Sheet-Pan Reubens
Four Reubens at once in 30 minutes: quick sweet-and-sour cabbage instead of sauerkraut, a mayo-mustard spread, deli corned beef and Swiss on rye, baked on a preheated sheet pan so they toast without flipping.
This is the Reuben (our Reuben Sandwich recipe) for a weeknight crowd. America's Test Kitchen developed it for Cook's Country in 2006 to make four sandwiches at once: bagged coleslaw mix simmered with vinegar and sugar stands in for sauerkraut, and a very hot, preheated baking sheet toasts both sides at the same time, so nothing gets flipped or cooked in batches. It is a shortcut, not a tradition; the origin fight between Omaha and New York is in our Reuben Sandwich recipe.
🇺🇸 This one is American
Four Reubens at once in 30 minutes: quick sweet-and-sour cabbage instead of sauerkraut, a mayo-mustard spread, deli corned beef and Swiss on rye, baked on a preheated sheet pan so they toast without flipping.
🇮🇪 The original
The Irish original is a boiled joint of cured pork (Irish bacon) with cabbage and potatoes, finished with a white parsley sauce. See the Irish Bacon and Cabbage with Parsley Sauce recipe.
📖 Origin story: Who Invented the Reuben Sandwich? Omaha vs New York →
Why it works the kitchen science
A preheated pan
Setting the sandwiches on a sheet that has been heating in a 450°F oven toasts the bottoms like a griddle while the oven air browns the tops.
Fast "kraut"
Coleslaw mix softened in boiling vinegar and sugar gives the sour crunch of sauerkraut in under 15 minutes, with no rinsing or draining (ATK).
Step by step
- Step 1
Put a rimmed baking sheet on the middle oven rack and heat the oven to 450°F.
- Step 2
Bring the vinegar and sugar to a boil in a large skillet over medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Add the coleslaw mix, cover and cook, tossing now and then, until tender, 8 to 10 minutes.
- Step 3
Uncover and simmer 1 to 2 minutes, until the liquid is gone. Season with salt and pepper.
- Step 4
Stir the mayonnaise and mustard together and spread 1 tbsp on each slice of bread. Build each sandwich: a slice of Swiss, 1/2 cup slaw, 1/4 lb corned beef and another slice of Swiss, then the top slice. Press each one together.
- Step 5
Brush the tops and bottoms with the melted butter, set the sandwiches on the hot baking sheet and bake about 10 minutes, until toasted. Do not flip them. Serve.
Sheet-Pan Reubens
Serves 4 · 4 sandwiches · 30 min total
Quick slaw "kraut"
- 1/3 cup cider vinegar
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 (16 oz) bag coleslaw mix
- Salt and pepper
Spread
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
Sandwiches
- 8 slices hearty rye bread
- 8 slices Swiss cheese (about 1/2 lb)
- 1 lb thinly sliced deli corned beef
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
Method
- Put a rimmed baking sheet on the middle oven rack and heat the oven to 450°F.
- Bring the vinegar and sugar to a boil in a large skillet over medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Add the coleslaw mix, cover and cook, tossing now and then, until tender, 8 to 10 minutes.
- Uncover and simmer 1 to 2 minutes, until the liquid is gone. Season with salt and pepper.
- Stir the mayonnaise and mustard together and spread 1 tbsp on each slice of bread. Build each sandwich: a slice of Swiss, 1/2 cup slaw, 1/4 lb corned beef and another slice of Swiss, then the top slice. Press each one together.
- Brush the tops and bottoms with the melted butter, set the sandwiches on the hot baking sheet and bake about 10 minutes, until toasted. Do not flip them. Serve.
Adapted from America's Test Kitchen, "Oven-Grilled Reuben Sandwiches" (Cook's Country, June/July 2006; online October 14, 2011), as written for 4. ATK lists no total time; its timed steps add up to about 20 minutes of cooking. Deli corned beef is fully cooked. America's Test Kitchen. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
All sources (1)
Tips
- Real sauerkraut works too: drain and rinse 2 cups and cook it dry with the vinegar and sugar for 3 minutes, as in our Reuben Sandwich recipe.
- Brush the butter on right before baking so the bread does not soak it up.
