I Made Ina Garten’s Easy Sandwich Recipe: Best Part Was Basil Mayo

2025-09-13T15:03:02Z

Ina Garten’s tomato sandwich recipe was delicious and easy to make at home.
I especially loved the herby, salty basil mayo, which balanced out the juicy heirloom tomatoes.
I plan to put it on other sandwiches and use it as a dip — but next time, I’ll include less salt.

Sometimes, I’ll glance at a recipe’s ingredients and just know, in my heart, that it’s going to taste amazing. That’s exactly how I felt the first time I laid eyes on the Barefoot Contessa’s tomato sandwich recipe.

Traditionally, this kind of sandwich only has a few ingredients: two slices of bread, some tomatoes, mayonnaise, salt, and pepper. Ina Garten’s recipe, however, kicks the sandwich up a notch with a mayo that has a large cast of flavors, including basil.

The basil mayo requires seven ingredients total: mayonnaise, kosher salt, black pepper, basil leaves, lemon juice, garlic, and olive oil.

As someone who loves flavored mayo, I had a good feeling about this recipe immediately — and my suspicions were delightfully confirmed.

I prepped and measured all of the basil mayo ingredients.

Some of the ingredients needed for Ina Garten's tomato sandwich. — The straightforward ingredient list included olive oil, basil, and garlic.

Anita George

After buying a loaf of bread and some heirloom tomatoes, I was ready to give this recipe a try. First, I measured out a cup of my go-to mayonnaise and put it into a bowl.

Next, I chopped the basil. The recipe calls for 10 to 15 basil leaves; I love the flavor, so I chopped 15.

I also measured out and added the kosher salt, olive oil, ground black pepper, lemon juice, and minced garlic.

The spread came together quickly.

The ingredients for Ina Garten's basil mayo. — I whisked the mayo in a small bowl.

Anita George

I used a small whisk to mix everything up in a bowl.

A fork would also probably work here, but the mayonnaise was so thick that I found a whisk much easier to use.

Then, I slathered the bread with basil mayo before adding slices of heirloom tomatoes.

Ina Garten's tomato sandwich with basil mayo. — After spreading my bread, I had a lot of basil mayo leftover.

Anita George

The sandwich was amazing: The combination of the juicy, sweet tomatoes and the herby basil mayo made for a refreshing yet filling (and deeply savory) meal.

I chose to eat the sandwich with some seasoned waffle fries. Since Garten’s recipe makes a ton of basil mayo, I used the remainder as a dipping sauce.

I’ll definitely make this basil mayo again, but with some tweaks.

Ina Garten's tomato sandwich, waffles fries, and basil mayo. — I can’t wait to make Garten’s basil mayo again, but I might use less salt.

Anita George

The basil mayo definitely stood out to me, and I already can’t wait to make it again.

I enjoyed it as a dipping sauce for my fries, but I do think the recipe worked better as a sandwich add-on. On the sandwich, the salty flavor perfectly complemented the juicy tomatoes.

When paired with fries, though, the saltiness was a little overwhelming. In the future, if I make it as a dipping sauce, I’ll dial back the kosher salt.

In the meantime, though, I plan to try out this versatile condiment on other dishes, too — including BLTs, turkey sandwiches, and even Italian subs.

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