A Rachel Sandwich is a delightful combination of turkey, Swiss cheese, Russian dressing, and coleslaw all on sourdough bread. You will love this amazing sandwich.
If you’ve never tried the cousin of the Reuben sandwich, the Rachel, you must! We swap the corned beef for turkey and the sauerkraut for coleslaw. It is easy to make, and the ultimate combo of ingredients. It makes for a perfect grilled cheese sandwich that you will love. This is comfort food at it’s best.
How to Make a Rachel Sandwich
This is a brief overview of how to make this amazing sandwich. For the full recipe with all of the measurements, see the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
- Make the dressing. We are using my delicious homemade Russian dressing for this. It whips up fast, and is made with easy to find ingredients.
- Butter the bread. The key to any good grilled cheese sandwich is buttering the bread well. Use about 1/2 tablespoon of butter on each slide.
- Construct the sandwiches. With the butter side facing out, add the cheese, turkey, coleslaw, and dressing to four pieces of bread. Top with the remaining bread, again, butter side facing out.
- Grill the sandwiches. Grill in a skillet over low heat, covered, for 2 to 3 minutes on each side. Serve warm.
Russian Dressing for the Rachel Sandwich
My Russian dressing makes the perfect sandwich spread. It’s great on a salad, but it is fantastic in this grilled sandwich. It is made with grated onion, mayonnaise, ketchup, ground horseradish, and hot sauce. Just a few simple ingredients make this come together quickly, while keeping it delicious.
My preference is to make the homemade dressing. It’s a great way to control the flavor and also the ingredients. But if you are short on time, store bought Russian dressing will work great in this as well.
Russian Dressing
Cooking Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
The cooking method when making a grilled cheese sandwich is important. You want to make the bread crisp and you want to make sure the cheese is nice and melty. Too high of heat and the bread will burn. Too low of heat and the cheese won’t melt. To make it just right, you want to keep the heat medium low, and cover the skillet. Then you have grilled cheese perfection.
Sour Dough
Unlike the Reuben, which is normally made on Rye bread, we are making this on great sandwich on sourdough. It is perfect for a grilled cheese sandwich. Nice and sturdy, with the perfect flavor for this sandwich.
Coleslaw
The addition of coleslaw in this recipe adds the best texture and flavor. The hint of sweetness balances out the flavors in the dressing, and bring the Rachel Sandwich together in the best way. You can buy a store-bought version in the refrigerated produce section of the grocery store. But making your own is so easy, and we’ve perfected our recipe.
Coleslaw Recipe
What to Serve with a Rachel Sandwich
These are great with pickles and chips on the side, but if you want to round it out with some other side dishes, here are a few ideas:
- Sweet Potato Fries: I’m obsessed with these and they will always be my choice for the side of a sandwich.
- Tomato Bisque: There’s nothing quite better than a grilled cheese and tomato soup.
- Pea Salad: This comes together easily and the dressing is perfection.
If you make this Rachel Sandwich recipe or any of my other recipes, please leave me a comment and let me know what you think!
Rachel Sandwich
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons butter softened
- 1 cup coleslaw
- 20 ounces roasted turkey (5 ounces per sandwich)
- 8 slices sour dough bread
- 8 slices Swiss cheese
- 1/4 cup Russian dressing
Russian Dressing
- 1 tablespoon grated onion
- 1 cup low fat mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons ketchup
- 1 tablespoon fresh ground horseradish
- 1 teaspoon hot sauce
- dash kosher salt
Instructions
- Whisk together the ingredients for the dressing.
- To construct the sandwiches, butter one side of each piece of bread. Place four slices butter side down. To each piece of bread add two slices of cheese, a little dressing, coleslaw, and turkey. Top with the remaining four slices of bread, so the butter is face up.
- In a skillet, heat the sandwiches over medium low heat for 2 to 3 minutes with the pan covered. Flip the sandwiches and cook for an addtional 2 to 3 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the bread is crisp. Serve warm and enjoy.
Jamie Mannin says
Do you use turkey from the deli or just a prepackaged one?
I prefer turkey from the deli, but both will work.
Louise says
Made this sandwich today. Wow so good, the only thing I did differently was I used thousand island dressing. Will be making this again very soon. This is a keeper!!!!
I’m so glad to hear it!
I’m so glad you liked it!
Maggie says
Big hit!!! This is a great recipe!! We especially loved the Russian dressing recipe!! Delicious!!!!
I’m so glad you like both recipes!