↑

Will Cook For Smiles

The Best of Homecooking

  • Home
    • About Me
    • Work With Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Subscribe!
  • Recipes
    • Popular Posts
    • Appetizers
    • Breakfast
    • Lunch
    • Dinner
    • Healthy Dishes
    • Soup
    • Salad
    • Sandwich
    • Cauliflower
    • Drink
    • Cocktail
  • How To
  • Instant Pot
    • Instant Pot Main Dishes
    • Instant Pot Side Dishes
    • Instant Pot Soups
  • Main Dishes
    • Side Dishes
    • Chicken
    • Beef
    • Seafood
    • Pork
    • Chili
    • Pasta
    • Slow Cooker
    • Vegetarian
  • Dessert
    • Cheesecake
    • Cake
    • Cookies
    • Chocolate
  • Holidays
    • Valentine’s Day
    • Super Bowl Recipes
    • St. Patrick’s Day
    • Easter
    • Cinco de Mayo
    • Mother’s Day
    • Father’s Day
    • BBQ
    • 4th Of July
    • Fall Recipes
    • Halloween
    • Thanksgiving
    • Christmas Dinner
    • Christmas Baking
    • Holiday Leftover Recipes
    • New Year’s
Home » Dinner » Beef » Reuben Sandwich

Reuben Sandwich

Created: March 1, 2021 Updated: March 11, 2021 by lyuba 8 Comments

11.7K shares
Jump to Recipe

Reuben Sandwich is an American classic that is so popular, you can find in every restaurant. It’s no wonder that this corned beef sandwich is so popular with the combination of juicy, tender corned beef, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, Thousand Island dressing, and rye bread. Taking all those ingredient and getting them nice and toasty in a pan creates a crunchy crust, warmed meat, and gooey melted cheese. Every bite is a slice of heaven and I will share my Reuben sandwich recipe and tips to make it the best.

If you love Reuben sandwich flavors as much as I do, you will enjoy my Reuben Dip, Reuben Egg Rolls, and so many more recipes inspired by this great sandwich.

Reuben Sandwich cut and stacked on cutting board

REUBEN SANDWICH

If there is a Reuben sandwich on a menu, that is what I order most of the time. Through years, I’ve tried a Reuben sandwich in every restaurant in my area and many across the country. There have been some amazing Reuben sandwiches and some complete disappointments. 

How can a Reuben Sandwich be disappointing? Even though this sandwich seems like it’s hard to mess up because of simple ingredients and simple preparation method, it is not done the same everywhere. Sometimes the bread is toasted and then cold ingredients were put inside the sandwich. Other times, the ingredients ratio was so off, that one ingredient was overpowering everything else. 

Reuben Sandwich is a combination of corned beef, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, Thousand Island dressing, and rye bread. All those delicious ingredients are layered on two slices of bread and then grilled with a little butter. This makes the bread crunchy while warming other ingredient and melting the cheese. 

PIN THIS RECIPE

Reuben Sandwich with top of bread off

TIPS FOR MAKING THE BEST REUBEN SANDWICH

There are a few simple things you can do to make your Reuben sandwich the best.

Start with cooking your own corned beef brisket. Corned beef brisket can easily be cooked in an Instant Pot in just about an hour. It can also be done in an oven but it will take a bit longer.

When making Instant Pot corned beef for Reuben sandwiches, there is no need to add mustard and finish it under broiler. Use corned beef right after taking it out of the pot and slice it thin.

While assembling the sandwich, keep filling ingredients balanced. Don’t overload it with corned beef or too much dressing and cheese. The beauty of this sandwich is in the balance of ingredients.

Treat this sandwich like a grilled cheese and that means pan-grilling in with a little butter. The bread will be delightfully crunchy on the outside, the ingredients will be warm, and cheese will be melted.

When cooking the sandwich, don’t cook it too fast. Cook it at a medium-low temperature so that the ingredients have a change to warm up and Swiss cheese has time to melt, while the bread gets golden and crunchy.

Reuben Sandwich cut in half in cutting board

INGREDIENTS FOR THIS CORNED BEEF SANDWICH

Corned Beef – this is a star ingredient you make it a good quality! Cook your own and if you have to buy it, get freshly sliced, good quality corned beef from the deli.

Sauerkraut – it provides great tangy and sour flavor to balance out the creamy ingredients and meat. 

