Here are the best varieties of tomatoes, including modern hybrids and old-fashioned heirlooms, for garden-fresh sandwiches. Whether you’re a fan of round, standard globe-type tomatoes or meaty giant beefsteak-types, there’s a favorite tomato for every tomato-sandwich lover. The best tomatoes for sandwiches are slicer varieties that are balanced and rich, ensuring a fresh and enjoyable experience.
1. Mortgage Lifter tomato
The Tomato Lifter Mortgage is a classic tomato slicer that is suitable for sandwiches. It can easily slice a whole sandwich into one-pound to two-pound portions. The tomatoes used for these sandwiches should have a meaty texture and a firm, pink peel. Giant fruits weighing between one and two pounds are ideal for this purpose.
Here’s a detailed guide on how you can grow tomatoes for yourself to enjoy. Lifter Mortgage is an heirloom open-pollinated tomato variety bred by Charlie Byles of West Virginia. It is certainly one of the best tomatoes for sandwiches.
2. Brandywine tomato
The Brandywine Tomato is a gourmet choice for tomato lovers who enjoy sandwiches. Just like a single slice of Lifter Mortgage can cover an entire sandwich, the Brandywine Tomato stands out with its incredible flavor, making it a unique and delicious option. While other tomatoes may not have the same taste, Brandywine tomatoes are known for their giant pink fruits. However, the consistency of tomato Brandywine plants can vary among different producers. Nevertheless, the Brandywine Tomato remains an exceptional gourmet heirloom tomato, offering an unparalleled taste that sets it apart from other heirloom varieties.
These heritage beauties deserve a spot in your garden. These tomato varieties are consistently listed as one of the best-tasting overall. Brandywine is an open-pollinated heirloom tomato variety from the Brandywine region in Pennsylvania.
3. Big Boy tomato
The Tomato Boy Big is a popular large globe-type tomato slicer known for its easy-growing plants and rich flavor. It may only take a couple of slices to cover a piece of bread, and they are quite large tomatoes. These tomatoes have a firm texture and a well-balanced taste that works well on sandwiches.
Created in 1949, Big Boy is a tomato variety developed by Burpee Seeds (USA). It has served as an inspiration for breeding tomato cultivars, earning it the reputation of being the “pioneering hybrid”.
4. Black Krim tomato
These fruits are undeniably acidic, but their intense tart flavor is balanced by enough sweetness to prevent them from being overly sour. These giant tomatoes have a richly-colored purple-brown peel. Tomato Krim Black is an intensely-flavored heirloom beefsteak-type tomato known for its deep tart taste.
Krim Black is an heirloom open-pollinated tomato from Krymsk in Eastern Europe. It is a favorite choice for foodies who enjoy the complex flavors of a fresh sandwich tomato.
5. Early Girl tomato
(1) To maintain the production of these plants even during the fall, it is important to keep the approach temperatures at 40 °F (4 °C). (2) After experiencing the blandness of grocery-store tomatoes and the tastelessness of canned tomatoes during the winter, a homegrown tomato sandwich with fresh, homegrown tomatoes is extremely welcome. (3) Tomato Girl Early is a short-season, globe-type slicer tomato that produces medium-sized tomatoes that ripen first and have a lovely, homegrown taste.
Early Girl is a French-bred F1 hybrid tomato that was obtained by the US seed company PetoSeed in the 1970s.
6. Cherokee Purple tomato
The peel of the Purple Cherokee Tomato is a deep brown and red with hints of purple color. The taste is intense yet balanced, with a combination of acidity and sweetness. The Purple Cherokee Tomato is an old-fashioned heirloom beefsteak-type tomato that is well-known for its juicy texture and deep flavor.
In the eastern region of Tennessee, the Cherokee people originally cultivated an heirloom tomato known as Purple Cherokee. After picking these tomatoes, make sure to enjoy them on sandwiches, as the juicy texture of the tomato can make the bread become soggy if left for too long.
7. Kellogg’s Breakfast tomato
The Kellogg’s Tomato Breakfast is an heirloom beefsteak-type tomato known for its bright orange color and well-balanced taste. Enjoying a sandwich with these tomatoes is perfect because they have a smooth yet firm texture.
Unearthed by Darrell Kellogg from Michigan, Kellogg’s Breakfast is a heirloom tomato from West Virginia that can be grown from seeds. They are of considerable size, potentially requiring only a slice or two to top a piece of bread.
8. Pineapple tomato
Tomato Pineapple is a large, red and yellow heirloom American beefsteak-type tomato with a fruity and sweet taste. These plants require tomato cages and/or vertical stakes to support their indeterminate, long-vining growth and produce hefty fruits.
