It's hard to beat a good Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato sandwich. While this humble sandwich is free from pretense and fuss, it's simplicity demands the highest quality ingredients and a really, really good sauce. Here's how to make a kick-ass BLT.
How to make a Classic BLT Sandwich with the BEST Sauce
The BLT Sandwich is in that group of dishes that have earned the right to be called "classic". It's the kind of sandwich that can be referenced anywhere - on a restaurant menu, in a novel, article, blog post, or conversation - and we all know exactly what it is. I mean... the clue is in the title. BLT. Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato.
I might not know you personally, dear reader, but I feel safe in making the following assumption: Unless you've spent your whole life eating a vegetarian diet, it's probably safe to say that you've eaten a BLT sandwich. Yes? Of course you have.
Like hamburgers, hot dogs, and pizza, the BLT is one of those things that somehow makes it onto everyone's plate at least one time or anther, and most likely many, many times.
I read something a while back that said the BLT is the second most popular sandwich in the US and the most popular sandwich in the UK.
I have no idea if that's true, but it feels right.
Why is the BLT such an iconic sandwich?
Because bacon. Duh.
Bacon is the obvious point of a BLT sandwich, so it better be good.
Here's the thing about that... finding really good bacon can be more challenging than it should be. I mean, yes - you can walk into any supermarket and find plenty of bacon options. But many of them are not what I'd call high quality.
As with most things in life, you get what you pay for. Bacon is a cured meat. Curing takes time and time is money. To speed up the process so that they can sell you cheaper bacon, some factories will inject chemicals into the bacon that are not the kind of thing you want to put into your body.
I think it's safe to assume that if a producer is injecting chemicals into their bacon in order to produce it faster and sell it cheaper, they're probably not investing in high quality pork to begin with. No bacon is better than this kind of bacon.
For all its deliciousness, bacon probably isn't something we should be consuming in vast quantities. So, when you do eat bacon, make sure it's the highest quality you can find.
For us, that means getting our bacon from Wild Pastures, an organization that sources high quality, ethically raised meat and poultry and delivers it to our front door. (Did you catch the delivers it to our front door part? It's seriously the greatest.)
To Make a Really Good BLT, Every Ingredient Matters
To make a great BLT sandwich, it's important to not skimp on any of the components.
Besides getting the highest quality, thick cut bacon you can find, the quality of your tomatoes and lettuce is also super important. Besides the sauce, there are only 3 ingredients in there. ALL of them matter.
This is why, sadly, I only make BLT's in the spring and summer. It's not that we don't have fresh tomatoes available year round in Colorado. It's just that, in the dead of winter they taste like cardboard. Call me crazy, but I'm not a fan of bacon, cardboard, and lettuce sandwiches.
But, when good quality tomatoes are available, there's nothing better than a BLT.
Use whatever kind of bread you like, just make sure it's a good quality rustic, crusty loaf. None of that tasteless white sandwich bread that is so flimsy your whole sandwich will fall apart after the first bite.
Let's talk sauce.
The BEST BLT Sandwich Sauce
I adore this simple sauce on my BLT sandwich. It's slightly sweet, savory, smoky, and creamy, and is the perfect complement to the salty bacon. It kind of pains me to say this, but the sauce is optional. You can, of course, use regular ol' mayo instead.
But, I hope you try this sauce at least once because it's the bomb. It only takes a couple of minutes to whip up and you can (and should) adjust it to your personal tastes and preferences.
For example, I'm a super paprika fan, so I usually add more than what's listed in the recipe.
If you give this recipe a try, let me know! Leave a comment, rate it, or take a picture and tag it #alittleandalot on Instagram.
📖 Recipe
The Best BLT (Bacon, Lettuce, and Tomato) Sandwiches with Special Sauce
Here's how to make a kick-ass Bacon, Lettuce, and Tomato Sandwich.
