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The classic Southern tomato sandwich is about as simple as it gets! Don’t let the summer pass you by without indulging in this delicious lunch or easy dinner recipe. You only need 5 minutes, plus some white bread, mayonnaise, ripe tomatoes, and fresh basil!
Table of Contents
Have an abundance of tomatoes on hand? Make this Southern fried green tomatoes recipe, a pot of roasted tomato soup, and this tomato salad with basil and balsamic, too!
It’s a Southern Thing
While there are countless ways to prepare a tomato sandwich (from B.L.T.’s to Roasted Tomato Sandwiches and Indian Tomato Sandwiches), the simple white-bread-only tomato sandwich is definitely a Southern obsession. It’s so easy, in fact, that I’ve been making the meal for years — and never actually considered sharing the “recipe” here on the blog. There’s hardly a recipe at all! But you know what? On the off chance that you’ve never tried this amazingly basic combination, allow me to introduce you to the best that summer has to offer!
Origin
Perhaps it’s the South’s long hot summers that created the love affair with a tomato-and-mayonnaise sandwich. The simple recipe allows the ripest, juiciest southern tomatoes to shine in the easiest, quickest way possible. Pair it with another Southern classic, Duke’s mayonnaise, and you’ve got a delicious concoction in a matter of minutes!
While no one knows exactly who invented this combination, one of the first references to the tomato sandwich was in the Virginia Chronicle in 1911, where a man describes his lunch as a tomato sandwich, a slice of watermelon, iced tea, and a slice of coconut cream pie. Sounds pretty darn good, right?! Thomas Jefferson was one of the first to bring tomatoes to Virginia when he planted the European seeds in his own garden in Charlottesville, so it’s not a surprise that the tomato sandwich quickly became a local favorite!
Ingredients
The perfect tomato sandwich requires just a handful of basic ingredients: white bread, fresh summer tomatoes, mayonnaise, and fresh basil. You’ll find specific measurements and step-by-step instructions in the printable recipe card below, but here’s the overview:
- The Best Tomato for a Sandwich: Enjoy a tomato sandwich during the hot summer growing months, since the ripest, juiciest red tomato is essential to a good sandwich. Specifically, look for large, meaty, and juicy tomatoes when making sandwiches. Instead of Roma tomatoes or other small tomatoes, try Brandywine or Beefsteak tomatoes. Feeling fancy? Try an heirloom tomato sandwich with the big, beautiful tomatoes that you can often find at a farmer’s market. Really, any sweet, ripe summer tomatoes work well.
- The Mayonnaise: Duke’s mayonnaise is hands-down the best mayo for a sandwich. If you can’t buy Duke’s where you live, then Hellman’s is a good alternative. Don’t resort to something like Miracle Whip here.
- The Bread: Just a simple white sandwich bread is all you need! This isn’t the time to pick up a loaf of artisanal bread or whip out your sourdough starter. Instead, a simple packaged loaf of soft white bread or a couple of slices of our favorite homemade white bread is always the preference. There’s no need to toast the bread first, although you can if you like.
- The Seasoning: Again, we’re keeping it really simple: salt, pepper and fresh basil. Basil’s another summertime crop that helps to highlight the natural flavor and sweetness of ripe tomatoes. I prefer snipping the basil leaves with kitchen shears and stirring them into the mayonnaise. That way the basil mayonnaise is spread evenly on both sides of the sandwich.
Directions
Assembling this simple delight could not be easier, and fortunately doesn’t require any actual cooking! That’s right, I’m giving you permission to take the night off from cooking. Instead, take advantage of the season’s most delicious fresh produce and whip up a classic tomato sandwich for a light and tasty meal in minutes!
- Prepare the Basil Mayonnaise. Stir together snipped fresh basil leaves and mayonnaise in a small bowl.
- Assemble Sandwich. Spread each bread slice with the basil mayonnaise mixture, top with thick slices of tomato, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Feel free to add extra basil leaves to the sandwich if you like, or slather on some extra mayonnaise to suit your tastebuds. Add the remaining slices of bread on top to make the sandwiches.
- Slice and Serve. Cut the tomatoes sandwiches in half with a sharp knife, and then serve immediately with plenty of napkins. Don’t let them sit for too long, or the juice from the fresh tomatoes may give you a soggy sandwich!
Serving Suggestions
Serve the best tomato sandwich for lunch with a side of potato chips and pickles. If you’d like to offer the sandwiches as a light dinner, try rounding out the meal with sides like a classic pasta salad, vinegar coleslaw, Southern potato salad, corn on the cob in the oven, roasted yellow squash, garlic parmesan zucchini casserole, or a cup of soup like this summer vegetable soup.
More Tomato Recipes to Try
Southern Tomato Pie
1 hour hr 25 minutes mins
Cucumber Tomato Onion Salad
40 minutes mins
Pomodoro Sauce
55 minutes mins
Tomato Sandwich
Ingredients
- 4 slices white bread
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise (I prefer Duke's brand)
- 1 ½ tablespoons snipped fresh basil leaves
- 1 ripe tomato, sliced
- Kosher salt and ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- In a small bowl, stir together mayonnaise and basil.
