Italian Sub Recipe
What Makes My Italian Sub Recipe So Special
We take our subs and other sandwiches very seriously at my house and Italian subs are our favorite. Over the last 20 years, I’ve tested countless numbers of Italian sub sandwiches, with different meat and cheese combinations. This recipe is the hands down winner with its classic Italian sub flavors PLUS something else to really make the flavors pop:
- What makes my recipe extra special is that I add banana peppers, marinated roasted red peppers, and Italian dressing. All three add a lot more flavor and compliment the classic Italian sub meat combination perfectly.
- I also bake my Italian subs to make the hot, gooey, with a toasty crunch on the outside of the bread. The texture combination of this baked sub just can’t be beat. While you technically don’t have to bake it and can leave it cold, trust me… You’re going to want to!
Table of Contents
Must-Have Ingredients in an Italian Sub
- Sub or hoagie – The best choice is a bakery Italian sub roll or Italian loaf with a lightly crisp crust and soft interior. Seeded or unseeded both work. If you cannot find it, use hoagie rolls or a soft baguette-style roll that can be butterflied without tearing.
- Of course, must have meats are – sliced ham, hard salami (or Genoa salami if you prefer), pepperoni and capicola.
- You have some flexibility with cheese, I love to use fontina but you can also use provolone, or sliced mozzarella.
- Amount ratio: a standard deli amount of meat and cheese in a 12-inch sub ranges between 8 and 16 oz, depending how lucky you get with the deli. At home, you can adjust to personal taste. I recommend 14-16 oz of total meat and about 4-6 oz of cheese in a 12 inch Italian sub sandwich.
PRO TIP: For the best results, get your meats freshly sliced from the deli section of your grocery store and get freshly baked sub rolls from the bakery section.
See recipe card for complete information on ingredients and quantities.
How to Make an Italian Sub: Steps and Tips
Prep the bread first. Butterfly your sub loaf by slicing it lengthwise without cutting all the way through, then open it flat like a book. Brush Italian dressing generously over both cut sides before anything else goes on. This is the key step that most people skip: the dressing soaks into the bread and acts as a flavor base throughout the whole sandwich, not just a condiment on top.
PRO TIP: If you’re working with a 12-inch loaf, cut it into two 6-inch subs before butterflying. It’s much easier to load and transfer to the baking sheet without everything sliding around.
Layer the peppers directly on the dressing. Spread your sliced pepperoncini and roasted red peppers over both halves before any meat goes on. This keeps them close to the bread so they don’t fall out when you close the sub, and their juices flavor everything from the bottom up during baking.
Build the meat layers generously. Capicola, ham, salami, pepperoni: layer them in that order so the bolder, fattier meats land on top where they’ll get the most heat. Drape the fontina cheese over the top last, covering as much of the meat as possible so you get that melty, blanketed layer across the whole sub. Sprinkle some crushed red peppers flakes, as much as you want the heat to be.
Bake open-faced. Leave the sub open on your parchment-lined baking sheet so the cheese melts and gets a little golden and the bread edges crisp up. Once it comes out of the oven, close the two halves together, press gently, and let it sit for just a minute before cutting. That brief rest helps everything hold together when you slice it.
Variations To Try
- If you like your sub to have a fresh, juicy bite of vegetables you can add a little lettuce, tomatoes, onion, and/or fresh bell peppers.
- You will want to use either Italian Dressing or a combination of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. If you want a little stronger balsamic or vinegar flavor, you can also use Balsamic Vinaigrette or a Balsamic Reduction instead of just vinegar.
- Meats: You can also play around with salami, prosciutto, capicola, mortadella, pepperoni, soppressata.
- Cheese: if you want a sharper cheese flavor, try sliced Asiago cheese, or Provolone cheese. For a texture that is smoother and meltier, you can use sliced mozzarella.
Make Ahead, Storing and Reheating
- Make Ahead: You can prep the Italian sandwiches and store them baked or unbaked in the refrigerator. Just make sure to wrap each airtight in your favorite food storage wrap. I would recommend that you eat them within a day or two at most or the bread will get soggy.
- Storing is the same way!
- To reheat the subs, it’s best to do so in the oven. Unwrap the sub first and open it back up to reheat faster. Place it on the parchment paper covered baking sheet and reheat it at 350°F just until heated through, 7-10 minutes.
