Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato: How Do You Make Your BLTs?

BLTs are near and dear to many of our bacon-loving and tomato-craving hearts. So near and dear that we can get very particular about how our seemingly simple BLTs are constructed. Or at least I can. Do you have a favorite way of making one?

Here's my version of BLT heaven. First, chewy sourdough bread that has been lightly toasted but allowed to cool. This is so the mayo stays on top instead of being absorbed by the hot bread. Then comes a single layer of thick-cut smoky bacon that's been cooked until just starting to go crispy.

On top of this goes slices of super-ripe summer tomatoes, sprinkled with freshly-cracked black pepper. Finally a leaf or two of tender butter lettuce, crowned with the second piece of toast.

Oh, and it's very important to slice the sandwich into triangles. Don't ask me why, but it is.

But that's just me. How do you like your BLTs?

• Check Out: Martha Stewart's Version of the BLT

(Image: Martha Stewart)

Comments (35)

I like to use thick slices of multigrain, and I'll add some cheese as well. Add a fried egg for breakfast or if I'm particularly hungry.

Mmmm
Thick sourdough, still warm and toasty, rubbed a clove of garlic, a generous smear of mayonnaise on both sides, a leaf of letuce(doesn't matter what kind), 3 nice thick cuts bacon, cooked till crispy(If it's chewy it kills the sandwich), then throw out the tomatoes and slap some cheddar on there(Sliced thin, dunno why but if it's thick it kills the sandwich)

Slices of avocado are one of my favorite things on BLTs....

I make BLT&E's...nothing makes this sandwich like a fried egg on top. OMG.

Also, it's fun to mix in stuff with the mayo - sometimes I'll add korean hot pepper paste or stone ground mustard if I want extra flavor.

I agree - avocado or guacamole is delicious. I recently tried the bacon from the grocery store deli as opposed to prepackaged, brand bacon. It's made a huge difference - slices are thicker and tastier.

Everything about yours is fabulous. I will sometimes add a sliced hardboiled egg (people love it).

I once ordered a BLT in a cafeteria. I had to explain to the sandwich maker how to make it, which struck me as hilariously funny at the time. Anyway they wouldn't toast the bread so I stopped going there!

Try a little peanut butter on there, good stuff!

We use center cut bacon, less fat, so we can have more than one!

I like to wrap it up in Romain leaves (were primal/paleo so no bread). Especially great with homemade mayo and flavored homemade mayo. I also like to do the fried egg thing.

You know, I grew to love blts but NEVER make them at home. Not sure why, just don't seem as good as the ones you get at a good diner. My favorite is a little place in Dallas that toasts sourdough bread, smears it with mayo, puts some good crunchy lettuce on their, thick slices of really ripe tomato and then PILES on peppered thick cut bacon. It looks ridiculous, but it is the tastiest blt I've ever had.

All of these variations sound great--we make ours with...no tomato. Neither the hubster nor I eat raw tomatoes (we joke that's why we got married; we are the only two people we know who don't like raw tomatoes!).

day old jimmy johns bread (50 cents!)
thick bacon
fresh tomatoes
mayo
salt & fresh pepper
romaine
fresh basil
avocado slices

(and if I'm lucky my husband makes homemade potato chips or french fries. i love him so!)

I'll be the first vegetarian to comment and say that I love BLTs made with fake bacon -- I use the Morningstar Farms stuff, fry it up til slightly crisp, on well-toasted bread, with lettuce, tomato, mayo, and almost always avocado. Looove the avocado on there. Sprouts are also a very welcome addition.

I like egg or avocado on mine!

I've been on a crisped prosciutto kick lately, so much so that I devoted an entire blog post to it! PLT all the way.

@jackyh - what a great idea! i am SO gonna try that next time i put together a BLT. i've had peanut butter on hamburgers before and loved it, but it sounds wonderful with bacon and fresh tomato! wow, i wish i wasn't at work right now and i could try this out immediately!

Lately I have been substituting hummus for the mayo. It's still creamy but has a little more flavor. Avocado is almost always a must as well!

Second vegetarian here...

There is this place in Toronto that sells amazing fake-meat products called Kings Cafe. They make their own stuff just outside the city. They sell veggie bacon that looks, tastes, and cooks as close to real bacon as I've ever seen.

http://kingsvegetarianfood.ca/product.html

Other than that, I'm pretty traditional with my BLTs: Veggie bacon, lettuce, ripe tomato, a bit of mayo on one side and a bit of margerine on the other and a tiny smear of honey mustard. All on a seedy bread that's been slightly toasted for the same reasons Emma talked about in this post.

