Turkey Melt with Cheddar, Spinach, and Bacon
Posted: 11/09/21
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The perfect sandwich for cooler weather, this incredible turkey melt is toasty, melty, and mouth-wateringly delicious. With juicy fresh tomatoes, leafy green spinach, crisp bacon, and rich cheddar cheese, these buttery sourdough sandwiches are amazing all on their own or paired with a cup of hot, creamy soup.
What Makes This Recipe So Good
- If you like a good grilled cheese then you will LOVE a turkey melt! It’s sort of a gourmet grilled cheese, stuffed full of tasty ingredients, then grilled until hot and toasty.
- Not only is this sandwich super quick and easy to make, it’s also fully customizable. Use any crusty bread you like; try smoked or sweet turkey; throw on your favorite cheese (or cheeses!); work in a little onion or arugula or alfalfa sprouts; add mayo or pesto along with or instead of honey mustard… anything goes!
- I use deli turkey in my turkey melt more often than not, BUT! If you have leftover holiday turkey, this is a great way to use it up! You may just need to toast the sandwiches a little longer on a slightly lower heat to warm them all the way through, depending on how thick the turkey is.
Key Ingredients
Turkey – For a year-round turkey melt, deli turkey is the way to go. Not only is it easy and readily accessible, it’s also thin enough to let the sandwich heat completely through in no time. Feel free to use a smoked turkey, honey-glazed turkey, oven-roasted turkey, or whatever other flavor you like best!
Crusty Bread – I. Love. A good crusty bread. Sourdough is my favorite for hot sandwiches like this. It’s chewy and crisp and toasts up beautifully. Texas toast would also work well!
Cheese – Feel free to mix up the cheese you use on your sandwich. I used white cheddar here, but classic cheddar, Swiss, smoked gouda, or pepper jack would all be amazing.
Chef’s Tips
- Your mouth will water the whole time you’re prepping your turkey melt, so I know you’ll be tempted to rush the actual toasting process. Don’t! If the skillet and butter are too hot, the bread will toast (and potentially burn) before the cheese melts and the turkey warms. If it’s not hot enough, though, the bread will soak up all the butter and end up more soggy than toasted.
- Avoid prepackaged, processed cheese! Seriously, do yourself a favor and pick up a block of fresh cheese that you can slice yourself, or stop by the deli counter and have them slice some fresh cheese for you. The flavors will be so much better, but so will the texture. Fresh cheese just melts so well. Your turkey melt will be good with prepackaged cheese, but it’ll be incredible with fresh cheese.
More Delicious Sandwiches You’ll Enjoy
- Chicken Parm Sandwich
- Keto Grilled Cheese
- Caprese Sandwich
- Chickpea Salad Sandwich
- Whole30 Breakfast Sandwiches (Whole30 McGriddles)
- Chicken Pesto Sandwich
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Turkey Melt with Cheddar, Spinach, and Bacon
The perfect sandwich for cooler weather, this incredible turkey melt is toasty, melty, and mouth-wateringly delicious. With juicy fresh tomatoes, leafy green spinach, crisp bacon, and rich cheddar cheese, these buttery sourdough sandwiches are amazing all on their own or paired with a cup of hot, creamy soup.
sandwiches
Ingredients
- 4 slices sourdough or thick, crusty bread of choice
- 2 tablespoons honey mustard divided
- 2 slices white cheddar cheese divided
- 4 slices deli turkey divided
- 1 medium tomato thinly sliced
- ½ cup fresh baby spinach divided
- 4 slices bacon cooked
- 2 tablespoons butter divided
Equipment
- Plate or cutting board
- Knife
- Large skillet
Instructions
- Spread ¼ tablespoon honey mustard on both sides of each piece of bread (8 sides total).
- Divide each slice of cheese in half, creating 4 slices of cheese total. Place one "slice" of cheese on each piece of bread.
- Layer 2 slices deli turkey, tomato slices (as many as you like), and ¼ cup baby spinach on 2 pieces of bread.
- Place 2 slices of bacon on remaining 2 pieces of bread.
- Close sandwiches. Each sandwich should have one piece of bread with turkey, tomatoes, and spinach and one piece of bread with bacon.
- Spread ½ tablespoon butter on outside of each piece of bread (4 sides total).
- Heat large skillet over medium heat. Once hot, place sandwiches in skillet. Toast bread for 3 to 4 minutes on one side, then flip and toast bread another 3 to 4 minutes on other side, or until cheese is melted and sandwich is warmed through. Serve hot.
Notes
- I highly recommend buying a block of cheddar cheese and slicing it yourself, or purchasing freshly sliced cheese from the deli counter of your grocery store, as opposed to prepackaged cheese slices. There’s a huge difference in taste and texture!
- Make it Dairy Free: Use a dairy-free cheese and dairy-free butter.
Nutrition Information
Serving: 1sandwich | Calories: 605kcal | Protein: 24g | Fat: 30g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Trans Fat: 1g | Total Carbs: 60g | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 9g | Net Carbs: 57g | Vitamin C: 11mg | Cholesterol: 80mg | Sodium: 1283mg | Potassium: 332mg | Calcium: 282mg | Iron: 4mg
Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.
Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.
To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.
These weren’t a 5/5, they were a 500/5. Absolutely delicious!
Thank you so much, Stephanie! So glad you loved it!
Really, really delicious sandwich! Easy to make and everyone loved it!
Love to hear that! Thank you so much, Stephanie!
ABSOLUTELY the most delicious sandwich ever. I’m glad I read the comments first lol because the way I read it, it says put the mustard on both sides (and butter on one side)… so clearly that was wrong and I would have messed it up haha!! Thank you!!!!!
So glad you loved it, April! Thanks for sharing!
One of the tastiest sandwiches I’ve ever eaten. We used a homemade honey mustard which made it amazing!
Homemade honey mustard sounds like a perfect addition to it! Thanks for sharing, Ruth!
I’m leaving this rating and comment to balance out the lady that left a low rating because she put the mustard on the outside of the bread. Her error should not be reflected in the recipe review. It’s a delicious sandwich that we will definitely make again and again (provided you put your condiments on the inside of the bread) ♀️
I’ve made this a couple times for my family now and everyone loves it. My teen boys get excited when it’s on the menu and devour it.
So glad the whole family loves the melt! Thanks for sharing, Carrie!
Unfortunately by adding mustard to the outside of the bread before you butter it, the bread burns. Both sides of my bread were black. It was quite a disappointment.
Amy, the mustard should have been on the inside of the sandwich. After assembling the sandwich the buttered side (outside) would then be grilled. Hope this helps