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This Chopped Italian Sandwich recipe is a TikTok trend craze that is actually worth every bite! Everything you love about a classic Italian sub sandwich – like ham, pepperoni, salami, provolone cheese, and a delicious seasoned salad – but all chopped up to match this crazy trend of the popular ‘grinder sub’.
Viral Chopped Italian Sandwich Recipe (Italian Grinder Sandwich Recipe)
I am not on Tik Tok, but boy do I love these fun social media recipes that seem to be erupting everywhere because of it! This viral sensation is actually one that no one should sleep on. It’s an Italian sandwich sensation with Italian meats, provolone cheese, and then a creamy grinder salad – everything gets ‘chopped up’ and you basically have a giant Italian salad that creates these delicious chopped Italian sub sandwiches.
The beauty of this sandwich is that everything gets combined and chopped together in a bowl (or cutting board) and then you simply fill each hoagie roll or Italian sub rolls with it. No more layering of meats, sauces, toppings, etc. Just chop and fill! Each bite is the perfect bite because you get a little bit of everything in it!
Simple Ingredients Needed To Make Grinder Sandwiches
- Shredded Lettuce – You will find a bag of shredded iceberg lettuce in the produce section of the store by the other bagged salad mixes. If measuring from a larger bag, or if you’re chopping lettuce from a head, it’s equal to 3 cups of chopped/shredded lettuce.
- Provolone Cheese – Get some fresh slices from the deli counter or buy pre-sliced packages from the cheese section.
- Ham, Pepperoni, Salami – These are the cold cuts that you’ll need for this recipe. I recommend using fresh sliced deli counter meat, but you can buy the packaged stuff as well. You only need 5 slices of each meat so I always just ask for that exact number of slices from the deli counter and it’s usually pretty cheap – but tastes much better than the pre-packaged lunch deli meat.
- Tomato Slices – Use one large slicing tomato, or two to three smaller tomatoes, for this recipe.
- Red Onion – You’ll only use half of the red onion.
- Banana Peppers – These come in a larger jar so you will have leftovers to make this recipe again!
- Mayonnaise – I recommend using full fat mayo for the best thick texture and flavor. Lite mayo tends to have more water in it which might make the grinder salad not as thick and creamy.
- Olive Oil – I use extra virgin ‘light tasting’ olive oil. My family prefers it’s much milder flavor compared to regular olive oil.
- Red Wine Vinegar
- Italian Seasoning
- Kosher Salt & Black Pepper
- Hoagie Buns or Rolls, Sub Sandwich Bread, French Bread, Crusty Italian Bread – Use your favorite bread here! You can serve the entire chopped salad onto French bread and then cut it into smaller sandwiches, or serve it inside 4 sub rolls or also called grinder rolls.
How To Make an Italian Grinder Salad Sandwich (Step-by-Step Directions & Full Recipe Card)
Place the shredded lettuce, provolone cheese, ham, pepperoni, salami, tomato, red onion, and banana peppers onto a large cutting board. You can also put it all inside a large mixing bowl and use a salad chopper to chop it all up. Use a knife to chop all the ingredients together on the cutting board, until you get bite-sized pieces.
Top the mixture with the mayonnaise, oil, vinegar, Italian seasoning, salt & pepper. Chop the mixture again until all the ingredients are well combined.
Evenly divide the mixture between 4 sub rolls or grinder rolls. You can also serve the entire chopped salad onto French bread (cut in half lengthwise) and then cut into smaller sandwiches.
Serving Suggestions For This Chopped Sandwich
Serve these Italian sandwiches on your favorite sub sandwich bread. Use sub sandwich rolls, hoagie rolls, grinder rolls, crusty bread for a sandwich, or use a loaf of French bread and make a giant chopped Italian sandwich to feed a crowd. One recipe will fit on the French bread so if you want more servings then you will want to double the recipe to make two French bread sandwiches.
Can I Make This Recipe Ahead of Time?