- Spread each slice of bread with an equal amount of the basil mayonnaise. Divide the tomato slices evenly between two pieces of bread. Season tomatoes with salt and pepper.
- Place the other two slices of bread (mayonnaise-side down), on top of the tomatoes to form two sandwiches. Slice in half and serve.
Notes
- These sandwiches are best served immediately. While you can certainly pack them in a picnic basket for the pool (I’ve done it many times!), the bread tends to get soggy from the tomatoes after too long.
- This recipe yields two sandwiches; however, you can easily scale the recipe up to make as many sandwiches as you need.
- Don’t forget to season the tomatoes with kosher salt and freshly-ground black pepper. This extra touch adds such great flavor to the sandwich!
- Feel free to add extra basil leaves to the sandwich if you like, or adjust the amount of mayonnaise to suit your tastebuds.
Nutrition
Recipe Variations
- Add more veggies, such as sliced cucumbers, thinly sliced Vidalia onion or pickled red onion, and sliced avocado.
- BLT: Add slices of thick, crispy bacon and a few lettuce leaves to each sandwich. Other good protein options for a tomato sandwich include chicken and turkey.
- Spread a layer of pimento cheese on the sandwich for a rich, flavorful addition. Cream cheese would also be great.
- While we love the white bread classic, you can obviously use any bread that you prefer — from whole wheat bread or another whole grain bread to pita bread, sandwich rolls, bagels, or croissants.
- This recipe yields two sandwiches; however, you can easily scale the recipe up to make as many sandwiches as you need.
This recipe was originally published in July, 2020. It was updated in July, 2024.
These sandwiches were staples from my very much northern childhood. We ate them everyday in the summer and sometimes enjoyed more than one each! While these are indeed amazing made according to your recipe, they are exemplary when the bread is toasted and delivers a bit of crunch texture wise. Thank you for this one=I can now share it with my children-who thought that I just made these up…
Whether you’re from the north or south, toasted bread or not, they’re absolutely delicious. Hope your kids will love them, too! 🙂
I tried the tomato sandwich for the first time with my daughter who loves tomatoes. OMG!! Neither one of us spoke until we ate the last of it. It is so delicious and simple to make!!! Since then it is our go to snack/meal during these hot days of summer in Maryland.
Tonight I will make the Southern Tomato Pie. I’m looking forward to it. Thank you for sharing the easy recipe of the sandwich. By the way, I have also switched to Duke’s mayonnaise. Another delicious addition to our household.
Thank you, Cristina! We’re so glad the recipe was such a hit. We hope you enjoy the tomato pie just as much!
Sounds delish. I grew up with tomato sandwiches too!
Much simpler though. Only miracle whip, sliced bread, and tomatoes. Sometimes we added a slice of cheese.
Thanks for this reminder. And fancier edition.
Thanks, Lindy! I hope that you can enjoy another one this summer and bring back fun memories!
The Campari tomatoes in the clear plastic cases in the grocery stores are very good.
You can get a great tomato sandwich, when fresh summer ones aren’t around …fall, winter, spring.. Camparis are a close second to fresh summer tomatoes.
Sallie, if you read this Comment… QUIT ROLLING YOUR EYES!!
Yes, ma’am! I’ve tried those and they’ve been very good! 🙂
The Campari tomatoes in the clear plastic cases in the grocery stores are very good.
You can get a great tomato sandwich, when fresh summer ones aren’t around …fall, winter, spring.. Camparis are a close second to fresh summer tomatoes.
Sallie, if you read this Comment… QUIT ROLLING YOUR EYES!!
Love summer tomatoes! Couldn’t get through a summer without this staple!
My grandfather was from TN and my grandmother Detroit, where a bunch of southerners had already moved.
My mom was raised, and subsequently so was I, on summer tomatoes. Toasted tomato sandwiches and BLTs were not only easy in the humid MI summers, but cost effective.
Thank you, Anne!
Thanks! I love your recipes. I am having some trouble reading them, because the print is in such a light color. Would you consider making the print bold or at least a little darker?
Hi, Joie! Thank you for your feedback! I will definitely keep that in mind when updating my site in the future. Thanks again!
Yo, Blair …. the bread is always lightly toasted, there is no basil (but there is plenty of salt & fresh-ground pepper, the mayo is always Hellman’s/Best above Dukes, which is basically just another version of Hellman’s/Best. Only Yankees or Italians put basil on a sandwich meant to be eaten on the back porch.
The tomato sandwich became popular during the civil war era when primary source of food came from family gardens. This according to my grandfather who was born in in 1888 in Troup County, Ga. His parents lived during the civil war era. We always used yellow tomatoes, mayo, salt and pepper on white bread. Yum
So simple, but so good at this time of year!❤️