Reuben Fried Toast

I love a good Reuben sandwich, and this delightful twist puts all of the delicious toppings in a starring role, nestled on a perfectly crispy slice of fried toast. An open-faced Reuben sandwich on fried toast is a crave-worthy lunch with layers of flavors and textures, from corned beef to sauerkraut to melty Swiss cheese to a decadent topping of creamy coleslaw. More fillings, less bread! This is the second edition of my series, Toasted Tuesdays.

Why I Love Reuben Fried Toast

One of the beauties of the Reuben sandwich in general is that it’s just layer upon layer of flavor and texture. Savory beef, crunchy, tangy sauerkraut, smooth and nutty Swiss, capped off with creamy dressing on fresh rye bread.

But the fried toast treatment takes it all to a new level. Many sandwiches are made even better with toasted bread, and fried toast is a rich, extra virgin olive oil-enhanced version. It’s a win all around.

For my tastes, and why I love open-faced sandwiches, one thick slice of bread is a better balance of fillings to bread. Even when the bread is a beautiful, bakery-fresh rye. And there’s no squeezing the ingredients out the sides when you bite down onto two outer bread layers!

Another advantage of frying the bread, instead of merely toasting it, is that it creates a very sturdy foundation for lots of toppings, with no worries about the bread collapsing. Dried toast just can’t pull it off.

Ingredients and Substitution Notes

Marble Rye — I usually use sourdough bread for my fried toasts, but I saw a beautiful loaf of marble rye at the bakery and grabbed it. It fried up just beautifully. But if you don’t have or want marble rye, sourdough, whole wheat or multigrain from the bakery works best.

I would advise against the regular, squarish, squooshy-soft sandwich bread, as it’s a little too flimsy and, frankly, too small. You won’t regret a big slice of toast! (The slice above measures 6″ across!)

Extra virgin olive oil — They’ve finally proven that evoo is perfectly fine to cook with, and that it doesn’t go rancid at higher heat. Thank you, food media, for catching up with the rest of us home cooks, who have known all along!

For these fried toasts, I always use evoo, although avocado oil is a great substitute, too. I’ll note here and elsewhere that you only need to use a modest amount of oil. I’ve been making fried toasts for years, and I used to add a pool of oil to the pan. While this makes a.m.a.z.i.n.g fried toast, you really don’t need that much oil.

I apply the oil in zig-zags across the bread. Take care if you’re pouring oil directly out of an un-spouted bottle, as it might glug out.

I almost always use the California Olive Ranch brand of extra virgin olive oil in my kitchen, and I was so excited to find this squeeze bottle on Amazon. Cooks are picky about their tools, and I just prefer the plastic twist cap to those messy metal pour spout inserts.

The squeeze bottle makes it easy to quickly oil down a pan with good control over the stream. When this bottle is empty, I’ll just refill it.

Corned Beef — Since I usually have sauerkraut on hand for the probiotics, I like to make Reuben Fried Toasts for lunch. And that means hitting up the deli — rather than the meat dept — at the grocery for my corned beef. My local Kroger even sells in-store pre-sliced corned beef in the deli, so I don’t have to wait in line.

If you’re a traditionalist and want to cook your own corned beef, absolutely go for it! I can’t help but think of meat loaf, and how awesome the leftovers are the next day as sandwiches.

Sauerkraut — Fermented foods are having a moment, and I’m always amazed at the variety of kimchis and sauerkrauts available now. I remember the sauerkraut from my youth being aggressively … well … sour. But not anymore.

It’s possible that my taste buds have just matured, but today’s sauerkrauts are puckery although well-balanced and absolutely delicious. If you have access to an artisan brand, I suggest you give it a try.

Swiss Cheese — A Reuben wouldn’t be a Reuben without lots of melty Swiss cheese. But of course, in your house, it’s your rules. I think Monterey Jack or fontina would be quite lovely too.

Thousand Island Dressing — I know that Russian dressing is traditional for Reubens, but I was surprised to discover that my Kroger doesn’t carry bottled Russian dressing and that the nearest source was a bit of trek out to Walmart. Which I wasn’t going to do, since I already have Thousand Island dressing.

But don’t let me discourage you from using Russian dressing if you have access to it. If I were making it at home, I’d be inclined to follow this recipe for Russian dressing as its ingredients suggest a zesty and not-as-ketchupy version that I would enjoy.

