The Ultimate BLT Sandwich
on Apr 03, 2017, Updated Jun 03, 2025
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The best BLT in the world — choose the best bacon, the ripest tomatoes, the crispest lettuce, great mayo, and your favorite bread.
This is the best BLT recipe in the world, with firm toasted bread, crispy bacon, juicy tomatoes, creamy mayonnaise, and crunchy lettuce in every bite. When fresh tomatoes are in season, this simple sandwich is the greatest way to make the most of them.
A homemade BLT sandwich is a perfect lunch on its own, but accompanied by nothing more than a handful of crispy potato chips or maybe old-school Fritos. A pile of sweet potato fries or a scoop of French potato salad would also be ideal!
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“A BLT just doesn’t get any better than this!” – Amy W.
If you want to get creative with your BLT, do keep reading — the recipe includes lots of ideas for ways to accessorize your BLT. But make one plain version first, and enjoy its simple perfection.
What's In This Post?
The Ultimate BLT Sandwich recipe: The platonic ideal of one of the greatest sandwiches ever (including a surprising second use for mayo!).
Ingredients
- Bacon – Thick-cut bacon vs. regular (at least that’s where I head most of the time), cooked to the perfect degree of crispness. Buying good bacon vs. everyday bacon is worth the extra few bucks here.
- Mayonnaise – You will use mayonnaise not only in the sandwich but also in the griddling of the bread instead of butter.
- Tomatoes – Then, of course, you need to make sure you are using the most perfect, ripe tomatoes you can find.
- Bread – The best bread for a BLT has some density and firmness to it, to stand up to the mayo and juicy tomatoes. A good, fairly thick-sliced Pullman loaf or country white bread is perfect.
- Lettuce – Fresh, super crisp, big-leaf lettuce is best for a BLT. I like to use either romaine or iceberg for the crunch.
How to Make the Best BLT
- Cook the bacon: You can pan fry your bacon, air fry your bacon, or bake your bacon (add 4 to 6 extra minutes to the cooking time for a thick cut).
- Toast the bread: Spread about 1 teaspoon of mayonnaise on 1 side of each piece of bread. Place the slices, mayo side down, in a large skillet and griddle them up until the mayo side of the bread is nicely browned, about 1 minute.
- Add tomatoes and season.
- Add bacon and lettuce.
- Finish the sandwich: Generously spread the rest of the mayo on the non-browned side of the remaining slices of bread, and top the sandwiches with them browned side up. You now have a perfect BLT.
What to Serve With a BLT
The short answer is that a bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich is the perfect meal unto itself. But we do love our side dishes! Think about pairing your BLT with a potato salad like Classic Potato Salad with Celery and Fresh Thyme or a heap of classic cole slaw.
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How to Make the Perfect BLT Sandwich
Video
Ingredients
- 6 pieces thick-cut bacon
- 8 slices good bread (such as a Pullman loaf)
- 4 tablespoons mayonnaise (approximately; I use Hellmann’s)
- 1 large perfectly ripe tomato (cut into 4 generous slices; or 2 plum tomatoes, cut into 4 lengthwise slices each)
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
- Romaine or iceberg lettuce (about 8 sandwich-size pieces)
Instructions
- You can bake your bacon (add 4 to 6 extra minutes to the cooking time for a thick cut). Or you can heat a skillet over medium heat and cook the bacon for about 6 to 8 minutes, turning it every few minutes until it is nicely crisp but still pliable. Remove the bacon to paper towels to drain, then cut each slice in half crosswise.
- Spread about 1 teaspoon of mayonnaise on one side of each piece of bread. Spray a large skillet with nonstick cooking spray and heat over medium heat. In the skillet, place as many slices of bread that will fit, mayo side down, and griddle them up until the mayo side of the bread is nicely browned, about 1 minute. Remove the bread from the skillet, let rest browned side up, and griddle up any remaining slices.
- Place 4 of the slices of toast browned side down on a cutting board. Place a tomato on each piece, season lightly with salt and pepper, place 3 half slices of bacon on each slice of tomato, and top with a couple of pieces of lettuce. Generously spread the rest of the mayo on the non-browned side of the remaining slices of bread, and top the sandwiches with them browned side up. You now have a perfect BLT.
Notes
Variations
- Add grilled or caramelized onions, or a thin slice of raw onion.
- You can include a sautéed thin chicken cutlet or a piece of broiled or grilled salmon filet (this kind of makes me think of a Cobb salad sandwich).
- Change out the bacon for pancetta, or try turkey bacon. There is some vegan bacon on the market now — worth a shot if you are a vegan craving this classic sandwich!
- Add a slice of avocado or guacamole, or make a quick guac-ish mash: Smash up some avocado with lime juice and maybe some minced scallion or minced cilantro.
- Mix the mayo with some smoked paprika (pimenton), pureed chipotle in adobo sauce, harissa, minced fresh basil, cilantro, or another fresh herb of your choice.
- Switch to Chipotle Mayo (pair it with a bit of guacamole). Or try Sriracha Mayo!
- Slide in a fried egg.
- When you’re browning the bread, you could add a slice or a smear of cheese on half the slices (on the top as you brown the bottom — any cheese, such as cheddar, Monterey jack, brie, or goat cheese. Cover the pan for 1 to 2 minutes until the cheese melts slightly, and then assemble the BLTs (lightly mayo the non-browned side of the remaining 4 slices of bread).
Nutrition
A BLT just doesn’t get any better than this!
Thanks for this recipe!! I used vegan bacon and it turned out so good!!
We just had our first BLTs of the season. Our bacon goes on the grill in an aluminum roasting pan. I usually have sliced avocado on the table as well. Is there anything better when those garden tomatoes start pouring in? With a fried egg on top, this sandwich would make a deliciously decadent breakfast.
Hellman’s is great, has more lemon juice than most.
La Costena mayo has lime juice in it and is more flavorful than Hellman’s.
Spinach has deeper flavor than iceberg which has about zero nutrition value.
You can get too much bacon. 4 thick slices per sandwich is plenty.
White bread is crap. Try Oroweat’s 12 grain bread, tastier and nutritious.
Mayo both pieces of bread generously and be generous with the black pepper.
Toasting the bread is optional.
Do this and it will blow this recipe away.
I make mine the same way except I use shredded lettuce, and the second the toast pops up I put a slice of american cheese on the hot bread. You really can’t taste the cheese but it gives the sandwich a bit of a creamy flavor. If you wait too long to add the cheese, it will not taste the same.
It’s all in the details, right? Sounds delicious.