I have a confession: I use bacon bits. I use the real ones, but yes, bacon bits.

I just can't stand cooking bacon, it grosses me out for some reason no matter how I cook it, microwave, oven, pan...

So, I spread the mayo first and sprinkle the bits on the may to hold them in place.

lightly toasted potato bread, thick bacon (i like the trader joe's applewood), garden fresh heirloom tomatoes, garden fresh butter lettuce, fresh ground black pepper, and (this is the magic maker) kewpie mayo.

heaven on a plate.

nothing fancy - toasted whole grain bread, crisp bacon, a slather of mayo, and some crunchy romaine. I save my tomatoes to eat in their purest form, with salt of course!

Here is another vegetarian chiming in... We always make PLT's. Provolone, lettuce, tomato.... You place a slice of provolone on a hot skillet and flip it when it turns brown... Cook the other side... Amazing.

Wow. This is the reason I'm now having a BLT for dinner. What a gorgeous photo!

radleyas, I didn't say it, but same here! I was drooling at that picture all morning. I messaged my hubby were having blts for dinner. He wholeheartedly agreed!

My bread needs to be toasted but with a slight give spread with a layer of pesto infused mayo, sliced tomato atop that and then crunchy bacon and cold crisp lettuce. Pretty simple. I adore all of the other additions and my husband tends towards the 'more' category but then it ceases to be a BLT.

Our standard at-home version is a BLAT on lightly toasted bread. Warm bread and bacon, cold mayo, tomatoes, avocado, and lettuce, plus salt & pepper.

When it's hot out we turn it into a BLT salad: croutons, chives, bacon, romaine, avocado, and halved cherry tomatoes with a mayo-based herb dressing.

And a restaurant in our neighborhood has a great version of the BLT: rustic white bread, a thick layer of homemade mayo mixed with diced sweet onions, thin slices of beefsteak tomato, a slice of iceberg lettuce, and lots of bite-sized pieces of thick well-cooked bacon. There's a lot of good crunchy texture going on in this sandwich, and the sweet onions add a lot of flavor.

We are chiming in --- beefsteak tomatoes from our garden, Applewood bacon (preferably from your local farm), wild arugula from the garden, Hellmann's (no other), toasted ciabatta or buttermilk...had one for breakfast the other morning...so good! In fact, so precise are we (me)...toasted bread, Hellmann's, arugula, tomato, bacon, Hellmann's, arugula, toasted bread...so nothing get's soggy and you can pack it for lunch.

I missed out on BLTs (vegetarian) until I found Morning Star bacon. Now I make it with ciabata bread, with Hellman's Olive Oil Mayo, some sharp cheddar cheese, the M.S. bacon strips, few slices of tomato, and spinach. SO great! Glad the BLT or VBSCT (veggie bacon, spinach, cheddar and tomato) is back in my life.

Fresh homemade bread, a good slathering of mayo, locally smoked bacon, heirloom tomatoes, a ridiculous amount of fresh cracked black pepper, perfectly ripe avocado slices with mesculin greens and occasionally a fried egg. I'm thinking this is on the menu sometime this week... need to get baking!

Candy your bacon first (cover in brown sugar, bake on foil lined pan until crispy). Then put between two slices of bread with lettuce and honey mustard. Hold the tomato (yuck). Heaven!

I do adore a good, classic BLT, but one of my new summer favorites is BLT pasta salad. Chopped tomatoes, good romaine lettuce, and crumbled bacon over cooked pasta; toss with a bit of ranch dressing.

I do avocado instead of mayo, alfalfa sprouts instead of lettuce, and a warm pita (whole, not pocket) instead of bread. Delish. Gotta make sure your bacon is uber salty though. awwww yeah.

I always thought there was supposed to be an extra slice of bread in the middle like a club sandwich. All your versions sound SUPER AWESOME. Now I'm hungry.

Whole wheat bread, not too grainy and a bit sour, from a local bakery. Cut 1/2-inch thick. Lightly toasted and allowed to cool just a bit, but still warm. Mayonnaise on both sides. The freshest tomatoes I can find, sliced thick and salted, then allowed to sit for a couple of minutes to let some of the liquid drain away. Two slices of thick-cut bacon. Butter lettuce from the inside of the head, where it's crispest.

Green chile if I'm really getting creative, but I think I actually prefer the classic.

Thick cut bacon. the only must. The bread can vary, or it can be a wrap or a salad. Tomato or no tomato. As long as it is thick, perfectly cut bacon it'll be a good sammy.