle or rub the olive oil over the beets and then roll them in the spice mixture until the outsides are fully coated. Place them on the foil sheets.
- Wrap and seal the beets in the foil sheets and place them in a baking pan.
- Roast the beets for 60-70 minutes, until tender. Remove the beets from the oven, unwrap them, and set them aside to cool.
- Lower the oven to 350 F.
- Meanwhile, make the Russian dressing. Add all of the dressing ingredients to a small bowl and whisk until evenly mixed. Set aside in the refrigerator until ready to use.
- Melt ½ tablespoon butter in a small frying pan on medium.
- Place the sauerkraut in the pan and let cook until warm and extra liquid is evaporated, about 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside.
- When the beets are cool enough to handle, thinly slice them and set the slices aside.
- Cut the rolls in half and spread the remaining 1 tablespoon softened butter on the outside top and bottom of the rolls.
- Spread the Russian dressing on the inside top and bottom of the rolls. Place the bottom halves of the rolls on a baking sheet optionally lined with parchment paper.
- Place 2-3 slices of beets on each roll on the baking sheet. (You may have a few slices left over, depending on the size of the beets.)
- Evenly divide the warm sauerkraut on top of the beets.
- Cut large slices of Swiss cheese into smaller pieces if needed and evenly divide them on top of the sauerkraut.
- Close the sandwiches with the top halves of the rolls and sprinkle the caraway seeds on top.
- Place the tray in the oven and bake for 12-15 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the rolls are browned. Serve hot.
Nutrition
| Calories per Serving | 370 |
| Total Fat | 19.6 g |
| Saturated Fat | 8.1 g |
| Trans Fat | 0.3 g |
| Cholesterol | 36.0 mg |
| Total Carbohydrates | 34.7 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 2.7 g |
| Total Sugars | 3.3 g |
| Sodium | 514.2 mg |
| Protein | 13.9 g |
How do beet Reuben sliders differ from a regular Reuben sandwich?
There are some differences between these beet Reuben sliders and traditional Reuben sandwiches. The most obvious difference is that these are vegetarian and use roasted beets instead of corned beef. The spices the beets are rolled in make them pretty spicy when tasted on their own, but the heat is milder when they're in the sandwich. The other ingredients — Russian dressing, sauerkraut, and Swiss cheese — are the same.
Reuben sandwiches are made a bit like grilled cheese. Slices of rye bread are toasted on one side in a generously buttered frying pan. Then the sandwiches are filled, topped with untoasted bread, flipped, and cooked again in butter to toast the other side, warm the contents, and melt the cheese. This version differs because the ingredients are placed on slider rolls and baked in the oven, since the small sliders and the generous fillings make flipping more complicated. The rolls are still buttered for that extra richness, and caraway seeds add a rye flavor. You could easily adapt the recipe by using rye bread and grilling the sandwich in a buttered pan if you like.
If you're avoiding meat or want to try something different, these sliders are an excellent way to enjoy the toppings and spices of the original in a unique vegetarian form. And if you like this one, you can apply the concept to the Rachel — the cousin of the Reuben sandwich – just as easily.
What do I need to know to roast beets properly?
Roasting beets takes time, but your patience will be rewarded as roasting enhances beet's sweet and earthy natural flavor. The results are fantastic. If you're going to fire up the oven for an hour to roast the two small beets in this recipe, consider roasting a larger batch. Store them in an airtight container in the fridge and enjoy roasted beets all week. The ones used in the recipe need to be peeled beforehand, but you can skip that extra step for the other ones. The skin will come off more easily after they're cooked.
Whether you peel them or not, rub each whole beets with olive oil before wrapping in aluminum foil, and roast for up to an hour until tender throughout. Bottalico chose this method because the beets are coated in spices which aren't meant to get browned, and the whole beets are then sliced so the spices can be seen on the edges.
That said, you can roast beets without foil if you want. The foil traps heat and water and helps them steam and cook through, but it's not exactly true roasting, which relies on high direct heat to brown and caramelize the surface. Season with olive oil, salt, and pepper. If you cube the unwrapped beets first, they'll only take 30 minutes.