Irresistible Keto Italian Sub Salad Recipe – A Deconstructed Delight You Can't Miss!

This article explores a delightful and healthy twist on the classic Italian sub sandwich: the Keto Italian Sub Salad. This recipe captures all the iconic flavors and textures of the original but served in a bowl, ditching the carb-heavy bread. It's a well-rounded, quick, easy, and flavor-packed dish that's perfect for anyone looking for a satisfying, low-carb meal.

What is Italian Sub Salad?

This dish is synonymous with an Italian grinder salad, inspired by the grinder sandwich, typically filled with various cured meats, cheese, vegetables, and Italian dressing. The keto Italian sub salad is a deconstructed version of a classic Italian sub sandwich without the bread! It's a great way to indulge in the flavors you love without the extra carbs! The mix of proteins, healthy fats, and fibrous vegetables in this chopped sub salad will keep you satiated!

Key Ingredients for a Flavorful Keto Italian Sub Salad

Below are the simple ingredients you will need to make this Italian sub salad recipe.

Lettuce: Romaine is ideal for a crisp, crunchy texture in this grinder salad. You can use whatever kind of lettuce you want for the base but I would use crunchy lettuce so it stands up to all the toppings. Hearts of romaine lettuce is much like iceberg lettuce but with more taste and nutrition.
Pepperoni: Choose a high-quality pepperoni for the most robust flavor. The classic Italian meats duo, salami and pepperoni, adds fabulous peppery, smoky, and salty flavor to this salad.
Salami: I recommend a flavorful salami like Genoa or Italian dry salami for the best savory taste.
Ham: Use your favorite type of deli ham like Black Forest or honey ham depending on your taste preference. I found this great tray of Italian deli meats at Aldi.
Mozzarella: Use high-quality mozzarella for the richest creamy flavor. You can easily use mozzarella or provolone. Really you can use any cheese that you prefer for this. I like using this fresh mozzarella from Aldi. It is a very affordable cheese that adds great flavor and texture to your salad.
Provolone & Parmesan Cheese: Provolone and parmesan cheese are two delicious, strong Italian cheeses that add incredible umami, salty flavor to this sub salad recipe. You’ll chop the provolone and grate the parmesan!
Tomato: I suggest using Roma tomatoes for their sweeter flavor to balance the other savory flavors in this sub salad recipe. While typical grinder sandwiches feature tomato slices, this salad form calls for grape tomatoes. Or cherry tomatoes!
Black Olives: Pitted and sliced black olives are best for convenience.
Red Onion: Red onions are an essential part of any Italian grinder sandwich in my opinion. So they are essential to this salad as well! I just love the strong, slightly spicy flavor.
Banana Peppers: Banana peppers add a wonderful tangy, slightly sweet flavor here. It is absolutely delicious! You can substitute pepperoncini peppers or even sliced jalapenos for the banana peppers.
Mayonnaise: Mayo serves as the base of this creamy grinder salad dressing.
Red Wine Vinegar: Red wine vinegar adds depth, complexity, and a beautiful tang.
Banana Pepper Juice: A bit of the juice from the jar of those banana peppers adds extra tang too.
Seasonings: The seasonings in this creamy mayo dressing are quite simple - just garlic powder, dried oregano, salt, and black pepper.

To ensure this recipe is low-carb, use the recommended 3 tablespoons of Italian dressing, which should be about 5-6 grams of total carbs.

Crafting Your Keto Italian Sub Salad

Ingredients

Lettuce
Pepperoni
Salami
Ham
Mozzarella
Provolone
Parmesan Cheese
Tomato
Black Olives
Red Onion
Banana Peppers
Mayonnaise
Red Wine Vinegar
Banana Pepper Juice
Seasonings

Instructions

Prepare the meats, lettuce, olives, cheese, tomato, and pepperoncini peppers.
Add them to a large bowl.
Drizzle with dressing and toss all ingredients together until well combined.

This recipe is incredibly easy to make! The only prep work it requires is chopping and mixing up the dressing. This chopped grinder salad is absolutely fabulous as is! It is truly scrumptious … think all your favorite sandwich ingredients turned into an incredibly flavorful low carb meal. It is so good that you will not even miss the Italian bread that typically holds these goodies.

Read also: Easy Low-Carb Cheese Crackers

Step-by-step instructions

Step 1: Add salad ingredients.
Step 2: Prepare dressing. Next in a small bowl or jar combine the mayo, red wine vinegar, banana pepper juice, garlic powder, oregano, and salt until smooth.
Step 3: Dress and combine. Pour the dressing over the lettuce mixture.

Broiling method

Cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray.
Make 4 areas for the meat and cheese for the 4 salads. First layer 2 slices of ham on the bottom and then divide the Italian sliced meats on top.
Next add the provolone cheese slices and the thinly sliced red onion. Place under the broiler for 3-5 minutes until the cheese melts and gets golden brown and bubbly a bit.
Using a pizza cutter or sharp knife, cut the meats and cheeses into bite size pieces for your salads. This makes it easier to eat.
Assemble your salad buy tossing the lettuce mixture with whatever dressing you want. I used a simple olive oil, red wine vinegar, salad and black pepper. Top the lettuce with the bite size pieces of broiled meat and cheese. Then add whatever toppings you want. I used tomatoes, black olives and banana pepper rings.

