Why the Tomato and Mayo Sandwich Is the Perfect Summer Sandwich
In the dog days of August, nothing tastes sweeter than a tomato and mayo sandwich on soft white bread. It just might be the ultimate summer sandwich.
By Aimee Tucker|Jul 07 2022|
Coffee By Design | Portland, Maine
Photo Credit : Katherine Keenan
Have you had a tomato and mayo sandwich yet this summer? If not, now is the perfect time to enjoy the season’s ultimate sandwich.
Why the Tomato and Mayo Sandwich Is the Perfect Summer Sandwich Photo Credit : Aimee Tucker
What makes it the best?
First, its simplicity. The ingredients number just three: white bread, mayonnaise, and fresh tomato. Salt and pepper optional.
Second, its big summer flavor. There’s nothing like the taste of a ripe tomato that’s been grown in the soil and warmed by the sun and never seen the inside of a refrigerator. What could be better?
It took me a few decades before I learned how good the tomato and mayo sandwich is, and I have the Yankee Facebook audience to thank for showing me the way. When another sandwich-centric post (“6 Classic New England Sandwiches”) went out on social media last year, we asked our fans to name their favorite New England sandwich — and dozens named the fresh summer tomato and mayo sandwich as their top pick.
Here’s some of what they said:
“Garden tomatoes with mayo and salt and pepper on fresh Syrian bread.”
“In the summer: iceberg lettuce, sliced tomato, salt and pepper, on white bread with mayonnaise.”
“Nothing says summer in New England like vine-ripened tomatoes with mayo on white.”
“My mom made us tomato or tomato-lettuce sandwiches whenever tomatoes were in season.”
“Oh my. A good-thick-sliced-tomato-from-your-garden sandwich. That really is all-American.”
Some folks also expressed a preference for fresh summer tomatoes in a grilled cheese or paired with fried bologna or sliced cucumbers, but there were enough classic-tomato-and-mayo-sandwich fans to convince me that I was missing out on something great.
Which brings me to this fine August day. Armed with a loaf of white sandwich bread (the bread, I’ve been told, must be store-bought), a jar of mayonnaise (Cains,if your New England loyalty extends to condiments), salt and pepper shakers, and one large, fresh tomato from my local farmstand, I was ready to make amends.
Every good tomato and mayo sandwich starts with soft white bread and a thick layer of mayo. Photo Credit : Aimee Tucker
Although I cut my tomato into slices as thick as my pinkie, you can go for thumb-thick or wafer-thin. The important thing is to find your perfect tomato-to-mayo ratio, and then, once the sandwich is assembled, walk away for 5 minutes to give those fresh tomato juices time to mingle with the mayo and seep into the bread a little. You’ll be glad you did.
Why the Tomato and Mayo Sandwich Is the Perfect Summer Sandwich Photo Credit : Aimee Tucker
Delicious!
Are you a fan of the summer tomato and mayo sandwich?
This post was first published in 2017 and has been updated.
The first thing that popped into my mind was Hellmann’s…But I see those who are really New Englanders are already thinking the same thing.. I’m a CT girl and don’t even know what Cain’s is!
One of my happiest childhood memories is taking road trips with my family in the 50’s. Our trunk held a bushel of luscious tomatoes from our garden, a cooler with a big bottle of mayo (Hellmans), and a salt shaker. We’d stop to buy a loaf of fresh white bread, head for the rarest roadside picnic table, and feast on the most delicious tomato sandwiches ever!
I always make these – I didn’t know that everyone else does too! Once in a while, I’ll also add a few fresh basil leaves and some sharp cheese. Must be eaten with a big glass of cold milk 🙂
Also, fresh pickling cucumbers (the small, crispy, bumpy ones) make great sandwiches with mayo, salt, pepper and a little fresh dill if you have it.
Tomato sandwiches with Hellman’s mayo is the way to go! I know because I’m from Connecticut and that’s the way you do it. Also grilled cheese sandwiches with tomatoes and a cup of tomato soup to go along with it…yum, yum!!
Granpa’s garden tomatoes smothered with Hellman’s mayo with a dash of salt and pepper…on white bread…sometimes a nice slice of cheddar or american cheese…yummy, yummy, yummy!
CONNECTICUT?? I grew up in the South, and a good tomato sandwich with mayo on white bread was the queen of the summer. Now I live in Pennsylvania, and have to wait till mid- or late July to satisfy my yearning. I think I’ll have one right now!
I thought tomato sandwiches was a southern thing.You are right there is nothing any better in summer heat.A big cold glass of milk is great with tomato sandwiches.Down south we use Duke’s mayonnaise.
❤️❤️Hearing all the comments about the best sandwich ever!! I am a California girl so for us it’s Best Foods mayonnaise and nothing else! Love to make these sandwiches with fresh thin sliced heirloom tomatoes, a good layer of mayo and of course white bread. It brings back great childhood memories but we are still enjoying today. Happy eating????????
Have lived in California for years, and don’t know anyone who knows anything about that sandwich! It’s still my favorite….I like it with lettuce… It’s a piece of my childhood on bread!
I am assuming that store-bought sandwich bread is usually used? Wonder Bread, local baking company white bread but not artisan? Any comments on the bread, the thickness, etc.?
I have eaten lettuce and (fresh ) tomato sandwiches since I was a kid! Used to get fresh tomatoes out of the garden. Some 65 years ago. Home grown in the state of Washington.
Sounds good but, I was raised on Miracle Whip on white bread (toasted or not) iceberg lettuce and some sliced onions. This is the thing I crave on a January afternoon when you can’t get one of these red summer beauties.