Swiss cheese – the absolute perfect cheese for this flavor combination.

Thousand Island dressing – the combination of creamy, sweet, and tangy flavors is the perfect compliment to corned beef and rye bread.

Rye bread – the classic bread for this sandwich that has so much more flavor than the plain white or wheat bread. 

HOW TO COOK CORNED BEEF:

Corned beef brisket can easily be cooked in an Instant Pot in just about an hour. (It can also be done in an oven but it will take a bit longer.)

I prefer to make Instant Pot corned beef for Reuben sandwiches because it’s so much faster.

Use cooked corned beef right after taking it out of the pot, cut off the fat cap from the top, and slice it thin.

An uncooked 3 lb corned beef brisket, will be enough for 3 Reuben sandwiches once cooked. 

HOW TO MAKE REUBEN SANDWICH:

Treat this tasty corned beef sandwich like a grilled cheese because you want the bread to be crunchy, the cheese to be melted, and everything inside to be warm. 

Preheat the pan over medium heat and add a little butter. Add two slices of bread and spread some dressing over it. On one slice of bread, add some squeezed sauerkraut and on the other one, two slices of cheese. Spread corned beef evenly on the slice with cheese and let it all heat through. 

Place one slice with corned beef over the other slice and press. Cook a few more minutes, until cheese is melty.

ingredients for ruben sandwich on cutting board

SOME MORE SANDWICH RECIPES TO TRY:

White BBQ Chicken Sub

Buffalo Chicken Wrap

Italian Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Meatballs Subs

Reuben Sandwich cut in half and stacked on top of each other on cutting board

If you made any of my recipes and shared them on Instagram, make sure to tag me @willcookforsmiles and #willcookforsmiles so I can see all the things you tried!

Connect with Will Cook For Smiles!

Be sure to click below and follow me on my social media, so you never miss a recipe.

   

Don’t forget to sign up for email, so you won’t miss any new recipes.

PIN THIS RECIPE

Reuben Sandwich

Classic sandwich made with a combination of corned beef, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, Thousand Island dressing, and rye bread.
4.75 from 4 votes
Print SaveSaved! Rate
Course: lunch, sandwich
Cuisine: American
Keyword: breakfast sandwich, corned beef, Reuben
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes
Servings: 1
Calories: 840kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp butter
  • 2 slices of deli rye swirl bread
  • 3 tbsp Thousand Island dressing
  • 6 oz corned beef sliced thinly
  • 2 slices Swiss cheese
  • 1/4 cup sauerkraut liquid squeezed out
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

  • Preheat a medium cooking pan over medium-low heat. Melt butter in the pan and spread it around evenly.
  • Place slices of bread in the pan and spread Thousand island dressing on both slices.
  • Squeeze liquid from sauerkraut and spread it on one slice of bread. Place two slices of Swiss cheese on the other slice of bread. 
  • Layer corned beef over cheese evenly. Let the bread crisp and ingredients heat up. Once cheese is melted, use a spatula to carefully place one slice over the other to close the sandwich.
  • Cook for a couple more minutes on both sides, until bread is golden. Press gently.
  • Take the sandwich out of the pan, cut in half, and serve right away.

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 840kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 41g | Fat: 69g | Saturated Fat: 27g | Cholesterol: 186mg | Sodium: 2939mg | Potassium: 660mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 920IU | Vitamin C: 51.2mg | Calcium: 466mg | Iron: 4mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @willcookforsmiles and tag #willcookforsmiles

title image collage of Reuben sandwich and bread halves in a pan

Originally published on Will Cook For Smiles in February, 2019. Updated March 1, 2021.

LYUBA

ABOUT LYUBA

I’m Lyuba Brooke, mother of 2, the cook, recipe developer, photographer, and author behind willcookforsmiles.com. I share many classic and original recipes, cooking tips, and tutorials. My passion is sharing delicious meals for everyone to try. Read more...

11.7K shares

Filed Under: 30 Minute Meals, Beef, Popular Posts, Sandwich, St. Patrick's Day

All images and text ©Lyubov Brooke for ©Will Cook For Smiles. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If using my posts in collections and features, please link back to this post for the recipe. Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as most ingredients and brands have variations.

