How to make the best sub sandwich? Lots of flavors, textures, and LOADED up. And this Grinder Sandwich Recipe checks all of the boxes. Deli meats, with provolone and a creamy salad mixture piled high on a thick Italian loaf. Are you drooling yet?!
About this Sandwich
If you are on social media, I’m sure you’ve seen this Grinder Salad Sandwich viral recipe by now. It seems as though everyone and their mom has tried it, so I had to jump on the train.
What is a Grinder Sandwich you’re asking? A grinder is also known as a sub, hoagie, hero, Italian, grinder, wedge, or a spucki. And this Grinder salad sandwich is essentially the same ingredients you’d find on an Italian sub with various meats, but with an additional creamy salad made of crunchy lettuce and onions that gets loaded onto a hoagie bun or French bread for the most epic sandwich. I actually chose to chop everything up into salad (like this Pizza Night Salad) before loading it up onto the bread and it was an amazing choice.
Think Italian Sub meets chopped salad and have a child. Chopping up the creamy grinder salad before adding it to the crusty bread ensures that you get flavor from every ingredient in each bite.
And if you’re looking for more sandwiches to try, I think you’d also love this Panera Chicken Salad Sandwich, this Turkey Avocado Sandwich, or this Turkey Reuben, too!
Recipe Ingredients
- Meat – Turkey Slices, Pepperoni, and Salami
- Cheese – I used provolone cheese. A classic on an Italian sandwich.
- Peppers – Banana peppers or pepperoncini peppers pack in a TON of flavor.
- Shredded Iceberg Lettuce – Shredded lettuce gives this salad a fresh crunch. Don’t try to use romaine, it’ll easily get too soggy.
- Dressing – Avocado, mayo, and red wine vinegar create the creamy dressing.
- Spices – Salt, pepper, garlic, and optional, chili flakes for good measure.
See the grinder sandwich recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Substitutions and Variations
- Meat: Try adding any of your favorite cold cuts in addition or in substitution. Some suggestions: ham, prosciutto, Capocollo, roast beef or chicken if you wish.
- Cheese: Instead or in addition to provolone, try Colby Jack, Pepper Jack, mozzarella, and/or grated parmesan cheese.
- Veggies: Add green olives, thinly sliced cucumber, roasted red peppers, fresh bell peppers, or marinated artichokes would be tasty chopped into the salad.
- Dressing: The mayo, vinegar, and avocado create the creamy dressing covering this salad, but additional Italian dressing, more vinegar, mustard, a pinch of red pepper flakes or italian seasoning may also be welcomed to add some zing.
How to Make This Recipe
1. Stack the sliced turkey, provolone cheese, salami and pepperoni on a cutting board. Dice the stack into even squares and put into a large mixing bowl.
2. Add the sliced onions, tomatoes, banana peppers, and lettuce onto the same cutting board. Chop until everything is well diced. I like to dice the cherry tomatoes and onion prior to ensure they’re small enough.
3. Pour the chopped vegetables into a large bowl. Toss. Add in the mayo, red wine vinegar, seasoning, and diced avocado. Toss again until everything is well coated.
4. Add the chopped grinder salad into four hoagie buns or one long roll for a large sandwich. Serve with chips! Enjoy!
Expert Tips
- For easy chopping, lay all of the salad ingredients on your cutting board, and use a pizza cutter and quickly drive it over all of the ingredients to finely chop everything.
- So the onion isn’t so bitter, let the slices soak in water before chopping up into the salad.
- Serving a crowd? Make one giant sandwich on crusty large Italian bread, cut into smaller slices so it’s easier to grab a piece.
Recipe FAQs
This sandwich is best served just after assembly. If you attempt to save it, it’s likely to get soggy. If you do want to do some of the prep in advance, you can chop up all of the salad ingredients, leaving out the avocado and mayo. Store the salad mix in an airtight container, then mix with the mayo and dressing and add to your bread when ready to enjoy.
If you plan to make ahead for a lunch on the go (the longest I’d suggest storing for), assemble the sandwich in the morning and wrap in plastic wrap as tight as possible so the deli sandwich doesn’t fall apart.
For an epic sandwich, you need GOOD bread. The TikTok Grinder sub uses focaccia, which is a great choice, but reach for a crusty French baguette or hoagie roll as other tasty options.
Gray Fultz @ohheyimgray on TikTok posted the original Grinder Sandwich video that everyone is obsessed with (for a good reason, it looks ridiculously amazing), but her boyfriend is actually the one making the sub in the video.
More Recipes You’ll Love
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Grinder Sandwich {TikTok Viral Recipe}
Equipment
- Cutting Board
- Knife
- large bowl
- Tongs
- measuring cups / spoons
Ingredients
- 1 lbs sliced turkey
- 1/3 lbs sliced pepperoni
- 1/3 lbs sliced salami
- 6 slices provolone cheese
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes
- 1 small red onion
- 2 cups shredded iceberg lettuce
- 1/2 avocado
- 2 tbsp lite mayo
- 1-2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1/2 tsp garlic, salt, pepper seasoning
- 4 hoagie rolls , or one large
Instructions
- Stack the sliced turkey, provolone cheese, salami and pepperoni on a cutting board. Dice the stack into even squares and put into a large mixing bowl.
- Add the sliced onions, tomatoes, banana peppers, and lettuce onto the same cutting board. Chop until everything is well diced. I like to dice the cherry tomatoes and onion prior to ensure they’re small enough.
- Pour the chopped vegetables into a large bowl. Toss.
- Add in the mayo, red wine vinegar, seasoning, and diced avocado. Toss again until everything is well coated.
- Add the chopped grinder salad into four hoagie buns or one long roll for a large sandwich. Serve with chips! Enjoy!
Nutrition
Video
Notes
Looking for this in MyFitnessPal?
If you’re using MyFitnessPal, search ‘A Paige Of Positivity’ and find Grinder Sandwich calories and nutrition facts. Disclaimer: for most accurate macronutrients and caloric breakdown, it is recommended that you input each ingredient into your MyFitnessPal food diary.
I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below. It’s my passion to create dishes that can be shared with others. Tell me something you loved or just say hi!
My fiance wanted me to make something like this and this recipe was perfect! Such a staple for lunch — we love to have it on hand.
I made it the first time as written and ate the leftovers just as salad. So tasty!
Sorry but that’s not a grinder. You put a salad on a piece of bread.
This was such a crowd pleaser and favorite for my entire family. Everyone agreed the flavor was amazing! We will definitely be making this again! Easy to substitute dairy free cheese and use a bun of your choice
makin this for a potluck this weekend. Going to bet it’s the first dish gone.
I wasn’t expecting to love this as much as I do and now I’m obsessed with it!