Paul McCartney's Favorite Sandwich Uses a Genius (Yet Horrifying) Trick

When you hear the name, “Paul McCartney,” you may not immediately think “sandwich.” While the singer of The Beatles is best known for his amazing voice and songwriting skills, it’s his take on a bagel sandwich that has sparked conversation. Apparently, McCartney, a vegetarian, slices his go-to bagel into thirds before layering on hummus and vegetables to build a perfect sandwich. This has us all wondering what happens to the discarded bagel?!

Intrigued to see if his sandwich was worth all of the buzz it created, I set out to try it—two-thirds of a bagel and all.

Behind the Paul-Wich

McCartney revealed his favorite sandwich during a 2021 interview with comedian Romesh Rangantha while on a promotional tour for "Linda McCartney’s Family Kitchen" cookbook. During their discussion, McCartney claimed that he “does a very good sandwich” and went on to explain his process. First, he cuts the bagel into thirds. If he’s feeding more, he’ll cut two bagels into thirds to make three sandwiches. To the bottom layer, he adds marmite and then covers it with lettuce. The lettuce, he explains, covers the hole preventing the next layer, hummus, from falling through it. Next, he adds a slice of cheese, a tomato slice, some pickles, an additional layer of lettuce, and then some honey mustard.

I Had to Try This Sandwich

I tried my best to find marmite, but apparently, it’s not in huge demand in Chicago. All of the other ingredients were easy to find, luckily, so I set off to try what sounded like a pretty delicious sandwich. I sliced my everything bagel into thirds and decided to remove the middle layer and use the remaining top and bottom half for my sandwich. I built it as instructed, minus the marmite, but heavy on the pickles. I was hungry and it looked delicious after construction.

I’m not a vegetarian, but I do love my vegetables, so this sandwich already sounded like a winner to me. I decided to go with plain hummus and dill pickles for neutrality. As for cheese, I used Colby Jack and I salted my tomato slice before adding it to my sandwich to bring out that big tomato flavor. It turned out to be a pretty big sandwich, so I was kind of glad I had removed that middle layer of bagel first.

I liked my first bite and all of the bites after. It was crisp, fresh, salty, and filling in the best way. It was also very wet, so eating over a plate and having a napkin nearby was definitely necessary. Overall, it was delicious and I would absolutely make it again. Next time I’ll make sure my pickles and tomatoes spend some time on a towel to soak up some moisture. I’d also like to play around with hummus flavors and other varieties of mustard. And maybe, if I’m really hungry, I’ll throw that middle slice of bagel back into the mix.