Make a delicious White Bean Grinder Salad for a hearty meal prep lunch. This grinder salad has all of the flavors of a sub sandwich, but with white beans added to make it more filling and heartier.
Weeknight-easy
Beginner-friendly
You’ll Learn: How to compose a balanced salad with texture and crunch
Worth It: It’s a satisfying, protein-forward option that actually keeps you full
Bonus: Simple swaps to match what’s in your pantry
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- All of the flavor of a sub sandwich – this salad delivers the flavors you know and love from an Italian grinder sandwich, but in a hearty and filling salad form. All of the ingredients get tossed in a tangy dressing made from mayonnaise and red wine vinegar just like the spreads you might put on your hoagie or grinder!
- Add fiber from white beans – the added fiber from white beans makes this salad super hearty and filling. You can even swap them out for chickpeas if you like them better.
- Perfect for meal prep – This grinder salad can be prepped once and enjoyed all week long. Sometimes I leave the chopped iceberg lettuce on the side so that it stays even fresher.
Serving Suggestions
This salad is a filling and hearty meal all in one bowl. It is ideal for meal prep because as it sits in the fridge the flavors really come together.
Sometimes I leave the iceberg lettuce out of the mixture and serve it over a fresh bead of romaine lettuce or even in little butter lettuce cups. You could also fold it into a large tortilla to make a grinder salad wrap.
Make the viral grinder sandwich by serving this ginder sub salad on a hoagie roll or Italian bread.
I also like to make this for a party and serve it alongside things like crispy baked panko chicken and birthday cake cookie bars for a sweet treat.
Ingredients
- White beans – the beans bulk this salad up. They make it heartier, more filling and add healthy fiber.
- Iceberg lettuce – shredded lettuce adds freshness to this salad. You can also serve the salad on top of chopped lettuce.
- Red onion – thinly sliced red onion is one of my favorite ingredients on an Italian sub so it is an essential part of this salad.
- Cherry or grape tomatoes – quartered cherry tomatoes add brightness and subtle sweetness to the salad.
- Pepperoncini peppers – pickled pepperoncini peppers add delightful tang and a little spice.
- Dry salami – genoa salami slices get cut into small bites and tossed in with the other ingredients.
- Provolone cheese – regular or sharp provolone cheese is the perfect edition to a delicious Italian grinder.
- Grated parmesan cheese – sharp parm coats each bite adding a bit of saltiness and umami.
- Mayonnaise, red wine vinegar and italian seasoning – mix these three together to make a simple vinaigrette to toss the salad in.
Ingredient substitutions
Replace the white beans with any kind of beans you enjoy. I personally think that chickpeas or garbanzo beans would be the best substitution. You could also omit them completely or replace them with some cubed and toasted hoagie roll bites.
Swap the red onion out for white onion or yellow onion. The pepperoncini peppers can be omitted or replace with banana peppers. You can even add roasted red peppers if you do not like spice. If you want extra spice, add a shake of crushed red pepper flakes to the salad dressing.
To add more protein to this salad, replace the mayonnaise in the creamy Italian dressing with nonfat plain greek yogurt. You can also use any vinegar you like in place of the red wine vinegar.
There are many more cold cuts and different meats you can add to this hearty salad. Sometimes I add ham or other Italian meats like prosciutto or capicola. My wife likes to make one with deli turkey and roast beef.
If you don’t like provolone cheese, you can easily replace it with cheddar cheese, american cheese or even a dairy free cheese.
The best part is that you can make this with any of your favorite sandwich ingredients. Add any other fresh veggies like cucumbers or bell peppers to make it healthier.
How to make
Step 1: Mix Dressing Ingredients
To begin, mix mayonnaise, red wine vinegar and Italian seasoning blend together in a small bowl or cup and set aside. Mix until evenly combined.
Step 2: Toss salad in a large bowl
Then, add white beans, iceberg lettuce, red onion, cherry tomatoes, pepperoncini, salami, provolone cheese and parmesan cheese to a large mixing bowl.
Finally, pour mayonnaise mixture over top and toss to combine and coat everything evenly in the dressing.
Step 3: serve or chill
Serve immediately or chill in the refrigerator and serve chilled.
Storage
Store any salad leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. If I am making this grinder salad for meal prep, I skip the iceberg lettuce and serve it on a fresh bed of romaine lettuce each day.
Check out these other Delicious Salad recipes
You can find the full recipe below. If you make this recipe, please rate and review it in the comments, or share it with me on Instagram!
You can find the full recipe below. If you make this recipe, please rate and review it in the comments, or share it with me on Instagram!
Email Recipe for Later
Recipe
White Bean Grinder Salad
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1 can white beans (15 oz)
- 1/2 head iceberg lettuce shredded
- 1/4 red onion thinly sliced
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes quartered
- 1/3 cup pepperoncini peppers
- 6 oz genoa salami chopped
- 6 oz provolone cheese chopped
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Mix mayonnaise, red wine vinegar and Italian seasoning blend together in a small bowl or cup and set aside
- Add white beans, iceberg lettuce, red onion, cherry tomatoes, pepperoncini, salami, provolone cheese and parmesan cheese to a large mixing bowl
- Pour mayonnaise mixture over top and toss to combine and coat everything evenly in the dressing
- Serve immediately or chill in the refrigerator and serve chilled.
Recipe Notes
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days
- If making ahead of time, leave the shredded iceberg lettuce on the side and mix in just before serving or serve on a bed of romaine lettuce for extra crunch.
Nutrition Information
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
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