The prettiest quadruple decker (or multi-decker), aka tea sandwiches, or club sandwiches, these vegetarian ribbon sandwiches are the perfect party appetizers and tea time snacks! I’ve been wanting to share the recipe for these classic Sri Lankan Ribbon Sandwiches for the longest time. These classic mini sandwiches with orange, red, and green bands are loved by so many. Kids love to eat them because of how colorful and eye-catching they are, but here’s the best part, they don’t even realize that they are actually eating healthy veggie sandwiches…
Why I love this recipe
I mean, look how pretty they are! How can you say no to something that looks so colorful and gorgeous? I provide tips on how to get the correct texture for each of the vegetable spreads. No runny, lumpy spreads. I upgraded the recipe that I grew up with to make the fillings so much more flavorful here! The vegetable filling is buttery and flavorful. They are the perfect finger food for any party! From birthday parties to cocktail parties, and family gatherings and potlucks. The sandwiches are filled with vegetable fillings. So these are vegetarian, and can be made vegan very easily too. Kids AND adults love these sandwiches, so they are a guaranteed crowd favorite!
Why are these called “ribbon sandwiches”?
They’re called ribbon sandwiches because of the bands of color that look like ribbons (like a ribbon cake), but I think “rainbow sandwiches” are a more appropriate name! These sandwiches consist of four soft sandwich bread slices, with a layer of vegetable spread (3 types of spreads) between each pair of bread slices. Classic ribbon sandwiches are made with,
Carrot spread Beetroot spread Parsley and lettuce spread (you can also use spinach). Other herbs such as cilantro and basil can also be added.
These vegetarian club sandwiches are very popular in Sri Lankan cuisine, but they are also popular in some parts of India. They are an ever popular snack at parties in Sri Lanka, along with Sri Lankan fish patties, Sri Lankan fish cutlets or their vegetarian counterpart jackfruit cutlets.
Ingredients for ribbon sandwiches (rainbow sandwiches)
Sandwiches
Soft, white sandwich bread. Here in Canada, I prefer Pom sandwich bread (not Texas toast), but any soft, white sandwich bread would work. Butter – Butter is the base for all the vegetable spreads here. You can use margarine or a plant-based margarine instead if you prefer. Margarine might be a better choice if you want to refrigerate the sandwiches, so that it won’t harden in the fridge, and can be eaten cold.
Orange filling
Carrots Turmeric Black pepper
Pink / Red filling
Beets Chili powder Red or Green chili
Green filling
Romaine lettuce (you can leave out the lettuce and only use spinach too) Spinach Parsley Green chili
How to make ribbon sandwiches (rainbow sandwiches)
Preparing the vegetables
The main problem that most people face when making the vegetable spreads is that the spread has too much water because of the vegetables. Then the butter and veggies don’t mix well, creating a lumpy and watery spread that leaks into the bread in the rainbow sandwiches. I’ll show you how to avoid this problem, and how to get perfect spreadable, flavorful vegetable fillings. The first step is to steam the carrots and beets. Steaming avoids waterlogging the vegetables. You can also bake the veggies in the oven, but I find steaming is easier and more foolproof. The vegetables might burn or dry out in the oven if not taken out on time. The spinach and lettuce can also be steamed the same way as the carrots and beets, but obviously they’ll take a much shorter time. You can also choose to dry cook the greens until they wilt. Either method works well for the greens. The next step for the greens is to make sure you squeeze out as much water as possible. Both spinach and lettuce have a high water content, so it’s important that you remove as much water as possible.
Making the vegetable paste
I find it much easier to make the paste in a mini food processor. First, process each vegetable separately with the spices, so that they are finely chopped into a rough-looking paste. Next, you mix in the butter or margarine, with salt, until you have a nice spreadable paste that has small pieces of vegetable suspended through the colored butter mix. This is what creates the colorful rainbow vegetable spreads for your ribbon sandwiches. If you don’t have a food processor, you can grate the steamed carrots and beets separately, then finely chop the grated vegetable and then mix it with the butter. The greens (parsley and spinach and/or lettuce) must be finely chopped, OR roughly ground in a mortar and pestle. The amount of butter you add to the vegetables will vary depending on your taste. This is my preference, I can add the most amount of butter to the beetroot. Since beetroot has a stronger, earthier flavor, I can add a fair amount of butter and still taste the beetroot, while retaining a deep color. Carrots use a little less butter, because I don’t want to dilute the “orange” color, OR the taste of the carrots. With the spinach mixture, I add the least amount of butter, because I want to retain that deep green color. The more butter you add, the lighter the color will be.
Making the rainbow sandwiches
Each ribbon sandwich is made up of FOUR slices of bread. This recipe makes a minimum of 10 sandwiches (depending on how much of the spread you have on each slice of bread). Spread each vegetable spread on 3 of the bread slices and stack these on top of each other, while placing the fourth slice right on top to complete the ribbon sandwich. Slice off the crusts to form a crustless square sandwich. Next, cut the sandwich into four pieces – either as a square or a triangle or as long finger sandwiches. All in all, this recipe should make at least a total of 40 mini sandwiches!
Storing the sandwiches
If you’re making these ribbon sandwiches ahead of time, make sure to store them in an air-tight container in the fridge. Butter will harden in the fridge, so you will need to let the butter soften to room temperature before serving the sandwiches. However, if you used margarine, you don’t need to worry! They can be served chilled or at room temperature.
Serving the ribbon sandwiches
You can serve these gorgeous rainbow colored sandwiches however you like. They don’t need any accompaniments, because they are so flavorful on their own. Don’t be fooled by their size either, they are SO filling! I sometimes like to add a fourth “filling” of cheese, but this is only when I make these for us. A sandwich with 5 bread slices (and 4 fillings) might be a little too hard to eat at a party (i.e. with people around you…).
Recipe notes
Growing up, I loved eating these ribbon sandwiches at birthday parties! The carrot and beetroot fillings are buttery, a little sweet, with a hint of spice. And the green layer is herby, spicy, and fresh! As a kid, I gravitated towards these sandwiches because of how colorful they were, and as an adult, well, not much has changed. I still love how colorful and pretty they are. But they are also super delicious too! These are great as homemade lunch ideas and perfect for meal prep recipes too. Make sure to show off the beautiful rainbow colored fillings in your sandwiches when you’re serving these. I promise these will be a crowd favorite!
More sandwich recipes you’ll love
Ebi katsu (shrimp katsu sandwiches) Spicy chicken sandwich (Nashville hot chicken sandwich) Fried chicken sandwich Japanese egg salad sandwich Maine lobster rolls Steak sandwich Ham and egg sandwich Curried beef grilled cheese sandwich
