Grinder sandwich pasta salad takes the picnic classic and turns it into a full on meal with all the flavors of your favorite sub sandwiches. This hearty pasta salad features a blend of chopped deli meats, cheeses and hoagie vegetables tossed in a tangy combination of mayo and vinegar.
My family loves a good pasta salad and a good sandwich.
I mean what’s not to love about a grinder, hoagie, sub, or hero?
Whatever you call them the meaty sandwiches are amazing and we love to enjoy the flavors of them in Classic Deli Style Sub Sandwiches and Grinder Salad.
Now take those flavors and toss them with pasta and, oh my, do you have a winner!
Ingredients
To make this you’ll need:
- Pasta– Preferably rotini but you could sub penne or bowties
- Dressing ingredients– Mayonnaise, red wine vinegar, pickled banana pepper brine
- Seasonings– Salt, pepper, dried oregano, and crushed red pepper flakes
- Deli meat– Turkey, hard salami, and deli ham all chopped
- Cheese– Chopped provolone cheese
- Veggies– Cored and thinly sliced iceberg lettuce, pickled banana peppers, thinly sliced red onion
How to Make
Making the grinder pasta salad is very similar to making other pasta salads.
Just cook the pasta in salted water according to the instructions on the package.
When the pasta is done, transfer it to a strainer and run it under cold water to stop the cooking process and cool it.
Set the cooled pasta aside while you make the dressing.
Make the dressing by whisking the mayo, vinegar, seasonings, and brine together until it’s evenly combined.
Toss the pasta, meats, cheese, and veggies together with the dressing.
Serve immediately and enjoy!
Storing
If you think you may have leftover pasta salad, I highly recommend not mixing the shredded lettuce in and instead adding it to individual servings.
Without the shredded lettuce the pasta salad will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
If you have mixed the shredded lettuce into the salad, the lettuce will get soggy and droopy after a day.
Tips and Tricks
- The pasta salad can be made ahead of time, but do NOT add the shredded lettuce until just before serving.
- You can adjust the meats and cheeses to suit your taste.
- Make sure you’re using real mayo and not mayonnaise style dressing or Miracle Whip.
Other Pasta Salad Recipes
Grinder sandwich pasta salad is a hearty version of the classic dish you’ll love.
Make it and enjoy!
Looking for other pasta salad recipes?
Try these:
- Creamy Poppyseed Pasta Salad with Grapes
- Hawaiian Pasta Salad
- Cold Spaghetti Salad
- Tuna Macaroni Salad
If you’ve tried this GRINDER SANDWICH PASTA SALAD or any other recipe on the site, let me know in the comment section how it turned out, we love hearing from our readers! You can also follow along with me on PINTEREST, FACEBOOK, and INSTAGRAM to see more amazing recipes and whatever else we’ve got going on!
Grinder Sandwich Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 1 lb rotini pasta
- 1 large head iceberg lettuce core removed, and thinly sliced
- 1/2 - 3/4 cup pickled banana peppers + 1 tbsp of the brine
- 6-8 slices provolone cheese roughly chopped
- 1 small red onion peeled & thinly sliced
- 8 slices deli turkey chopped
- 12-14 slices hard salami chopped
- 8 slices deli ham chopped
- 1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
- 1 cup red wine vinegar
- salt & pepper to taste
- 1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- pinch crushed red pepper flakes optional
Instructions
- Cook the pasta in salted water according to the instructions on the package. When done, transfer it to a strainer and run it under cold water to stop the cooking process and cool it. Set it aside.
- To a large mixing bowl add the mayo, vinegar, seasonings, and brine. Whisk together until evenly combined.
- Add the cooled, cooked pasta to the bowl and gently toss until it's all evenly coated.
- Add the remaining ingredients, gently tossing again just until combined.
- Serve immediately and enjoy!
Notes
- The pasta salad can be made ahead of time, but do NOT add the shredded lettuce until just before serving.
- You can adjust the meats and cheeses to suit your taste.
- Make sure you're using real mayo and not mayonnaise style dressing or Miracle Whip.
Nutrition
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