We have always had tomato and lettuce with mayonnaise sandwiches in the summer. Since we’ve moved to Bedford, Virginia, we still do the NE style sandwich, but now it must have Duke’s mayonnaise. It’s the very best mayonnaise we’ve ever tasted in our 76 years. (:
My favorite summer sandwich. My mother would make it with Italian Scalli bread , fresh garden tomatoes , mayonnaise and provolone cheese. Boy, do I miss those days.
All the above are delicious, but my favorite is thick slices of juicy heirloom tomatoes, lots of mayo, peanut butter–all on white or oatmeal bread. Gooey grilled cheese and thick tomato slices are also great–real butter on the bread before grilling. Boy, am I hungry!!
I had always thought of a tomato and mayo sandwich as a Southern thing. Glad to know other parts of the country like it too. Tomato, Dukes Mayo, maybe lettuce, maybe a couple strips of bacon, and bread. Can’t be beat!
Great sandwich! Not NE though- more universal. I was raised on these- in Mississippi.
Make it perfect- add lettuce and crisp bacon. BLT, best of sandwiches!
In my youth, working all hot morning on Whittles Farm in Mystic my friend Billy (Mystic Landscaping) and I would enjoy a cool rub down with Witch Hazel then a lunch of fresh tomato and mayo sandwiches with homemade ice tea made by my loving grandmother.
My mom often made these for our Summer lunches once the garden tomatoes had arrived. Nothing like it. Normally we just had a napkin over our placemats when eating lunch, but on tomato/mayo days, we were actually given paper plates because the juice from those tomatoes would easily “knock off” the average paper napkin.
Speaking of tomatoes, every year my Dad would patiently wait for the first tomato to ripen in the garden. Then, when one was finally ready, he’d wait until around 1-2 pm on a sunny day and armed with a salt shaker & a wet paper towel, he’d pluck that first beautiful red tomato, wipe it gently all over with the paper towel, take a teeny first bite – then sprinkle salt onto the open area of the tomato and take a first BIG juicy bite. Dad said the best part was waiting til early afternoon because the sun had had time to warm the tomato and biting into it was like having a mouthful of the world’s freshest best tomato sauce – right from the garden. Couldn’t get it fresher!
Brioche bread, multi-grain, or challah also work, and a sliced hard-boiled egg with salt and pepper turns the sandwich into a full meal. Be generous with the mayo …
My Mom’s all-time favorite sandwich was fresh tomato slices, Hellman’s mayo and (my favorite as well) a slice of Land O’Lakes American cheese! I just love it!!!
I love a tomato and mayo sandwich…so refreshing. I also add a slice or two of provolone cheese and occasionally some onion (not too much). Honey whole wheat bread is my bread of choice. No matter what you use, the sandwich is going to be oh so yummy!
I live in the mountains of n c and tomatoe sandwiches are a staple of mountain people. I can hardly wait for summer time and fresh tomatoes right from the garden. a little onion is good too.
I live in New Jersey where we grow Jersey Tomatoes the size of your head. Nothing better than a tomato sandwich on white with mayo. My only preference is to toast the bread. The best tomatoes are the ones that with one slice cover the whole slice of bread. And the best thing right now as I’m writing this is the Jersey tomatoes are coming in. Love it.
What? No debate over peeled versus unpeeled tomato? Our family prefer peeled. Even if we may be sacrificing some nutrients. Leaves room for two sandwiches!
I love my garden fresh tomato sliced on toasted white bread and slathered with Hellman’s Mayo. Sometimes I will lay on a leaf or two of basil for that extra zing. Nothing says summer to me than that delicious treat.
A lovely tomato and mayo sandwich made with good old white bread, fresh, warm tomatoes, cold Hellman’s mayo and a little salt and pepper is the best. Mirale Whip, Bacon, avacado, cheese, lettuce, onions etc. need not apply because that is NOT a tomato and mayo sandwich!
“Although I cut my tomato into slices as thick as my pinkie, you can go for thumb-thick or wafer-thin. The important thing is to find your perfect tomato-to-mayo ratio” And that IS the most important part! As far as the Mayo, we’re all civilized here so lets save the great mayo vs miracle whip debate for another day! 😀 (p.s. for all us yankees, our friends down south know what there talking about with Dukes!!)
All the combinations sound delicious, but the basic just can’t be beat. My alternative is sliced fresh Rutgers tomato, julienned basil leaves, thinly sliced cucumber, salt, freshly ground pepper and a few drops of vinegar on wheat bread. THERE IS NO MAYO EXCEPT DUKE’S!
My absolute favorite summer sandwich. Just a thick slice of a big homegrown tomato, room temperature, on really good white bread, mayonnaise and salt! Been eating them for over 70 years. I eat as many as I can while the tomatoes are in season. Tomato sandwiches are on the same highly anticipated level as Turkey sandwiches after Thanksgiving Dinner!
Tomato sandwiches are definitely a Midwest favorite as well. Those weeks in August when we ate as many tomato sandwiches as we could, knowing that once canning started we would not have the chance again until next year. Who doesn’t like a BLT or a grilled cheese with sliced tomatoes, but we are talking about a specific childhood memory of the best tomato you have ever had, whether you pick it at the peak of ripeness or you grab it off the kitchen window sill where it is warm from the sun. This sandwich is made with tomato slices, on store-bought white bread right out of the wrapper, and your favorite mayonnaise. The only options are salt and pepper. Can’t wait for August!
Home made fresh bread, with garden grown tomatoes and Hellman’s . . . heavenly. Eating a tomato with some salt, like an apple is second best! I cannot wait for my tomatoes to grow!
