Chrissy Tiegen’s Easy Sandwich Is My New Go-To—It’s Divine

Chrissy Tiegen’s Tuna Melt from her cookbook Cravings proves that the most humble ingredients can become a warm, buttery masterpiece—just by frying them in a pan with a boatload of cheddar cheese. Sound divine? It totally is.

There was a place near my apartment in L.A. that served the crème de la tuna: Greenblatt’s Deli on Sunset Blvd. Seasoned workers behind the counter dished out the best tuna melt in town, generous portions of tuna salad on oversized rosemary sourdough toast. It was heaven in my hands after a long day. Or any day.

How To Make Chrissy Tiegen’s Tuna Melt

Simple stuff and ultra pleasure is the theme here. For the tuna salad, you’ll need a medium bowl to mix these ingredients together: two cans of tuna in water, drained, 1/2 cup of mayo, 1/3 cup diced onion, a generous spoonful of sweet pickle relish, a tablespoon of Dijon mustard (I used coarse-ground with the seeds), and salt and black pepper to taste (I doubled the amounts called for in Tiegen’s recipe). Meet the star of your dish, the reason we all came here: the G.O.A.T.una. Mix until salad-y.

For two sandwiches, gather six slices of thick-cut cheddar (I used Tillamook cheddar, an Oregon dairy brand which I l-o-v-e), four slices of country white bread, vine-ripened tomato slices, and soft and spreadable (a.k.a. room temp) butter.

Tiegen’s recipe is designed for a big ol’ country loaf the size of Mr. Clean’s forearm. My loaf was much smaller, so instead of three tomato slices and three slices of cheese per sandwich, just two of each had me covered.

Generously butter the bottom of your bottom bread slice and the top of your top bread slice. Layer as much tuna as you can fit on the bottom slice (up to half of the recipe), followed by tomato slices, then a few slices of cheese, and the top bread slice.

Place the sandwich in a skillet over low heat, and cook until deeply browned, about six minutes per side. (Repeat for sando #2.) Listen for the tiniest, dollhouse-sized sizzle in the pan. The heat should be low; It’s called a tuna melt, not a flaming tuna Alaska. I got the crunchiest results using a cast iron pan.

Lean into the messiness of this sandwich—but like a hot mess, not a scary mess. Crusty cheesy bits = good. Falling apart = bad. Off the heat, let your tuna melt rest for a few minutes. Relaxed cheese makes the sandwich easier to cut and more likely to hold itself together.

The bread tastes unbelievably buttery and cracker-y like Tiegen says it should be; the fresh tomato lends a vegetal burst of nostalgia; and the gooey cheddar—le sigh. Tuna melts may be the chicken soup of sandwiches, but Tiegen’s tuna melt is so good it’s a pick-me-up even when you’re on cloud nine.