The best sandwiches don’t happen by accident: You’ve got to balance moisture and crunch, weigh condiments against main components, choose bread that will make each element shine, then construct it all so that every bite delivers something far greater than the sum of its parts.
Whether stuffed with meat, eggs, cheese, or vegetables, the sandwich transcends borders, uniting cultures, peoples, and cuisines. Take, for example, Cuba’s medianochesandwich with roast pork, ham, and Swiss cheese on a sweet egg loaf, and Vietnam’s banh miwith Chinese-style barbecue pork, fresh cucumbers, and mayo on French bread.The South’s pimento cheese, and Turkey’s kumru, a briny grilled cheese with sucuk sausage, spicy pickles, and tomatoes on a sesame roll. The world’s best sandwiches have much in common.
Chief among their shared traits? Ease. Even the most “gourmet” sandwiches remain grab-and-go food, and infinitely adaptable. Need a few new ideas for sandwiches? We’ve sliced our list of favorites down to the 50 essential sandwich recipes to try now. Feel free to follow the rules, or break them as your preference, pocketbook, and pantry allow. Your lunch (and breakfast) game will never be the same.
An oyster loaf served unadorned, the way Joe Casamento insisted it should be. Get the recipe for Casamento’s Fried Oyster Loaf Sandwich »
Pickled daikon and carrots, thinly sliced cucumbers and jalapeños, and fresh cilantro add crunch and color to this iconic sandwich.
This hearty twist on the classic Provençal pressed sandwich pan bagnat combines black olive tapenade, goat cheese, roasted chicken, and thinly sliced vegetables. Make it at least two to three hours before you plan to serve it to really let the flavors marry. Get the recipe for Roast Chicken Pan Bagnat with Olive Tapenade and Goat Cheese »
A riot of colors and flavors, this banh mi pairs smoky grilled chicken with creamy, cooling avocado.
Smørrebrød of Eggs, Shrimp, and Dill
Shrimp, Egg, and Dill Smørrebrød »
Cherry tomatoes are tossed with canned sardines here, along with fresh oregano, olives, capers, and a red wine vinaigrette. The whole thing is layered with thin slices of heirloom tomato between slabs of focaccia.
Thin strips of cucumber and hand-torn leaves of fresh basil are the perfect foils for smoky-sweet grilled pork in these hearty sandwiches.
Two great New Jersey tastes that taste great together: juicy meatballs fortified with New Jersey pork roll (a.k.a. Taylor ham). Get the recipe for New Jersey Pork Roll Meatball Sub »
Salmon Gravlax, Apple, and Crispy Kale Smørrebrød »
Pressing down on this sandwich with a spatula while it toasts in the pan is the key to achieving the outer crispness and well-melted cheese that you want in a Reuben. Pile the meat on generously but not more than an inch or two thick or else the interior won’t get sufficiently warmed. Get the recipe for The Schimmel Reuben Sandwich »
Raegan Steinberg, co-owner of Arthur’s Nosh Bar in Montreal’s hip Saint-Henri neighborhood, calls her partner chef Alex Cohen an “everything and the kitchen sink kind of cook.” Called the McArthur Sandwich, this high-piled schnitzel-filled creation adapted from the restaurant is the perfect example of his genius. Pounded and breaded chicken is topped with sweet honey, salty dill pickles, and vinegar-y iceberg slaw, then served upon crispy challah toast. The secret to the crunchy yet hearty schnitzel breading: instant mashed potato flakes mixed into the breadcrumbs. Get the recipe for The Ultimate Fried Chicken Sandwich »
This specialty of Çesme, a small beach town in Turkey, is one of the world’s great grilled cheese sandwiches, in which the cheese itself is grilled before getting slipped into toasted bread with raw tomato and optional (but highly recommended) toppings of griddled sausage and pickled cucumbers and chiles. Get the recipe for Turkish Grilled Cheese »
With roast pork, ham, Swiss cheese, and pickles, it’s almost identical to a Cuban sandwich, save for the bread, a sweet egg load that’s similar to challah. Get the recipe for Cuban Medianoche Sandwich »
Chef Steven Brown uses pumpernickel rolls for this “punk rock sandwich with a $25 cleaning bill;” but you could use any roll you like. Get the recipe for Trout “Reuben” »
Slathered with herb aïoli and enriched with a pan-fried egg and Gruyère cheese, this turkey and ham club is a decadent version of the diner staple. Get the recipe for Bel-Air Club Sandwich »
By starting with a low cooking temperature and then switching to a high one, this pork belly with perfect texture. Get the recipe for Pork Belly Gyro »
This beautiful monster is a double-decker of Swiss cheese, ham, and chicken or turkey, battered, fried, and dusted with confectioners’ sugar, served with jelly on the side. Get the recipe for Monte Cristo »
This briny, tangy sandwich benefits from sitting awhile after assembly. The oils from the tapenade will seep into the bread, making it moist but not soggy, and the sharp flavors of pickled fennel, capers, and olives will mellow pleasantly. Get the recipe for Lemon-Caper Tuna Sandwich »