Nothing says summer better than a tomato sandwich made with fresh tomatoes from Jersey ( there really is a difference in taste) but since I hate mayo I prefer some spicy brown mustard and the bread needs to be super fresh
I’m surprised to see just three references to tomato sandwiches with cucumber. That was the only way we ate them. The crunch made them heavenly. But thank you for dozens of other variations on the iconic sandwich of my childhood!
I am from the South and still live in the South. No Duke’s mayo for me! Hellman’s all the way. A good peeled Better Boy tomato, white sandwich bread, salt. That’s it. Every year when I have my first sandwich I reverently pray, Lord, thank you for letting me live long enough to have my first mater sammich. Amen.
warm from the garden, ripe, Brandywine tomato, sliced with a sprinkling of salt and fresh ground pepper…..I’m a dieting Californian that grow my own tomatoes ???? San Fransico sourdough bread, lightly toasted, with Best Foods mayonnaise, crisp iceberg lettuce and 2 slices of lean bacon is my absolute favorite Summer sandwich.
What a great article!I have enjoyed tomato sandwichs since I was a kid and am 70 this year.Best enjoyed on fresh bread or toast..Italian bread or thin Pepperidge farm white so the tomato is the star with Hellman’s mayo…Best Foods mayo west of Rockies per the label on jar…I was just on The Vineyard with my family and due to all the cold or wet weather tomatoes were not ripe yet,but Morning Glory Farm had heirloom ones from hothouse,I brought 5 back on the ferry and guess what my dinner was that night? The biggest tomato when sliced fit on the bread like it was made for it,hothouse or not it was devine,I like them open faced on one slice of bread.Enjoy readers..summer is short!
This Iowa girl lives in Austin, TX where those luscious tomatoes just can’t be found. I miss any and all versions of tomato sandwiches made with tomatoes that still smell like tomatoes, are warm with the sun, and have honest-to-goodness juice in them.
I make tomato and mayo sandwiches with an Italian twist. I spread mayo on the bread, cover with a slice of mozzarella cheese, then add the tomato slices. Drizzle a little olive oil then sprinkle with ground pepper and oregano. It’s a cool and refreshing summer treat. Just as an aside: it’s pronounced Moh-zar-rel-la not mot-zar-ella as said on so many TV cooking shows. Spoken as a true Neapolitan.
There is nothing like a tomato sandwich. A jersey tomato if you get one, fresh off the vine with lots of Hellman’s mayo and a little salt and pepper on soft white or lightly toasted bread. Its heaven!!
I’ve found that Kraft mayo (not salad dressing) has the flavor that Hellman’s used to have before all the soy and other additives. A bit more expensive but well worth it.
Oh yeah!! Hearty white bread, thick sliced just-picked tomato, Cabot extra sharp cheddar (at room temp), salt, pepper, and a good slathering of either Hellman’s or Duke’s mayo….OMG!! And make sure you have a plate to catch the drippings to lick up, cuz it’s gonna be messy! If you don’t love this..you don’t love Summer.
(you can also throw in a slice of sweet onion if you want)
One of my very favorite “cool” sandwiches. One summer my Father and I had these and tomato and pickled cucumber and onion sandwiches. My Mother was from England and onion and cucumber “pickled” for a few hours in various vinegars with salt and pepper seasoned were tradional holiday and Sunday dinner additions. Cheshire cheese was the usual pairing with tomatoes on sandwiches, though often on buttered white bread.
Near Pittsburgh Pa. loved all of the comments about tomatoes! Love them, had to make one, just finished one. Lots to childhood memories. Sat in my grandparents garden as a child with a salt shaker, eating tomatoes until I got mouth ulcers. ????????????????????
The thing that makes me most excited about Summer is looking forward to tomato sandwiches, white bread, mayo and a little cabot seriously sharp with salt and pepper.
I may be a New England girl, but a Texas boy, Guy Clark, said it best in his song “Homegrown Tomatoes” “Only two things that money can’t buy, that’s true love and homegrown tomatoes!”
@Carol in Pittsburg – I thought I was the only one that would own up to taking a salt shaker out to the tomato patch and sitting. My 2 year old son got into the tomato patch one year and ate them until he had mouth ulcers and blisters on his tummy from the juice!
My mother taught me the love of a tomato, mayo and cheddar sandwich on soft, store-bought white bread. I thought it was a normal thing; however being from WI I quickly found out it wasn’t. Must have been my mom’s VA/England upbringing.
Coming from North Carolina this was a regular staple in out house, we didn’t have a lot of money but this sure gave us smiles like we were rich. Also are we the only ones who did banana and mayo?
This was my Mom’s all time favorite sandwich too but with a slice of Land O Lakes white American! I’m a Cabot fan now in all its various forms but, when I want the real thing in memory of Mom, it’s good, soft bread, Hellmann’s, a thick tomato slice, a bit of salt and pepper and a slice of Land O Lakes white… it’ll always be my favorite too and I’ll be 73 in a few weeks. ???????????? Time to introduce the grandkids to this wonderful experience… if I can get past their very picky palates! ????
Am I the only one who prefers toast and also one slice with butter and the other with mayonnaise sprinkled with black pepper? Fresh sliced tomatoes in the middle, of course. WV girl here.
Mine was always on toasted English muffins w Mayo and lemon pepper! My favorite sandwich for over 40 years!! Had to eat it in my bathing suit so I could just jump in the water to rinse off all the Mayo/tomato juice that would run down my chin!
