Club Sandwich
intro
A crisp, stacked triple-decker diner classic with tender roasted turkey, smoky crispy bacon, fresh lettuce and tomato, held between creamy mayo-slathered toasted bread. Perfect for portable summer picnics.
Ingredients
Steps
Cook Crispy Bacon
Place 12 slices (225g) thick-cut bacon in a single layer in a large cold skillet over medium heat. Cook for 8-10 minutes total, flipping once halfway through cooking, until bacon is deep golden and fully crisp. Transfer cooked bacon to a paper-towel lined plate to drain excess grease, and set aside.
Butter and Toast Bread
Spread 2 tablespoons (28g) softened unsalted butter evenly across both sides of all 12 white bread slices. Working in batches to avoid crowding, place buttered slices in the same bacon-greased skillet over medium-low heat, toasting for 1-2 minutes per side until pale golden and crisp on both surfaces. Remove toasted bread to a clean work surface.
Prep Fresh Fillings
Pat 8 washed iceberg lettuce leaves completely dry with paper towels to cut down on excess moisture. Slice 2 Roma tomatoes into 1/4-inch thick rounds, gently scoop out the seedy inner pulp with a small spoon, then season tomato slices evenly with 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt and 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper. Arrange prepped lettuce, seasoned tomatoes, sliced turkey, and drained bacon in separate piles for fast assembly.
Spread Mayo Barrier
Lay all 12 toasted bread slices flat on the work surface. Use the full 120ml (1/2 cup) of full-fat mayonnaise to coat all surfaces that will touch fillings: spread mayo evenly across one side of the 4 bottom and 4 top slices, and across both sides of the 4 middle slices, using roughly 7.5ml (1.5 tsp) of mayo per coated surface. This creates a moisture barrier that keeps toasted bread from turning soggy from juicy fillings.
Stack Bottom Layers
Build the lower filling layer for each sandwich on the 4 bottom toast slices (mayo-coated side facing up): top each base with 85g of thinly sliced roasted turkey, 3 slices of crispy bacon broken to fit the bread edges, and 2 seasoned tomato slices. Place a middle toast slice on top of each stack, pressing lightly so the bottom mayo-coated side of the middle slice adheres to the fillings, leaving the top mayo-coated side facing up.
Add Top Fillings
Top the exposed mayo-coated side of each middle toast slice with 2 crisp, dry iceberg lettuce leaves, pressing gently to stick to the mayo. Place the final top toast slice on each stack, with the mayo-coated side facing down against the lettuce, to complete the full triple-decker sandwich structure.
Secure and Slice
Insert 4 long toothpicks straight down through each full sandwich, positioning one toothpick halfway between the center and each corner to lock all layers firmly in place. Use a sharp serrated knife to cut each sandwich diagonally twice, creating 4 equal triangular quarters, wiping the knife blade clean between cuts for neat, non-squished edges.
Tips
2.Let cooked bacon drain on paper towels for 2 full minutes before adding to sandwiches to avoid excess grease soaking through the toasted bread and making it soft.
3.Keep toothpicks inserted in the sandwich quarters until you are ready to eat to hold the triple layers securely, and avoid packing heavy items on top of sandwiches when transporting.
OMG this club sandwich was such a game changer for our weekly family picnic! I swapped the regular deli turkey for smoked turkey breast and added a little extra crispy bacon, and my kids devoured every single bite. Cook time was actually way less than 20 minutes for me, which is perfect when we’re rushing out the door to my son’s soccer practice. SO good, I’ll be making this on repeat all summer long!
Wow, this recipe is so easy to throw together for weekly meal prep! I made a big batch on Sunday, wrapped each half tight in parchment paper, and they stayed perfectly fresh for work lunches all week. I was worried the triple decker would be too messy to eat at my desk, but cutting it with a sharp serrated knife and securing each half with a frilly toothpick made it totally portable. Only gripe is I wish I’d cooked extra bacon when I made them — I could eat that crispy bacon straight off the pan!
Brought these to our neighborhood block party potluck last weekend and people were hounding me for the recipe all night! I cut each sandwich into 4 small bite-sized triangles instead of big halves so they were easy to grab as finger food, and they disappeared from the snack table in like 10 minutes flat. Super easy to scale up for a crowd too, 10/10 no notes.
I’m absolutely terrible at cooking and even I managed to nail this on the first try! No weird fancy ingredients, no complicated steps, took me right around 20 minutes just like the recipe said. I mixed a little chipotle powder into my mayo for a tiny smoky kick and it slapped. Will definitely be making this instead of dropping $15 on a takeout sandwich for lazy weeknights from now on.