Leftover corned beef? These fantastic Reuben sandwiches are stacked with meat, savory melted Swiss cheese and sauerkraut. You’ll love the homemade Russian dressing!

reuben sandwich with sauerkraut, beef, russian dressing and swiss cheese. There are bottles of beer in the background. this recipe

Bread

Choose a rye or marble rye. I’ve always loved the Pepperidge Farm deli swirl bread, but there’s a lot of great options at different price points.

Bonus points if you can snag a fresh loaf from a local bakery!

Cheese

Swiss is the traditional choice for a Reuben, but you could probably get away with a provolone or other white sliced melting cheese. However, I’d really recommend using Swiss.

necessary ingredients to make reuben sandwiches, including corned beef, swiss cheese, rye bread, sauerkraut and Russian dressing.

Meat

Corned beef, of course! This is the one non-negotiable. You can get corned beef sliced at the deli counter at the store, all year round. But one of my favorite ways to eat up the leftover corned beef brisket is to make these sandwiches.

Actually, this year I made the brisket specifically to have leftovers for Reubens.

Even though the meat is fully cooked, whether you get it from the store or have some brisket leftover, you’ll need to heat it through for the best sandwich. Add a little olive oil to a skillet and cook the meat for a few minutes on each side. The other good thing about this is that you fry the sandwiches in the same pan with the browned bits from the meat. Hello, flavor!

Dressing

Ingredients to make homemade Russian dressing, including mayonnaise, horseradish, ketchup, shallots, sour cream, dill and Worcestershire sauce.

Making your Russian dressing from scratch is the easiest way to really elevate your Reuben. The one thing that might be hard to find is the ketchup style chili sauce. If that’s the case, just substitute regular ketchup and a sprinkle of dried chili flakes, if you really want some spice.

I don’t recommend refrigerating the sandwiches once they’ve been made. They don’t keep well and taste a LOT better when they’re fresh!

Print
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reuben sandwich with sauerkraut, beef, russian dressing and swiss cheese. There are bottles of beer in the background.

Reubens with Homemade Russian Dressing

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  • Author: Megan
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 6 minutes
  • Total Time: 16 minutes
  • Yield: 1 sandwich 1x
  • Category: Dinner, Sandwiches
  • Method: Stovetop
  • Cuisine: American, Irish
Print Recipe

Description

Stacked with tender corned beef and the most amazing Russian dressing, these Reubens are the perfect St. Paddy’s lunch!

Ingredients

Units Scale

To make the Russian dressing:

  • 1 cup mayonnaise
  • 1/3 cup sour cream
  • 1 TB bottled horseradish
  • 1/4 cup ketchup-style chili sauce
  • 1 medium shallot, minced
  • 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/2 tsp dill weed
  • 1/4 tsp sweet paprika

To make one Reuben sandwich:

  • 1 TB olive oil
  • 2 slices marble rye or rye bread
  • 2 TB butter, room temperature, divided
  • 2 TB Russian dressing
  • 1/2 lb sliced corned beef brisket
  • 1–2 slices Swiss cheese
  • 1/3 cup sauerkraut

Instructions

  1. First, prepare the dressing. Combine all of the dressing ingredients into a small bowl and stir to combine well. Set aside until you are ready to assemble the sandwiches.
  2. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. While the skillet comes up to temperature, spread one side of each slice of rye bread with a tablespoon of butter, and carefully place the slices onto a plate, buttered side down.
  3. Spread the un-buttered sides of the bread with 1 tablespoon of Russian dressing per slice.
  4. Once the olive oil is up to temperature, add the corned beef and allow to cook for 2 minutes per side to heat through and crisp. Remove the heated meat to a plate and set the skillet aside, off of the heat while you assemble the sandwiches.
  5. Add the Swiss cheese to one of the slices, and stack the corned beef on top. Add the sauerkraut before stacking the other slice of bread on top, with the buttered side facing up. Return the skillet to medium heat.
  6. Add the sandwich to the skillet and allow it to cook for 2-3 minutes on the first side. Check to see if the bread has browned enough for you. If it has, carefully flip and cook for 2-3 minutes on the opposite side to finish the sandwich. Remove the skillet from the heat.
  7. Serve Reubens hot! Refrigerating is not recommended, as the sauerkraut doesn’t do well when microwaved to reheat.

Equipment

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 sandwich
  • Calories: 925
  • Sugar: 3.3 g
  • Sodium: 1843.8 mg
  • Fat: 72.4 g
  • Saturated Fat: 26.6 g
  • Trans Fat: 0.7 g
  • Carbohydrates: 34.3 g
  • Fiber: 5.6 g
  • Protein: 29.6 g
  • Cholesterol: 156.6 mg

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