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January 18, 2024

Heirloom Tomato BLT with Pesto

The classic BLT gets a summertime glow up with pesto, arugula, juicy heirloom tomatoes, and a fried egg all on lightly toasted ciabatta bread.

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    a homemade heirloom BLT with pesto and a fried egg stacked on a cutting board
    Photography by Gayle McLeod

    More of our favorite pesto filled dishes

    The Very Best BLT Sandwich Ever

    This BLT is perfect for any time of day, with its heavenly bacon, fresh lettuce and tomato oozing with warm basil pesto and bright yellow egg yolk. While any fresh, ripe tomato can replace the heirloom variety in the recipe, we suggest you gobble up as many heirlooms you can get your hands on while they are still in your gardens, or local farmers markets. For more fresh tomato recipes, be sure to check out our Best Tomato Salad, Grilled Skirt Steak with Blistered Tomatoes and Burrata or our Spinach Orzo Salad With Feta, Tomatoes and a Basil Dressing.

    8 bread slices, arugula, 4 eggs, cooked bacon, heirloom tomatoes, mayo and pesto in prep bowls to make a BLT with Pesto

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    Ingredients You’ll Need To Make The Ultimate BLT

    • Lettuce: while we love romaine lettuce—probably the most classic of BLT lettuce choices—spicy fresh arugula makes for a more exciting, less watery choice. For sandwich-making purposes, it’s just way better.

    • Tomatoes: the “heirloom” part of heirloom tomatoes refers to the seed the tomato was grown from. Heirloom tomatoes are grown from seeds were favored by farmers for their deep, sweet flavors. Delicate, colorful and sweet, heirloom tomatoes are a summertime treat—the best of the best that tomato season has to offer.

    • Bacon: applewood smoked bacon, to be exact. All you have to do is cook it to crispy perfection.

    • Mayo + homemade pesto: mayo is the classic BLT condiment, and we like to add a little Homemade Pesto to the mix, too. Since basil is in season right along with those heirloom tomatoes, it just made sense to add basil pesto our perfect BLT recipe

    • Bread: the very best bread for BLTs is ciabatta, hands down. With its craggy crumb, ciabatta holds onto the mayonnaise and pesto that it is slathered with, and still has enough sponginess left over to absorb juicy tomatoes and a runny egg yolk, too.

    • A fried egg: because fried eggs—with crispy edges and perfectly runny insides—make everything better.

    4 eggs being fried in a skillet
    a homemade heirloom tomato BLT sandwich with pesto being assembled on a cutting board
    bread being topped with mayo, pesto, bacon, arugula, tomato and a fried egg
    heirloom tomato BLT sandwiches with pesto and fried eggs being assembled on a cutting board

    How to Make A Perfect Heirloom Tomato BLT With Fried Egg

    1. Fry the bacon. Fry it in a hot pan until it’s nice and crispy, and let it rest on a paper towel-lined plate while you do the rest of your BLT prep.

    2. Toast the ciabatta bread in the oven. Just until it’s warm and slightly crusty—we’re going for a bit of warmth and texture.

    3. Add the spreads. Cover the warmed bread with mayo and pesto.

    4. Assemble! Layer bacon, arugula and sliced tomatoes onto the mayonnaise-and-pesto dressed bread.

    5. Fry your eggs. We recommend cooking the eggs over medium, so the yolks aren’t completely set and you get a juicy bite when the yolk runs into the other sandwich ingredients.

    6. Finish the sandwich. Slide an egg on top and close the sandwiches. Grab some napkins, and dig in.

    heirloom BLT sandwiches with pesto and fried eggs being assembled on a cutting board

    How to Store BLT Leftovers + Tips

    • This recipe is meant to be consumed immediately, when peak freshness is upon us. Any leftover ingredients should be stored individually for more sandwich assembly throughout the week.

    • We like to cook up a big batch of bacon in the oven to have on hand for BLTs. It’s the least messy method of preparation, and the bacon cooks evenly on a parchment lined sheet pan for easy cleanup.

    • A serrated knife will make tomato season so much easier.

    • We’re always looking for places to sneak in a few slices of creamy avocado, and this BLT is a good excuse to use the perfectly ripe avocado you have sitting on the counter.

    • Choosing your mayo wisely is a good way to spruce up a BLT. Some folks swear by a classic like Hellman’s, but we also like Duke’s, Kewpie, or a good Homemade Mayonnaise.

    homemade heirloom tomato BLT sandwiches with pesto and fried eggs on a cutting board

    More Great Sandwich Classics From The Modern Proper

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    Heirloom Tomato BLT with Pesto

    • Serves: 4
    • Prep Time:  15 min
    • Cook Time:  20 min
    • Calories: 640

    Ingredients

    Method

    1. Position a rack in the upper third of the oven. Turn the oven to broil. Place the bread directly on the oven rack and broil for 1 minute or until toasted.

    2. Evenly spread the mayonnaise on one side of 4 pieces of bread. Spread 2 tablespoons of the pesto on one side of each of the remaining pieces of bread.

    3. Layer the bacon, arugula, tomato, and eggs on the pesto-topped bread. Top with the remaining slices of bread and serve.

    Nutrition Info

    • Per Serving
    • Amount
    • Calories640
    • Protein24 g
    • Carbohydrates58 g
    • Total Fat35 g
    • Dietary Fiber2 g
    • Cholesterol212 mg
    • sodium1220 mg
    • Total Sugars2 g

    Heirloom Tomato BLT with Pesto

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    • Jenn

      Pesto on a BLT is genius, this was delicious!

      Thank you Jenn, we are so glad you loved it!