Our Reuben Sandwich recipe uses leftover instant pot corned beef and the creamiest homemade thousand island dressing, making it a lunch that we actually look forward to! Serve it with some potato chips or potato salad and you’ve got yourself a delicious meal with bold fresh flavors.
The Best Reuben Sandwich
Reuben sandwiches are our favorite way to put our instant pot corned beef leftovers to good use! This is our favorite sandwich for when we’re craving something with bold flavors that’s a bit out of the ordinary. We love making this around St.Patrick’s Day when we have plenty of leftover corned beef, making it an easy recipe to whip up in a pinch.
What’s In A Reuben Sandwich?
- rye bread – You can thank those little caraway seeds for the unexpected, yet mild, flavor that makes a good reuben great.
- thousand island dressing – Feel free to pickup some from your local grocery store, but we promise that our homemade version will bring this traditional reuben to the next level.
- swiss cheese – A sweet, mild, and slightly nutty cheese that pairs perfectly with with corned beef.
- corned beef – This is a classic meat that has been cured in a salt solution, which makes it tender and oh so flavorful. We’ve made this on the stove top, in the smoker, and in the instant pot and they all turn out great and give this sandwich its classic reuben flavor.
- sauerkraut – Homemade sauerkraut is so simple to make! Give it a try if you haven’t yet.
- butter – Just a bit to help the bread warm up on the skillet.
- pickle of your choice – Pick the variety that you love the most.
What Is A Reuben Sandwich?
Not to be confused with a pastrami sandwich, which is made from a different cut of brisket, the the origins of the reuben sandwich are a bit murky. Some people believe it came from Milwaukee or Omaha while others debate that it originated from New York City. There are a lot of theories around the origin of where the first reuben sandwich was made, but the only thing we know is that it’s delicious and should be tried at least once.
How To Make A Reuben Sandwich
Start by gathering your leftover corned beef and the rest of the ingredients.
Now take one slice of rye bread and add a thin layer of the thousand island dressing. Then place the Swiss cheese on top followed by a healthy layer of corned beef and sauerkraut. Then put the rest of the dressing on the second piece of bread and place it on top of the sauerkraut on the other slice of bread.
Bring a large skillet to medium heat and add your butter so that it melts and coats the pan. Now place your sandwich in the hot skillet to let it warm through. Then carefully flip your sandwich to warm the other side, adding more butter as needed.
Once you notice some melted cheese, move the sandwich to a plate and serve with a pickle and some extra thousand island dressing, and dive into this iconic sandwich!
What To Serve With Reuben Sandwiches
We love a good pickle with this yummy lunch or your favorite potato salad.
Recipe FAQs
You could warm up your reuben on the stove top, oven, or even a panini maker if you have one on hand.
One, but since it’s such a crowd pleaser, feel free to double or triple the recipe if you’re feeding a crowd.
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Other Delicious Sandwich Recipes You Might Like
- Leftover Prime Rib Sandwich
- Caprese Sandwich
- Ultimate Grilled Chicken Sandwich
- Pulled Pork Sandwiches
- Greek Sandwich
Reuben Sandwich
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 2 servings 1x
- Category: Sandwich
- Method: Counter Top
- Cuisine: American
Description
The BEST homemade Reuben Sandwich recipe with homemade thousand island dressing, swiss cheese, rye bread and sauerkraut!
Ingredients
- 2 slices rye bread
- 2 tablespoons thousand Island dressing, more if desired, divided
- 2 slices swiss cheese (we used Tillamook)
- 4 slices corned beef
- 1/4 cup sauerkraut
- 1/2 tablespoon butter
- for serving: favorite pickle of your choice
Instructions
- Take one slice of rye bread and add a thin layer of Thousand Island Dressing. Place swiss cheese on top followed by the corned beef and sauerkraut.
- Take the second piece of rye bread and generously slather on the rest of the Thousand Island Dressing (feel free to add more or less, as desired). Place on top of sauerkraut so the thousand island touches the sauerkraut.
- Bring large cast iron skillet to medium heat. Add butter and let melt; swirl to coat the pan. Place sandwich in skillet and let warm through, adjust the heat as needed. Carefully flip sandwich to continue warming other side adding more butter to the pan, as needed.
- Once cheese is melted and sandwich is warmed through, cut in half and serve immediately with additional Thousand Island and a fresh pickle.
Notes
- Warming: we are warming the sandwich up in a cast iron skillet, similar to a grilled cheese, really just to melt the cheese and make sure the corned beef is warmed through – everything is already cooked. I also tested crisping it up in the cast iron skillet and then transferring the whole cast iron skillet to the oven at 350 degrees F. to let it continue warming, which also worked well.
- Servings: This recipe is just for one sandwich, but of course feel free to double, triple, etc. to make as many as you need. As you warm up the sandwich and melt the cheese simply wrap in foil to keep them warm if you are serving them all at the same time.
- Thousand Island: feel free to use store-bought here, but we LOVE our homemade thousand island dressing recipe!
- Sauerkraut: we have a delicious homemade sauerkraut recipe!
- Corned Beef: whether you are cooking it on the stove top or in the Instant Pot, this is one of our favorite ways to eat leftover corned beef!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 sandwich
- Calories: 725
- Sugar: 7.8 g
- Sodium: 2340.7 mg
- Fat: 45.3 g
- Carbohydrates: 40.7 g
- Protein: 32.4 g
- Cholesterol: 132 mg
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