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About This Recipe
You might have seen all the social media craze on Tik Tok over the viral Italian grinder sandwich salad and if you have you know how yummy it looks. Well now you can make your own at home in just 15 minutes!
This viral recipe is packed with tons of flavor, protein and most importantly, deliciousness!
The best part of this recipe? It’s totally customizable. Use different meats, cheese, or veggies to make this recipe your own. Enjoy as a low carb salad, or add to your favorite crusty bread for a delicious chopped grinder sandwich!
Add a side of healthy macaroni salad or fruit salad for an easy, complete meal or eat classic style with some chips!
For more protein packed sandwiches try my high protein bacon turkey bravo, chicken caesar wrap or grilled chicken cool wrap!
Why You’ll Love This Chopped Sub Salad
- One of my favorite viral Tiktok recipes for good reason! A super easy, flavorful recipe you can make in just 15 minutes!
- Enjoy as a hearty salad or make into a grinder sandwich
- Higher protein and lower fat than traditional Italian subs
- Easily customizable. Use your favorite cold cuts, cheeses, or toppings.
- Made with simple ingredients that are easy to find at your local grocery store.
- Deli Turkey – make sure to use good quality sliced deli turkey. I love Boar’s Head.
- Turkey pepperoni – I used turkey pepperoni to help keep fat down a little bit but you can use regular pepperoni, salami, or meat of choice!
- Provolone cheese – you can also use white American cheese, cheddar, colby jack, etc.
- Cherry tomatoes – can also use grape tomatoes or regular diced tomatoes.
- Banana peppers – the sliced mild banana pepper rings in a jar.
- Red onion – red onion is classic for a grinder sandwich but you can use a yellow onion if you are in a pinch.
- Mayonnaise – I used light mayo but regular mayo works too. You could also sub with plain Greek yogurt if you prefer.
- Yellow mustard – yellow mustard is best but dijon mustard works too if it’s all you have on hand.
- Red wine vinegar – can sub for apple cider vinegar or distilled vinegar in a pinch.
- Italian seasoning – the Italian seasoning is perfect for this sub and is what brings all the yummy flavors together!
- Iceberg lettuce – or any other chopped lettuce or greens of your preference.
- Hoagie rolls – for serving this chopped salad, or you can eat it straight up!
- Switch up the types of meat! Use ham, chicken, salami, roast beef, etc.
- Use a different type of cheese! Sub the provolone for cheddar, American, colby jack, gouda, etc.
- Add extra veggies like avocado, carrots, bell peppers, etc!
- Use a different dressing! Customize the dressing to your preference or use your favorite store-bought!
How To Make
The full printable recipe is below, but let me walk you through the process so you know what to expect when you’re making it!
1. Prepare the ingredients. Chop the turkey, pepperoni and cheese into small pieces. Halve the tomatoes and chop the red onion and banana pepper rings.
2. Add the ingredients to a large mixing bowl (all except the lettuce, see notes).
3. Toss to combine. *Note: If prepping sandwiches individually I would add the lettuce right before serving so it stays crunchy and fresh. If serving for a crowd you can go ahead and mix it in.
4. Enjoy as a salad or serve in a hoagie roll with condiments of choice.
Store leftover chopped salad in an airtight container in the fridge.
For best results, keep shredded lettuce separate so it’s fresh longer.
Mixed with lettuce and stored in an airtight container, this chopped grinder salad will stay fresh for 1-2 days. Without lettuce it will be good for 4-5 days.
Meal Prepping?
To keep the salad crisp and fresh, add the lettuce right before serving. This prevents the lettuce from getting soggy and keeps this salad fresh all week!
Do I have to use deli turkey for this recipe?
You can use any deli meat or protein you like. Switch up the meat and use deli ham or chicken instead of turkey. You can also use salami, roast beef, regular chicken, etc!
What is a grinder sandwich?
A grinder is the New England slang for a submarine sandwich. These subs are typically served on crusty Italian bread that are hard to chew, hence “grinding” to eat the sandwich. They are typically filled with a variety of deli meats, cheese, shredded lettuce, a variety of thinly sliced vegetables, peppers, and red wine vinegar.
How do I keep my grinder sandwich / chopped sub salad from getting soggy?
Add lettuce to the grinder salad right before serving (don’t mix it in with everything else unless you are serving to a crowd right away). This will keep the lettuce from getting soggy.
Did you make this? If you snap a photo, please be sure leave a review, tag me on Instagram or TikTok at @LaurenFitFoodie or hashtag #LaurenFitFoodie so I can see your creations!
Viral Italian Grinder Sandwich (Chopped Sub Salad)
Ingredients
- 1 lb. good quality sliced deli turkey
- 6 oz. turkey pepperoni
- 4 oz. provolone cheese chopped
- 3/4 cup cherry tomatoes (100g) halved
- 1/2 cup mild banana pepper rings (80g) chopped
- 1/2 cup red onion (80g) chopped
- 1/2 cup light mayonnaise (120g)
- 2 Tbsp yellow mustard (30g)
- 2 Tbsp red wine vinegar (30g)
- 1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 8 oz. shredded Iceberg lettuce*
- Hoagie rolls optional for serving
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Instructions
- Prepare ingredients. Chop the turkey, pepperoni and cheese into small pieces. Halve the tomatoes. Chop the red onion and banana pepper rings.
- Add all the ingredients (except the lettuce) to a large mixing bowl and toss to combine. *Note: If prepping sandwiches individually I would add the lettuce right before serving so it stays crunchy and fresh. If serving for a crowd you can go ahead and mix it in.
- Enjoy as a salad or serve in a hoagie roll with condiments of choice.
Equipment
- Vegetable chopper optional
Notes
This recipe is gluten-free as written. If using salad recipe to make hoagies, just be sure to use gluten-free hoagie rolls. To make dairy-free: use dairy-free cheese (or omit).
Nutrition Information
Nutrition is hand-calculated and accurate. No autocalulations! However, note that values can vary based on the brands you use and if you substitute ingredients.
