Muffaletta Recipe | An Italian Shareable Sandwich (2024)

This Italian-inspired Muffaletta Recipe spreads soft bread with a homemade olive salad then piles up layers of cheese, salami, ham, and prosciutto to create a thick sandwich. Hearty and packed with briny, salty flavors, this muffaletta sandwich is meant to be shared.

This filling muffaletta sandwich packs so many flavors into every bite! The savory olive salad is so easy to whip up and perfectly offsets the mellow Provolone and Swiss cheeses. The layers of salty ham and salty salami take it over the top!

Why You’ll Love This Muffaletta Recipe

• Enough for a Crowd: If you’re planning on lunch for a crowd, why not make a couple of muffuletta sandwiches? You’ll have more than enough to feed everyone, and they’ll all be satisfied.
• Flavor-Forward: There are a lot of flavors in this muffaletta recipe and they all manage to complement each other! You’ll have salty, vinegary, spicy, and a little sweet, making this sandwich stand out.
• Easy. Don’t be intimidated by the ingredients list – this is an easy sandwich to stack up. You can even save time by using purchased olive salad, though I do recommend making it from scratch.

What Is A Muffaletta Sandwich?

A muffaletta sandwich gets its name from muffuletta bread, which is a large, round, soft loaf. The bread is split in half and spread with a homemade olive salad that features giardiniera (pickled vegetables including carrots and cauliflower), then topped with salami, ham, Mortadella, and Swiss and Provolone cheeses. In my muffaletta recipe, I’ve added a bit more ham and prosciutto. This recipe makes enough for six servings.

Recipe Ingredients

There are quite a few ingredients that go into this recipe, but the results are beyond worth it. I’ve included some substitution options lower down if needed. Don’t forget to check the recipe card at the end of this post for the full ingredient amounts.

For the Olive Salad

• Castelvetrano Olives – Otherwise known as green olives, some popular brands include Mezzetta or Divina.
• Kalamata Olives – Pick up a jar of pitted Kalamata olives.
• Capers – For a hint of briny crunch.
• Piri Piri Peppers – These are red peppers that add a spicy sweetness to the salad.
• Shallot – Or substitute a yellow onion.
• Garlic – For a hint of spiciness.
• Fresh Parsley
• Giardiniera or Crunchy Pickled Cauliflower – Giardiniera is a mix of peppers, jalapeños, cauliflower, and olives pickled in vinegar and oil.
• Pickled Baby Onions – Or use pickled pearl onions.
• Red Wine Vinegar – Substitute sherry vinegar if needed.
• Olive Oil – I always use extra virgin olive oil.
• Salt and Pepper

For the Sandwich

• Muffaletta Bread – This is a soft, round bread topped with sesame seeds. You can use another soft Italian bread if needed.
• Butter – Salted or unsalted butter is fine.
• Mortadella– This is a type of Italian sausage.
• Capicola Ham – A very thinly sliced ham.
• Genoa Salami– Or use your preferred salami.
• Sliced Deli Ham – Ask for your ham to be very thinly sliced.
• Provolone Cheese –
• Swiss Cheese –
• Prosciutto

How to Make A Muffaletta

Make the pickled olive salad a day in advance if you can, so that the flavors have time to meld and deepen. Then proceed with the recipe outlined below. Find the detailed instructions in the recipe card lower down.

• Make the olive salad. Place the olives, capers, Piri Piri peppers, diced shallot, minced garlic, fresh parsley, crunchy pickled cauliflower, and pickled baby onions in a food processor.
• Combine. Pulse a few times.
• Season. Whisk together red wine vinegar and olive oil, pour over the salad, and season wtih salt and pepper.

• Toast. Cut the muffuletta bread in half, hollow out the top half, and toast both halves.
• Add salad. Place some of the salad on one sliced half of the bread.

• Add meat. Layer on some Mortadella, Capicola, salami, and ham.

• Add cheese. Layer on the Provolone cheese and the Swiss cheese. Then, add the Prosciutto di Parma and top with the remaining Capicola ham and Mortadella.
• Finish. Add more olive salad to the other piece of bread and top the sandwich with it. Press on the sandwich gently and let rest for a few minutes before cutting.

Tips & Variations

• Use purchased olive salad. If you don’t have time to make the olive salad, you could pick up a jar. Mezzetta brand makes an olive salad that would work nicely.
• Or try tapenade. In a pinch, swap in a homemade or purchased olive tapenade for the olive salad.
• Change the cheese. Try Gouda cheese in place of the Swiss cheese, and Monterey Jack cheese in place of the Provolone.
• Different meat. This muffaletta sandwich features a lot of Italian meat for authentic flavor! You can swap in other deli meats if you wish, and even go off-book with roast beef or turkey. Make sure you use thinly sliced meat.
• Homemade bread. Soft bread is wonderful in this sandwich, however, you could also use homemade bread. Make a loaf of my No Knead Dutch Oven Bread and use it in place of the muffaletta bread.

What To Serve With Sandwiches

A muffaletta sandwich is so hearty and flavorful just on its own – you could add a side of potato chips and a glass of Italian red wine and call it a day! But I often like to make a batch of Garlic Fries to go with the sandwich, Air Fryer Zucchini Fries, or cheesy Parmesan Asparagus Fries. My Roasted Tomato Basil Soup would pair nicely with the flavors in this sandwich. You could also make Mexican Street Corn Salad or Avocado Tomato Salad for a bit of vegetables to balance the hearty sandwich. Follow this Italian-inspired sandwich with an Italian dessert, like my creamy, homemade Tiramisu.

More Easy Sandwich Recipes

• Reuben Sandwich Recipe
• Baked Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
• Tuna Grilled Cheese Sandwich
• Copycat KFC Chicken Sandwich