Alternatively you can just make the salad without tossing the dressing and then just sprinkle it over like you would with a regular salad. Then you can use whatever dressing you want - Italian dressing or a creamy dressing like ranch, etc.

Customization and Variations

There are always additions, substitutions, and variations you can make for it to meet your personal preferences or tastes.

Meats: Cold cuts are the primary ingredient in this recipe! I use turkey, pepperoni, and salami here. But any and all of your favorites could work. Cold cuts are the primary ingredient in this recipe! Which I LOVE because I am a deli meat lover through and through.
Cheeses: Any cheese would work fabulously in this salad in place of the provolone. Use whatever is your favorite! Swiss cheese, Colby jack cheese, cheddar cheese, or American cheese. Parmesan is a little trickier to substitute!
Lettuce: Romaine lettuce would be the next best lettuce to use here besides iceberg. It still has that crunch and crisp vital to a chopped salad! But these two are not the most nutritious.
No Mayo: Not a fan of mayo? I would recommend creating a more oil and vinegar style dressing using olive oil. Here is a simple Italian dressing recipe option!
Pasta Salad: This grinder chopped salad could easily be turned into a grinder pasta salad. How delicious would that be?
Add Carbs: This salad is carb-less, which I thoroughly enjoy. I love that it is a low carb, lighter way for me to enjoy the flavors and textures of an Italian sub. However, feel free to add some carbs in. I suggest croutons or some toasted Panko breadcrumbs.
Different Sub: If the classic Italian grinder sandwich is not your go-to, turn your favorite sub into a salad.
Customize: I think possibly my favorite thing about this salad is how customizable it is! You can add any cheese, meat, veggie, or seasoning you like.

Tips for the Perfect Keto Italian Sub Salad

Dress this grinder sub salad immediately before serving! This salad will become a bit soggy after it is dressed, so I would not recommend fully preparing it ahead of time.
Chop everything up nice and small! Chopped salads are superior. You will not be able to convince me otherwise! Anyway, I highly recommend chopping the veggies, lettuce, different meats, and cheese as small as possible. The only work this recipe requires is chopping, so you might as well spend some time to do it well.
Meal prep it! This salad works wonderfully as meal prep. I mean what screams lunch more than deli meats? Like I mentioned above, I recommend chopping the salad ingredients and preparing the dressing ahead of time. Then store in the refrigerator for the week. You can assemble a salad whenever you get hungry! Or pre-portion the chopped salad into individual containers and add a small container of dressing too.
You can store this dressed salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Just be careful as the salad will get soggy when stored. I personally don’t mind the slightly soggy leftover dressed salad too much, but if you do I would recommend storing the components separately. Add the chopped and mixed salad to one container and the prepared dressing to another.
Salad ingredients can be chopped up to 2 hours before serving and refrigerated to chill.

Serving Suggestions

A great dish to serve with this salad are my mini sliders. Make these with ground beef, caramelized onions, and a muenster cheese. Additionally, people can choose to eat this with the bun or without to keep the low carb option open.
If you’re really hungry, then make a keto bread bowl with cream of chicken soup. And this salad also tastes delicious with keto French Onion soup.
When I meal prep this recipe, I often pair it with a slice of this Keto Focaccia bread too and this meal just comes full circle and feels so comforting.

Make Ahead Instructions

This salad is best when made fresh, but there are a few components you can do ahead of time.

You can prepare the dressing up to 2 days in advance. Store it at room temperature, and re-whisk or shake to combine the ingredients again before serving.
You can chop and combine the veggies, meat, and cheese for the salad up to 2 hours before serving, and store them in the fridge. Toss the salad with the dressing and Italian roll (if using) right before serving.

Is This Recipe Gluten-Free?

Yes, this recipe is gluten-free when prepared as described.

Storing Leftovers

Leftovers store well if you separate the salad mix from the dressing - transfer the base of the salad and the dressing to separate airtight containers and keep both in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. Simply toss the salad mix with the dressing when you’re ready to serve!

Is Sub in a Tub low-carb?

Yes, the original recipe is low-carb, and this homemade sub in a tub is low-carb and keto-friendly when you omit the optional Italian roll.

A Brief History

Long, long ago in a land far away there was a little Mediterranean restaurant called Bubba Darius. My father and I used to go there on a Friday night and had the best meals. They also served an antipasto salad that was much like the flavorful salad I’ve made today. Unfortunately they closed shop some years ago so I had to learn to make it myself.

I have a strong affection for Jersey Mike’s subs and their sub in a tub salad. In fact, the last thing I ate before going into the hospital to give birth to my third baby was a Jersey Mike’s #4 sub - the same sub this recipe is based on.

During COVID, my family had an ultimate sub sandwich take-out taste off to find the best. When I learned that Molly, our community manager here at The Real Food Dietitians, also loves Jersey Mike’s as much as I do, we knew we had to collaborate and bring a copycat recipe of the popular Jersey Mike’s sub-in-a-tub to life.

Read also: Magnesium Supplements for Keto

tags: #keto #italian #sub #salad #recipe