Sandwich. Tramezzino. Emparedado. Kanapka. Every country has a name for it, but we all share the same love for this irresistible dish. It’s a blessing for college students and a lifesaver for workers who need a quick lunch on the go. Considering you’re here, you probably were curious about how exactly something so simple could become a sort of gourmet meal. It’s not like there’s really anyone out there oblivious to how to make a good sandwich.
Still, do you remember the last time you had a sandwich that made you feel like you were on cloud nine? That delicious bite you took, the juices that ran down your chin, the unique sandwich combinations and flavors that hit your palate, all coming together in harmony? Making them is a craft you can master with all the perfect sandwich tips and tricks shared by those similarly sandwich-addicted. And guess what? We’ve got dozens of them right here that will take your sandwich from being merely “tasty” or “convenient” to “oh my god, how did I make this, and why haven’t I eaten one before?!”
Where did we get all these sandwich hacks, you ask? We scoured the depths of the internet and landed on a Reddit thread full of sandwich-making geniuses. These folks made some of the most amazing yet easy sandwich recipes and were more than happy to share their recommendations with the world.
We’ve collected all this wisdom into a list of sandwich-making tips that are easy to follow, practical, and guaranteed to make your taste buds sing. There’s everything from choosing the best bread to layering ingredients correctly, creating unique spreads, and even mastering the art of crafting an amazing grilled cheese sandwich. Scroll down, and let’s make some awesome sandwiches together! You can thank us, and the Redditors, later.
#1
“I make a lot of “grilled” sandwiches and for years I would butter the bread with a knife before putting it in the hot pan. When the butter was cold that is super annoying to do.
And then I realized… Why am I doing this? Just put a pad of butter in the hot pan and as soon as it melts drop the sandwich on it. It’s the same fucking thing without the hassle or risk of tearing your bread up!
Also, sprinkle a little garlic powder on the melted butter right before dropping the sandwich in is usually given.”
Image source: anonymoushero1
#2
“There was a study or something, (no, I don’t have the source) that proved that sandwiches taste better when someone else makes them because you’re not smelling all the ingredients and becoming desensitized to them. Or something to that effect.”
Image source: reddit.com, Pylyp Sukhenko
#3
“Thinly slice cucumbers. Better than lettuce.”
Image source: out-on-a-farm, Karolina Grabowska
#4
“I never really received it but learned it over the years.
Never let the meat on the sandwich lie flat.
Get thin-cut slices at the deli, and crumple them up on your sandwich. It makes your sandwich look much larger, but also makes it so that when bite into your sandwich, you are more likely to be tasting the meat (the meat will have a ton more surface area, so more likely to hit your taste receptors).
If you don’t do this, the meat is essentially compacted together and you don’t really get any difference when you bite into 3 slices or 5 slices. Also, if you don’t do it, then you are more tempted to load up with too much meat and wind up throwing off the balance.
The one exception to this is probably for Italian-style/sausage-type meats. Those won’t generally crumple well.”
Image source: javakah, Miguel Marmolejos Fernández
#5
“Alfalfa sprouts are great on sandwiches.”
Image source: roseofsithis, reddit.com
#6
“Add thin-cut apple slices.”
StillwaterBlue comments: “Apple and cheese is a very underrated combination. For best effect, use red delicious apples and English Cheshire cheese.”
4whomthaBelltolls replied: “Brie and Asian pears have a similarly wonderful effect. Add some candied walnuts and you’re in a different ballpark.”
Image source: DarthCris, Skylar Kang
#7
“Sweet pickle relish in the tuna. Changed my life.”
Image source: theycallhercelery
#8
“Remember that mayo or another fat like butter or a dressing is a membrane, a barrier to liquids. So if a sandwich has mustard or wet ingredients like tomato or lettuce, the fat barrier keeps the bread from getting wet.”
user 1 comment: “I use the cheese for that purpose.”
user 2 replied: “I use cheese for all purposes.”
Image source: reddit.com, Ola Mishchenko
#9
“For your grilled cheese sandwich, use some sharp English cheddar and slices of peaches or nectarines. Taste buds blown.”
Image source: nannerbooboo, Wilfred Wong
#10
“Put 2 slices of bread into one toaster slot. That only 1 side of each slice toasts leaving the outside of your sandwich crispy and the inside soft.”
Image source: Sycou
#11
“Cut your sandwich into triangles and be gentle – let the knife do the work. Don’t put pressure into your sandwich and squish it and tear it apart.”