There is nothing like a good home-grown tomato! I don’t like mayonnaise but I do like a tomato sandwich with white bread, a thin coating of butter and slices of tomato with a little salt and pepper. Once in awhile, with a little mustard! Yummy,
Still love a beautiful red ripe tomato, slather of Hellman’s and store white bread. Used to be able to buy Sunbeam “batter whipped” bread which was clearly the best whit bread ever made but as you can’t get it anymore, I settle for a good fresh squishy white.
I add a slice of American cheese and it has to be really fresh white bread too. Since I was a kid (long long time ago) I have been eating these sandwiches. I used to sit with my dad and we’d use miracle whip and make sure there was salt on those tomatoes.
I don’t eat bread anymore but I take a thin slice of Swiss cheese, spread so some Miracle Whip, then cut a tomato slice into narrow slices and put that in the middle. Roll it up and I have an instant memory of my childhood tomato and Miracle Whip sandwich with the first bite. I eat about 3 or 4 of these roll ups and I’m good to go.
During the summer we ate tomato sandwiches almost everyday. White bread, fresh home grown tomatoes (peeled) with homemade mayonnaise and of salt, very hard to beat. Every now and then we would have a cucumber sandwich or a hard boiled egg sandwich.
Later in time, my niece introduced me to her version of this classic NE sandwich and its been adopted by my family ever since. Bread crust has to be removed in the shape of the enclosed tomato. Maybe a waste, but worth it!
My summer go-to sandwich is fresh sliced (not too thick) tomato from my garden, fresh white bread, a slice of Americana cheese, bacon, and a liberal amount of Hellman’s mayonnaise and salt and pepper. Gently pressed to absorb the juices, yumm!. Two improvements include very lightly toasting the bread, and using CV Cooper cheese. It’s a beautiful thing!
My sweet hubby is from Maine, I’m from Virginia, where we live. But we keep up with our New England side via this site and Yankee magazine! And I can tell you: “Y’all” finally caught up with the southern queen of “sammiches”! LOL!
Definitely use soft white bread, salt & pepper, and fully ripened luscious ‘maters. And as for mayo?? DUKES, BABY!!! Made by C.F. Sauer, right here in Virginia. Contains no sugar at all, and is the perfect foil to a great tomato!
I will get Duke’s mayonnaise based on your recommendation, I don’t like sweet mayonnaise and especially do not like the fake stuff aka ‘salad dressing’ with high fructose corn syrup. Thank you!
Yup, we drool all winter thinking about them. Hothouse grown store bought tomatoes in winter just don’t cut the mustard with us, but fill in till we can pick sun ripe tomatoes off the vine in the garden in summer.
Oh my gosh, very fond memories came flooding in. We always have home grown tomatoes. Tomato & white bread sandwiches with Miracle Whip (Western PA adaptation from original Duke Mayo from SC) sandwiches were a staple when we were kids. Thanks for the memory! ????
I am a Maine transplant now living in Richmond Virginia, home of Duke‘s mayonnaise. Down here we have Hanover tomatoes which are by far the best tomatoes I’ve ever eaten in my life. A couple of slices of those on Pepperidge Farm Butter Bread with a smear of Duke’s mayonnaise is pure
Heaven on earth!
Growing up my dad worked for a big commercial food corporation as the “tomato buyer”. I remember going with him out to the Central Valley in California to huge farms growing tomatoes for sauce but always coming home with beautiful warm summer tomatoes and other foods gifted to us by the farmers. First thing when we got home from the long hot dusty drive was a cold wet face cloth and a tomato sandwich. It was always commercial white bread (only time we ate that), thick slices of still warm tomatoes, salt and mayo. I don’t remember what mayo my dad used but these days thanks to online shopping this California girl uses Dukes. Eating these sandwiches at the kitchen table with dad and the juice dribbling down are chins is the strongest food memory I have from my childhood. The only change I make is once in awhile instead of salting the tomato I lay on a couple of pieces of bacon. Makes me want to go make one now and it’s 6:45 a.m. in California.
Ever since I can remember, my Mom would make tomato sandwiches for a cool and simple lunch on a hot summer’s day. Thinly sliced tomatoes, a slight sprinkle of salt and good bread (usually Pepperidge Farm Country White) spread with Hellmann’s mayo. Makes me hungry just writing about it and I can’t wait for this season’s tomato crop to ripen so I can enjoy them with home-grown tomatoes!
Helman’s mayonaise used to be made in Westerly,R.I.. Still buy it all the time as always so good. Don’t know where it is made now.
white bread or nothing………nuff said
Hmmm, guess I know what I’m having for lunch!!
Growing up in Western MA in the 50’s it was always Hellman’s and it remains Hellman’s to this day.
The first thing that popped into my mind was Hellmann’s…But I see those who are really New Englanders are already thinking the same thing.. I’m a CT girl and don’t even know what Cain’s is!
grew up in Massachusetts on a dairy farm . to this day when I see and smell fresh tomatoes my stomach screams B L T with HELLMANS ofcourse.
One of my happiest childhood memories is taking road trips with my family in the 50’s. Our trunk held a bushel of luscious tomatoes from our garden, a cooler with a big bottle of mayo (Hellmans), and a salt shaker. We’d stop to buy a loaf of fresh white bread, head for the rarest roadside picnic table, and feast on the most delicious tomato sandwiches ever!
That’s the “nearest” picnic table, not the “rarest”!
I always make these – I didn’t know that everyone else does too! Once in a while, I’ll also add a few fresh basil leaves and some sharp cheese. Must be eaten with a big glass of cold milk 🙂
Also, fresh pickling cucumbers (the small, crispy, bumpy ones) make great sandwiches with mayo, salt, pepper and a little fresh dill if you have it.
