Rebecca Andersson/Tasting Table
Italian subs have long been a staple of American lunch culture. The substantial sandwich satisfies most omnivores with its “something-for-everyone” type of toppings. Flavorful meats, like ham, salami, and pepperoni are paired with mild cheese, like provolone or mozzarella, and fresh, crisp vegetables. Extras like pickles or pepperoncinis add additional crunch and help tie the flavors together.
The key to a classic Italian sub is layered balance: Each bite has to deliver a mix of flavors and textures for that oh-so-satisfying sandwich experience. Arguably, the number one rule for making the best Italian sub is to always use fresh, thinly sliced ingredients and to assemble it so that you get a little bit of topping in every bite. Another rule of thumb for a great Italian sub is to finish the sandwich with a splash of vinegar, which gives it that distinctive brightness and tang.
Because of the flexibility of its “recipe,” not all Italian subs are created equal. Big national chains, in particular, standardize their methods across every location, while also seeking ways to stand out from the competition. This means every brand has its own approach to balancing the quantities and qualities of ingredients. I wanted to see which national chain did the Italian sandwich the best, so I enlisted a team of taste testers to help me decide and rank them based on their bread, fillings, and overall enjoyability.
7. Subway 5-Meat Italian
Rebecca Andersson/Tasting Table
Sorry Subway, but even as the country’s predominant sandwich chain, your version of the Italian fails in a side-by-side taste test. Since the chain offers a few different Italian-inspired sandwiches, I went with the 5-meat version without any customizations for this review. It’s made with pepperoni, salami, turkey, ham, roast beef, provolone cheese, its proprietary MVP Vinaigrette, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and mayo on artisan bread. Based on the presentation, it appears the sandwich is assembled with the fillings on the bottom.
Construction-wise, the foot-long sub is a substantial sandwich, thanks to its five different kinds of overlapping meats. The roast beef provides the most dominant flavor. In addition, the texture of the ham and turkey gives the sandwich quite the meaty, chewy texture. The cured meats feel more like accent flavors, while the cheese is as bland as expected, and even a bit on the dry side, warranting even more mayo than was offered. The veggies were chopped small and oddly layered into the sandwich on the bottom, while the bread was soft and pillowy.
Overall, this is a utilitarian sandwich that delivers 1,360 calories and quite a few macronutrients: 80 grams of protein and 92 grams of carbs. Flavor-wise, however, it tastes more like a mild, beef-focused club than an Italian sub.
6. Jimmy John’s Italian Night Club
Rebecca Andersson/Tasting Table
Jimmy John’s is a brand that prides itself on “freaky fast” delivery. Its main selling point is a simple, consistent menu of cold sandwiches made from a limited number of high-quality ingredients combined in various ways. Its Italian Night Club is made with hand-sliced salami, capocollo, smoked ham, provolone and topped with Hellmann’s mayo, onion, lettuce, tomato, oil, vinegar, and oregano-basil. I ordered mine on an 8-inch French bread roll without any customizations. This sandwich offers 930 calories, 46 grams of fat, 48 grams of protein, and 77 grams of carbs.
While this solid Italian sub has a generous amount of three different meats, it’s light on the cheese. Most of the creaminess comes from the mayo, which unfortunately also gives it that distinctively sweet mayonnaise flavor. Overall, the flavor was quite bland, but altering it should be fairly easy, since the chain’s freebie add-ons include various flavorful and spicy options, such as sliced pickles, Jimmy Peppers, mini croutons, mustard, ranch dressing, and horseradish sauce. The bread was soft and fluffy without much of a crust to speak of.
This sandwich didn’t rank high because of the subpar bread and the overwhelming mayonnaise flavor. It might taste better with some freebie add-ons, though you may want to try another one of the chain’s popular sandwiches instead.
5. Capriotti’s Classic Italian
Rebecca Andersson/Tasting Table
Unwrapping the Classic Italian from Capriotti’s was interesting to say the least. It was the only sandwich wrapped in several layers of paper — but not the kind of water-resistant paper you’d expect at a deli counter or sandwich shop. In fact, the paper had been completely soaked through with liquid from the sandwich by the time I got home to unwrap and try it. When I unwrapped the sandwich, I could see what had happened. Instead of presenting like a closed sub or hoagie roll, this sandwich looked more like a European open-faced sandwich. The roll was opened and flattened, with the toppings piled neatly on top and finished with perfectly round slices of tomato, salt and pepper.
Capriotti’s sandwich includes Genoa salami, capicola, prosciuttini, provolone cheese, onions, lettuce, tomato, salt, pepper, oregano, and oil. I did not customize my sandwich, but the chain offers several additional toppings free of charge. It touts its fast delivery speed, but the staff may have been in such a hurry that they forgot to fold the sandwich back up after they were done layering it all so beautifully.
A 10-inch Classic Italian offers 1,060 calories, 72 grams of fat, 44 grams of protein, and 65 grams of carbs. Although the way the fillings were added made eating the sandwich rather annoying, Capriotti’s is still an underrated sandwich shop that is worth visiting at least once.
4. Potbelly Italian
Rebecca Andersson/Tasting Table
I originally planned to order all my Italian subs without any customizations in order to experience them as I imagined “the chef” intended. But Potbelly’s website had other plans. Its Italian sub comes loaded with all the classic Italian meats — salami, pepperoni, capicola, and mortadella — plus provolone, but nothing else! My first sandwich looked more like a flat-pressed grilled panini than what I expected from a sub sandwich.
