Tomato Sandwich with Zucchini Butter

Health Wise Realm July 09, 2025

There is only one time of year to make tomato sandwiches. It’s when tomatoes are absolutely perfect. You’ve got a summertime window, but don’t try making one come February. It’s too sad for both you and the tomatoes. There are beautiful tomatoes everywhere I look right now, and so I made my first tomato sandwich of the summer. Here’s what it looked like.

Building a Good Tomato Sandwich

I like making tomato sandwiches on just about any style of bread. This one went on a rustic baguette, but a soft white bread, or oatmeal bread are also welcome options. Or a slab of focaccia sliced in half. The tomato-mayo combination is classic here, and that’s what I went for today (pictured below). But other times, goat cheese, or a smear of labneh, make a nice creamy first layer. The second layer is zucchini butter. It also goes on both sides of the bread. If you don’t have zucchini butter, a bit of pesto, or something artichoke-centric are good alternatives. This artichoke dip is a fantastic spread, or leftover pan-fried artichokes. I basically raid the refrigerator for options.
assembling a tomato sandwich starting with mayo and zucchini butter

For the next layer (pictured below), there is ripe avocado topped with fresh basil on one side, and slices of heirloom tomatoes on the other. A drizzle of good olive oil over the tomatoes isn’t unwelcome, even better if it is a chili olive oil, or a citrus one.
assembling a tomato sandwich by adding avocado and tomatoes
To double down on tomato flavor, I’ve also been known to do a thin layer of roasted cherry tomatoes in place of the zucchini butter, and then go ahead with the fresh heirloom tomatoes. So so so good.