This Italian Sub Giardiniera Sandwich on Ciabatta is the ultimate sandwich lover's weeknight dinner! A crusty toasted ciabatta roll is piled high with prosciutto, cheese, tomato, avocado, greens and quick homemade giardiniera with marinated fresh veggies!
The Ultimate Sandwich Night!
- Amazing Italian Sub Flavor! - This is sandwich night kicked up a notch! We love a good sandwich, and when it's huge homemade Italian subs piled with prosciutto and delicious homemade fresh giardiniera, your family is going to love this one! Extra healthy with all those veggies! It's garden fresh, although we can't help but make this recipe all year long!
- It's an Easy 20 Minute Weeknight Dinner! - By nature, sandwiches for dinner is an easy weeknight meal. Italian Subs with Giardiniera have turned into our family's favorite sandwich. They can be made in just 20 minutes and paired with oven fries or grilled or roasted veggies. You can even store a loaf of ciabatta in the freezer to have an easy dinner idea on hand without much planning. These fresh Italian subs also make a great main course for a game day get together!
- The Homemade Giardiniera is Easy! - While I love a jar of giardiniera on Grilled Sausages or Italian Beef Sandwiches, homemade giardiniera is a whole different thing! A quick marinate of your fresh veggies in oil and vinegar while you assemble the sandwiches is all it takes. It gives these subs classic Italian flavor, while keeping the veggies crisp, crunchy and deliciously tangy! Even my kids love them! Although you can make the kid's portion as plain and simple as you like, leaving out or using less of the giardiniera. All those colorful veggies are so delicious, giardiniera means "gardener" in Italian!
Ingredients
For the Giardiniera
- Carrot - A few shreds of fresh carrot adds a bright orange color.
- Bell Pepper - You can use 2 mini bell peppers or about a quarter of a regular sized bell pepper. Red, orange, or yellow peppers work best.
- Red onion - Onion adds a nice sharpness, but mellows a bit when marinated. Any onion will work, red, yellow or white or even a few sliced scallions.
- Fresh Basil - If it's summer and you have fresh garden basil, it's delicious added in! Other fresh herbs like parsley, chives or thyme are also great. If you don't have fresh, a ½ teaspoon of dried Italian seasoning is fine too.
- Red Wine Vinegar - The acidy vinegar is what quickly marinates the veggies in your homemade giardiniera. Oil and vinegar for subs, especially with creamy mayo as a contrast, is a delicious combination! I first remember this combination when Potbelly was a brand new restaurant, I was hooked! Here you are topping your subs with the quick giardiniera recipe, including all that oil and vinegar from the bowl for a tangy, bright fresh Italian sub flavor!
- Olive Oil - Combines with the vinegar to marinate the veggies in your giardiniera sandwich spread.
- Salt and Pepper - Seasons the giardiniera vegetables.
For the Sandwich
- Ciabatta Bread - A big crusty ciabatta roll is perfect for holding up to these huge homemade Italian Subs! Give it a good toast, either on the grill or in the oven. This sandwich on ciabatta bread can stand up to that oil and vinegar giardiniera, soaking in all its juicy drippy goodness!
- Avocado - Since prosciutto is such a thin deli meat, adding avocado gives a bit more substance and nutrition to the subs. It also adds a creamy texture to contrast the acidic vinegary giardiniera.
- Prosciutto - Get it sliced thin! Giardiniera can be an expensive meat, but you don't need a whole lot. I like to buy it from the deli counter to get just the amount I need. Its classic salt-cured Italian flavor makes these sandwiches the best! However, this ciabatta bread sandwich can also be made adding or substituting other deli meats like Salami, Sopprassata, Capocollo, or even bacon, ham or turkey. The quick giardiniera recipe will give it plenty of Italian flavor.
- Tomato - A garden fresh tomato is best, but we make these subs all winter long too!
- Greens - Any type of greens or lettuce will work for this recipe. If using a lettuce like romaine or leaf lettuce, I like to slice it very thin, almost like a coleslaw, delicious when topped with the mayo and giardiniera sandwich mix. Packaged baby lettuce mixes, spinach or arugula are also delicious.
- Cheese - I like to use sliced white cheese such as Provolone, White Cheddar, Havarti, Swiss, or Muenster. While toasting your ciabatta bread, you have the option to add the cheese so it gets melted and toasty, or add it cold when assembling the sandwiches.