Comments

  1. Marco the wine guy says

    February 28, 2019 at 1:20 am

    This is a really nice way to make the iconic deli sandwich at home. Lyuba is the queen of all things Reuben.👍👍👏👏

    Reply
    • lyuba says

      March 7, 2019 at 12:10 pm

      Haha, well thank you for the title, Marco!!

      Reply
  2. Marc Baranchik says

    March 3, 2020 at 8:56 pm

    In the Hyde Park neighborhood in Chicago, some restaurants add egg salad on their Reubens.

    Reply
    • LyubaB says

      March 5, 2020 at 11:47 am

      That sounds interesting!

      Reply
  3. PATTI K HELSEL says

    March 18, 2021 at 11:58 am

    4 stars
    I love a good Reuben any day but long ago had one without thousand island dressing..instead the sandwich shop used mayonnaise , mustard and then some juice squeezed from the saurkraut to thin it. The dressing is your preference of mayo to mustard ratio… I like it so much better than the sweeter thousand island.. I encourage you to try it sometime, Oh Yum!!!

    Reply
    • LyubaB says

      March 22, 2021 at 9:41 am

      I will do that, Patti!

      Reply
  4. Tami says

    December 8, 2021 at 7:43 pm

    5 stars
    This recipe was so easy and so delicious! I used Trader Joe’s “Magnifisauce” rather than Thousand Island dressing and it was very tasty. My daughter said she’s could eat these sandwiches every night!

    Reply
  5. Emma Emily says

    December 10, 2022 at 12:37 am

    I love this sandwich recipe

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Well, hey there!

I’m Lyuba Brooke, mother of 2, the cook, recipe developer, photographer, and author behind willcookforsmiles.com. I share many classic and original recipes, cooking tips, and tutorials. My passion is sharing delicious meals for everyone to try. Read More.

Soup Recipes

spooning some beef soup from a bowl

Instant Pot Vegetable Beef Soup

closeup of Italian wedding soup topped with shaved Parmesan

Italian Wedding Soup

closeup image of crab soup in a bowl centered in a photo

She Crab Soup

Broccoli Cheese Soup

Chicken Meatball Soup

closeup of top view of Cioppino in a bowl

Cioppino – Seafood Stew

A bowl of white bean soup is presented with a spoon on a countertop.

White Bean Soup

vegetable broth in two canning jars next to fresh carrots, garlic, and celery

Vegetable Stock

Our Popular Recipes

scooping prepared macaroni salad with a wooden spoon

Our Favorite Macaroni Salad

The BEST Borscht Recipe

New York Cheesecake

tall photo of a chai latte in a glass mug

Chai Latte

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

dipping into the baba ganoush dip with pita

Baba Ganoush

Top Rated Recipes

The Best French Toast

Cauliflower Parmesan Crisps

Christmas Cheesecake (Cranberry Jam White Chocolate Mousse Cheesecake)

Avocado Salmon Rice Bowl

round decorative bowl filled with apple pie bread pudding topped with ice cream and a fork leaning on the side of the bowl viewed close up.

Apple Pie Bread Pudding

Smores cheesecake on a wooden table

S'Mores Cheesecake Recipe

Sides

30 Min

Pasta

Salads

Breakfast

Drinks

Soups

Gluten Free

FEATURED ON:

featured on

[cp_popup display="inline" style_id="32674" step_id = "1"][/cp_popup]
The Best Classic Tiramisu

The Best Classic Tiramisu

January 14, 2023
Tiramisu...
Baked Ham with Orange Honey Ham Glaze

Baked Ham with Orange Honey Ham Glaze

December 2, 2022
This...
Chicken Piccata

Chicken Piccata

August 11, 2022
Chicken...
Pad See Ew

Pad See Ew

August 10, 2022
Pad...
Chicken Meatballs

Chicken Meatballs

July 15, 2022
These...
Baba Ganoush

Baba Ganoush

July 1, 2022
Baba...
Painkiller

Painkiller

June 30, 2022
A...
Truffle Fries

Truffle Fries

June 28, 2022
Truffle...
Thai Pineapple Fried Rice

Thai Pineapple Fried Rice

June 21, 2022
Thai...
Strawberry Daiquiri

Strawberry Daiquiri

June 16, 2022
The...
Privacy Policy
©2023, Will Cook For Smiles. Design by Pixel Me Designs