Low Carb & High Protein Grinder Salad

This delicious Italian GRINDER SALAD is packed with protein, veggies and minimal carbs. A lighter version of your favorite deli sub, this macro-friendly salad needs to be in your weekly rotation!

By now, you may have seen the viral TikTok sensation recipe for a “Chopped Italian Grinder.” Full of delicious salty and fatty cured meats, cheeses, slathered in a creamy dressing, chopped up and scooped inside a hoagie roll, there’s no doubt that’s one tasty sandwich. But it’s not the sort of meal I can eat all the time if I want to hit my macros goals.

My macro-friendly take gives you all the flavor of an Italian sub, but in a lighter, protein-packed salad. The macros on my grinder salad are so good, you can add it to your weekly rotation, and still hit your nutrition goals.

Why You’ll Love my High Protein Grinder Salad

• Quick & Easy: I named this blog “Easy Macro Meals” because I believe that eating healthy can be tasty AND easy. This recipe can be prepped in about 15 minutes because we use a bag of pre-cut romaine and your favorite Italian dressing. Slice up a few meats and veggies and you’re done.
• Macro-Friendly: This might be a salad, but it eats like a meal. There’s plenty of protein, vegetables, fiber and FLAVOR in this baby.
• Customizable: Hate tomatoes or onions? Leave ’em out. Want to add in some cucumbers or bell peppers? Go for it. Only have iceberg lettuce on hand? That works. Hate provolone cheese? Swap in cheddar. Need more protein, double the turkey. Please take my recipe as a suggestion of what I like in my grinder salad, but make it your own!

What Makes this Italian Sub Salad Macro-Friendly?

By making a few intentional ingredient choices, we’re able to kick up the protein and flavor while dialing back the fat and carbs. Most grinder salad recipes call for iceberg lettuce, but I opt for romaine as higher nutritional profile.

More Protein

There’s a large amount of turkey to bulk up the grinder salad with lean protein, along with fresh crisp veggies. I give you the option to add in garbanzo beans, which give this Italian sub salad a little boost of protein, fiber and healthy carbs. If you’re familiar with the famous La Scala salad, aka “The Kim Kardashian Salad”, you might recognize garbanzo beans as a key ingredient!

Less Calories

I also cut back on the salami and pepperoni as these salty cured meats can pack on the fat, and because of their bold flavors, a little goes a long way in this grinder salad.

And finally, I swap out the creamy dressing for just a splash of your favorite store-bought or homemade Italian dressing. A little goes a long way, especially because there’s already a ton of flavor in this salad from the cured meats, onion, banana peppers and spices.

Grinder Salad Ingredients

We’re keeping this low carb sub salad pretty simple. I wanted it to mimic my favorite Italian Sub.

I’ve included the following ingredients:

• pepperoni
• salami
• turkey
• provolone cheese
• red onions
• tomatoes
• banana peppers
• garbanzo beans
• Italian dressing
• oregano
• romaine lettuce

Feel free to swap out the pepperoni for turkey pepperoni, the salami for ham, and the provolone for your favorite cheese. You can take out the onions, or add in extra vegetables like grated carrot or chopped cucumbers.

To keep it simple, I’m using my favorite store-bought Italian dressing. If you like a creamy Italian dressing, mix in 1 tablespoon of mayo into the dressing before tossing.

Italian Grinder Salad Recipe Notes

I like to start by slicing all my ingredients. I opted for a bag of pre-washed and cut romaine salad mix, but you can also cut up a whole head of romaine if you prefer. I also like slicing my cherry tomatoes in half.

For the sliced onions, I like set the onions in a bowl of cold water for a few minutes. I feel like this eases the oniony “bite”. Drain before adding to the salad.

And finally, I love adding about a teaspoon of the banana pepper juices along with my salad dressing. It adds a lovely boost of flavor to the grinder salad.

I absolutely love high-protein salads. If you want more ideas, check out my Mexican chicken salad.