This simple, delicious three-ingredient cream cheese and olive sandwich has become the latest old-fashioned recipe to capture everyone’s attention.
A few vintage sandwiches have gone viral this spring, with the first being the humble cucumber sandwich made with white bread and cream cheese. Millions watched and liked TikTok creator Amy Flanigan’s cucumber sandwich video, where she joked, “Do you really need a recipe for a cucumber sandwich? Yes. Yes, you do.” Hot on the heels of the cucumber sandwich is its close cousin: the cream cheese and olive sandwich.
Surprisingly, this sandwich didn’t gain fame through TikTok. Its resurgence is thanks to food writer Elazar Sontag, who wrote about it for Bon Appétit, inspired by a sandwich he tried at S&P, a revival of the classic New York lunch counter. Sontag noted, “I didn’t expect such a wave of nostalgia,” as he described his Instagram post about it, where people shared stories of their parents or grandparents making this dish.
What Is a Cream Cheese and Olive Sandwich, and How Do You Make It?
As the name suggests, it consists of just three ingredients: white bread, cream cheese, and pitted olives. Unlike an olive sandwich spread, this is a much simpler version.
To make it, take two slices of white bread and spread a generous layer of cream cheese on each. Chop a handful of pitted olives into small, pebble-sized pieces and sprinkle them over the cream cheese. Close the sandwich and cut it in half. Simple and classic.
TikTok creator Jim Behymer (@sandwichidiot), whose video praising the sandwich garnered over 325,000 views, summed it up best: “Sometimes it pays to just be simple.” He also touched on the nostalgic aspect of the sandwich, suggesting that for many people, “Nostalgia may be the secret fourth ingredient.”
We Tried It—and You Should, Too
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