Italian Grinder Sandwich
An Italian Grinder Sandwich combines delicious Italian bread with a variety of meats, provolone cheese, and a zesty Italian dressing. Top this Italian hoagie with some shredded iceberg lettuce, tomato slices, and red onion. Our new favorite sandwich!
Grinder Sandwiches
You don’t have to travel to New York to enjoy the best sub sandwich in the universe! The best part is that you can enjoy this Italian grinder recipe in the comfort of your own home. A hot sandwich that will definitely make you swoon, I promise!
TikTok Viral Grinder Sandwich
No, this is NOT the viral sandwich that happened in 2022. It’s a bit similar but doesn’t include the mayonnaise-based dressing. Instead, the dressing is my classic salad dressing that I use on the Best Italian Chopped Salad and other salads as well. It is EXCELLENT on this sandwich!
If you want to try the TikTok recipe, all you need to do is make a simple salad dressing with mayonnaise, red wine vinegar, and Italian seasonings. It will be creamier than the one I use here.
Try our amazing Grinder Salad next! It combines similar ingredients sans bread and is topped with an amazing creamy grinder salad dressing.
What You’ll Need:
- A long roll (about one pound or a little larger) – I made a homemade Italian Herb Bread for this recipe and it is worth the extra work! But if you aren’t a bread baker, use your favorite hoagie roll or French bread. I don’t recommend a crusty bread for this one as I think something softer works better.
- Italian meats – I used a combo of salami, capocollo, mortadella, prosciutto, and ham. Use additional cold cuts if desired.
- Cheese – Provolone cheese is the preferred cheese for an Italian grinder sandwich recipe. Swiss cheese would also be nice.
- Condiments – Any combo of crunchy lettuce, tomatoes, red onion, banana peppers, pepperoncini peppers, and black olives.
- Italian Dressing – While store-bought is ok, I love making my own dressings. It’s just a simple mixture of olive oil, red wine vinegar, dijon mustard, sugar, and seasoning (oregano, garlic powder, red pepper flakes, salt, and black pepper).
How to make the best Italian Sub:
Step 1
Make dressing. Combine the salad dressing ingredients in a mason jar and shake well. If you have fresh herbs, you might want to include some in this dressing.
I normally make a double batch of the dressing (pictured below) to add to salads or for an additional sub sandwich.
Step 2
Prepare bread. Slice the sub roll in half the long way so that it opens up. Place on a baking sheet prepared with parchment paper.
Step 3
Add dressing and cheese. Brush some of the dressing on each side of the bread. Then add the cheese slices on both sides as well.
Step 4
Bake. Place the sheet pan in a preheated 350-degree oven and bake until the cheese is melted, about 12-15 minutes.
Step 5
Add meats. Then add the Italian meats to the bottom half of the bread. You can place the pan back in the oven here to warm meats or not. Either way works well.
Step 6
Add toppings. Sprinkle the condiments on top of the baked deli meats. Add a sprinkle of Italian Seasoning, if desired.
Step 7
Add the top bun to the sandwich. Then combine the halves to form a giant sub sandwich!
P.S. This makes a really nice presentation for any event – game day, happy hour, fun with friends, etc!
Step 8
Slice. Slice the hot submarine sandwich into about six thick slices.
Step 9
Serve. Serve this deli sandwich with potato chips of your choice and some extra creamy Italian dressing for good measure!
Other Delicious Sandwich Recipes:
Recipe FAQs
It’s been said that the “grinder” name initially came from the tough Italian bread used to make the sandwich, which you would have to “grind” your teeth through.
A grinder is also called a submarine sandwich, a sub, hoagie, hero, Italian, wedge, or a spuckie. It is a type of American cold or hot sandwich.
A classic grinder sandwich can be served either hot or cold, depending on personal preferences.
Kitchen Tools Used: (affiliate links)
xoxo ~Sue
Italian Grinder Sandwich
Ingredients
- 1 pound Italian herb bread (or bread of your choice) – my homemade Italian Herb Bread is great!
- 2.5 oz. salami – sliced thin
- 2.5 oz. capocollo – sliced thin
- 2.5 oz. mortadella – sliced thin
- 2.5 oz. prosciutto – sliced thin
- 4 oz. ham
- 4 oz. provolone cheese – sliced thin
- tomatoes, iceberg lettuce, and red onion
Italian Dressing:
I often double this dressing to have for extra sandwiches or salads.
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoons dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper – to taste
Instructions
- Make dressing. Combine the salad dressing ingredients in a mason jar and shake well.
- Prepare bread. Slice the sub roll in half the long way so that it opens up. Place on a baking sheet prepared with parchment paper.
- Add dressing and cheese. Brush some of the dressing on each side of the bread. Then add the cheese slices on both sides as well.
- Bake. Place the sheet pan in a preheated 350 degree oven and bake until the cheese is melted, about 12-15 minutes.
- Add meats. Then add the Italian meats to the bottom half of the bread. You can place the pan back in the oven here to warm meats or not. Either way works well.
- Add toppings. Sprinkle the condiments on top of the baked deli meats. Add a sprinkle of Italian Seasoning, if desired.
- Add the top bun to the sandwich. Then combine the halves to form a giant sub sandwich! Slice the hot submarine sandwich in about six thick slices.
- Serve. Serve this deli sandwich with potato chips of your choice and some extra creamy Italian dressing for good measure!
I made your homemade Italian Bread and used it for this sandwich. It was a big hit in this house! The grinder sandwich was huge and we were able to get a couple of meals out of it. The kids said they liked this way better than a Subway sandwich!
Yay! So happy to hear this!
Now that is a sandwich! I love submarine sandwiches.
Yes to this!