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Garden BLT's with Pesto Aioli are a veggie-packed twist on a favorite classic sandwich! Go way beyond just bacon, lettuce, and tomato with cucumber, avocado, cheese and a homemade pesto aioli to add all those nutritious greens from the garden harvest! This hearty pesto BLT is a summer favorite!
Why We Love It!
- A BLT with Basil Pesto Aioli! - BLT's are one of my favorite summer meals! But I've always thought that those 3 ingredients, the bacon, the lettuce, and the tomato, just aren't enough! Garden BLT's with Pesto Aioli solve that problem! I always add Avocado and Cheese to a BLT (Wisconsin native here!), but when so much is coming out of the garden I just want to keep adding.
- Ripe summer garden tomatoes are truly amazing. Cucumber gives it a little extra freshness, and then there's the pesto! Our garden is full of greens, basil and beyond, and Freezer Pesto is my favorite way to use it up!
- If you Love Sandwich Night, try this Italian Sub Giardiniera Sandwich on Ciabatta, French Dip Sandwiches, and a Ciabatta Steak Sandwich with Balsamic Onions!
Jump to:
What is Pesto Aioli?
When the garden is full of greens, I Freeze my Mixed Herbs and Greens and make batches of little jars of Freezer Pesto. This is a great way of preserving all kinds of garden greens! Basil is the pesto star for sure, but you can also throw in Swiss chard, kale, spinach or arugula, whatever needs to be used!
This stretches your basil, adds nutrition, and those little green jars are like frozen gold in the middle of winter! Use them as pizza sauce, or try my Pesto Alfredo Pasta!
So what is Pesto Aioli? Aioli is just fancy for mayo, usually homemade mayo made with raw egg and oil, and can be flavored many ways. We're skipping that here, and instead making homemade pesto and just mixing a bit of it with store-bought mayo for our BLT aioli sauce.
If you've ever frozen pesto in ice cube trays, this is the perfect way to use up a couple cubes and make this basil pesto aioli BLT sandwich year-round!
Instructions
Step 1 - Start your sandwiches by making a batch of pesto in your food processor. It's best to toast the pine nuts, and you can also substitute almonds, walnuts or even sunflower seeds, since pine nuts can be quite an expensive ingredient.
Add all your ingredients except the oil and water and process. Then, with the processor running, drizzle in the oil and water until smooth.
You've made way more pesto than you'll need for these sandwiches! You can't really make a tiny batch of pesto! Mix a few tablespoons of the pesto with mayo for the BLT's and freeze the rest in small jars.
Step 2 - Cook your bacon on a sheet pan in the oven at 400° for about 20 minutes. If you've never cooked bacon in the oven, try it, it is truly the best method!
Just flip it about half way through and keep an eye on it towards the end so you can take it out when it's just perfectly crisp! Drain it on a plate.
You can dump the cooled bacon grease in the trash (don't pour it down the sink, bad for the drain!) or you can even strain it into a jar and keep it in the fridge to fry eggs or potatoes in.
Step 3 - While the bacon cooks, assemble your other ingredients. Slice open your ciabatta bread and toast it in the oven about 10 minutes as your bacon finishes cooking.
Step 4 - Then pile on your ingredients. I love to load BLT's with lots of veggies, tomato, cucumber, avocado, and lots of lettuce or any greens!
Finish with your bacon, slices of cheese, and the basil pesto aioli! Slice in big triangle wedges and serve.
Chef Tips
- How to Store Extra Pesto - Extra pesto freezes well! Use what pesto you need to mix with the mayo to make the pesto aioli for these BLT's. Then freeze the extra pesto without the mayo. I like to freeze it in small jars or ice cube trays. Small amounts are easy to thaw and use as Homemade Pizza Sauce, in Pesto Alfredo Pasta, or as a sandwich spread! Try it to jazz up a plain turkey sandwich for lunch, or make chicken sandwiches with pesto and melted provolone for dinner.
- Storage - Leftover ciabatta BLT's can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge and eaten cold the next day for lunch.
- Extra Cooked Bacon can be chopped and frozen and used in omelets, breakfast tacos, or pasta dishes with veggies and cream.
