A great sandwich comes down to two things: the filling and the bread that holds it. Most recipes obsess over one and forget the other. Get both right and the rest really is just assembly.

I’ve been obsessed with sandwich proteins for years. Slow-cooked things that fall apart the right way, copycat classics worth making from scratch, and a whole category of leftovers that quietly become the best lunch of the week. If I had to pick one from this list to make tonight, it’s the chopped cheese. Every time.

Below you’ll find 14 ideas: New York classics, quick weeknight builds, and proteins you’ve already made that turn into a great sandwich the next day with almost no effort.

Classic Sandwiches

Best Chopped Cheese Sandwiches (New York Style)

Beef chopped right on the griddle with onions, cheese melted over the whole thing, stuffed into a hero roll with tomato and lettuce. Messier than a cheesesteak, more caramelized, and better. I make this at least 2 or 3 times a month.

Homemade Sausage Egg McMuffin

Eggs, seasoned sausage patty, English muffin toasted in the pan. The egg doesn’t have that steamed-in-a-carton texture. Comes together in about 15 minutes and the sausage patties freeze beautifully if you make a batch.

The Best Sous Vide Hamburger

130°F in the bath, then 60 seconds per side in a screaming hot cast iron. The crust is dark and a little charred, the interior is still pink all the way through. (I’ve served this to people who swore they don’t like burgers. They changed their mind.)

Travis Scott Burger (McDonald’s Quarter Pounder Copycat)

Quarter Pounder with cheese, bacon, and lettuce. The bacon-to-beef proportion matters. So does the lettuce-to-sauce ratio. This copycat gets both right, and the sesame bun toasted in butter is doing a lot of quiet work.

Pulled & Slow-Cooked Pork Sandwiches

There are 3 different recipes in this section and they all produce a different sandwich. The sous vide shoulder is the refined version. Pulls clean, doesn’t get stringy. The carnitas crisps up in the oven after cooking, so you get edges with some crunch. The crock pot shoulder is the dump-and-go option for when you don’t want to think about it.

Sous Vide Pork Shoulder (Best BBQ Pulled Pork)

The pork shoulder cooks at 165°F for 24 hours in the bag. Low enough to stay moist, long enough to fully break down the collagen. What comes out pulls apart in clean strands. Put it on a brioche bun with coleslaw and a spoonful of the bag juices reduced down to a sauce. No fuss.

Sous Vide Carnitas for Tacos (Pulled Pork)

Five minutes under the broiler after sous vide and the edges get crispy and almost lacquered. Stuff them into a roll with pickled red onion and a smear of crema. It eats more like a Mexican torta than a pulled pork sandwich. I actually prefer this version.

Crock Pot Pork Shoulder

Dump it in, set it to low, come back 8 hours later. Won’t give you the same textural control as sous vide but it’s completely hands-off and makes enough for the whole week. Start it Sunday, eat pulled pork sandwiches through Thursday.

Assemble Your Own Sandwich

These are proteins and fillings you can make independently and turn into a sandwich with whatever bread and toppings you have around. Some are classic sandwich proteins: shrimp, corned beef, hard-boiled egg salad. Some are a bit unexpected, but that’s the point.

Perfect Air Fryer Hard Boiled Eggs

The air fryer eggs peel cleanly. No gray-green ring around the yolk, no rubbery white. Mash with a fork rather than a food processor, add Dijon and a little celery, don’t skip the salt. That’s the whole recipe. Best on toasted sourdough.

Sous Vide Pork Belly with Crispy Skin

Slice it thick after the sear, put it on a steamed bao bun or brioche roll with quick-pickled cucumber and a drizzle of the cooking juices. The fat melts into the bread a little. That’s not a problem — that’s the feature. Nobody who’s tried this has ever said it was too rich.

Sous Vide Corned Beef

The obvious move is a Reuben: Swiss, sauerkraut, Russian dressing on rye, pressed until the cheese is completely melted through. The sous vide slices cleanly because it hasn’t been boiled into mush. You can taste the pickling spice in every bite. Make it on St. Patrick’s Day or a random Tuesday. No one’s stopping you.

Baked Chicken Breast With Rib Meat

The rib meat stays juicier than breast alone. More connective tissue, sits closer to the bone. Slice it thin and it works on any sandwich where you’d normally use deli turkey: club, chicken avocado, or just mayo and mustard on a good roll. Holds up to pressing in a panini too.

Broiled Cod

12 minutes from fridge to table. On a toasted bun with tartar sauce, shredded cabbage, and a squeeze of lemon. As good as most fried versions I’ve had without any of the mess. The broiler gives you a lightly crisped surface without any batter.

Juicy Sous Vide Shrimp

Overcooked shrimp is the default when you sauté them. 30 seconds too long and they go from plump and snappy to tight and rubbery. The sous vide version cooks at 135°F: tender, slightly firm, no rubber anywhere. Hoagie roll, shredded lettuce, hot sauce, remoulade. (I’ve made this more than any other thing in the Assemble Your Own section.)

Bobby Flay Salisbury Steak (With Mushroom Gravy)

The mushroom gravy is the reason to make this. Thick, savory, slightly bitter from the mushrooms. Spoon it over the patty on thick-cut toast and eat it with a fork. Leftovers reheat better than the day-of version. Make extra.

How to Match Bread to Filling

The bread is the first and last taste of every sandwich. I’ve ruined good pulled pork with the wrong roll more than once.

Sturdy fillings need sturdy bread. Delicate fillings need something lighter.

Sourdough. Cuts through rich, fatty fillings. Holds up to moisture longer than most other breads. (I use this for pulled pork every time.)

Brioche or milk bread. Best with salty fillings: crispy chicken, fried egg. Sweet bread against salty filling.

Ciabatta or a crusty roll. Anything that drips: Italian beef, meatballs, banh mi.

Simple white or potato bread. Use it when the filling is already doing everything.

If your filling is wet, spread mayo or butter directly on the bread before anything else. Fat blocks moisture. I do this even when I’m eating immediately. But if you skip it and pack the sandwich for later, you’ll know why it mattered.

Sandwich FAQ

Tag me @izzycookingofficial when you make one — I want to see the stack. — Izzy x