Grilled Reuben

The classic Reuben sandwich gets a healthy makeover!

By: Jodie Shield, RDN

Reubens are the ultimate lunch or dinner comfort food. I love everything about this savory, corned beef-and- rye bread sandwich except the calories! The average deli Reuben piles on over 600 calories, not to mention an excess of greasy fat and salt overload. When I saw that Cooking Light featured a Reuben Sandwich makeover, I just had to give it a try. Overall it was really good, but I made a few changes to trim cooking time and cost. While they baked their Reuben sandwiches in the oven, I thought the bread got too crispy. So, I came up with a much easier stovetop recipe that takes only minutes to make. Cooking Light’s homemade dressing was so much better than store-bought Thousand Island dressing. One caveat: it made way too much, so slather on a teaspoon or two and store the rest in the refrigerator. The star ingredients in a Rueben sandwich – corned beef, Swiss cheese, and sauerkraut – are notoriously salty. Cooking Light used reduced-sodium corned beef, but it was rather pricy. My recommendation is to go ahead and use the original versions of these ingredients and cut back on the salty sides like potato chips and soup. For more lightened up sandwiches try my BBQ Pork, Sloppy-O-Joes, Italian Grilled Cheese, and Deli Chicken Salad. All of these recipes are on also on my new Free app Eat Healthy Homemade Meals which you can download from iTunes and GooglePlay.

Grilled Reuben 

2 Servings

Prep Time = 5 minutes

Cooking Time = 10 minutes

Ingredients:

1/4 cup olive oil mayonnaise

1 tablespoon ketchup

2 teaspoons pickle relish

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

½ teaspoon onion, finely chopped

4 teaspoons unsalted butter

4 slices (1-ounce) pumpernickel or rye bread

1½ ounces Swiss cheese

2 ounces lean corned beef, thinly sliced

½ cup sauerkraut, drained well

Steps:

• To prepare dressing, combine mayonnaise, ketchup, pickle relish, Worcestershire sauce, and onion in small bowl, stir until well combined. Set aside or store in refrigerator if made ahead.
• Preheat large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.
• Spread one teaspoon of butter on each slice of bread. Divide the cheese, corned beef, and sauerkraut evenly over two slices rye bread. Spread dressing over each sandwich half; top with remaining bread slice.
• Add sandwiches to skillet and cook about 4 minutes each side, flipping once.

Nutritional Information per Serving (1sandwich with 1 teaspoon dressing): 384 calories, 11 grams protein, 41 grams carbohydrate, 19 grams fat, 10 grams saturated fat, 39 milligrams cholesterol, 3 grams fiber, 680 milligrams sodium

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