Image source: Pineapple-Sundae, Asnim Ansari
#12
“Pepper the tomatoes.”
philipjeremypatrick comments: “After salting them, of course.”
user replied: “Yeah, seriously. And while we’re at it, get some fresh basil and save that dried stuff for cooking.”
ChefRoquefort replied: “Dried herbs have a different flavor profile and improve with long cooking where as most fresh herbs degrade over long cooking times. Use both, dried at the beginning of the cooking process and fresh at the end.”
Image source: dottmatrix
#13
“Add some olive oil to that shredded lettuce.”
berthejew comments: “Olive oil to my lettuce? You just opened up a whole new world to me.”
Tinfoilhartypat replied: “Ad baby spinach and sprinkle some balsamic vinegar on those leafy greens.”
Image source: reddit.com, Jessica Lewis
#14
“Hummus as a spread.”
Image source: DwarfStacker, Nicholas Barbaros
#15
“PESTO.”
Image source: shartmepants, magnustranberg
#16
“Roasted peppers make all meat sandwiches better.”
Image source: carriegood, herrlich.dining
#17
“Put a fried egg on it.”
the_real_gorrik comments: “What if its a fried egg sandwich?”
VelosiT replied: “Put. An. Egg. On. It.”
Image source: reddit.com, amirali mirhashemian
#18
“Lightly toast the bread.”
canehdian78 replied: “That’s how I accidentally discovered using the bagel setting works great!”
Image source: Intimidator94, Nicola Barts
#19
“Herbs and spices. Oregano, garlic, salt, thyme, or a fresh sprig of dill can make a sandwich better.
If you grow any herbs, try throwing them on sandwiches and see what you get. You have an excessive amount anyway, might as well find new uses.”
Image source: ScribbleWitty, Kevin Doran
#20
“Wrap it up tightly. This is especially true of hot sandwiches, but it has a noticeable impact on cold sandwiches too. Just a piece of wax paper, butcher paper, or even tin foil. Wrap it, tight, let it sit for at least a minute, and your entire sandwich experience will be elevated!”
Image source: OPs_Mom_and_Dad, Pille R. Priske
#21
“Replace lettuce with cabbage. More nutritious, and a head of cabbage lasts a hell of a lot longer in the fridge.”
user replied: “I have a related tip to this topic for lettuce: when you get home with it from the store, knock the core out of the bottom and put the lettuce in paper towels. Lasts so much longer.”
Image source: Teledildonic, Matthew McBrayer
#22
“The tomato should touch the mayo. Always.”
Spriggs5 replied: “I love burger king for this reason.”
Image source: KnuteViking, nettieadams22
#23
“Cheese on both sides against the bread. You now have the best moisture barrier around. You can make a sandwich the day before and it’ll still be good.”
Image source: tandardalias
#24
“The bread needs to match the filling. Hard bread for hard fillings, and soft bread for soft fillings.
Hard bread will squish out a soft filling as you bite it. And soft bread will just mush in your mouth as you bite through thicker and harder fillings.”
Image source: Imadethisuponthespot
#25
“When making peanut butter and jelly, especially when packing for lunch, spread a light layer of peanut butter on the side the jelly will go on, this prevents the jelly from bleeding through the bread.”
sh0ulders replied: “I used to agree, but jelly soaked into bread (not through) is SO GOOD.”
Image source: bluegnatcatcher
#26
“My dad was a cook around Philly for a while. He would make Italian subs where the meat was used to tuck the lettuce, onion, tomato, and cheese into the roll so when you bit it, nothing moved around.”
Image source: psych0ranger, Nishant Aneja
#27
“Use one of those DIY spray bottles for red wine vinegar and/or oil. You get full coverage without wasting too much or over-soaking the bread.”
Image source: Jeff_Albertson
#28
“When making a sandwich with avocado, don’t cut the fruit into slices and place it on the sandwich. Mash up the green stuff and treat it like a spread.
Bonus points when you add a shake of salt and pepper.
Also, If you’re making a BLT, always toast the bread and add a fried egg and avocado. I love a B.L.E.A.T.”
Image source: Hey_Neat, Wendy Wei
#29
“Flick some pickle juice on it for flavor.”
Image source: wpphowler, Hearkittykitty
#30
“Giardiniera.”
Image source: cardanos_folly, utouchme
#31
“I work in a sandwich shop. A popular choice of customers is smoked salmon & cream cheese with a little bit of horseradish and gherkins if you like. A lot of people think it’s weird until they try it. Easily became one of our best sellers.
