14 BLT Recipes That Prove Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato Is a Winning Combination Every Time

By Food & Wine
Updated August 20, 2018
Though a simple BLT is perfection in a sandwich—especially when tomatoes are in peak season—that combination of bacon, lettuce and tomato can do no wrong, whether it's dressing up a smokey smash burger or a luxurious lobster roll. Swap in fried green tomatoes, deconstruct the sandwich into a salad, layer the ingredients onto a hot dog—it's time to get creative. To get you started, we've rounded up 14 of our favorite ways to bring the BLT to new heights.
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California BLTs

Credit: © Christina Holmes
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F&W’s Justin Chapple makes sure there’s bacon in every bite of his BLT by weaving the strips into a lattice before baking them. He adds California style with avocado and lemon-herb mayo.

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Garlic Aioli BLTs

Credit: © John Kernick
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At Gjelina Take Away in Los Angeles, you can only get this excellent sandwich in the summer because the tomatoes have to be sweet and richly flavored with just the right texture. The sourdough bread should be toasted, but make sure it’s not too dark and crisp.

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BLT Smash-Burgers

Credit: Jennifer Causey
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We’re beefing up the summertime BLT with these smash-burgers—thin beef patties that are pressed onto a ripping hot plancha, or flat-top griddle, so they cook quickly and develop a smoky crust. Without grill grates, the juices from the burgers stay on the griddle, keeping them moist.

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BLT Fried Egg-and-Cheese Sandwich

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Thomas Keller's scrumptious recipe combines three of the world's most popular sandwiches—bacon, lettuce and tomato; fried egg; and grilled cheese.

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BLT Salad with Blue Cheese

Credit: David Nicolas
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In his cute version of the BLT sandwich, Michael Schwartz replaces the mayo with a wedge of blue cheese. He cures his own bacon, but the salad is delicious with any good artisanal bacon.

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Lobster BLTs

Credit: PHOTO © MARCUS NILSSON
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Shea Gallante's delectable sandwich is filled with crunchy bacon, sweet chunks of lobster (replacing the usual lettuce) and herb-spiked mayonnaise. "When you add lobster to a sandwich, there's no way it won't be great," he says.

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BLT Bread Salad

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To make this Italian-style salad, Joy Manning tosses cubes of bread with just a little B (bacon) and lots of healthy L (soft butter lettuce) and T (small yellow and red tomatoes). Instead of mayonnaise, she blends the basil-inflected dressing with protein-rich soft tofu.

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Fried Green Tomato BLTs

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This is a brilliant marriage of two classics: cornmeal-dusted green tomatoes and a bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich.

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Grilled-Trout BLT

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For a fun twist on the classic BLT, try adding grilled trout.

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Fried-Egg BLTs with Arugula Aioli

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Jimmy Bannos Jr. improves on the classic BLT by layering his version with curly frisée, lemony arugula aioli, thick-cut bacon and juicy heirloom tomatoes. He tops it all with a runny fried egg.

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BLT Hot Dogs with Caraway Remoulade

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These “BLT” hot dogs are topped with crispy bacon, fresh tomatoes and crunchy lettuce dressed with a creamy caraway-pickle mayonnaise.

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King Oyster Mushroom "BLT" with Basil Mayonnaise

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Chef Richard Landau skips the creepy packaged vegan bacon in favor of king oyster mushrooms, also known as king trumpets or royal trumpets. These have a firm, meaty texture and flavor that can mimic bacon on a BLT. While the texture of king oysters is unique, other thinly sliced wild mushrooms, like shiitake, would also be tasty on this sandwich.

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Cheddar BLT Burgers with Tarragon Russian Dressing

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Brushing burgers with butter while they're on the grill allows natural sugars caramelize, making the meat extra-delicious.

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BLT Burger with Garlicky Mayonnaise

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This burger has all the components of a BLT—they're just not configured in the usual way. Crumbled bacon and intense sun-dried tomatoes are mixed into a garlicky mayonnaise, which gets slathered on a juicy burger. The lettuce part, arugula, adds a crunchy, peppery hit.

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