Kentucky possibly originated that open-pollinated heirloom tomato variety is the pineapple tomato. The fruit mainly has a yellow color with vertical red striping down the sides, making it an attractive large bicolor tomato with a blush of red.
9. Green Giant tomato
The Tomato Giant Green is an heirloom beefsteak-type tomato slicer that is known for its bright green color and intense flavor. These giant tomatoes have lots of thick, meaty pulp, and a few gel/seeds, making them perfect for enjoying on a slice of bread.
First to be introduced was Reinhard Kraft from Germany, potentially an open-pollinated heirloom tomato originating from Canada. Green Giant amazes and pleases with its exceptional flavor, a premium type.
10. German Johnson tomato
The Johnson German Tomato is a large, pink heirloom tomato slicer that originated in Germany. It is one of the parent varieties of the wildly popular Mortgage Lifter Tomato. This tomato has a sweet yet subtle taste.
11. Magnus tomato
Tomato Magnus, the heirloom tomato bred by Alexander Livingston of the Livingston Seed Company in late 1800s Ohio, is the perfect tomato for enjoying fresh, either right in the garden or on a sandwich. This classic heirloom tomato has a balanced yet sweet flavor. Tomato Magnus is a medium-sized, globe-shaped, pink tomato slicer.
12. Black Prince tomato
Tomato Prince Black is a medium-sized, round, brown globe-type tomato slicer that grows on indeterminate plants. These fruits are rich, juicy, and packed with a sweet and complex flavor.
Prince Black is an open-pollinated tomato variety developed in Irkutsk, Russia. It has a dark peel color, which adds a gorgeous touch to any culinary application, including sandwiches and other fresh dishes. (Reference: Tried & True Edible Plants)
13. Arkansas Traveler tomato
The Tomato Traveler Arkansas is a crack-resistant and reliable tomato slicer with medium-sized, pink, sweet-flavored tomatoes. These vines grow long and indeterminate.
Arkansas Traveler is an open-pollinated tomato variety bred by Joe McFerran of the University of Arkansas Horticulture Department (reference: University of Arkansas).
14. German Queen tomato
The Tomato Queen German is a large, pink, beefsteak-type tomato with an old-fashioned, sweet taste. These oblate/flattened tomatoes can easily be grown from 1-2 pounds per tomato, with a slice of bread covering the middle slice of tomato.
The German Monarch is a traditional tomato type from Germany that can be pollinated openly. These plants with potato-like leaves serve as an excellent alternative to Brandywine tomatoes in the garden (and may be slightly more sweet).
15. Caspian Pink tomato
The Tomato Pink Caspian is a large, indeterminate plant that grows similarly to other vining plants. Before ripening, some of these fruits are oblate-shaped and really giant beefsteaks. They have a sweet and balanced taste, reminiscent of old-fashioned slicer beefsteak-type tomatoes, and they are pink in color.
Pink Caspian is considered to be an heirloom open-pollinated tomato variety that originates from the region between the Black Sea and the northern Caspian Sea.
16. Eva Purple Ball tomato
The Ball Purple Eva Tomato is an open-pollinated variety of tomato. These tomatoes grow on long, indeterminate vines. They are round, medium-sized, and pink in color, with a sweet, old-fashioned taste.
17. German Pink tomato
The Pink German Tomato is a large, pink, beefsteak-type heirloom slicer tomato that grows on long, indeterminate vines. These tomatoes are flattened and big, and they have a sweet and full taste. They are perfect for cubed salads and delicious sandwiches.
18. Anna Russian tomato
The Russian Anna Tomato is an open-pollinated heirloom variety. It is a medium-sized, pink tomato with a sweet and full-bodied taste.
19. Porter tomato
Porter Tomato is an open-pollinated heirloom tomato from Texas. The fruits are slightly egg-shaped and known to grow well in hot climates (plants are indeterminate). The Porter Tomato is a small, pink globe-type tomato slicer with a sweet flavor.
Kosovo is a region in Southeastern Europe known for its wide range of tomato varieties, including heirloom and open-pollinated tomatoes. When it comes to sandwiches, make sure to try the Kosovo tomato, as they are often juicier than beefsteak-type tomatoes and have a meaty texture. The Kosovo Tomato is a large, pink, and old-fashioned tomato with a rich sweetness, similar to heirloom slicer oxheart-type tomatoes.
21. Ponderosa tomato
Ponderosa Tomato is an open-pollinated heirloom tomato variety. They take a long time to grow (they!). These tomatoes are late-season ripening and have an oblate/flattened shape. The Ponderosa Tomato is a large, pink, beefsteak-type heirloom slicer known for its old-fashioned classic sweetness.