Italian Grinder Salad (Italian Sub Salad)

Italian Grinder Salad is EASY to make, made with iceberg lettuce and cabbage chopped small and tossed with deli meat, tomatoes, red onion, and a tangy dressing that tastes just like an Italian sub!

This grinder salad is everything you love about an Italian sub sandwich (Italian grinder sandwich), but in salad form without the bread! It’s loaded with deli meat and provolone cheese, red onion, pepperoncini peppers, and veggies, with a tangy salad dressing of mayo, red wine vinegar, oregano, and spices. I like to make this as a meal prep (hold the dressing so it lasts longer), or pack it in the cooler for a beach day with a bag of tortilla chips. This recipe uses fresh simple ingredients, and from start to finish takes about 15 minutes to make, including chopping and mixing the dressing!

If you loved this recipe, you’ll also love my Pesto Pasta Salad!

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Tastes Like an Italian Sandwich! This salad has all of the salty, tangy flavors of your favorite Italian sub with the same sandwich ingredients, but low carb! That means all of the protein, and none of the bread. It’s sort of like an antipasto-style salad, but with deli sub sandwich flavors!

Feed a Crowd – This is perfect for summer parties or potlucks, because it’s big enough to feed a crowd! This salad is perfect for meat-lovers or anyone who loves Italian subs, with layers of crispy lettuce and plenty of Italian deli meats.

Ingredient Tips & Substitutions

Greens. This salad usually uses iceberg lettuce, just like a sub sandwich. I like to throw in some shredded cabbage, to bulk it up and add some fiber to the salad. Everything gets chopped into small pieces.

You can also use romaine lettuce or coleslaw mix.

Deli Meat. Use a combo of provolone cheese, pepperoni, deli ham, and salami to get that Italian sub flavor. You can also use capicola (capocollo, a spicy Italian ham), prosciutto, or mozzarella cheese.

Double check that the cold cuts you use are gluten free. This can vary depending on the brand.

Sub Toppings. I like to top mine with cherry tomatoes (grape tomatoes) and red onion. You can add any veggies you’d like here, like pickles or olives. Or use regular sliced tomatoes.

Pepperoncini. I’m adding sliced pepperoncini to the salad, and discarding the stems.

I’ve seen people add a tablespoon of the pepperoncini juice to the dressing, but I’m trying to reduce the sodium so I don’t use it.

Mayo. I like to use a light mayo, because it’s a salad and I want to keep it on the lighter side. If I was making this for a party, I’d use regular. You can also use a few tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil instead.

Red Wine Vinegar. This is what gives it that Italian sub flavor. You can also use apple cider vinegar, but the flavor will be a little different.

Seasoning. Oregano, black pepper, and garlic is all you need. I like the fresh garlic bite, so I use a whole clove in a garlic press. You can use garlic powder, too.

You can also just use Italian seasoning, or add a handful of red pepper flakes for heat.

Kitchen Tools

For this Italian grinder salad recipe you’ll need a large mixing bowl, cutting board, and a sharp knife.

How to Make an Italian Grinder Salad

Recipe Variations

• If you’d like a spicy version, use capicola instead of regular ham, and some red pepper flakes, pickled jalapeños, or sliced banana peppers.
• For a lighter version, use deli turkey or grilled chicken instead of salami, and turkey pepperoni instead of regular.
• Instead of deli ham, use mortadella for a more authentic sandwich flavor. Or throw some parmesan cheese in the dressing for flavor.
• For a vegetarian grinder salad, leave out the meat and use roasted red peppers, artichoke hearts, and black olives or kalamata olives.
• You can leave out the cabbage and use two heads of lettuce. Or use shaved Brussels sprouts instead of cabbage. Add other fresh vegetables like bell peppers, cucumbers, shredded carrots, or cauliflower.
• Add some cooked gluten free rotini pasta for an Italian grinder pasta salad!
• Use this to fill up a gluten free wrap or tortillas for a handheld version.
• For a bright flavor, add a splash of lemon juice to the dressing. Or a handful of chopped dill pickles.
• Make the dressing lighter by using plain greek yogurt instead of mayonnaise.

Recipe Tip! If you’re going to serve this later, put the dressing aside and toss it with the salad right before serving, to prevent the lettuce from getting soggy.

Frequently Asked Questions

Recipe Tip! Chop everything into small pieces to get a little bit of every flavor in each bite! We’re going for a chopped salad here.

More Salad Recipes

• Kale Quinoa Salad
• Roasted Beet Salad
• Creamy Cucumber Salad
• Amish Broccoli Salad

Storage

Refrigerate leftover Italian grinder salad for 1-2 days in an airtight container. After that, the lettuce can get soggy.

I don’t recommend freezing this grinder salad, the lettuce won’t defrost well.

Cooking Tips

• If your dressing separates while you’re making the rest of the salad, give it a quick whisk before adding it in.
• I don’t add extra salt to the dressing because we’re already using salty cold cuts, which has enough salty flavor by itself.
• If your lettuce is wet, use a salad spinner to get the excess water out. This will make the dressing watery as it sits.
• You can meal prep this ahead of time, just wait to add the dressing until just before you serve it. I use a big pair of tongs and just toss until it’s well combined.
• I recommend using a really big bowl to toss the salad together. Once it’s tossed with the dressing it calms down a bit, but this makes a lot.

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