Italian Sub Recipe FAQs
Drain and shake off your pepperoncini and roasted red peppers before adding them, since excess brine is the main culprit. Don’t over-dress the bread: you want it flavored, not saturated. Freshly baked sub rolls from the bakery also hold up much better than soft packaged bread since they have a hearty crust on the outside.
I don’t recommend it. The bread suffers and the peppers get watery after thawing. Instead, refrigerate assembled unbaked subs for up to a day and bake fresh when you’re ready.
For milder, swap capicola for extra ham, use banana peppers instead of pepperoncini, and skip the red pepper flakes. For spicier, go heavy on the flakes, choose hot capicola, and add hot pepperoncini or even a few pickled jalapeño slices.
Capicola, ham, salami, and pepperoni are all worth keeping for the full classic flavor. If you need to drop one, pepperoni is the most forgiving. You have the most flexibility in additions: prosciutto, soppressata, or mortadella all work great layered alongside the classics.
This recipe makes one 12-inch sub, serving 2 generously. For a party, cut them into 2-3 inch portions. You can also get a long Italian loaf and cut portions after baking rather than making individual subs. These smaller party subs would be great as tailgate food, game day subs, or any party.
Both work! The baked version gives you melted cheese and toasty, crispy bread. The cold version is a classic deli-style sub with bright, fresh flavors. My honest take: try it baked at least once. The texture combination is hard to beat.
Try More Sandwich Recipes
- White BBQ chicken sub is an amazing hot sub sandwich packed with chicken, cheese, and homemade white BBQ sauce.
- Cuban sandwich is a classic! There is a real explosion of flavor from the slow-roasted pork, slightly sweet ham, tangy pickles and mustard, and Swiss cheese.
- Another classic is a Philly cheesesteak, that combines thinly shaved steak, bell peppers and onions, and melted provolone cheese on a deli fresh hoagie.
- Meatball Subs is a hot delicious sandwich packed with tender Italian meatballs, marinara sauce, and gooey, melted Mozzarella Cheese.
- Italian garlic bread grilled cheese is something special! It’s made with garlic bread and loaded with gooey mozzarella cheese, pine nuts, and prosciutto.
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Baked Italian Sub Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 12-inch Italian sub loaf get it from the deli, it’s better
- 3-4 tbsp Italian dressing
- 1/4 cup pepperoncini peppers sliced
- 1/4 cup marinated roasted red peppers sliced thin
- 1/4 lb capicola ham thinly sliced
- 1/4 lb ham thinly sliced
- 1/4 lb salami thinly sliced
- 1/8 lb pepperoni thinly sliced
- 1/4 lb Fontina cheese thinly sliced
- Red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- (You can cut the 12-inch sub loaf into two 6-inch ones to make it easier to work with.) Slice Italian sub loaves in half, widthwise, to butterfly it but don't cut all the way through. Pull the halves apart like butterfly wings and brush the Italian dressing over both halves.
- Spread the sliced pepperoncini peppers and marinated roasted peppers over the halves evenly.
- Layer capicola, ham, salami, pepperoni, and Fontina cheese evenly over the two halves.
- Sprinkle some red pepper flakes on top (amount depends on how spicy you want it). Place them carefully on a baking sheet and bake for 10-13 minutes.
- Take them out of the oven. Close the two halves back up once it's done. Cut each in half if you wish and enjoy!
Video
Notes
- For the BEST results: get your meats freshly sliced from the deli section of your grocery store and get freshly baked sub rolls from the bakery section.
- Make Ahead: You can simply combine the subs and then wrap them tight and refrigerate for about a day. When ready to bake, unwrap the subs, open them, and bake as instructed.
- Storing: you can store baked or unbaked Italian subs in the refrigerator. Just make sure to wrap it airtight in your favorite food storage wrap. I would recommend that you eat them within a day or two at most.
- To reheat the subs: it’s best to do so in the oven. Unwrap the sub first and open it back up to reheat faster. Place it on the parchment paper covered baking sheet and reheat it at 350°F just until heated through, 7-10 minutes.
Nutrition
Originally published on Will Cook For Smiles in July 2014.
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Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as most ingredients and brands have variations.