Ingredients
For the Sandwiches:
- 1 pound good quality, thick sliced bacon
- 8 slices of thick-cut, hearty bread
- 2 tablespoon butter (optional)
- 2 large, ripe tomatoes, sliced into ½-inch thick slices
- Salt and pepper
- Romaine or Iceberg lettuce
For the BLT sauce:
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon dill pickle relish
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 2 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- ½ teaspoon each salt and pepper
Instructions
- Heat a skillet over medium heat until warm. Add a few slices of bacon and cook until crisp on both sides. Remove to a paper towel lined plate to drain while you cook the rest of the bacon.
- Toast the slices of bread, buttering the outside of the slices. Buttering the bread is optional.
- Mix all the sauce ingredients in a bowl.
- Assemble the sandwiches: spread one slice of bread with a generous amount of BLT sauce. Lay a couple slices of bacon over the sauce, top with a slice or two of tomato and a few pieces of lettuce. Top with another piece of toasted bread and serve.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1 SandwichAmount Per Serving: Calories: 856Total Fat: 56gSaturated Fat: 16gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 37gCholesterol: 120mgSodium: 2613mgCarbohydrates: 41gFiber: 3gSugar: 10gProtein: 45g
Jason says
Very good recipe. The sauce is the star of the show here. Nice twist on a classic, and I even caught my daughter sneaking spoonfuls of the sauce straight from the fridge lol. I will be making this sauce for other sandwiches as well from now on.
RebeccaBlackwell says
Hi Jason! I'm so glad to hear that you liked the recipe for this sandwich sauce. Your comment bout your daughter eating it straight from the fridge made me actually laugh out loud. 🙂 I use it on all different kinds of sandwiches as well - when we're not using it on BLTs, we especially like it on sandwiches made with left over roast chicken. Anyway, thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment for me. I truly appreciate it! xo
Mariah says
I didn’t have honey for the sauce so I substituted with maple syrup - absolutely delicious. I found a new go to sandwich sauce
RebeccaBlackwell says
I am so happy to hear that you liked this recipe, Mariah! The next time I make it, I'm going to use maple syrup - that sounds fantastic! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment for me! xo
Alexis says
Is there anything I can substitute the honey for?
RebeccaBlackwell says
Hi Alexis! Yes - you can use any other kind of sweetener or just plain sugar. Please let me know if you have any other questions!
Kim says
My husband and son both said it tastes just like the special sauce from a big mac.
It just has the right amount of zing for me.
Thanks
RebeccaBlackwell says
I am so happy to hear that you and your family like this sauce recipe, Kim! Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know! xo
Sharon says
I have NEVER been a fan of any sandwich sauce. In fact I always asked for sandwiches Without sauce, especially mayonnaise. But today I fixed BLTs and made a dish of your Special Sauce for 7 adults while being quarantined by law because of Coronavirus. I am 67 years young and we ALL loved your sauce recipe!! In fact, I think the sauce will be absolutely yummy when we next fix our fish fillets. Thanks much for this Special Sauce Recipe.
RebeccaBlackwell says
Hi Sharon! I am so happy to hear that you liked this sauce! I've used it on several other kinds of sandwiches as well and think it would be wonderful over fish fillets. Can I give you two other sauce suggestions that I make often? I make the Green Sauce in this potato salad to serve with all different kinds of seafood and chicken. It's so flavorful that you really have to do little to season the protein at all. The other sauce I make all the time (making it tomorrow, in fact) is Chimichurri. We put it on everything. 🙂
Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment for me! I can't tell you how much it means to me! I wish you and everyone in your household health and safety in these strange and uncertain times. xo
Kris says
My family is pretty picky on what they like to eat, found your sauce recipe and tried it. The whole family loved it . It brought a nice surprise to our normally dull BLT sandwiches. Thank you.
RebeccaBlackwell says
I am so happy to hear this Kris! Thank you SO MUCH for taking the time to leave a comment for me to let me know you and your family enjoyed this recipe! xo