This Southern tomato sandwich recipe brings back summer memories! With juicy tomatoes, creamy mayo, fresh herbs, and soft white bread, it’s ready in just 5 minutes.
While there are countless ways to prepare a tomato sandwich, the simple white-bread-only tomato sandwich is definitely a Southern obsession. It’s so easy, in fact, 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!
The Tomato Sandwich is a Southern Classic
The tomato sandwich likely originated in the South, where hot summers and juicy homegrown tomatoes made it a seasonal favorite. One of the earliest mentions appeared in the Virginia Chronicle in 1911, but its roots go back even further — Thomas Jefferson was among the first to introduce tomatoes to Virginia gardens. Pair those ripe tomatoes with classic Duke’s mayo, and you’ve got a simple Southern staple!
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…
– Cristina
Ingredient Notes and Tips for Success
- The Best Tomato for a Sandwich: Enjoy a tomato sandwich during the hot summer growing months, since the ripest red tomato offers the best flavor. 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? Whip up an heirloom tomato sandwich with the big, beautiful heirloom tomatoes that you often see at farmer’s markets. Really, any sweet, ripe August or September tomatoes work well.
- The Creamy Mayonnaise: Duke’s is hands-down our favorite mayonnaise. 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 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.
How to Make a Tomato Sandwich
Assembling this simple tomato season delight could not be easier, and fortunately doesn’t require any actual cooking! Take advantage of a perfect tomato and whip up this classic sandwich for a light and tasty meal.
- 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!
Did you make this recipe?
If you enjoyed this recipe, please leave a comment with a 5-star review at the bottom of the post. Thank you!
Tomato Sandwich
Ingredients
- 4 slices white bread
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise (I prefer Duke's brand)
- 1 ½ tablespoons snipped fresh basil leaves
- 1 large ripe tomato, sliced
- Kosher salt and ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- In a small bowl, stir together the 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 the tomatoes with salt and pepper to taste.
- 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.
- Feel free to add extra basil leaves to the sandwich if you like, or adjust the amount of mayonnaise to suit your tastebuds.
Nutrition
Serving Suggestions
Serve the best tomato sandwich for lunch with a glass of grape juice and 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. Then, add a grape salad for something sweet.
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, turkey, or hard-boiled eggs.
- Spread a layer of pimento cheese on the sandwich for a rich, flavorful addition. Cream cheese or sliced fresh mozzarella 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, a baguette, or croissants.
- This recipe yields two sandwiches; however, you can easily scale the recipe up to make as many sandwiches as you need.
- If you have an abundance of smaller cherry tomatoes this season, use them in this easy baked feta tomato pasta.
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
Originally published in July, 2020, this post was updated in July, 2025.
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!❤️