I love this club sandwich with avocado and a quick lemon-garlic aioli for a 20-minute lunch (or sometimes dinner) and for get-togethers with friends as part of a bigger spread.

This triple-decker club sandwich features toasted bread, crispy bacon, turkey (or chicken), mashed avocado, iceberg lettuce, and tomato slices, all layered with the tangy aioli.

front cross-section view of three triangles of turkey club sandwich served on a white platter against a dark backdrop

Ingredients You’ll Need

To make this club sandwich, you’ll need the following ingredients:

overhead view of ingredients for club sandwich on a wooden chopping board

For each sandwich:

Bread – 3 slices of sandwich bread (you can pick your favorite, including farmhouse bread, multigrain, or seeded).
Bacon – 4 streaky smoked bacon slices
Turkey (or Chicken) – 3 deli turkey slices (about 2.5 oz). You can use chicken instead for a chicken club.
Tomatoes – 3-4 large tomato slices
Avocado – 1/2 large avocado
Mayo – 3 tbsp mayonnaise
Garlic – 1/4 large garlic clove
Lemon – a squeeze of lemon juice (just under 1 tsp) and zest from a quarter of a lemon
Iceberg Lettuce Leaves – 3-4 leaves, to taste
Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper, to taste.

Note: For 4 sandwiches, you’ll need 12 slices of bread, 16 streaky smoked bacon slices, 12 deli turkey (or chicken) slices (about 10 oz), 2 large tomatoes, 2 large avocados, 3/4 cup mayo, 1 large garlic clove, 1 tbsp lemon juice, zest from one lemon, iceberg lettuce leaves, salt and pepper to taste.

Prep

Rather than do the prep before starting the recipe, go to step 1 (cooking the bacon), and while the bacon is cooking, you have time to do all the prep below.

Aioli: To the mayo, add the minced garlic, lemon juice, lemon zest, and a pinch of salt & pepper. Mix until combined.
Tomato: Slice the tomato and season the slices with a pinch of salt and pepper.
Iceberg Lettuce: Separate the leaves, wash them, and pat them dry or use a salad spinner to dry them.
Avocado: Scoop up the avocado flesh and mash the avocado with a pinch of salt and pepper and a tiny squeeze of lemon juice (to keep the avocado vibrant green).
Bread: Toast the bread slices.

How to Make it (With Photos)

Step 1. The only cooking step before assembling the sandwich is cooking the bacon. I’ll be giving you two methods here: oven-baked and pan-cooked. The oven-baked method is my favorite, as you can get consistently great crispy bacon with minimal effort and clean-up.

Oven-Baked Bacon:

Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Add the bacon to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper/baking paper for easier cleanup. Cook the bacon in the oven until crispy (about 15-16 minutes). As all ovens are different, start checking after about 10 minutes and take it out when it’s done to your desired crispiness.

bacon rashers laid out on a baking tray before being cooked

The one pictured below took about 16 minutes.

overhead view of cooked bacon rashers for the club sandwich on a tray

Note: Just a small tip: If you want the bacon to stay flat, you can put some parchment paper on top and another baking sheet on top that would hold it down.

For the Pan/Skillet Method:

Add the bacon to a cold skillet. Put the pan on medium-low heat and cook, flipping it every 3-4 minutes until it’s cooked to your desired crispiness. You may need to use a splatter guard. If using a lid, set it slightly leaning on one side so the steam can escape.

close up of bacon rashers cooking in a pan

Step 2. Assemble the sandwich in this order:

To a toasted bread slice, add about a tablespoon of the aioli (lemon-garlic mayo).
Cover that with 2 iceberg lettuce leaves (more or less to taste)
Top the lettuce with the tomato slices.
Add the crispy bacon on top of the tomato slices.
Take the second toasted slice of bread and spread 1 tbsp of the aioli (half on each side), and place the bread slice on top of the bacon.
Top the bread slice with the turkey (or chicken).
Add the mashed avocado.
Top with iceberg lettuce leaves.
And finally, take the third slice of toasted bread, and spread a tablespoon of aioli, and place it on top of the lettuce.

overhead view of club sandwich assembled board with crispy bacon, lettuce, turkey slices, toasted bread, mayo, sliced tomatoes, and mashed avocado

top down view of club sandwich assembly showing the first slice being stacked next to two mayo and bread slices

second step of assembling the club sandwich showing the ingredients added to the second slice of bread and placed on top of the other slice, with one final mayo-covered slice remaining

Step 3. Serve it immediately.

side view of assembled club sandwich before it has been cut into quarters

You can cut it into four diagonally for a classic club sandwich presentation.

overhead view of club sandwich cut into four quarters on a white round plate

In addition to lunch, club sandwiches are great for parties. Below, you can see an idea for how to present them if hosting. You’ll need sandwich/cocktail picks to hold the pieces together. Put one in each of the four triangles of each sandwich. And then display them all on a big platter.

overhead view of two club sandwiches, each cut into four quarters, stacked together in a 2x4 formation on a white platter

This club sandwich is great for lunch, parties, or afternoon get-togethers with friends. If you make them and love them, let me know in a review below.

overhead angled front view of two club sandwiches cut into four quarters each, with the sandwiches displayed in a 2x4 formation on a white platter against a dark backdrop

If you love sandwiches in general, try some more of my sandwich and panini recipes, including this cranberry chicken salad sandwich, this smoked salmon burrata sandwich, this chicken ciabatta sandwich, and these nine panini recipes.

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