This salad is a riff on panzanella and has all the flavors of an Italian sub, including cured meats, provolone cheese, olives, pickled peppers and a balsamic vinaigrette.
Peggy Cormary for The Washington Post; food styling by Lisa Cherkasky
“I eat a lot of Italian subs,” social media personality and cookbook author Danny Freeman told me during a recent phone interview. “It’s my go-to sandwich.”
As he was working on his forthcoming second cookbook, “Italianish,” Freeman knew he wanted to find a way to include his favorite sub. Another of his favorite dishes? Panzanella, inspired by the salads he ate during his childhood and as an ode to the love his dad and daughters have for tomatoes. At 1 and 5 years old, his daughters “eat cherry tomatoes like candy,” he said. “They eat big tomatoes like apples.”
In Freeman’s quest to create fun, approachable recipes, he combined his favorite sandwich and his favorite salad to make a bread salad with all of the flavors of an Italian sub sandwich, including cured meats, provolone cheese, olives, pickled peppers and a balsamic vinaigrette.
Freeman, who posts under the handle @dannylovespasta, rose to social media fame in recent years, amassing 1.5 million followers on TikTok and about a third as many on Instagram, by showing people how to make fun, colorful fresh pasta. The birth of his second daughter changed things, as he no longer had as much time to dedicate to such lengthy culinary endeavors.
“I was thinking more along the lines of, how can I make quick meals? How can I make weeknight meals?” His search brought him back to the Italian American food of his own childhood. “But then how do I take those and fit them into my life now with my kids when I don’t have as much time and things are hectic?”
For Freeman, the answer lies in honoring history and tradition without being strictly beholden to it. “I often get comments when I do something that’s not traditional telling me I’m doing it the wrong way,” he said. “People tell me, ‘That’s not how my grandmother did it.’”
He notes that dishes we view as traditional today were more of a sign of the ingredients, equipment and lifestyle people had at the time. Adjusting a dish to fit the times is only natural. There’s no shame in taking a modern shortcut or incorporating an ingredient that people might not have historically had access to. “Can I honor the essence of a dish? Can I keep those flavors? Can I keep what’s meaningful about that dish? But … maybe I’m turning it into a soup because that’s a lot easier to make, just throwing it all into a pot.”
As Freeman so succinctly wrote in the introduction: “A tradition is nothing but an innovation that was once successful.”
Which takes us back to the sub salad. Even though today’s definition of panzanella is built around bread and tomatoes, it originally didn’t include the fruit. (The bread and vegetable salad existed long before tomatoes made their way to Europe in the 16th century.) Freeman’s first thought for a twist on the Italian sub was a chopped salad, of which there are already numerous takes. And then came his lightbulb moment. “A chopped salad, you’re leaving out the bread! That’s one of the best parts.” (He wrote a good chunk of this book while in Italy with his family, where they ate a lot of bread, sometimes having only focaccia for lunch or dinner. “I feel like I really had bread on my mind as I was writing this book.”) So he combined the two dishes for a creation that’s the best of both worlds.
The salad is packed full of flavor thanks to a trio of deli meats (ham, pepperoni and salami), provolone cheese, sliced black olives and pickled banana peppers, while iceberg lettuce and thinly sliced red onion add fresh crunch. But the star is the oven-dried bread that gets flavored by the juice from fresh tomatoes and a zippy balsamic vinaigrette.
More than taste, it’s the ephemeral texture of toasted pieces of bread that have been ever-so-slightly moistened but are not yet soggy that makes this salad a standout. Just take note that timing — making the salad while the best tomatoes are in the season and eating it not too long after it has been assembled — is critical for maximum enjoyment.
“I finished writing the cookbook last summer, and this is one of the [recipes] that I make the most for myself just because I crave it, especially during the summer.” Whether you’re in the mood for a salad, sandwich or both, this recipe is a keeper.
This salad is packed full of flavor thanks to a trio of deli meats (ham, pepperoni and salami), provolone cheese, sliced black olives and pickled banana peppers, while iceberg lettuce and thinly sliced red onion add fresh crunch.
Peggy Cormary for The Washington Post; food styling by Lisa Cherkasky
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Italian Sub Salad
For the salad
½ small loaf Italian bread (6 to 7 ounces total), cut or torn into roughly 1-inch cubes (3 cups packed)
1½ tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon fine salt, divided, plus more as needed
1 pint (10 ounces) cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
4 ounces deli slices provolone, cut into 3/4-inch squares
One (2.25-ounce) can sliced black olives, drained
1½ ounces deli slices ham (about 4 slices), cut into thin strips
1½ ounces deli slices pepperoni (about 4 slices), cut into thin strips
1½ ounces deli slices salami (about 4 slices), cut into thin strips
¼ cup sliced pickled banana peppers
¼ small head iceberg lettuce (7 ounces total), thinly sliced (about 3 cups)
¼ medium red onion (2 ounces total), thinly sliced
½ teaspoon dried oregano
Freshly cracked black pepper
For the balsamic vinaigrette:
1 garlic clove, minced or finely grated
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
Toast the bread: Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350°F. On a large sheet pan, toss the bread with the olive oil and ¼ teaspoon of the salt. Toast for 15 to 20 minutes, or until dried out and lightly golden. Remove from the oven and set aside.
While the bread toasts, place the tomatoes in a colander set over a medium bowl and sprinkle with the remaining ¼ teaspoon of salt. Set aside to drain, tossing occasionally, 15 to 20 minutes.
Make the balsamic vinaigrette: In a liquid measuring cup, whisk together the garlic, vinegar and mustard. Slowly whisk in the olive oil until a thick, smooth dressing forms.
Finish the salad: In a large bowl, toss together the provolone, olives, ham, pepperoni, salami, banana peppers, lettuce, onion, oregano, toasted bread, tomatoes, the tomato liquid and vinaigrette until combined. Taste, and season with salt and pepper, as desired. Let the salad sit for 10 to 15 minutes to let the bread absorb the dressing, then serve.
Servings: 4-6 (makes about 10 cups)
Make ahead: The bread cubes can be toasted, cooled and stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Storage: The salad is best when freshly made before the bread and lettuce get soggy, but you can refrigerate leftovers for up to 2 days.
Substitutions: For Italian bread, use any white bread. Gluten-free? Use gluten-free bread. For cherry or grape tomatoes, use any type of fresh tomatoes. For black olives, use any type of olives. Instead of all the cured meats called for, use just one or your preferred combination. For iceberg lettuce, useany type of lettuce. Instead of slicing your own lettuce, buy packaged shredded lettuce. For banana peppers, use pepperoncini. For red onion, use any type of onion. For balsamic vinegar, use red wine vinegar with a little honey.
Nutritional Facts Per serving (1⅔ cups), based on 6 | Calories: 347, Fat: 24 g, Saturated Fat: 7 g, Carbohydrates: 23 g, Sodium: 878 mg, Cholesterol: 25 mg, Protein: 10 g, Fiber: 2 g, Sugar: 8 g
— Adapted from “Italianish” by Danny Freeman (DK, 2025).
Dining and Cooking