MyPlate-Inspired Healthy Sandwiches

Cooking Light is working with the Partnership for a Healthier America and USDA’s MyPlate to give anyone looking for healthier options access to thousands of recipes that will help them create healthy, tasty plates. For more information about creating a healthy plate, visit ChooseMyPlate.gov.

First up is our Chicken and Roquefort Sandwiches. One serving of this entrée contains about one-fourth of your daily sodium allotment. We extend salty Roquefort cheese by mixing it with cream cheese as a spread. A 2-ounce portion size for bread also helps control sodium counts.

The bread and Vietnamese filling—carrot and radish, cilantro, mayonnaise, and cucumber—are traditional in this vegetarian take on the classic. Prepare mayonnaise mixture and toast bread while the tofu and vegetable mixture marinate.

This Cajun-inspired catfish sandwich is served open faced and topped with a creamy slaw packed with fresh cilantro.

Quick-pickled cukes give these burgers tart crunch. Panko and egg white hold the patties together. Use cilantro leaves on the burgers as you would ­lettuce for herby freshness.

The tangy, herby yogurt sauce (raita) stands in for mayonnaise on this blended burger. For more spicy kick, leave the seeds in the serrano chile.

These grilled tomato and brie sandwiches make the most of juicy, flavorful summer tomatoes. Serve with grapes or carrot sticks.

There's just the right amount of heat and sweet in these succulent pork sandwiches. Serve with a soba noodle salad.

If you can't find Italian rolls, substitute a sturdy bread that will soak up the juices in this moist, delightfully messy sandwich.

Make these easy barbecue pulled chicken sliders by pairing shredded rotisserie chicken with homemade barbecue sauce for an easy weeknight meal.

Here's the key to a speedy dinner: While the eggplant broils, toast your bread slices in a toaster oven.

You'll love this open-faced take on a classic tuna melt. Sustainable note: Solid white tuna is albacore, the most sustainable choice among varieties of tuna.

These pork sandwiches are a nod to low-and-slow Southern barbecue–using just a little bit of pork shoulder. And just like traditional pulled pork, the meltingly tender vegetables and pork are piled high on toasted buns, slathered with a Greek yogurt mixture, and topped with shredded cabbage.

This upscale twist on the traditional breakfast sandwich features sweet, tender caramelized onion and peppery arugula. A fresh fruit salad would be a good accompaniment.

Chutney adds a pleasing sweetness to this new twist on the chicken sandwich. We prefer cranberry chutney, but any variety will do.

Sweet fig preserves balance the tartness of the plums. Choose red or purple plums with bright, unblemished skin that are firm and plump to the touch.

If you can't find tahini, substitute an equal amount of peanut butter to make the sauce for these Middle East–inspired sandwiches. You can prepare the sauce and chicken ahead of time and stuff the pitas when you're ready to eat.

These grilled cheese sandwiches are equally good for breakfast or dinner. Mixing honey with the goat cheese makes it easier to spread over the cinnamon-raisin bread plus it adds a delectable sweetness that won't overpower the palate. This warm, ooey-gooey goodness is exactly what you're in the mood for.

Serve this meatless black bean burger on a bun with hot sauce-spiked ketchup, spinach leaves, tomato, a slice of Monterey Jack cheese, avocado slices, and onion.

Herbs, garlic, and lemon juice combine with mayo for a sauce that makes the sandwich.

This quick, simple, and delicious tilapia sandwich will satisfy your weeknight hunger.

This flavorful sandwich will add brightness to your day. Serve it with fresh seasonal citrus or other fruit.

Grilled flank steak with oranges and blue cheese combine in a sandwich that will make you the envy of coworkers when you open your lunch box. For the best results, use crusty rolls because they stay pleasantly crisp.

Pile the slaw on the sandwich for a crunchy contrast to the tender grilled pork. Serve with smoky grilled corn: Brush 4 ears shucked corn with olive oil. Grill 8 minutes, turning occasionally. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon smoked paprika. Serve with lime wedges.

Opt for focaccia without cheese or herbs, and choose one that doesn't look oily. Serve with a fruit salad of 1 cup blueberries and 2 cups strawberries.

The stack of grilled eggplant, red onion, and zucchini are quite a mouthful but still tasty to eat.

These reduced-fat chicken sandwiches feature chicken cutlets encrusted with tortilla chip crumbs, which yield a satisfying crunch. You can also use spicy chips for more heat.

Breakfast for dinner is a fun way to shake up your menu, and breakfast foods are almost always quick and easy. This 10-minute dish is no exception. We combine whole eggs and egg whites to give great flavor but keep fat in check, and use deeply flavored smoked mozzarella to add more depth.