Tomato sandwiches with Hellman’s mayo is the way to go! I know because I’m from Connecticut and that’s the way you do it. Also grilled cheese sandwiches with tomatoes and a cup of tomato soup to go along with it…yum, yum!!
Gerry from Ct.
Love them then, love them now! A good tomato sandwich – nothing like it! Delicious!
Granpa’s garden tomatoes smothered with Hellman’s mayo with a dash of salt and pepper…on white bread…sometimes a nice slice of cheddar or american cheese…yummy, yummy, yummy!
Good white bread, a bed of Hellmann’s (or Dukes), a slab of fresh picked tomato, salt, pepper and a slice or 2 of Cabot sharp cheddar. Wow!
CONNECTICUT?? I grew up in the South, and a good tomato sandwich with mayo on white bread was the queen of the summer. Now I live in Pennsylvania, and have to wait till mid- or late July to satisfy my yearning. I think I’ll have one right now!
I thought tomato sandwiches was a southern thing.You are right there is nothing any better in summer heat.A big cold glass of milk is great with tomato sandwiches.Down south we use Duke’s mayonnaise.
❤️❤️Hearing all the comments about the best sandwich ever!! I am a California girl so for us it’s Best Foods mayonnaise and nothing else! Love to make these sandwiches with fresh thin sliced heirloom tomatoes, a good layer of mayo and of course white bread. It brings back great childhood memories but we are still enjoying today. Happy eating????????
Have lived in California for years, and don’t know anyone who knows anything about that sandwich! It’s still my favorite….I like it with lettuce… It’s a piece of my childhood on bread!
I am assuming that store-bought sandwich bread is usually used? Wonder Bread, local baking company white bread but not artisan? Any comments on the bread, the thickness, etc.?
I like Pepperidge Farms thin sliced sandwich bread. The best for any sandwich but especially for tomato sandwiches.
I have eaten lettuce and (fresh ) tomato sandwiches since I was a kid! Used to get fresh tomatoes out of the garden. Some 65 years ago. Home grown in the state of Washington.
MUST be Hellman’s mayonnaise. And juicy enough to require eating over the kitchen sink with juice running off your elbows.
Sounds good but, I was raised on Miracle Whip on white bread (toasted or not) iceberg lettuce and some sliced onions. This is the thing I crave on a January afternoon when you can’t get one of these red summer beauties.
We have always had tomato and lettuce with mayonnaise sandwiches in the summer. Since we’ve moved to Bedford, Virginia, we still do the NE style sandwich, but now it must have Duke’s mayonnaise. It’s the very best mayonnaise we’ve ever tasted in our 76 years. (:
I use Winter Hill Italian scala, slice of Hoffman sharp cheddar and sprinkle oregano over it. Especially good with the brandywine tomatoes in Sept.
My favorite summer sandwich. My mother would make it with Italian Scalli bread , fresh garden tomatoes , mayonnaise and provolone cheese. Boy, do I miss those days.
All the above are delicious, but my favorite is thick slices of juicy heirloom tomatoes, lots of mayo, peanut butter–all on white or oatmeal bread. Gooey grilled cheese and thick tomato slices are also great–real butter on the bread before grilling. Boy, am I hungry!!
Mater & Mayo. Yum. How about a mayo, tomato, and cold baked bean on crusty Italian/French bread??
Garden ripe tomato on rye bread with mayo best summer lunch ever New England girl here.
Love fresh tomato on pumpernickel with mayo (usually miracle whip) and slice of cheddar cheese. Yum
Oh no.
YES! The tomato sandwich is the best with Miracle Whip!
Never heard of tomato sandwiches, but the pum
I had always thought of a tomato and mayo sandwich as a Southern thing. Glad to know other parts of the country like it too. Tomato, Dukes Mayo, maybe lettuce, maybe a couple strips of bacon, and bread. Can’t be beat!
For me the bread must be toasted. It adds more flavor and texture. I would eat them until my mouth became sore!
The bread MUST be toasted. I prefer sourdough, but any white bread will do. Bon appetit!
Great sandwich! Not NE though- more universal. I was raised on these- in Mississippi.
Make it perfect- add lettuce and crisp bacon. BLT, best of sandwiches!
In my youth, working all hot morning on Whittles Farm in Mystic my friend Billy (Mystic Landscaping) and I would enjoy a cool rub down with Witch Hazel then a lunch of fresh tomato and mayo sandwiches with homemade ice tea made by my loving grandmother.
With one slice of ruby-red Jersey Tomato that’s as big as the piece of bread, with Miracle Whip!
Tomato sandwiches are a summer staple in the South,most southerns use Dukes mayonnaise.Can’t get any better than that.
My mom often made these for our Summer lunches once the garden tomatoes had arrived. Nothing like it. Normally we just had a napkin over our placemats when eating lunch, but on tomato/mayo days, we were actually given paper plates because the juice from those tomatoes would easily “knock off” the average paper napkin.
Speaking of tomatoes, every year my Dad would patiently wait for the first tomato to ripen in the garden. Then, when one was finally ready, he’d wait until around 1-2 pm on a sunny day and armed with a salt shaker & a wet paper towel, he’d pluck that first beautiful red tomato, wipe it gently all over with the paper towel, take a teeny first bite – then sprinkle salt onto the open area of the tomato and take a first BIG juicy bite. Dad said the best part was waiting til early afternoon because the sun had had time to warm the tomato and biting into it was like having a mouthful of the world’s freshest best tomato sauce – right from the garden. Couldn’t get it fresher!
