Move Over BLTs – BLPs Are The Hottest Sandwich In Town

Though we don't know for sure when the BLT sandwich was invented, we do know that its popularity has never faded since. There is no shortage of advice on how to build the best BLT. (I personally love our tips on the best bacon to use and stick to beefsteak tomatoes.) Because this sandwich is so simple, the ingredients matter a lot. That's why subtle variations are always welcome, and we can say for certain that the bacon, lettuce, and pickle sandwich — the BLP — should be welcomed with open arms and a ticker-tape parade.

We were inspired to write this by a wellness influencer named Megan Sheley. She shared a simple recipe that includes strips of oven-baked bacon, toasted sourdough bread, shredded iceberg lettuce, pickles (she has great taste in pickles, according to our own ranking), thinly sliced red onion, mayo, pickle juice, and some fresh dill. What makes this variation stand out is the mixture of fresh herbs, crispy bacon, and the crunch that only high-quality pickles can offer. The result is a textural wonderland, and the acidity of the pickles cuts the unctuous, fatty bacon. The slaw is the perfect complement, with the fresh dill bringing out the dill flavor in the pickles.

While I've always been a pickle lover, it seems Millennials and Gen Z can't get enough of them. With pickle-flavored chips, pickle vodka, and the rise of homemade pickles, we've entered a bold new pickle-based culinary frontier. The funny thing is, like the BLT, one complex pickle sandwich has been around for almost 100 years. Peanut butter and pickles might seem like a bizarre combo, but the origins of the pairing go all the way back to the Great Depression. Pickles, peanut butter, and bread were some of the cheapest items you could find, and peanut butter is extremely calorically dense, so a few tablespoons means you would at least have enough fuel to get through the day.

While it might seem kinda gross, and is a contentious pairing, nothing satisfies quite like the creamy, salty sweetness of peanut butter and the acidic crunch of pickles. While we're not settled if peanut butter belongs on a burger (with pickles), we at The Takeout certainly don't mind slapping pickles on a peanut butter sandwich. There's even the option of adding bacon to a peanut butter pickle sandwich. With these powers combined, you can have a very rich, very complex sandwich with just three simple ingredients. If you feel really bold, you can add mayonnaise, which is apparently a Southern thing. Though this might be a rich, fatty overload, sometimes you just need to make an extremely decadent, but simple sandwich.