No, I don’t recommend making this ahead of time. Because we are chopping everything together, including the lettuce and the wet ingredients, the mixture will get soggy very quickly. It’s best to make this recipe right before serving it. Leftovers don’t store well so plan on eating them all!
What Are Some Changes or Variations I Can Make?
- Add Italian Dressing : A popular addition to this recipe is to add some Italian salad dressing in with the mayo and other ingredients. This will provide tons of extra flavor (which I don’t feel is needed) and it will make the mixture more wet. Which some people like that wet and creamy sandwich texture, so if you do, then add 1-2 tablespoons of Italian salad dressing in with the mix.
- Black Olives : Add whole or sliced black olives to switch it up.
- Pepperoncini Peppers : These are similar to the banana peppers but have a slight kick to them. You will find them in jars near the other pepper and olive varieties.
- Chop It Up In a Large Bowl : Instead of a cutting board and knife, add all the ingredients into a large bowl and use a salad chopper or kitchen scissors to chop it up.
- Deli Meats : Instead of ham try using turkey or roast beef. My family prefers turkey so I usually always use it instead of ham in this recipe. If you want more of a meat-heavy sandwich then add additional sliced meat like roast beef, turkey, or some of all 3 of them. The pepperoni, salami, and ham can all be replace with whatever sliced meat you want.
- Chopped Lettuce : Use a bag of shredded iceberg lettuce or buy a head of your favorite variety and chop it up – green leaf lettuce, romaine lettuce, etc. You will need 3 cups of chopped lettuce for this recipe.
- Cheese : Use any sliced cheese you prefer. Other good options are sliced mozzarella cheese, Swiss cheese, parmesan cheese, or havarti cheese.
Tips For Making The Viral Italian Chopped Sandwiches
- Use a Sharp Knife : It’s important to use a sharp knife so you can easily chop up all the ingredients into bite-sized pieces. You could also try using a salad chopper instead of a knife. It’s easiest to use a mixing bowl if using the salad chopper.
- Make It Right Before Serving : Make this chopped salad mixture right before you plan on serving it. Because everything is mixed together, the lettuce and the wet ingredients, it does not store well and will go soggy.
More TikTok Viral Recipes You’ll Love
- Chocolate Covered Strawberry Clusters
- Blueberry Clusters
- Donut Cake Pops
- TikTok Boursin Pasta Recipe
- Tik Tok Cinnamon Rolls
- Chicken Cobbler
Chopped Italian Sandwich (TikTok Viral Italian Grinder Recipe)
Ingredients
- 1 bag (8 oz) shredded iceberg lettuce (about 3 cups)
- 6 slices provolone cheese
- 5 slices ham
- 5 slices pepperoni
- 5 slices salami
- 1 large tomato sliced
- 1/2 red onion (thinly sliced in half moon shapes)
- 1/4 cup banana peppers
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1½ teaspoons Italian seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt (or more to taste)
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Place the shredded lettuce, provolone cheese slices, ham, pepperoni, salami, tomato slices, red onion, and banana peppers onto a large cutting board* You can also add them to a large bowl if needed, and use kitchen scissors or a salad chopper to chop.1 bag (8 oz) shredded iceberg lettuce, 6 slices provolone cheese, 5 slices ham, 5 slices pepperoni, 5 slices salami, 1 large tomato, 1/2 red onion, 1/4 cup banana peppers
- Chop up all the ingredients with a sharp knife until you get bite-sized pieces.
- Add the mayonnaise, olive oil, red wine vinegar, Italian seasoning, salt, and paper to the top of the chopped mixture.1/4 cup mayonnaise, 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar, 1½ teaspoons Italian seasoning, ¼ teaspoon kosher salt, ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- Chop and mix everything together until the ingredients are well combined.
- Spoon the mixture inside hoagie buns, sub rolls, or whatever other 'sandwich' or 'sub' bread you want.
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Notes
Nutrition
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