- Customize to your liking! - These Pesto BLT's do not need to be exactly according to the recipe! The ciabatta bread is a very sturdy loaf, great for piling on all those extra ingredients. However, any bread can be used! The pesto can also be used as is and not made into aioli with the mayonnaise. Or, you can always use store-bought pesto or just plain mayo for your BLT sauce. Add on the veggies you have or like, and leave off what you don't!
- Freezer Tip - You can freeze packages of raw bacon and a loaf of ciabatta bread to always have this easy meal on hand!
Pesto BLT Side Dishes
A huge Pesto BLT on ciabatta bread, extra loaded with all the fixings, is a great main course for sandwich night! It's also great for soup and sandwich night with Roasted Tomato Basil Soup!
We like to keep it a simple summer meal and serve with these BLT side dishes:
- Broccoli Salad with Cranberries and Feta
- Tomato Feta White Bean Salad
- Simple blanched green beans or roasted vegetables
- Green Bean Salad with Tomato and Feta
- Veggies or Crackers with Mediterranean Hummus
- Parmesan Kale Chips
- Cottage Cheese and Fruit
- Veggies and Parmesan Herb Garlic Dip
- Baked Beans or Charred Corn on the Cob
- Potato Chips and Refrigerator Pickles!
Recipe FAQs
These Garden Pesto BLT's are so fully loaded with extra veggies and pesto aioli that they are great served on a very hearty loaf of ciabatta bread. BLT's are also great on sourdough or wheat bread which is usually toasted.
I don't like to think of foods as healthy or unhealthy, but this BLT pesto aioli sandwich is somewhere in between! Compared to a basic bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich, these Garden BLT's pack the extra nutrition from the addition of extra veggies like avocado, cucumber and plenty of nutritious garden greens. Everything in moderation, including bacon!
The basic BLT is far too plain and simple! You can add cheese, avocado, sliced cucumbers, sliced red onion, turkey to make it a club, or even a fried egg! Add this pesto aioli as a delicious alternative to plain mayo!
More Recipes from the Garden!
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Garden BLT with Pesto Aioli
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Ingredients
For the Pesto (Makes Extra Pesto for the Freezer)
- ¼ cup pine nuts best if toasted in a dry pan, don’t burn!
- 2 cloves garlic
- 4 cups basil and other garden greens including some or all basil, or any combination of Swiss chard, kale, spinach, or arugula - washed and tough stems removed
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 10 grinds fresh black pepper
- 1 juice of a lemon
- ⅓ cup Parmesan cheese grated
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- ⅓ cup water
For the Sandwich
- 2 Tablespoons mayonnaise
- ½ pound bacon
- 1 loaf Ciabatta Bread
- 2 cups lettuce
- 1 tomato sliced
- ½ cucumber sliced
- 1 avocado sliced
- 4 slices cheese any kind such as provolone, muenster, havarti or white cheddar
Instructions
- In a food processor, add all pesto ingredients (pine nuts, garlic, greens, salt, pepper, lemon juice, Parmesan) except the olive oil and water and process.
- With the food processor running, drizzle in the oil and water through the feed tube until smooth, about 2 minutes (stop to scrape down the sides with a spatula).
- Combine 2 to 3 Tablespoons of the pesto with 2 Tablespoons mayo and store the rest of the pesto in small jars or ice cube trays and freeze.
- Preheat oven to 400° convection bake. Cook bacon on a large sheet pan until crisp, about 20 minutes but check it often and flip bacon about half way through. Drain on a plate.
- While the bacon is cooking, slice veggies and prepare other ingredients. Slice Ciabatta bread open and toast slightly in the oven with the bacon as it is finishing, about 10 minutes.
- To assemble sandwiches, spread with the pesto aioli, and pile with lettuce, tomato, cucumber, bacon, cheese and avocado. Cut into wedges and serve.
Notes
- How to Store Extra Pesto - Extra pesto freezes well! Use what pesto you need to mix with the mayo to make the pesto aioli for the BLT's. Then freeze the extra pesto without the mayo. I like to freeze it in small jars or ice cube trays. Small amounts are easy to thaw and use on homemade pizza, in Pesto Alfredo Pasta, or as a sandwich spread!
- Extra Bacon - I like to cook the whole package of bacon. Extra can be chopped and frozen and used in omelets, breakfast tacos, or pasta dishes with veggies and cream.
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