When you think of a sandwich, your mind probably travels to the humble PB&J on white bread, or a soggy bite containing a few pieces of deli meat, lettuce, and tomato. If you’re tired of the same old textureless sandwich bite, the viral $50 Trader Joe’s sandwich may be the next big trend for you to try.
What’s in the $50 Trader Joe’s sandwich?
Spending $50 on one sandwich seems unfathomable, but it’s actually much more reasonable once you break down all of the costs that add up to the grand total.
Jordan Lewis (@4grills4girls on TikTok) does a full rundown of the cost of each ingredient in his sandwich to show how easily all of the ingredients can add up, especially when they’re all bought from Trader Joe’s, which is not known for being the most affordable grocery store chain.
The sandwich starts with Roasted Tomato and Parmesan Focaccia Bread for $4.99.
For toppings, a bag of arugula costs $2.69, a package of mixed Italian deli meats — which contains both salami and prosciutto — costs $5.99, a package of rosemary ham costs $3.99, a container of bruschetta sauce costs $2.99, and burrata — which comes with two burrata balls — costs $4.99.
So far, with the focaccia bread, the total is already up to $25 — but we’re not done yet.
Now, for the sauces and seasonings. Basil Pesto Sauce costs $2.99, the Garlic Spread Dip costs $3.69 — some recipes choose to omit this ingredient, balsamic glaze costs $2.99, the Italian Bomba Hot Pepper Sauce costs $3.49, and Aglio Olio seasoning blend costs $2.49 — this is also optional. Now the total is about $41.
The most expensive component of Lewis’ shopping trip is the Truffle Oil Duo for $11.99, which comes with black truffle-infused olive oil and white truffle-infused olive oil. However, most people choose to buy the regular extra virgin olive oil from Trader Joe’s, which comes in a much bigger size for $10.99, like Margauxblair (@california_texan on TikTok), who also substitutes burrata with mozzarella in her video of making the viral sandwich.
For another cost-effective option, consider making your own focaccia bread, like @shlumss on TikTok.
It seems to be cheaper, and it also looks more delicious. The bread was actually steaming as they put the toppings onto it.
Also, if you have ingredients like balsamic glaze, olive oil, or some kind of burrata-adjacent cheese at home, you can save your money by not repurchasing the ingredients at Trader Joe’s to make this sandwich.
How do you make the viral $50 Trader Joe’s sandwich?
Assembling the sandwich is no easy feat, because this viral sandwich is no ordinary sandwich size — it’s huge. Emily Lam (@emilynlam on TikTok) demonstrates how she put together her sandwich.
She starts by cutting the entire focaccia bread in half before toasting it in the airfryer, since an untoasted sandwich can look a little sad. While her bread is toasting, she tosses arugula in extra virgin olive oil and adds salt, pepper, and lemon for acidity. Unlike Emily, some creators prefer to just toss the arugula in olive oil before putting it on the sandwich.
Once her bread is sufficiently toasted, she spreads pesto on one side of the bread and the Italian Bamba Hot Pepper Sauce on the other. “This is actually pretty spicy, so be careful with this,” she said about the calabrian chili sauce.
Next, the meat. Emily puts one layer of each meat in the Italian deli meat package, which contains salami and two types of prosciutto, according to her — that’s a three-meat sandwich.
She then tops the layer of meat with a bed of her arugula mix, one whole ball of burrata — some people use two — and a generous drizzle of balsamic glaze to finish.
“That’s actually really good,” she said after tasting it. “I’ll give it, like, a nine out of ten. But I will say, because we brought it to a picnic, the juices kind of got the bread soggy, so I would definitely eat it right away.”
Is the sandwich worth the hype?
The general consensus seems to align with Emily Lam’s opinion: the sandwich is definitely worth the hype.
Tara and Argenis Candelario (@thecandelarios on TikTok) posted a video of their reaction to tasting the viral sandwich for the first time.
“That is really good,” Tara said. “It’s a little spicy. We put a lot of habanero paste on it…I’m gonna have to complain to the chef.”
Argenis agreed with Tara’s sentiment, clearly enjoying every bite. “Ten out of ten,” he said. “No notes.”
“We waited three days for this bread and it was so worth it,” Tara said. “It’s worth it…the sandwich is absolutely incredible.”
I’m definitely skeptical about the notion of paying $50 for one sandwich, but the rave reviews don’t lie, and the sandwich looks tempting enough for me to consider dropping that much money on what will probably last for at least four meals based on the over-the-top portion size.