Brioche bread, multi-grain, or challah also work, and a sliced hard-boiled egg with salt and pepper turns the sandwich into a full meal. Be generous with the mayo …
In the south we add crisp bacon, lettuce, salt & pepper with Dukes or Helman’s mayo. and of course slices of a fat, juicy fresh tomato. Awsome!!
Up north here, we refer to that combination as a BLT. lol
My Mom’s all-time favorite sandwich was fresh tomato slices, Hellman’s mayo and (my favorite as well) a slice of Land O’Lakes American cheese! I just love it!!!
I love a tomato and mayo sandwich…so refreshing. I also add a slice or two of provolone cheese and occasionally some onion (not too much). Honey whole wheat bread is my bread of choice. No matter what you use, the sandwich is going to be oh so yummy!
I live in the mountains of n c and tomatoe sandwiches are a staple of mountain people. I can hardly wait for summer time and fresh tomatoes right from the garden. a little onion is good too.
I live in New Jersey where we grow Jersey Tomatoes the size of your head. Nothing better than a tomato sandwich on white with mayo. My only preference is to toast the bread. The best tomatoes are the ones that with one slice cover the whole slice of bread. And the best thing right now as I’m writing this is the Jersey tomatoes are coming in. Love it.
I love a thick slice of freshly picked beefsteak tomato slathered with Hellman’s mayo between two thick slices of artisan white bread!
What? No debate over peeled versus unpeeled tomato? Our family prefer peeled. Even if we may be sacrificing some nutrients. Leaves room for two sandwiches!
No matter how it’s made, it is delicious with a fresh, ripe tomato from the garden.
I love my garden fresh tomato sliced on toasted white bread and slathered with Hellman’s Mayo. Sometimes I will lay on a leaf or two of basil for that extra zing. Nothing says summer to me than that delicious treat.
A lovely tomato and mayo sandwich made with good old white bread, fresh, warm tomatoes, cold Hellman’s mayo and a little salt and pepper is the best. Mirale Whip, Bacon, avacado, cheese, lettuce, onions etc. need not apply because that is NOT a tomato and mayo sandwich!
Fresh tomatoes with mozzarella cheese, basil, and olive oil on Italian bread. Delish!
“Although I cut my tomato into slices as thick as my pinkie, you can go for thumb-thick or wafer-thin. The important thing is to find your perfect tomato-to-mayo ratio” And that IS the most important part! As far as the Mayo, we’re all civilized here so lets save the great mayo vs miracle whip debate for another day! 😀 (p.s. for all us yankees, our friends down south know what there talking about with Dukes!!)
Thinly sliced beefsteak tomatoes. Cain’s or homemade mayonnaise. Fresh Italian or French bread. Salt & pepper.
Tomatoes, mayo and a must………CHOPPED CHIVES
That is summer at its finest ????
What in the fresh hell?
All the combinations sound delicious, but the basic just can’t be beat. My alternative is sliced fresh Rutgers tomato, julienned basil leaves, thinly sliced cucumber, salt, freshly ground pepper and a few drops of vinegar on wheat bread. THERE IS NO MAYO EXCEPT DUKE’S!
Nothing better than a fresh tomato sandwich!
Better yet, though, a big roll from Framingham bakery stuffed with fresh, home grown tomatoes!
My absolute favorite summer sandwich. Just a thick slice of a big homegrown tomato, room temperature, on really good white bread, mayonnaise and salt! Been eating them for over 70 years. I eat as many as I can while the tomatoes are in season. Tomato sandwiches are on the same highly anticipated level as Turkey sandwiches after Thanksgiving Dinner!
For the record Miracle whip
Is not mayo. It is a salad dressing. Check the label
On the bottle. ????
Tomato sandwiches are definitely a Midwest favorite as well. Those weeks in August when we ate as many tomato sandwiches as we could, knowing that once canning started we would not have the chance again until next year. Who doesn’t like a BLT or a grilled cheese with sliced tomatoes, but we are talking about a specific childhood memory of the best tomato you have ever had, whether you pick it at the peak of ripeness or you grab it off the kitchen window sill where it is warm from the sun. This sandwich is made with tomato slices, on store-bought white bread right out of the wrapper, and your favorite mayonnaise. The only options are salt and pepper. Can’t wait for August!
Home made fresh bread, with garden grown tomatoes and Hellman’s . . . heavenly. Eating a tomato with some salt, like an apple is second best! I cannot wait for my tomatoes to grow!
The picture brought back memories—right down to the salt and pepper shakers my grandparents always had!
Nothing says summer better than a tomato sandwich made with fresh tomatoes from Jersey ( there really is a difference in taste) but since I hate mayo I prefer some spicy brown mustard and the bread needs to be super fresh
What could be better? Only thing I can think of is if you had 4 or 5 slices of bacon to add to it….;o) That would be better
I’m surprised to see just three references to tomato sandwiches with cucumber. That was the only way we ate them. The crunch made them heavenly. But thank you for dozens of other variations on the iconic sandwich of my childhood!
I am from the South and still live in the South. No Duke’s mayo for me! Hellman’s all the way. A good peeled Better Boy tomato, white sandwich bread, salt. That’s it. Every year when I have my first sandwich I reverently pray, Lord, thank you for letting me live long enough to have my first mater sammich. Amen.
warm from the garden, ripe, Brandywine tomato, sliced with a sprinkling of salt and fresh ground pepper…..I’m a dieting Californian that grow my own tomatoes ???? San Fransico sourdough bread, lightly toasted, with Best Foods mayonnaise, crisp iceberg lettuce and 2 slices of lean bacon is my absolute favorite Summer sandwich.
BLT on garlic bread toast! MMM MMM Good!!
