Skip the bread and enjoy a bowl of this healthy Italian Sub Salad with salami, cold cuts and cheese, which takes the indulgence of an Italian hero served as a low-carb salad instead.
Italian Sub Salad
Whether you’re looking for a filling lunch, light dinner, or standout side, this Italian sub salad recipe delivers all the flavor without the bread. Also known as a “sub in a tub” or “chopped sub salad,” this easy salad offers a low-carb, protein- rich twist on the classic Italian grinder sandwich. It’s a light and hearty salad, perfect to make ahead for the week. More similar Italian salad recipes you may love are this Broccoli Sub Salad, Antipasto Salad, and Italian Chopped Salad.
Italian Sub Salad Ingredients
- Lettuce: Choose crisp iceberg or romaine lettuce as the base for this salad.
- High-Protein Toppings: Layer the salad with thinly sliced deli meats, such as turkey, Genoa salami, turkey pepperoni, and capicola
- Cheese: Incorporate a blend of part-skim mozzarella and provolone cheese, or choose one or the other.
- Vegetables: Add color and texture with cherry tomatoes, red onions, pepperoncini (or banana peppers), and black olives.
- Italian Sub Salad Dressing: Extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, Italian seasoning, minced garlic, kosher salt, and a splash of brine from the pepperoncini
How to Make an Italian Sub Salad
This Italian salad recipe is just two easy steps: make the dressing and put all the salad ingredients in a bowl!
- Italian Salad Dressing: Whisk oil, vinegar, Italian seasoning, garlic, salt, and pepperoncini brine in a small bowl.
- Make the Salad: Put all the Italian hoagie salad ingredients in a large bowl. Drizzle the vinaigrette over the salad when ready to eat and toss to coat.
Italian Salad Variations
- Meat: If you don’t have or like one of the meats, feel free to skip it and add more of another. Other meats you could use are deli ham, prosciutto, or soppressata.
- Vegetarian Italian Salad: Skip the meat and add a can of chickpeas for protein.
- Olives: Swap black olives for kalamata or green olives.
- Tomatoes: Substitute cherry tomatoes for sun-dried or grape tomatoes.
- Onions: Use pickled red onions.
- Cheese: Sub fresh mozzarella or shredded parmesan.
- Briny/Pickled Substitutions: Instead of pepperoncini, use jarred artichoke hearts or giardiniera, a mixture of pickled vegetables.
- Vegetables: Add more veggies, like cucumber or bell pepper.
- Herbs: Top your salad with fresh herbs, like basil or oregano.
What to Serve with an Italian Sub Salad
The high-protein salad contains a lot of protein from the cheese and meat, making it a satisfying meal. You could eat it with some Italian bread, like focaccia or ciabatta.
Meal Prep
This easy Italian sub salad recipe is great for meal prep.
- Chop all the ingredients.
- Store the meat, cheese, vegetables, and lettuce in separate containers.
- Make the salad dressing in a separate container.
- When ready to eat it, combine everything in one bowl with the lettuce and dig in!
Storage
If you keep the components of this chopped Italian sub salad separately, it’ll last for 4 days. If you have leftover salad with the dressing on, it’s best to eat it the day of, but you can store it in an airtight container for a day.
More Italian Salad Recipes You’ll Love
Italian Sub Salad
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1/2 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 1 clove minced garlic
- 1/4 tsp teaspoon kosher salt
- 8 cups chopped iceberg or romaine lettuce, chopped
- 6 ounces thin sliced turkey, chopped
- 2 ounces thin slices genoa salami, chopped from about 6 thin slices
- 3 ounces turkey pepperoni, chopped
- 2 ounces Capicola, chopped
- 1/3 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella & provolone mix, low moisture
- 1/3 cup cherry tomato, chopped
- 1/4 cup red onion, sliced
- 1/4 cup pickled pepperoncini or banana peppers, sliced (plus 1 tablespoon brine)
- 1/4 cup black olives, sliced
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk olive oil, vinegar, 1/2 tablespoon italian seasoning, garlic, salt and 1 tablespoon brine from pepperoncini.
- Add a large bowl add the lettuce, turkey, salami, pepperoni, capicola, cheese, tomato, red onion, pepperoncini and black olives.
- Drizzle in the dressing when ready to eat and toss to coat.
DELICIOUS! Tried this for the first time today for lunch. The flavors were amazing. The prep was easy. It’s light, filling and I don’t feel as I was missing out on anything. This will be a regular lunch meal prep.
This is great and very satisfying.
I made this last night for dinner as written (except for the onions – I am voluntarily allergic) . Best salad ever!!! Flavorful, filling, and very reminiscent of an Italian sub sans the bread! Although this was perfect for dinner, this would also work well for lunch. We will definitely will be making this again! Thank you for such a delicious recipe!
This was delicious, made exactly as written. Everyone enjoyed it and it made for a very tasty lunch for the week . Thank you Gina , we enjoy your recipes.
Thanks Terri!
Loved it! Super easy and quick to make, and very filling. Served this at lunch with meatballs for a low carb meal.
I had everything but the bread in this salad, and did not miss the bread. Yum. Will do this again.
I love this! I’ve made it several times and only sub garbanzo beans for the Capicola. I prep the meat into 4 small containers, then chop veggies in the morning and take it to work. Simple and delicious.
So great! Husband loved it!
Delicious!
Easy and yummy!
Easy & delicious!
This has all the taste of your favorite Italian sub in salad form. Soooo good!
Delish!!!
Soooo good! I used mild banana peppers and low sodium deli meat. And provolone cheese.
Loved the dressing! Having it again for a lunch tomorrow!
Perfect! Super satisfying- next best thing to actually eating a delish sub sandwich. I used our left over ham from Easter and turkey pepperoni. Will make this again!
Looks delicious and I am going to try this recipe and thank you
Easy, delish – keeper! Making it tomorrow for lunch again!
So delicious!! It completely satisfied my craving for a sub sandwich and I didn’t even miss the bread! I can’t wait to make it again.
Awesome!!
Delicious!! It really tastes like an Italian sub ( without roll)!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Delicious. Good for a summer evening
This recipe is so delicious!! It’s a little time consuming, but so worth it! Great for meal prepping lunch for the week!