Tomato Sandwich

This is the BEST damn tomato sandwich ever made! It’s a 10-minute, simple fresh tomato sandwich and perfect for lunch any day of the week. Take it as a brown bag lunch or for a picnic by the lake. Tomato recipes don’t get any better than this.

Do you remember eating the classic tomato sandwich while growing up? Don’t you miss eating those?

As an adult, I will occasionally make this simple recipe for a tomato sandwich for lunch!

But this time, I thought I would take it up a notch and add a twist to the classic sandwich!

Tips for making this sandwich

• Don’t make this sandwich in advance. It will get soggy.
• You can use vegan cream cheese instead of regular cream cheese for a vegan-friendly version
• Make it a double-decker because it’s more fun to eat it that way.
• I used whole wheat bread because it has dense textures. Or, try something completely off-the-beaten-path if you are gluten-sensitive. Sourdough bread, soft white bread, and bagels are a good substitute.
• I like to take the ingredients to work and assemble them at lunchtime. This way, I can have the perfect tomato sandwich at lunch and not a soggy mess of a sandwich.
• Don’t forget the broccoli sprouts because they add a hefty amount of nutrition. Try adzuki bean sprouts, which are easy to sprout and eat. They, too, have a hefty amount of nutrition.

👩‍🍳 Substitution tip: You can use vegan cream cheese like Kite Hill because it tastes like the real thing.

Forget the mayonnaise, use pesto instead!

The traditional tomato recipe uses mayo as a spread. Furthermore, the purists have gone so far as to insist that only Duke’s Mayonnaise should be used and no other! Yes, that means no Hellmann either! ????

Well, forget the mayo and forget the purists!

You know mayo is not a healthy product, right? It’s made using harmful oils like Soybean, sunflower, or grape seed oil. Mayo is also made with eggs, which many vegetarians don’t eat.

Instead, I made my version of a green goddess spread. Pesto gives this sandwich the best flavor, and your taste buds will never forget it! It takes this super-easy tomato sandwich to a whole new level of yum!!

If basil pesto is too blah for you, you can use this scallion pesto recipe, this bell pepper pesto recipe, or even this arugula pesto recipe in this sandwich!

🍅 Handy Tip: Whenever possible, use homemade pesto because you can use good oils like extra virgin olive oil or avocado oil.

It’s the cream cheese that’s the bee’s knees!

Ok, so why is cream cheese important in this recipe? Basil pesto, by itself, is not as easy to spread. Plus, all that oil will seep into the bread and make it fall apart before you can taste it!

Adding cream cheese will soak up the extra oil in the pesto and make it easier to spread on the bread!

If you are not a fan of plain tomatoes, try putting them in these baked tomatoes with cheese instead. It will make the sandwich taste good.

For fans of cream cheese in sandwiches, you must try this easy pimento cheese sandwich. It’s made with pantry ingredients and is the perfect summer picnic recipe.

If you love the combination of cucumber and tomatoes, you MUST try these cucumber tomato bites! They are so easy to make and taste like summer in a bite!

Put this in a picnic basket or as a brown bag lunch. Don’t forget to include a note. For inspiration, here are a few really good sandwich puns to include in your note.

🍅 Handy Tip: Adding cream cheese will soak up the extra oil in the pesto and make it easier to spread on the bread!

How to make a tomato sandwich

1. Make the pesto spread

• In a food processor, add the basil pesto (use homemade fresh basil pesto or store-bought pesto).
• Add 1 Tbsp of cream cheese to the food processor and blend until it’s smooth. You can also add garlic salt and black pepper, if you like.
• Chop the tomatoes. Use Roma tomatoes and cut them lengthwise.
• Peel the cucumber and slice it. Thin or thick slices will work.
• Cut the bread slices in half. I prefer diagonally.

2. Assemble the best damn tomato sandwich!

1. Take one of the cut bread slices and spread the pesto mixture on it.
2. Add 2-3 tomato slices.
3. Add 2-3 cucumber slices.
4. Spread the pesto mixture on a 2nd slice of bread.
5. Close the sandwich with this 2nd slice.
6. Spread the pesto mixture on top of that slice of bread.
7. Top with 2-3 tomatoes.
8. Top with 2-3 cucumbers.
9. Add broccoli sprouts on top of the cucumber. Sprinkle salt and pepper on it, if you want.
10. Spread the pesto mixture on a 3rd slice of bread.
11. Close the sandwich with the 3rd slice and you are done!

Repeat the steps for a second sandwich. This recipe will make 2 sandwiches.

Answering Common Questions

What to serve with it?

Serve these sandwiches with sweet potato wedges or butternut squash fries. Add a kale salad with it to make it a more wholesome meal.

A tall glass of cold beet lemonade will help the sandwich go down better.
Buttered radishes, pickled veggies, and tomato relish are a fun side to this sandwich. Wash it down with juice or Lassi.

What to make with a leftover cucumber? You can make an easy spicy cucumber salad or Tzatziki sauce.

Try these tomato recipes

Want more tomato recipes? Try my roasted cherry tomatoes, pizza tomato sauce, roasted tomato soup, and this easy tomato salad.

What kind of bread did you use to make this sandwich?

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