If you’ve got a flavorsome meat like pastrami it is sometimes worth using a simpler bread, (such as white for the simplest example) so the flavor of the meat is brought out. However, if I were making a pastrami sandwich I’d use light rye over wholemeal but white bread over granary.
Meat on the bottom, then cheese, then salad. Exception when salads go with meat – gherkins, sometimes jalapeños, sauerkraut even.
Mustard with meat, mayo with salad.
Tomato-based sauces with cheese are great. Tomato relish, ketchup, etc. Swiss cheese with beef. Always. Tuna and cranberry are very popular.”
Image source: Pineapple-Sundae
#32
“Put a light coat of butter on the bread, sprinkle with garlic and parmesan cheese, and toast it.”
Image source: Reid0072
#33
“Putting it on a panini press, it’s way better.”
Image source: dmt267, engin akyurt
#34
“Cream cheese with sweet chili or Sriracha is the one; add a bit of ham and some gherkins and you’re golden.”
Image source: Pineapple-Sundae, TheGingerGiant129
#35
“Spring onions or jalapeños melted into cheese is such a game changer.”
Image source: Pineapple-Sundae
#36
“Sun-dried tomatoes.”
Image source: reddit.com, Ruslan Khmelevsky
#37
“Use Japanese mayo. It will take your Sammy from a 7 to a 10.”
Image source: philipjeremypatrick
#38
“The best times to get fresh bread are between the lunch and dinner rushes. Most stores won’t make bread until lunch starts, as they have to use the bread leftover from the night before, and most stores will over-make bread for dinner so they can clean the oven/proofer earlier.”
Image source: reddit.com, Rachel Claire
#39
“Salted butter can sit at room temperature for quite some time, but unsalted will grow an ugly mold on it.
Source: researched by accident.”
user replied: “I use mayo to avoid the cold butter issue.”
Image source: MamaDaddy
#40
“Mike’s Way, (from the Jersey Mikes sub chain), which consists of a few toppings… but adding oil and vinegar to a sandwich was new to me. Being from Indiana, oil and vinegar weren’t necessarily common sandwich toppings or something I would have normally thought to request even just a few years ago, though it’s more common to see east-coast style sandwich toppings these days due to the proliferation of new sub shops.”
Image source: brainiacky
#41
“For Italian Combos: Warm the hero bread, use balsamic vinegar instead of red vinegar, throw on some fresh basil leaves over the tomatoes, and sprinkle with a good grated Parmesan-Reggiano cheese and oregano. Oh yeah, some banana peppers or sweet red peppers are really great on top also. If I’m making it at home I also like to put on real mozzarella instead of Provolone sometimes.”
Image source: Just1morefix, Elena Leya
#42
“Get 3 slices of white bread out. Put one in the toaster and toast it. Now put jelly/jam/preserves on one side of each of the remaining slices. I prefer strawberry jam, but you do you. Now rinse off the knife. (People who do the pb first are just giving themselves a more complicated cleanup; jam rinses right off). Put a liberal amount of peanut butter on one side of the toast. (~2:1 pb to j ratio) Put this on top of one of the jam slices. Put another liberal amount of peanut butter on the other side of the toast. Put the remaining jam slice on top.
Boom. Double-decker PB&J with a crunch in the middle and slightly melty peanut butter. Another trick is that you can use natural peanut butter since there’s plenty of sugar in the jam already. Drink milk with it.”
Image source: Ozwaldo
#43
“If you toast your sandwich, try toasting it with onions, green peppers, and oil on it before adding other veggies. It sautees these veggies, adding extra flavor.”
Image source: reddit.com
#44
“Don’t use too much meat. Got to get that bread to meat ratio spot on.”
Image source: BlondieClashNirvana
#45
“Butter on one slice, mayonnaise on the other, freshly ground salt and pepper in the middle. Also, sliced bread is the worst thing since sliced bread – cut that loaf yourself.”
Image source: reddit.com
#46
“Cinnamon and raisin bagels go well with savory fillings.”
Image source: Pineapple-Sundae, BananaH8ter
#47
“Try a line of Chipotle southwest sauce with your next order, even if you get other sauces. It’s not spicy like sriracha or buffalo, but adds a kick that pairs well with the BMT or steak and cheese.”
Image source: reddit.com, Alexandra Mendívil
#48
“Cut it into trapezoids.”
Image source: possibly-alex
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