As you probably know, April is National BLT Month, so unwrap your bacon and get ready to give some honor to this celebration-worthy food holiday! The BLT is specifically defined as a favorite American sandwich made with strips of cooked bacon, iceberg lettuce and sliced tomatoes, placed onto toasted white bread spread with mayo. The recipes below take these traditional BLT ingredients and put a bit of a spin on them.  

How to Make Perfect Bacon Every Time:

First things first, line a rimmed baking sheet with heavy-duty foil.  Place a cooling rack over the baking sheet and place bacon strips onto the rack.  Place baking sheet with bacon onto the center rack of a cold oven.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees F., cooking bacon for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown, rotating pan halfway through cooking time.  

• Starting the bacon in a cold oven allows the bacon to warm up and cook right along with the oven, giving you perfectly flat, picture-perfect bacon strips.
• The cooling rack allows for great circulation around the bacon.
• The foil makes for super easy clean up.
• Using the oven keeps all the mess contained.

1. Breakfast BLT

Make the traditional BLT, but add a fried egg, slivers of your favorite cheddar cheese and avocado slices before grilling to perfection on your favorite cast iron griddle. 

2. BLT Bruschetta with Chipotle Mayo Spread 

• 1 cup diced tomatoes, juices and seeds drained
• ½ cup shredded leaf lettuce
• ¼ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• 1 Tbs. olive oil
• 1 Tbs. balsamic vinegar
• 2 tsp. bacon salt
• Toasted baguette slices

Chipotle Mayo Spread

• ½ cup mayonnaise
• ¼ cup Ranch dressing
• adobo sauce or chipotle sauce, to taste

Combine all sauce ingredients in a small bowl until smooth.  In a medium bowl, combine tomatoes, lettuce, parmesan, oil, vinegar and bacon salt. Spread baguette slices with prepared chipotle mayo spread, then top with prepared tomato mixture. Best served at room temperature.   

3. LCBLT Lettuce Wraps (Low-Carb BLT Lettuce Wraps)

• cooked bacon strips
• thinly sliced tomato
• romaine lettuce leaves
• mayo
• kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Spread each lettuce leaf with a generous slather of mayo; season to taste with salt and pepper, then top with bacon, tomatoes….and more bacon. Fold lettuce leaf in half lengthwise and eat taco-style.  

4. BLT Pizza-Pizza

• ½ cup mayo
• ½ tsp. granulated garlic
• ½ tsp. granulated onion
• 2 tsp. Italian seasoning
• 1 large prepared par-baked pizza crust
• 12 sliced bacon, cooked until crispy, crumbled
• ½ cup shredded sharp cheddar
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella
• 2 cup shredded leaf lettuce
• 1 pint grape tomatoes, cut in half lengthwise 

In a small bowl, combine mayo with spices; spread prepared mayo mixture over pizza crust. Sprinkle all but ¼ cup of bacon of crumbled bacon over mayo, then top with cheeses. Bake in preheated 425 degree F. oven for 20-25 minutes.  Remove pizza from oven and sprinkle with lettuce and tomatoes; slice and serve.  

5. Creamy Crispy BLT Dip

• 12 slices bacon, cooked until crispy and crumbled
• 16 oz. cream cheese (may use low fat)
• ¾ cup sour cream
• 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar
• 1 ½ cups shredded mozzarella
• 1 Tbs. spicy brown mustard
• 1 tsp. Italian seasoning
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1-2 cups diced tomatoes
• 2 cups shredded iceberg lettuce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Spray a large baking dish with nonstick spray.  In a bowl, combine cream cheese, sour cream, cheeses, Italian seasoning, garlic and 1/3 cup of crumbled bacon; season to taste with salt and pepper.  Spread prepared mixture evenly into the sprayed baking dish; bake, uncovered, on center rack of oven, for 28-30 minutes, or until hot and bubbly throughout.  Remove dip from oven and sprinkle with lettuce, tomatoes, and remaining crumbled bacon.  Serve warm with baguette slices, crackers or pita chips.