Little burgers deliver big flavor in these Italian-inspired sliders. Marinara sauce replaces the ketchup and basil serves as a sub for lettuce.

These sandwiches taste great and pair protein with carbohydrates to keep your energy level up. You can substitute one (9-ounce) can of solid white tuna in water, drained, for the tuna steak.

This sandwich packs in gooey cheese, smoky spices, and chunks of chicken for a comforting family-friendly dinner.

The hearty filling of veggies and turkey sausage will get rave reviews from adults and kids alike.

Make homemade veggie burgers in a snap with precooked lentils. Brown lentils can be substituted but tend to be more moisture-dense and may require additional breadcrumbs to help bind the burgers.

Superfast and easy to make, these shrimp salad rolls are a great way to eat more seafood during the week.

Serve fruit with this kid-friendly take on the classic croque monsieur.

If you can't find lavash, try lower-sodium flatbreads or sandwich wraps.

Spiking tartar sauce with mint and capers improves the classic fish sandwich deliciously. Cutting the fish into a square shape helps it fit the bun better. Be sure to use a sweet onion, and soak it in ice water so that you get the crunch but no harsh bite.

Big-time flavors from blue cheese and horseradish make this burger delicious.

Utilize summer's bounty in this superfast, super healthy open-face tomato sandwich.

King Corn governs the Great Plains and probably always will. This burger delivers deep corn essence two ways. The first puts a happy soul-of-corn flavor right in the patty: Corn chips are crumbled into lean, free-range bison meat. Then there's a sweet, creamy fresh-corn mayo that brightens the whole thing up. Charred onion bolstered by smoky chile pepper heats and a wild whiff of sage completes the roundup of prairie gusto. -Robin Bashinsky, Recipe Tester and Developer

This turkey sandwich loses the bland cold cuts and upgrades to thick turkey cutlets, sweet plums, and fresh basil.

Surf-and-turf sings a New England tune: Stick a few hunks of Maine lobstah on a beef patty and call it a day. But beef and lobster don't really belong together in a bun. I wanted something simpler, more basic and true to the region where I spent my college years. Turkey is a healthy choice and the essence of New England tradition. Caramelized onions simmer in hoppy Sam Adams beer, while shaved Vermont cheddar adds tang and richness to the meat. -Hannah Klinger, Contributor

Salmon is sacred in the region, but don't grind it, please. No fish cake beats a fillet hot off the grill, nicely charred and glazed outside, almost sushi-tender within. Watercress—the peppery green I was eating way before arugula vogued in local markets—is quintessentially Pacific Northwest. Asian flavors are beloved, so the mayo is ginger-tinged. For crunch and tang, there's a quick pickle of fresh, thin-sliced radish. This luscious treat takes me right back home. -Scott Mowbray, Editor

Look for precooked eggs, such as Eggland's Best, in the dairy section of the supermarket.

Serve these hearty sandwiches with a side of crisp carrot and celery sticks and light ranch dressing for dipping. Make breadcrumbs with the parts of pita you cut off by pulsing in a food processor; freeze for a couple of months.

Let veggies in on the grilled cheese action with this gooey sandwich recipe.

These meaty, saucy, two-napkin sandwiches are destined for heavy dinnertime rotation.

Serve with crunchy vegetable sticks, a simple tossed salad, or steamed green beans.

For a touch more sweetness, substitute halved grapes for the apple. You can also chop the apple and add it to the salad mixture.

Folding feta into the lamb mixture adds a salty tang to the patties. Also, use a gentle hand when forming the patties so they keep their texture.

Grab a shorty! Our smaller-scale sandwich is truly satisfying, especially with pickle chips and kale.

Turn this into a family-friendly meal and substitute diced green or red peppers for the pickled jalapeños. Whip up these Sloppy Joes in just 40 minutes by grilling the onions, toasting the buns, and preparing the salad all while the beef mixture cooks.

These cheesy sliders are a family-friendly hit and ready in just 20 minutes.

When a rich cheese mixture is slathered on whole-grain bread and sautéed in olive oil, the result is a glorious silky, ultra-cheesy sandwich.

Soft, buttery avocado amps up the irresistible gooeyness of this grilled cheese. Tomato brings a bright, acidic contrast to the richness of cheese and avocado. Firm, ripe tomatoes will perform best--giving off some, but not too much, juice as the sandwich grills.

Mango chutney is more savory than sweet, with warm spices, onion, and vinegar. It adds a tangy note to the sandwiches, but you can omit it if you like. For extra toasty sandwiches, weigh down with a plate or heavy pan as they cook.