Baked Italian Grinder Sandwich

A side view of an Italian Grinder Sandwich on parchment paper.

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A total crowd pleaser, this Italian grinder is built on a loaf of French bread that's stuffed with deli cuts and cheese and baked until toasty. Then it's piled high with the most amazing crisp and creamy salad. Slice into individual sandwiches and devour!

Prep Time10

Cook Time20

Total Time30

Servings:

Calories: 842kcal

Ingredients

For the sandwich

1 french bread loaf 18 inches long
3 tablespoons softened butter
2 tablespoons grated parmesan
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 ounces ham thinly sliced
2 ounces thinly sliced pepperoni
2 ounces thinly sliced salami
4 ounces provolone cheese sliced

Grinder salad topping

8 ounces shredded lettuce
1/2 cup diced tomato
1/2 cup sliced pepperoncini peppers
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350˚F.
Cut the french bread loaf horizontally. Lay the halves on a baking sheet open side up.
Combine the butter, parmesan, garlic powder, and salt. Spread over the top half of the french bread loaf.
Layer the ham, pepperoni, and salami on the bottom half of the bread, then top with provolone cheese.
Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the garlic butter is melted and bubbly.
Optional: Broil for the last 1-2 minutes of the cook time to get extra browned crispy edges.
While the grinder sandwich bakes, make the grinder salad topping by whisking together the mayonnaise, red wine vinegar, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, and garlic powder to form a dressing.
Toss the lettuce, tomatoes, and peperoncini peppers together with the dressing.
Once the sandwich is done, add the grinder salad on top of the provolone and top with the garlic butter bread top. Cut into 4 large or 8 small, finger sized, sandwiches. Serve immediately.

Notes

Substitutions:

Sliced ham – If you prefer a different deli meat, you can substitute it with turkey, roast beef, or even chicken.
Provolone cheese – If you’re not a fan of provolone, you can use Swiss cheese, cheddar cheese, or mozzarella as a substitution.
Pepperoni or Salami – Other Italian cold cuts like sliced pastrami, corned beef, or any other cured deli meat will work as well.
Butter – You can use olive oil or a non-dairy butter substitute
Parmesan cheese – You can also use grated Pecorino Romano or a blend of Italian cheeses if you don’t have parmesan.

How to Scale: You can easily double the recipe if you need to feed a crowd, or even cut it in half to just feed a couple.

Nutrition