Reuben Sandwich

by Sabrina Snyder

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Reuben Sandwiches are the ultimate grilled sandwich. They’re filling and flavorful with corned beef, dressing, Swiss cheese and sauerkraut all on rye bread.

Reubens are a classic American Sandwich Recipe. The combination of savory meat, tangy sauce, and salty-sweet sauerkraut make it completely unique and delicious. We already have a recipe for a Slow Cooker Version of this on the blog, but this is one you can make in a few minutes in a cast-iron skillet for a lunch or easy dinner.

close-up of Reuben Sandwich on cutting board

REUBEN SANDWICH

It’s hard to think of a more mouthwatering, delicious lunch than a hearty, juicy Reuben Sandwich. You can make this simple sandwich dish in less than 15 minutes with easy ingredients like corned beef, swiss cheese, and marbled rye bread. The flavorful filling is the perfect complement to the buttery, toasted bread!

Try this Reuben Sandwich recipe the day after you have Homemade Corned Beef for dinner to use up any leftovers. It’s the perfect way to give the meat new life, instead of just reheating it in the microwave. If you don’t want to make corned beef, you can always just get a cut of it from your grocery store deli.

Reuben Sandwich cheese, sauce and sauerkraur on

WHERE DOES THE REUBEN SANDWICH COME FROM?

There are a couple of competing origin stories for the Reuben Sandwich we know and love today. One account claims that it comes from Omaha, Nebraska where it was developed by Reuben Kulakofsky at the Blackstone Hotel. As the story goes he asked for a sandwich to be made with the typical Reuben ingredients at a weekly poker game. 

Another story claims that the Reuben was developed at Reuben’s Delicatessen in New York City. But, no matter who came up with the sandwich, I think we can all agree we’re happy they did!

MORE SANDWICH RECIPES

TIPS FOR MAKING THE BEST REUBEN SANDWICH

  • Lightly butter each of your bread slices on one side. This will make sure they don’t stick to the griddle and add a tasty layer of melted butter to the toasty bread.
  • If you’re using a griddle, place 4 slices of bread on it butter side down. If you’re using a skillet, you may need to do this in batches.
  • Drizzle the Thousand Island dressing over the bread, then add the sauerkraut and corned beef. Top it off with a slice of cheese and the top bread. Make sure that the butter side of the bread is facing out again.
  • Cook for another 2 minutes while the cheese melts and bread toasts.
  • Flip each sandwich over and cook for another 4 minutes. Or until toasted to your preference.
  • Press down on each sandwich gently to bring the filling together before serving warm.

top-down view of Reuben Sandwich on cutting board

VARIATIONS ON REUBEN SANDWICH

  • Russian Dressing: Instead of using Thousand Island Dressing, some people prefer Russian dressing in their Reuben Sandwiches. To make your own Russian dressing combine 1 tablespoon minced onion, 1 cup mayonnaise, ¼ cup chili sauce, 4 teaspoons horseradish, 1 teaspoon hot sauce, 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce, and ¼ teaspoon sweet paprika. 
  • Sauerkraut replacements: If you’re not a fan of sauerkraut, you can try other ingredients like sweet pickle relish or Coleslaw.
  • Bread: Instead of marble rye bread, you could make the same sandwich with pumpernickel bread, sourdough, or ciabatta.  
  • Cheese: Instead of Swiss cheese try a slice of mozzarella, provolone, muenster, or gouda.
  • Reuben Sliders: To make this recipe into a fun party appetizer, toast slider rolls and then add the same ingredients to them. Stick a toothpick through the roll to keep the mini Reubens from falling apart. 

MORE FUN SANDWICH RECIPES

HOW TO STORE A REUBEN SANDWICH

  • Serve: Don’t leave your Reuben Sandwich at room temperature for more than 2 hours. 
  • Store: Sandwiches are best served fresh, but if you don’t finish you can store them in the fridge for a day. Wrap it tightly in tin foil or plastic wrap to keep the moisture out. 
  • Freeze: You can also freeze a Reuben for up to 2 months. Just take the sauerkraut off of the sandwich before freezing it.

Reuben Sandwich halves in stack on plate with chips

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Dinner, then Dessert

Reuben Sandwich

Reuben Sandwiches are the ultimate grilled sandwich. They're filling and flavorful with corned beef, dressing, Swiss cheese and sauerkraut all on rye bread.
Yield 4 Sandwiches
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 8 minutes
Total Time 13 minutes
Course Sandwich
Cuisine American
Author Sabrina Snyder
Reuben Sandwich on plate with chips
PrintRate

Ingredients
 

  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter , softened
  • 8 slices Rye Bread
  • 1 cup Thousand Island Dressing
  • 3/4 cup sauerkraut , drained
  • 4 slices Swiss cheese
  • 1 pound corned beef , sliced

Instructions

  • Spread butter on one side of each slice of bread.
  • Add 4 slices buttered side down to a griddle or large skillet on medium heat.
  • Add 2 tablespoons of Thousand Island dressing.
  • Add 3 tablespoons sauerkraut, then 4 ounces of corned beef.
  • Add 2 tablespoons of thousand island dressing, a slice of Swiss cheese, and the remaining bread slices, butter side up (away from the rest of the sandwich).
  • Cook for 2 additional minutes, then flip and cook the second side for 4 minutes, pressing down gently.

Nutrition

Calories: 766kcal | Carbohydrates: 42g | Protein: 28g | Fat: 54g | Saturated Fat: 17g | Cholesterol: 116mg | Sodium: 2515mg | Potassium: 568mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 535IU | Vitamin C: 35mg | Calcium: 210mg | Iron: 5mg
Keyword: Reuben Sandwich

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Delicious Reuben Sandwich

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the upcoming cookbook: Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients which is being published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

See more posts by Sabrina

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. If you enjoyed the recipe and would like to publish it on your own site, please re-write it in your own words, and link back to my site and recipe page. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

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Comments

  1. That Russian dressing recipe is the BOMB. Way better than any other I’ve eaten and a world above Thousand Island that you get from some sandwich shops.

    Used my home made sauerkraut and it was delicious.

    Reply