Coleslaw — Coleslaw is entirely optional on my version of the Reuben, but I had some leftovers from dinner and couldn’t resist topping things off with a little creamy cabbage. This makes the fried toast sort of a “Rachel.”

But I think a true Rachel is turkey pastrami (instead of corned beef) and coleslaw (instead of sauerkraut). Here, I’m taking the ole Reuben and just plopping some slaw on top. Overkill. Total, delicious overkill.

Why Fried Toast?

Pan-frying a slice of bread seems like a lot of fuss for toast — why not just regular toast? It’s simple, really. Heating toast with a bit of fat makes a crunchier, sturdier, richer slice than the dried result that pops up out of the toaster. I mean, I love toast, but fried toast is toast 10X.

Imagine a grilled cheese sandwich … using two slices of toaster bread. Instead of frying them up in butter. Ummmm. That’s the difference. It’s night and day, in my view.

And as for the fuss, pan-frying is minimally hands-on — you’re just drizzling oil and flipping, drizzling and flipping. Done. It gives you time to gather and prep the toppings. That’s why it’s the perfect lunch meal: 15 minutes and done.

Let’s Make a Reuben Fried Toast!

The instructions here and in the recipe card are for one open-faced Reuben, so that you can make it for your own lunch or easily scale up for multiple servings. Let’s take a quick look at the steps, with visuals. Don’t forget to review the recipe card below to ensure you have all of the ingredients prepped and to note the cooking times.

Step 1: Fry up the bread

Place a small to medium skillet over medium heat. Make sure the slice of bread sits flat in the skillet. The bread I use, for instance, is too long for an 8″ skillet, so I have to use my 10″ T-Fal. When water flicked on the surface sizzles away, the pan is ready.

Drizzle extra virgin olive oil over one side of the bread in zigzags. You don’t have to completely saturate the slice. The oil will disperse through the bread while cooking.

Place the bread oil-side down in the center of the hot pan and let toast. Check every minute or two — you’re looking for golden brown markings more or less evenly across the slice.

When the first side is toasted, drizzle more olive oil over the upside of the bread slice, and flip. Let toast for a few more minutes, until golden. Transfer the toast to a plate to cool.

Step 2: Add the dressing

Spread a thick layer of dressing on the bread. Of course, “thick” is my personal preference, but just remember that the dressing should complement the amount of toppings that are on this fried toast. Which are a lot of toppings lol.

Step 3: Add the Swiss cheese

Place the cheese slices on the bread, shingling them to cover the surface of the bread.

You can stop here, or, I like to stick the toast under the broil for a minute until it just starts to melt. (I use metal tongs to carefully lay the toast directly on the oven grate, so as not to dirty another pan.)

Step 4: Layer on the corned beef

Deli corned beef usually comes in slices that are larger than the slice of bread so I like to tear the slices into smaller pieces — maybe thirds or fourths — and then pile them up across the slice of bread. This makes for a more pleasant bite, as you’re less likely to accidentally snag and pull an entire slice of corned beef off the bread (hate when that happens!).

Step 5: Top with the cabbage(s)

Spoon your preferred amount of sauerkraut over the corned beef. And then top with the optional coleslaw if that’s your groove (it is mine). I like to add a little dollop of Thousand Island dressing on top of the sauerkraut, and then kind of smear around with the coleslaw. But I’m weird that way and if you’re not, that’s okay!

And then, dig in!

What to serve with an Open-Faced Reuben Sandwich

Remember that this is a pretty hearty open-faced sandwich, so if enjoying for lunch, you might not need much to go along with it. If it’s for dinner, then it’s the perfect side to go with some soup or a big tossed salad. Here are some suggestions:

• Potato chips
• French fries
• Onion rings
• Pickles
• Creamy coleslaw (on the side, too!), or Cucumber Slaw, Apple Fennel Slaw
• Soup! Try Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup with Pancetta, Instant Pot Loaded Potato Soup, Turkey Wild Rice Soup, or Tuscan Potato Soup.
• A big, beautiful Seven Layer Salad
• Napkins (trust SoupAddict on this one!)

I hope you’ve enjoyed this Edition #2 of my series, Toasted Tuesdays, where the motto is, More fillings, less bread!