Reuben sandwiches are so easy and delicious to make at home, especially when you use homemade pastrami! Only 6 ingredients and about 5 minutes of your time until this deli favorite is on your table. This sandwich is a fun way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, or just eat year round!

Reuben sandwich over yellow backdrop

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I love a Reuben sandwich – it’s always one of the most tempting things on a pub or deli menu for me. Pastrami, sauerkraut, and thousand island dressing, not to mention melty Swiss cheese! It’s my dream sandwich.

Last summer, I made homemade pastrami for the first time and had several friends and family members over to help us eat it all in the form of a massive pile of Reuben sandwiches. Over and over I heard the words, “This is the best Reuben I’ve ever had.” High praise, if you ask me!

This sandwich is incredibly easy to make – don’t overthink it. I recommend doing your best to use the traditional ingredients I’ve laid out in this recipe, but if you have to stray, that’s okay.

Reuben Sandwich Ingredients

So, what goes on a Reuben sandwich? Just a few ingredients:

  • Rye bread. This seems like it might be hard to find, but most grocery stores have it! Bonus points if you can find it at a local bakery. If you’re in Portland, I got ours from Pirate Bread through Milk Run.
  • Butter.
  • Thousand Island Dressing. I get our favorite natural dressings from Thrive Market.
  • Sauerkraut. Also from Thrive Market!
  • Swiss cheese.
  • Pastrami! I have a tutorial for making homemade sous vide + smoked pastrami that is phenomenal. It is 100% worth the time and effort but it takes about 10 days… so I understand if you need to skip this process to get your Reuben fix quicker 🙂

How to Make a Reuben Sandwich

Butter the bread, layer the ingredients inside the sandwich, then griddle just like a grilled cheese! It’s really easy, what did I tell ya?

Layering of reuben sandwich ingredients

Reuben Sandwich Recipe

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Get the Recipe:

Reuben Sandwich

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes
Yield: 1 serving
Reuben sandwiches are so easy and delicious to make at home, especially when you use homemade pastrami! Only 6 ingredients and about 5 minutes of your time until this deli favorite is on your table. This sandwich is a fun way to celebrate St. Patrick's Day, or just eat year round!

Ingredients
 

  • 2 pieces rye bread
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • 1 tbsp Thousand Island Dressing
  • 3-4 oz pastrami
  • 3 tbsp sauerkraut
  • 2 slices Swiss cheese

Instructions
 

  • Butter one side of each piece of the rye bread. Spread the Thousand Island Dressing on the other side of one of the pieces of bread. Layer the remaining ingredients on top of the dressing, ending with the other piece of bread, buttered side up.
  • Heat a skillet over medium heat. Add the sandwich and cook just like a grilled cheese, until buttered sides of bread are browned and cheese is melted.

Notes

Cover the sandwich while cooking to help melt the cheese.
It's a little trickier, but to avoid a soggy sandwich you can do the cheese first and spread the dressing onto the cheese.
Cuisine: Irish
Course: Sandwich
Author: Chelsea Cole
Calories: 383kcal, Carbohydrates: 8g, Protein: 27g, Fat: 28g, Saturated Fat: 14g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 106mg, Sodium: 1468mg, Potassium: 319mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 4g, Vitamin A: 674IU, Vitamin C: 36mg, Calcium: 297mg, Iron: 3mg
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