Name: Grinder Salad Recipe
Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 10 min
Ingredients: 6 tablespoons red wine vinaigrette or Italian dressing, plus more as needed; 1 tablespoon mayonnaise; 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar; 1 tablespoon pepperoncini liquid, see note; 1 teaspoon oregano; 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper; 2-4 ounces thin sliced Black Forest Ham, chopped; 2-4 ounces thin sliced roast turkey breast, chopped; 2 ounces about 6 slices thin sliced hard salami, chopped; 2-4 ounces thin sliced sharp provolone, chopped; 1 large tomato or 1 cup grape tomatoes, diced; 1 small yellow onion, diced; 4 medium pepperoncini, diced; 1 small head iceberg lettuce or about 8 ounces green leaf or romaine lettuce; 1 cup croutons

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This grinder salad tastes like a sub in a bowl! Use your favorite deli meats and cheese to make a salad that you love.

I make this quick salad all year long! The combination of ham, turkey, salami and provolone along with the tangy vinaigrette makes this taste like my favorite sub sandwich!

Why is it called a grinder salad?

There are so many names for the beloved foot-long sandwiches: subs, heroes, hoagies, and grinders are some of the most popular.

The name for this salad comes from the Northeast tradition of calling the sandwiches “grinders”－ which is what my Vermont grandparents called them! So a few years ago when the”grinder” salad went viral, it brought back happy memories of them.

Basically this salad takes the filing of a grinder and turns it into a salad. It’s so good! And is one of my favorite fast dinners.

What you need to make it.

Cold Cuts. I like to use ham, turkey, and hard salami. A little pepperoni is also nice!
Cheese. Sharp provolone is my favorite.
Pepperoncini . These bring a nice spicy-vinegary flavor. Banana peppers also work great.
Tomatoes. Diced tomatoes or sliced grape tomatoes.
Onions. Some folks use red onions in their salad. But around here, grinders always come with yellow onions. So that’s what I use.
Lettuce. Use what you love. Iceberg is great. The crunch is lovely. Tonight for dinner, I used the baby greens I had in the fridge.
Croutons. Totally optional but I like them.

Grinder Salad Dressing

The dressing for this salad is elite. It’s also fast to make. You whisk some Italian dressing with mayo, oregano, red wine vinegar, and lots of black pepper. Done! If you don’t have Italian dressing in the house, make a batch of my creamy Italian dressing.

Putting it all together.

Here’s the order you’ll want to follow when making this salad.

Make the dressing. You can do this the night before.
Cut the cold cuts and cheese into bite-size pieces.
Cut up the tomatoes, onions, and pepperoncini.
Stir everything together with the dressing. It will look like too much dressing. That’s fine. You haven’t added the lettuce yet. Doing this coats all the small ingredients with dressing.
Add the lettuce and croutons. Give it a quick toss to coat the lettuce with dressing. Serve and enjoy.

What to Serve with a Grinder Salad.

Bread! Toasted bread, garlic bread, or breadsticks are great with this salad.

Grinder Salad Recipe

This salad takes all the great flavors of a grinder sandwich and turns it into a salad! Please note the range for the deli meats and cheese. I usually use 2 ounces of each. But if you prefer a heartier salad, increase that to 4 ounces each.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Total Time 10 minutes

Servings 4 people

Ingredients

For the Dressing

6 tablespoons red wine vinaigrette or Italian dressing, plus more as needed
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon pepperoncini liquid, see note
1 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

For the Salad

2-4 ounces thin sliced Black Forest Ham, chopped
2-4 ounces thin sliced roast turkey breast, chopped
2 ounces about 6 slices thin sliced hard salami, chopped
2-4 ounces thin sliced sharp provolone, chopped
1 large tomato or 1 cup grape tomatoes, diced
1 small yellow onion, diced
4 medium pepperoncini, diced
1 small head iceberg lettuce or about 8 ounces green leaf or romaine lettuce
1 cup croutons

Instructions

Make the dressing

Whisk together the red wine vinaigrette, mayonnaise, apple cider vinegar, pepperoncini liquid, oregano, and ground black pepper.

Make the Salad

Place all the ingredients for the salad EXCEPT the lettuce and croutons in a large bowl. Add the dress. Stir to combine.
Add the lettuce. Toss to coat the lettuce with dressing. Taste. Add more red wine vinaigrette as needed. Toss in the croutons and enjoy!

Recipe Notes

Pepperoncini Liquid

I like to add about a tablespoon of liquid from the jar of pepperoncini peppers. This gives the dressing a nice kick. Skip this step if you don’t want any spicy heat in your dressing.