That meant I had to reorder and add lettuce, onion, pickles, oil and red wine vinegar, roasted garlic aioli, and Italian seasoning to bring it closer to the flavor profile of the other subs for a fairer apples-to-apples comparison. When ordered this way, Potbelly’s Italian was much better. It’s a solid, middle-of-the-road Italian: four generous layers of meat, though relatively light on cheese, and an assortment of crunchy, tangy toppings, and a dressing that I thought complemented the meats nicely. The most dominant flavor is pepperoni, which gives it a bit of a peppery bite. The bread is soft and fluffy, but lacks a substantial crust despite being toasted.
And at a whopping 1,090 calories for the Bigs size (sans extra toppings), this sub delivers serious sustenance: 60 grams of fat, 50 grams of protein, and 93 grams of carbs. Overall, a solid Italian sub experience with the important caveat that you must customize your sandwich.
3. Firehouse Subs Italian
Rebecca Andersson/Tasting Table
The Italian ranks as one of the top sandwiches from Firehouse Subs, and it’s easy to see why. It comes with Genoa salami, pepperoni, honey ham, provolone, Italian dressing and seasonings, lettuce, tomato, onion, mayo, and deli mustard — all served with a dill pickle spear on the side.
I thought this sandwich was impressively assembled. The meats and cheeses were generously portioned and nicely layered in a wavy, overlapping pattern that created both visual appeal and balanced bites. Flavor-wise, it was quite mild, which let the honey undertones from the ham and creamy cheese take center stage. The pickle adds a much-needed jolt of tang, plus some nice crunch. The bread is very soft, almost a bit too pillowy, but it does provide a feeling of comfort just like what you’d expect to come out of a Nonna’s kitchen.
On the nutrition front, the large Italian sandwich is a hefty meal with 1,420 calories, 79 grams of fat, 69 grams of protein, and 119 grams of carbs. Thanks to its beautifully layered meats, thoughtful construction, and the subtle sweetness of the honey ham that low-key stole the show, this landed as my third-most beloved Italian sub.
2. Jersey Mike’s The Original Italian
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Jersey Mike’s strives to offer a Jersey-style Italian by stuffing a long roll with provolone, ham, prosciuttini, cappacuolo, salami, and pepperoni. One of the things that I appreciate is that there are no checkboxes or additional choices that I had to make to get that experience of a perfect Italian sub. The sandwich automatically comes “Mike’s Way” with the brand’s signature topping combination of onions, lettuce, tomatoes, red wine vinegar, olive oil blend, oregano, and salt.
I thought this sandwich met the mark in terms of construction. The meats and cheeses were generously proportioned. If anything, Jersey Mike’s was a bit too generous with the shredded lettuce, but overall, it was a beautifully constructed sandwich that was easy to hold and handle. It was mild-tasting, even a bit bland, but in a comforting way. The bread was very soft, adding to that feeling of pillowy comfort food.
An original-sized sandwich provides 960 calories, 54 grams of fat, 47 grams of protein, and 71 grams of carbs. All in all, Jersey Mike’s Original Italian sub was outstanding, earning second place thanks to the ease of ordering “Mike’s Way.”
1. Panera Bread Toasted Italiano
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Although Panera Bread recently changed its business model and now makes its sandwiches with pre-frozen bread, its Toasted Italiano still earned the top spot, standing out among all the contenders for several reasons. Above everything else, it was the most visually appealing sandwich, thanks to its French baguette roll. Although it’s called the Toasted Italiano, I wasn’t sure if it was actually served warm, since it was at ambient temperature by the time I got home. That said, it did seem like the bread had been toasted because the baguette’s upper crust had a golden appearance and crunchy texture, while the inside remained soft and fluffy, but I could not tell if the provolone had melted.
While Panera Bread’s bread clearly stole the show, the other ingredients also harmonized extremely well without any customizations needed. The standard build includes Black Forest ham, soppressata, provolone, lettuce, red onions, sliced pepperoncini peppers, Greek dressing, and a garlic aioli drizzle. This sandwich offered a diverse sensory experience: The ham was smoky, the soppressata added spice, the veggies offered a delectable crunch, and the condiments rounded it out with the delicious tang and brightness that people associate with Italian subs.
This exceptionally delicious and filling sandwich has 1,280 calories and also contains 64 grams of fat, 60 grams of protein, and 116 grams of carbs. And as a small but delicious bonus, it comes with a bag of Panera’s kettle-cooked potato chips on the side.
Methodology
Rebecca Andersson/Tasting Table
To evaluate these seven Italian subs, I enlisted the help of three friends. We all ate our samples in the same order, considering the bread, meat and cheese, and toppings. Each person gave each sandwich a score in each of these areas — one meaning not great to three meaning excellent. Once everyone completed their reviews, I calculated an average score to finalize the ranking of these sandwiches. I also made note of any subjective comments from the taste testers, including their perceptions of less-than-stellar ingredient choices or qualities, and included them in this ranking.
Important considerations for the scoring included the bread’s freshness, texture, and flavor and whether or not its crunchiness or softness enhanced the sub. The meat and cheese were evaluated for quality, seasoning, portion, and overall flavor. Subs with well-balanced, succulent meats and cheeses scored higher, while bland, one-note, or dry fillings scored lower. The variety and freshness of the other toppings also impacted the sandwich’s score. Because of the slight variations in all these chains’ Italian sub recipes, I looked for balance, meaning that the toppings should complement each other and not overpower the sandwich.
Finally, I considered nutrition facts, noting overall calories and how many of the three primary macronutrients (fat, protein, and carbohydrates) were in each sandwich in order to give readers an idea of how filling each sandwich is and whether it might suit their personal dietary goals.
Dining and Cooking