This St. Paul Sandwich is a paleo, low carb, and gluten-free version of the midwestern Chinese-American classic! You can assemble this sandwich in minutes if you already have some Egg Foo Young patties in the fridge!
This dish represents me as a sandwich—an umami-packed, paleo-friendly Chinese American leftover makeover!
What is a St. Paul Sandwich?
A St. Paul sandwich is a midwestern Chinese-American classic: golden-brown egg foo young patties and pickles tucked in-between two pieces of white bread slathered with mayonnaise. Its origins can be traced back to Steven Yuen, the former owner of Park Chop Suey in Lafayette Square near downtown St. Louis, Missouri. Yes, you heard that right: ST. LOUIS. Although this sandwich first gained popularity in St. Louis, the sandwich is allegedly named after Yuen’s hometown of St. Paul, Minnesota!
How is this sandwich Paleo?
In this healthier St. Paul sandwich, I’ve cut out the grains in the bread and egg patties, and added paleo-friendly condiments like Quick Pickled Red Onions and a spicy sriracha mayonnaise to amp up the flavors!
Leftover Makeover!
I love leftover makeovers because you can easily and quickly transform last night’s meal into something new and exciting. St. Paul sandwiches are one of the best examples of a leftover makeover—two times over!
My Egg Foo Young recipe is already a leftover makeover because you can fill the egg-y patties with leftover protein and vegetables. The next day, you can tuck leftover Egg Foo Young patties into these tasty sandwiches! Voilà!
I always make a double-batch of Egg Foo Young patties so I can use the leftovers to make St. Paul Sandwiches. When you’re hangry, you can assemble one in just a few minutes if you have all the ingredients on hand!
What Type of Paleo Bread Can You Use?
Luckily, paleo-friendly grain-free bread is not so hard to find these days! There are lots of great paleo sandwich bread recipes online, including this one by Danielle Walker. You can also buy a terrific paleo sandwich bread mix from Legit Bread Company. Too lazy to bake? You can buy fabulous paleo-and keto-friendly loaves from Misfits Bakehouse! They ship nationwide and you can order them here.
Guinness World Records Title!
On August 6, 2020, I helped set a Guinness Worlds Record title with this sandwich! I joined Al Roker alongside chefs from around the country in this year’s Rokerthon: Al’s Great American Sandwich Relay to break a new Guinness World Records record for the most sandwiches consecutively assembled live!
You can watch the record setting sandwich relay by clicking here. Skip to the 2:00:40 mark to see me assembling my St. Paul sandwich!
Time to Make St. Paul Sandwiches!
Makes 4 sandwiches
Ingredients:
- 8 Egg Foo Young patties
- ½ batch Quick Pickled Red Onions
- ¼ cup Paleo mayonnaise (store-bought is fine!)
- ¼ cup Whole30 Sriracha
- 8 slices Paleo grain-free bread (see note above for recommendations)
- 8 thin tomato slices
- 4 leaves Romaine or butter lettuce
Equipment:
- All of my recommended kitchen tools are listed here.
Method:
Go grab some Egg Foo Young patties and your jar of Quick Pickled Red Onions! You can heat the patties in a toaster oven or air fryer at 325°F for 5 minutes or until warmed through. (You can also assemble the sandwiches with cold Egg Foo Young, too!)
In a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise and sriracha and slather the sriracha mayonnaise on one side of each piece of bread.
Pile each sandwich with two paleo Egg Foo Young patties, two tomato slices, a handful of Quick Pickled Red Onions, and a lettuce leaf.
Top the remaining pieces of bread on top of the four sandwiches.
Slice each St. Paul sandwich in half and enjoy!
Looking for more recipe ideas? Head on over to my Recipe Index. You’ll also find exclusive recipes on my iPhone and iPad app, and in my cookbooks, Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2013), Ready or Not! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2017), and Nom Nom Paleo: Let’s Go! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2021).
PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE CARD
St. Paul Sandwich (Paleo, Low Carb, Gluten Free)
Ingredients
- 8 Egg Foo Young patties
- ¼ cup Quick Pickled Red Onions
- ¼ cup paleo mayonnaise or store-bought paleo mayonnaise
- ¼ cup Whole30 Sriracha
- 8 slices Paleo sandwich bread see post for recommendations
- 8 slices tomato
- 4 leaves Romaine lettuce or butter lettuce
Instructions
- Go grab some Egg Foo Young patties and your jar of Quick Pickled Red Onions! You can heat the patties in a toaster oven or air fryer at 325°F for 5 minutes or until warmed through. (You can also assemble the sandwiches with cold Egg Foo Young, too!)
- In a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise and sriracha and slather the sriracha mayonnaise on one side of each piece of bread.
- Pile each sandwich with two paleo Egg Foo Young patties, two tomato slices, a handful of Quick Pickled Red Onions, and a lettuce leaf.
- Top the remaining pieces of bread on top of the four sandwiches. Slice each St. Paul sandwich in half and enjoy!
VSM says
Congratulations! I actually just finished a tomato sandwich for lunch! I’m not much of a sandwich eater, but when the tomatoes are fresh out of the garden I can’t pass it up! I found a recipe a few years ago (but I’m not sure where…) that only takes Cashew Butter, eggs, olive oil, salt, baking soda, and vinegar–I make a loaf and it freezes beautifully, so when ever the sandwich urge hits me, I’m ready with the toaster. Danielle Walker has wonderful recipes too! Thanks for always being an inspiration in my kitchen!
Taka @gingerpies says
I love this sandwich and today I made two of them, one for my son and the other one for me. I followed your instructions in this article. Although my son is not a sandwich lover, today he fell in love with this type of sandwich. Thank you.
Into the FIRE says
This sandwich looks delicious! I might try making this one day. Thank you so much for sharing!
mare says
michelle- do you find danielle’s bread to be overly “coconutty?”
thank you,
mari
Michelle Tam says
Not especially! I don’t expect paleo bread to taste identical to wheat bread because it is mosty made of nuts, coconut, and eggs.