- Mayonnaise - Mayo can be a personal preference, so slather it on or leave it off if you like. But, I think the tangy giardiniera mayo combo is truly the best part!
Instructions
Step 1 - Start with the fresh giardiniera. This is simply a quick 15 minute marinade! Add your veggies, carrot, peppers, and onions to a bowl with the vinegar, oil, and seasonings. Give them a stir and let them sit on the counter while you prepare everything else. This is all the time it takes to give them that sharp pickled flavor, but can also be done ahead of time and kept in the fridge.
Step 2 - Grill or bake your ciabatta sub bread, along with any vegetable sides you are serving. If baking, toast in the oven at 400° for about 8 minutes (you can choose to toast the cheese on the bread, or add the cheese cold). If grilling, drizzle the cut side with a bit of olive oil.
Step 3 - Assemble your sandwich on ciabatta with the sliced avocado.
Step 4 - Then pile on thinly sliced prosciutto, tomato and the giardiniera. Include the vinegar and oil from the bowl.
Step 4 - Top your ciabatta sandwich off with lots of lettuce or greens, slices of cheese, and drizzle on any bit of vinegar and oil left in your giardiniera bowl! Add mayo if you like.
Step 5 - Using a serrated bread knife, slice it into triangles and enjoy!
Tips
- Storage - Store leftover assembled sandwich wedges in an airtight container in the fridge and eat the next day for lunch.
- The Best Ciabatta Bread - While ciabatta bread looks beautifully stunning, it's really a simple ingredient that you can buy anywhere. While I have bought "fancy" ciabatta bread at the co-op or a bakery and even once made my own, I've also grabbed a take-and-bake loaf at Target or Aldi. Variations like garlic ciabatta bread are good too. They ALL have made incredible subs, a sandwich on ciabatta bread is simply amazing, period!
- On Sandwich Night, the fresh giardiniera can be made ahead anytime during the day or even the day before and kept in the fridge, although it is not necessary to make ahead. Just letting it marinate on the counter while you prepare the sandwiches is long enough!
Recipe FAQ's
Yes! And you should! Having a loaf of ciabatta bread in your freezer is so handy to make this Italian Sandwich with Giardiniera on any weeknight. Just leave it on the counter to thaw during the day, ready to slice open and toast by dinner.
Yes! Giardiniera is fully of veggies but read the label if buying a jar. A giardiniera using vegetable oil is less healthy. This homemade giardiniera is far healthier than a preserved jar because it uses lots of fresh vegetables. It is marinated simply with red wine vinegar, olive oil and herbs with no added preservatives. Plus it's delicious!
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Italian Subs with Giardiniera
Ingredients
For the Giardiniera
- ½ carrot shredded, about ¼ cup
- 2 mini bell pepper or ¼ of a pepper sliced, about ¼ cup
- ¼ red onion (or any onion) sliced, about ¼ cup
- 2 leaves fresh basil or sub ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 5 grinds fresh black pepper
For the Sandwich
- 1 loaf Ciabatta bread sliced open in half
- 1 avocado, ripe sliced
- 5 slices prosciutto sliced thin
- 1 tomato sliced
- lettuce any type or mix
- 3-4 slices white cheese Provolone, White Cheddar, Havarti, Swiss, or Muenster
- mayonnaise, to taste optional
Instructions
- For the Giardiniera, in a small bowl mix shredded carrot, peppers, onion, vinegar, oil, herbs, salt and pepper. Let marinate on the counter while you prepare everything else, or an hour in the fridge is even better.
- Grill or bake the ciabatta bread. If grilling, drizzle the cut sides with olive oil and grill until black grill marks form. You can grill extra side veggies too if you like. If baking, toast in the oven at 400° for about 8 minutes (you can choose to toast the cheese on the bread, or add the cheese cold).
- Assemble the sandwich on ciabatta with avocado, prosciutto, tomato, the giardiniera mix, including the vinegar oil dressing in the bowl (as much of it as you like), lettuce and cheese, mayo if you like.
- Slice into triangles with a serrated bread knife and serve.
Notes
- Storage - Store leftover assembled sandwich wedges in an airtight container in the fridge and eat the next day for lunch.
- The fresh Giardiniera can be made ahead anytime during the day or a day in advance and kept in the fridge, although it is not necessary to make ahead. Just letting it marinate on the counter while you prepare the sandwiches is long enough.
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