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The Italian Salad Sandwich is the sandwich to serve at your next backyard BBQ or afternoon picnic in the sun. It consists of a grilled ciabatta layer with sun-dried tomato pesto, pepperoncini, basil, parmesan, roasted peppers, and three layers of meat: prosciutto, spicy salami, and pepperoni. Add provolone and arugula tossed with Italian dressing, and you’re done. It’s the Italian salad-stuffed sandwich, and it’s DELICIOUS – exactly what your summer needs!

The Italian Salad Sandwich | halfbakedharvest.com

I don’t know why, but I’m feeling like making so many sandwiches this summer. It’s the summer of delicious sandwiches, and I swear it’s because I like to torture myself. Every time I develop a new sandwich recipe for you all, I struggle to capture the deliciousness of the sandwich.

This sandwich took some effort, but it was worth it because, holy freaking YUM, this sandwich is good. It’s probably my favorite summer sandwich to date, I’m excited!!

My thinking was that Father’s Day is this weekend, and we’re all looking for easy (but still yummy) dishes to serve at our parties. When I was a kid, all summer parties had a few good (usually store-bought) sandwich options, along with lots of chips, dips, burgers, and grilled chicken.

The Italian Salad Sandwich | halfbakedharvest.com

We made a lot of burgers growing up, but the Costco sandwiches were not to be dismissed. Even though they came from the store, they’d always get eaten.

This is hopefully way better than a Costco sandwich, but it’s where I drew my initial inspiration from.

I wanted to make the yummiest sandwich, but was craving my Italian chopped salad. So basically, I put my favorite salad inside a crusty loaf of ciabatta. And you all, it turned out SO GOOD, you’ll crave this sandwich all summer long!

The Italian Salad Sandwich | halfbakedharvest.com

Let’s Chat Details

Step 1: Make the Dressing

I like to make a paired-down Italian dressing for this. If you don’t want to fuss with making dressing, just use your favorite store-bought Italian dressing.

To make mine, shake up extra virgin olive oil with champagne vinegar, fig preserves (or honey), garlic, thyme, salt, and chili flakes.

Nothing too fancy.

The Italian Salad Sandwich | halfbakedharvest.com

Step 2: grill the bread

Slice a loaf of ciabatta bread in half lengthwise, then rub with the oil based dressing. Grill each half until char marks appear.

You could also toast the bread in the oven, but I love the flavor from the grill.

The Italian Salad Sandwich | halfbakedharvest.com

Step 3: layer your sandwich together

Next, all you have to do is layer the sandwich ingredients.

Start with pesto. I use sun-dried tomato pesto, which is delish and available at places like Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods. You can also make your own. If sun-dried tomato pesto is not available, or you would just prefer it, use basil pesto.

Then layer on the pepperoncini, basil, parmesan, and roasted peppers.

The Italian Salad Sandwich | halfbakedharvest.com

Step 4: the meats

I love using prosciutto, spicy salami, and pepperoni. Pepperoni is my favorite, you can never have too much.

Step 5: the cheeses + the greens

Top the meats with the cheese. I use slices of gouda and provolone; Havarti works well too.

Then, finish with a huge handful of arugula tossed up with the Italian dressing.

Add the top piece of ciabatta and give the sandwich a firm push-down to seal everything inside. And that’s it, done. You can slice the sandwich up or wrap it and keep it in the fridge for a day. The longer it sits, the more flavor it will take on. It’s great to make ahead of time and to take to parties!

The Italian Salad Sandwich | halfbakedharvest.com

Looking for other summer sandwich recipes? Here are a few ideas:

Everything Cheddar Tomato Bacon Grilled Cheese

Roasted Caprese Burrata Sliders

Kimchi Grilled Cheese

Grilled Vegetable Burrata Sandwich

Lastly, if you make this Italian Salad Sandwich, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And, of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!

The Italian Salad Sandwich

Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 699 kcal

Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

Ingredients

Dressing

Sandwich

Instructions

  • 1. To make the dressing. Combine all ingredients in a glass jar and whisk until smooth. Taste and adjust the salt and chili flakes
    2. Preheat the grill or grill pan to high. Rub each half of the bread with some dressing. Grill the bread, cut side down, for 3-5 minutes or until grill marks appear.
    3. Spread the pesto over the bottom piece of bread. In the following order, layer the pepperoncini, basil, parmesan, and sliced peppers. Drizzle with the dressing. Layer the prosciutto, salami, pepperoni, and cheese slices. Add the arugula and toss with the dressing. Add the top piece of ciabatta. Push down on the sandwich.
    4. Cut into 6 sandwiches. You can also wrap the uncut sandwich tightly and place it in the fridge for up to 1 day before serving.
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5 from 5 votes

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Comments

  1. Is there a way to remove all the ads from the recipe to print? I have to say, this is a big turn off. There are so many popups and ads on y0ur site already, and that’s fine, because I love your recipes, but now they’re on the printed page? It makes me feel like your fans are just dollar signs for you.

    1. Hey Aimee,
      Thanks so much for sharing your feedback. There should not be any ads on the page when you print. I just tested this specific recipe and didn’t have any ads on the printed page. Please let me know if I can help in any other way! Sorry for any frustration! xx

  2. 5 stars
    This is definitely one of the best sandwiches ever. I bought too much meat so we had it 2 days in a row and my husband and I are still talking about how good it is. I did make my own red pesto and dressing and we made our own bread. Definitely a keeper!!!

    1. Hi Mary,
      Amazing!! So glad to hear that you enjoyed this recipe, thanks so much for making it! Have a great week! xx

    1. Hey Sarah,
      Happy Sunday! Love to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks so much for trying it and your comment! Xx

  3. Your new print engine “Jupiter” is non-functional. I could not get it to print anything. IT needs to look at this

    1. Hi Russell,
      Thanks so much for sharing your feedback! I just tested printing this recipe and it worked just fine. Let me know if you give it another try, I hope it works for you! xT

    1. Hey Claire,
      Happy Monday!! I appreciate you giving this recipe a try and your comment, love to hear that it turned out well for you! Xx

  4. 5 stars
    Just made this for a picnic today! Sneaked a bite and YUM. Great idea and so delicious. The arugula in the dressing puts it over the top.

    1. Hey Kathy,
      Happy Monday!! I appreciate you giving this recipe a try and your comment, love to hear that it turned out well for you! Xx

  5. 5 stars
    I don’t usually crave sandwiches at 8:30am but you have outdone yourself with this one. 😋 What a perfect casual summer recipe! I will be making this for my husband this week, and I can’t wait to watch him tear into it. Please keep these easy, oven-free summer meals coming. They are all a huge hit in my family! ❤️