- Leftover corned beef from our Corned Beef and Cabbage recipe or 4 works; slice it thin.
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- A Reuben needs sauerkraut. Folklore: every Reuben origin story has sauerkraut, but ATK's quick slaw is a tested stand-in; call it Reuben-style.
- A Reuben needs Russian dressing. Disputed: see our Reuben Sandwich recipe; this version uses mayo and Dijon.
- Baking can't beat the griddle. Folklore: a common opinion; ATK found a preheated sheet pan gives a griddled crust.
Every other corned beef
Irish Bacon and Cabbage with Parsley Sauce
The real Irish dinner behind America's corned beef and cabbage: a cured bacon joint simmered in a big pot, cabbage cooked in the salty bacon water, and a white sauce full of parsley.
Cork Spiced Beef
Cork's Christmas beef: a corned joint marinated for a week in allspice, brown sugar and three peppers, simmered gently, cooled in its liquid and sliced thin.
Corned Beef and Cabbage
The Irish-American St. Patrick's Day dinner: flat-cut corned beef braised low and slow in the oven, then cabbage wedges, carrots and red potatoes simmered in the strained, buttered cooking liquid.
Homemade Deli Corned Beef on Rye
Cure your own brisket for six days in a salt, sugar and pink curing salt brine, simmer it in a low oven, then slice it thin, steam it and pile it on rye with deli mustard.
Reuben Sandwich
Corned beef, Swiss cheese and quick-cooked sauerkraut on rye with a Russian-style dressing, griddled in butter until the bread is golden and the cheese melts.
Diner Corned Beef Hash
Leftover corned beef and diced potatoes, steamed tender in one skillet, partly mashed so they hold together, then browned hard in butter on both sides and topped with fried eggs.
Montreal Smoked Meat
Montreal's answer to pastrami: a whole brisket dry-cured for a week, soaked, crusted with pepper, coriander and dill, smoked low, steamed in foil until tender and piled on rye with yellow mustard.
Filipino Corned Beef Silog (Corned Beef, Garlic Rice and Egg)
The Filipino breakfast plate: tinned corned beef fried with browned garlic and onion, a mound of crisp garlic fried rice and a sunny-side-up egg.
Jamaican-Style Bully Beef
Tinned corned beef simmered with onion, tomatoes, sweet peppers, thyme, ketchup and a whole Scotch bonnet into a quick, peppery stew for rice.
British Corned Beef Hash
The British storecupboard supper: parboiled potatoes and cubes of tinned corned beef fried with onion, pressed into a crust, splashed with Worcestershire sauce and served with baked beans.
Pastrami on Rye, Inspired by Katz's
Inspired by, not official: store-bought corned beef soaked to pull out salt, crusted with cracked black pepper and coriander, smoked low, finished in foil to 203°F and hand-sliced onto rye with mustard, the way Katz's Delicatessen serves it.
Meatballs of the World
Italian-American Meatballs
Big, tender meatballs braised for an hour in red sauce over spaghetti. The one most Americans grew up with.
Pallottine (Abruzzo Meatballs)
Tiny meatballs, smaller than a marble, tossed right through square spaghetti alla chitarra. No bread at all.
Swedish Meatballs (Köttbullar)
Small, soft meatballs browned in butter, in a cream sauce made from the same pan, with lingonberry jam on the plate.
Danish Frikadeller
Pork meatballs shaped with a spoon and fried slowly in butter, crusty outside and soft in the middle.
Königsberger Klopse
German meatballs that are never fried: poached, then served in a creamy white sauce with capers.
Spanish Albóndigas in Almond Saffron Sauce
The tapas bar classic: small meatballs in a golden sauce thickened with fried almonds and bread.
Mexican Albóndigas with Chipotle and Mint
Soft meatballs with rice and fresh mint inside, simmered in a smoky tomato and chipotle broth.
Izgara Köfte (Turkish Grilled Meatballs)
Small, flat meatballs kneaded hard, rested cold, and charred on a hot grill pan.
Lion's Head Meatballs
Big, soft pork meatballs, stirred into a sticky paste, fried to set, then braised in a savory sauce.
Chicken Tsukune
Japan's chicken meatball: kneaded sticky, grilled on skewers, glazed with sweet soy tare, dipped in egg yolk.