What a great article!I have enjoyed tomato sandwichs since I was a kid and am 70 this year.Best enjoyed on fresh bread or toast..Italian bread or thin Pepperidge farm white so the tomato is the star with Hellman’s mayo…Best Foods mayo west of Rockies per the label on jar…I was just on The Vineyard with my family and due to all the cold or wet weather tomatoes were not ripe yet,but Morning Glory Farm had heirloom ones from hothouse,I brought 5 back on the ferry and guess what my dinner was that night? The biggest tomato when sliced fit on the bread like it was made for it,hothouse or not it was devine,I like them open faced on one slice of bread.Enjoy readers..summer is short!
This Iowa girl lives in Austin, TX where those luscious tomatoes just can’t be found. I miss any and all versions of tomato sandwiches made with tomatoes that still smell like tomatoes, are warm with the sun, and have honest-to-goodness juice in them.
I make tomato and mayo sandwiches with an Italian twist. I spread mayo on the bread, cover with a slice of mozzarella cheese, then add the tomato slices. Drizzle a little olive oil then sprinkle with ground pepper and oregano. It’s a cool and refreshing summer treat. Just as an aside: it’s pronounced Moh-zar-rel-la not mot-zar-ella as said on so many TV cooking shows. Spoken as a true Neapolitan.
There is nothing like a tomato sandwich. A jersey tomato if you get one, fresh off the vine with lots of Hellman’s mayo and a little salt and pepper on soft white or lightly toasted bread. Its heaven!!
Another summertime New England fave:
Vermont xtra-shahp-cheddah cheese and sliced raw onions on buttered white bread with a bottle of ice cold beer!
I’ve found that Kraft mayo (not salad dressing) has the flavor that Hellman’s used to have before all the soy and other additives. A bit more expensive but well worth it.
Oh yeah!! Hearty white bread, thick sliced just-picked tomato, Cabot extra sharp cheddar (at room temp), salt, pepper, and a good slathering of either Hellman’s or Duke’s mayo….OMG!! And make sure you have a plate to catch the drippings to lick up, cuz it’s gonna be messy! If you don’t love this..you don’t love Summer.
(you can also throw in a slice of sweet onion if you want)
One of my very favorite “cool” sandwiches. One summer my Father and I had these and tomato and pickled cucumber and onion sandwiches. My Mother was from England and onion and cucumber “pickled” for a few hours in various vinegars with salt and pepper seasoned were tradional holiday and Sunday dinner additions. Cheshire cheese was the usual pairing with tomatoes on sandwiches, though often on buttered white bread.
my favorite summer photo!
It has to be with Hellmann’s mayo and white Wonder Bread.
Near Pittsburgh Pa. loved all of the comments about tomatoes! Love them, had to make one, just finished one. Lots to childhood memories. Sat in my grandparents garden as a child with a salt shaker, eating tomatoes until I got mouth ulcers. ????????????????????
The thing that makes me most excited about Summer is looking forward to tomato sandwiches, white bread, mayo and a little cabot seriously sharp with salt and pepper.
I may be a New England girl, but a Texas boy, Guy Clark, said it best in his song “Homegrown Tomatoes” “Only two things that money can’t buy, that’s true love and homegrown tomatoes!”
@Carol in Pittsburg – I thought I was the only one that would own up to taking a salt shaker out to the tomato patch and sitting. My 2 year old son got into the tomato patch one year and ate them until he had mouth ulcers and blisters on his tummy from the juice!
My mother taught me the love of a tomato, mayo and cheddar sandwich on soft, store-bought white bread. I thought it was a normal thing; however being from WI I quickly found out it wasn’t. Must have been my mom’s VA/England upbringing.
Coming from North Carolina this was a regular staple in out house, we didn’t have a lot of money but this sure gave us smiles like we were rich. Also are we the only ones who did banana and mayo?
I thought I was the only person who ate banana sandwiches with mayo. (Cains mayo of course)
Try Mayo, peanut butter and bananas on white bread…
This was my Mom’s all time favorite sandwich too but with a slice of Land O Lakes white American! I’m a Cabot fan now in all its various forms but, when I want the real thing in memory of Mom, it’s good, soft bread, Hellmann’s, a thick tomato slice, a bit of salt and pepper and a slice of Land O Lakes white… it’ll always be my favorite too and I’ll be 73 in a few weeks. ???????????? Time to introduce the grandkids to this wonderful experience… if I can get past their very picky palates! ????
Where I’m from that’s called a ham & cheese sandwich minus the ham and cheese.
Am I the only one who prefers toast and also one slice with butter and the other with mayonnaise sprinkled with black pepper? Fresh sliced tomatoes in the middle, of course. WV girl here.
You are not the only one! That’s exactly how I make mine. Accept the pepper is fresh groundlemon pepper yummmm. New Englander here 🙂
Me too! Although I’ve never tried it with the butter – next time!
Mine was always on toasted English muffins w Mayo and lemon pepper! My favorite sandwich for over 40 years!! Had to eat it in my bathing suit so I could just jump in the water to rinse off all the Mayo/tomato juice that would run down my chin!
I prefer toasted buttermilk bread, lightly buttered with Mayo on both the bread and a small dollop on the tomato, heaven at it’s best.
There is nothing like a good home-grown tomato! I don’t like mayonnaise but I do like a tomato sandwich with white bread, a thin coating of butter and slices of tomato with a little salt and pepper. Once in awhile, with a little mustard! Yummy,
Still love a beautiful red ripe tomato, slather of Hellman’s and store white bread. Used to be able to buy Sunbeam “batter whipped” bread which was clearly the best whit bread ever made but as you can’t get it anymore, I settle for a good fresh squishy white.
