The Grinder Salad Recipe is a viral recipe for a reason! This is everything you love about an Italian grinder sandwich, made into a salad you won’t stop being able to make!

If you’ve been on social media this year, you’ve probably seen the Grinder Sandwich. It’s a hoagie roll filled with provolone cheese, stacks of a variety of meats, and shredded iceberg lettuce tossed with “Grinder Salad Dressing.” Top it with tomato slices, extra red onions, and Italian seasoning.

Thanks to TikTok Creator @ohheyimgray for the tiktok grinder salad sandwich recipe inspiration! And obsession…

It will take a hold of you, and you won’t be able to stop eating it. This is one of those viral TikTok recipes definitely worth making!

Grinder sandwiches are a New England staple: Italian bread with Italian meats and cold cuts, shredded romaine lettuce, sliced cheese and you have the best sub sandwich!

Common names for this sandwich:

Italian American sandwich
hot submarine sandwich

However! Y’all… I’ve got issues with sandwiches. I order them in restaurants and end up deconstructing the sandwich… eating with a fork and knife.

So! This type of sandwich I turned into a salad that you eat with a fork and knife! Yum! You won’t need plenty of napkins like if you were eating this enormous sandwich!

The TikTok Grinder Sandwich is definitely worth making! Here’s a quick overview on the hearty sandwich!

You’ll melt sliced cheeses like swiss cheese and cheddar cheese on a long crusted bread roll. Then, top it with the types of meat you prefer! Turkey slices, roast beef, deli ham, whatever you want! Then, the lettuce mixture of the grinder salad and onions and tomatoes goes on TOP of the sandwich. Press it all together, slice it down the middle, and you have one of the most delicious recipes ever made on tik tok.

How to Make a Grinder Salad:

Grinder Salad Dressing Ingredients:

Red Onion or Shallot
Banana Peppers or Pepperoncini Peppers
Red Wine Vinegar
Red Pepper Flakes or Chili Flakes
Oregano
Mayo
Olive Oil
Black Pepper
Kosher Salt
Garlic Powder
Optional: Parmesan Cheese!

You’ll need a large bowl to mix all of these together.

Each time I make the original recipe for the salad dressing it’s a little bit different. I had about half a cup of ranch dressing leftover, so I added that into the grinder salad dressing, and oh my! It was definitely a keeper!

So, all that to say, use what you want, add what else you want, and create your own dressing! I keep it in an airtight container in the fridge to pour over my lettuce whenever I make this.

Now, think about your favorite simple Italian sandwich, and let’s turn it into a salad!

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In a small bowl, you’ll mix up your dressing.

Next, you’ll shred up some iceberg lettuce. You want thin “shrettuce” ribbons. You can really use whatever kind of lettuce you like, just slice it into thin ribbons.

Lay the lettuce out onto your large platter.

Then, slice up some tomatoes and shallots. Drizzle a little white wine vinegar, a little salt, and some black pepper on them, and give them a toss.

Layer the tomatoes onto the platter.

I made this look like a striped cobbed salad, but you can make it however you’d like! And, it all gets tossed together anyways!

Now, come all the different kinds of meat. I went to my local Chop Shop Butchery in Asheville, NC. Picked up mortadella, capicola, salami, and deli ham slices.

Next, fold all of those into fourths, and place them into the salad.

I had homemade croutons from crusty bread I had made the day before, so those were added to the salad. It’s the bread part of the sandwich that makes the TikTok grinder salad sandwich recipe!

Finally, drizzle the creamy mayo dressing over top of everything when you’re ready to serve! A bright squeeze of lemon juice is also a wonderful addition!

Other Salad Recipes to try:

What do you think?! Don’t the bright colors of the classic grinder just make you want to dive on in?!

In conclusion, you should save this recipe for your next dinner party!