No Bacon? Fill Your BLT With This Classic Lunch Meat Instead

Craving something light, fresh, and filling for lunch? One BLT, coming right up. Indeed, the classic sandwich presents the perfect combination of flavors and textures by way of its signature ingredients: toasty bread, juicy tomatoes, crisp lettuce, creamy mayonnaise, and, of course, those savory slices of bacon. In addition to being undeniably tasty, one of the best things about this dish is that it's incredibly easy to whip up at home. But if one day you're craving the salty, zesty goodness of a BLT and are missing the all-important protein component, here's a tip: Head to your cold cut drawer and swap the "B" in your BLT from bacon to bologna. 

The beloved lunch meat makes for a brilliant substitute for bacon for a few reasons. For one, like bacon, bologna is commonly made from pork, so it delivers a similar flavor profile in terms of the meat itself. And while the ingredients are obviously presented and prepared quite differently (bacon in the form of thinly sliced strips that need to be cooked, bologna as a finely ground and spiced sausage that has been pre-cooked), both also supply a salty punch that pairs particularly well with the other building blocks of the sandwich.

You can pile on the bologna straight from the fridge, but if you're hoping to add some of the same smoldering flavor to your dish, you can sizzle some slices on the grill or in a frying pan to give the meat a similar cooked smokiness to bacon.

Though swapping in bologna for bacon may be born of necessity, it's also a great way to elevate your BLT all-around. Sure, we enjoy the light crispness of thinly sliced bacon strips, but bologna — whether you choose to add it cold or cooked — provides a thicker, more tender bite worth sinking your teeth into. If you're seeking an extra-hearty take on the classic (and have both ingredients in stock), why not double up your meat by making a BLTB? 

Yep, just as it sounds, a BLTB is a Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato, and Bologna sandwich. It's super stacked, plenty protein-filled, and sure to help you power through any busy afternoons. Plus, by stacking the other fillings between the bacon and bologna, you're also creating a sandwich within a sandwich, bookmarked by two savory meat components.

If you think that's the best your sandwich can get, however, you're in for a world of delicious discovery. There are so many other luxurious additions you can incorporate, including Tasting Table's go-to secret ingredient for BLTs: a bold garlic aioli. Rich, creamy, and sprinkled with umami flavor, this mayo upgrade adds complexity to the dish, tempering the acid of the tomato, highlighting the crunch of the lettuce, and complementing the salty savoriness of the bacon and/or bologna. And, of course, you can never go wrong by throwing on some slices of cheese, whether you go the way of sharp pungency with cheddar or mild creaminess with Swiss. Who says the BLT has to end with those three letters?