My Dad and I used to add some thinly sliced cucumber and some raw onion slices. Whew! That was some “good eats,” as my Dad would say after lunch.
am from the south and I always enjoyed tomato sandwiches but being a true southerner Dukes is the only mayonnaise, all others are “want to be’s”.
Holy grail of August.
I add a slice of American cheese and it has to be really fresh white bread too. Since I was a kid (long long time ago) I have been eating these sandwiches. I used to sit with my dad and we’d use miracle whip and make sure there was salt on those tomatoes.
Swiss cheese even better!
I don’t eat bread anymore but I take a thin slice of Swiss cheese, spread so some Miracle Whip, then cut a tomato slice into narrow slices and put that in the middle. Roll it up and I have an instant memory of my childhood tomato and Miracle Whip sandwich with the first bite. I eat about 3 or 4 of these roll ups and I’m good to go.
I grew up on tomato sandwiches. Helman’s Mayo, salt, pepper and a good white bread.
I have changed to a good roll from Framingham Bakery.
Yum!
During the summer we ate tomato sandwiches almost everyday. White bread, fresh home grown tomatoes (peeled) with homemade mayonnaise and of salt, very hard to beat. Every now and then we would have a cucumber sandwich or a hard boiled egg sandwich.
Later in time, my niece introduced me to her version of this classic NE sandwich and its been adopted by my family ever since. Bread crust has to be removed in the shape of the enclosed tomato. Maybe a waste, but worth it!
Great read my mouth is watering can’t wait for fresh reds
If you like it with Mayo, you’ll LOVE it with Miracle Whip
Miracle whip
Can’t even compare to mayonnaise
I tried using fresh basil (chopped) mixed in with miracle whip and now that’s the only way I eat my tomato sandwich.
My summer go-to sandwich is fresh sliced (not too thick) tomato from my garden, fresh white bread, a slice of Americana cheese, bacon, and a liberal amount of Hellman’s mayonnaise and salt and pepper. Gently pressed to absorb the juices, yumm!. Two improvements include very lightly toasting the bread, and using CV Cooper cheese. It’s a beautiful thing!
Love that tomato sandwich. You can also toast the white bread and add a slice of cheese.
My sweet hubby is from Maine, I’m from Virginia, where we live. But we keep up with our New England side via this site and Yankee magazine! And I can tell you: “Y’all” finally caught up with the southern queen of “sammiches”! LOL!
Definitely use soft white bread, salt & pepper, and fully ripened luscious ‘maters. And as for mayo?? DUKES, BABY!!! Made by C.F. Sauer, right here in Virginia. Contains no sugar at all, and is the perfect foil to a great tomato!
I will get Duke’s mayonnaise based on your recommendation, I don’t like sweet mayonnaise and especially do not like the fake stuff aka ‘salad dressing’ with high fructose corn syrup. Thank you!
Heaven on earth! I’m from down south. That’s all we exist on!! You dream about in the winter! Nothing better in this world. Not even lobster.
Yup, we drool all winter thinking about them. Hothouse grown store bought tomatoes in winter just don’t cut the mustard with us, but fill in till we can pick sun ripe tomatoes off the vine in the garden in summer.
Oh my gosh, very fond memories came flooding in. We always have home grown tomatoes. Tomato & white bread sandwiches with Miracle Whip (Western PA adaptation from original Duke Mayo from SC) sandwiches were a staple when we were kids. Thanks for the memory! ????
All true… But even better with a platter of garden cuke sandwiches, made the same way, as Mom did on Au
Even better with platter of garden cuke sandwiches made the same way, as Mom made on summer Sundays…
I use seeded rye bread instead of white. Yummy with tomato and Mayo!!
Yes nothing like it summer ripe tomatoes off the vine put into a sandwich of Cains mayanaise on white bread. It makes my day!
We like to toast the bread too once in awhile. Lots of,pepper, fresh. Cucumber sandwiches toasted with mayo salt pepper white bread too.
Toasted cucumber sandwiches too, same ingredients, salt pepper mayo, white bread.
I am a Maine transplant now living in Richmond Virginia, home of Duke‘s mayonnaise. Down here we have Hanover tomatoes which are by far the best tomatoes I’ve ever eaten in my life. A couple of slices of those on Pepperidge Farm Butter Bread with a smear of Duke’s mayonnaise is pure
Heaven on earth!
Growing up my dad worked for a big commercial food corporation as the “tomato buyer”. I remember going with him out to the Central Valley in California to huge farms growing tomatoes for sauce but always coming home with beautiful warm summer tomatoes and other foods gifted to us by the farmers. First thing when we got home from the long hot dusty drive was a cold wet face cloth and a tomato sandwich. It was always commercial white bread (only time we ate that), thick slices of still warm tomatoes, salt and mayo. I don’t remember what mayo my dad used but these days thanks to online shopping this California girl uses Dukes. Eating these sandwiches at the kitchen table with dad and the juice dribbling down are chins is the strongest food memory I have from my childhood. The only change I make is once in awhile instead of salting the tomato I lay on a couple of pieces of bacon. Makes me want to go make one now and it’s 6:45 a.m. in California.
Ever since I can remember, my Mom would make tomato sandwiches for a cool and simple lunch on a hot summer’s day. Thinly sliced tomatoes, a slight sprinkle of salt and good bread (usually Pepperidge Farm Country White) spread with Hellmann’s mayo. Makes me hungry just writing about it and I can’t wait for this season’s tomato crop to ripen so I can enjoy them with home-grown tomatoes!