10 Popular Jimmy John's Sandwiches, Ranked
Jimmy John's was founded in Illinois during the 1980s. The sandwich chain now has 2,700 locations across 43 states and is continuing to expand as time goes on. Its menu consists of sandwiches, sides, drinks, and desserts. The sandwiches themselves come submarine style in French bread, on sliced wheat bread, or bread-free in an "unwich" format. There are also a few categories the sandwiches can come in. Slims are just meat and cheese in bread, originals are the standard options, and favorites are something a bit special — often offering multiple ingredients or other meats.
There are some common themes among Jimmy John's sandwiches. You can expect freshly baked bread and fresh ingredients. The cold cuts used are all of high quality, and the veggies were incredibly fresh — which made us excited to rank the sandwiches on which they came. For the purposes of consistency, all of the sandwiches were ordered as they come. In the case of Jimmy John's, that usually means as an 8-inch sub in French bread with mayonnaise, tomato, and lettuce on top. Sounds good to us.
We covered the entire Originals menu, as well as a few selections from the Favorites section, and we've even rated the legendary "Gargantuan." So if you're planning a visit to Jimmy John's in the future, read on to see what your best options are.
10. The Veggie
The Veggie is Jimmy John's vegetarian option. It consists of double cheese, avocado spread, cucumber, lettuce, tomato, and mayo. The problem is, the sandwich is basically toppings in bread. It lacks a standout ingredient. There's very little substance to it, and every bite will make you think something is missing. That something doesn't necessarily have to be meat; it could just be a better cheese. Texturally, there's a huge hole too. Maybe some kind of breaded and fried ingredient would do the job. Either way, this is the worst option on the menu by some margin.
You may think the avocado spread sounds good, and there is potential for something like that to really stand out in a sandwich like this. Unfortunately, it's as bland as bland can be. If you didn't tell someone it was in there, they wouldn't notice. There was an area of the sandwich we tried where a good amount of the spread had clumped up — so we had the opportunity to try it on its own. It's essentially a soulless version of guacamole. At 670 calories for a standard sandwich, it's also one of the more calorific choices you can make. All in all, the Veggie is best avoided. While it's nice to have a vegetarian option, many other chains have made sure theirs is a pleasant experience, and not just there.
9. Big John
The Big John is one of the most basic sandwiches on the menu, but that doesn't hold it back. You can add cheese to the Big John for an extra dollar — otherwise, it's just a roast beef sandwich. So, with Jimmy John's standard configuration, that's beef, lettuce, tomato, and mayo. Just so you know, the cheese adds nothing and isn't worth the extra money. The beef itself is moist, thinly sliced, and delicious. Some chains really mess up the beef, serving up slices that are either chewy or full of gristle. Jimmy John's doesn't, the beef is as high quality as most of its other fillings.
The real issue is with the sauce. Mayo just doesn't pair well with beef. It's not bad, and it certainly won't ruin the sandwich. But strong mustard or horseradish would really take the Big John to the next level. It is one of the leaner choices on the menu, coming in at 500 calories for a standard sandwich.
8. Turkey Tom
Jimmy John's Turkey Tom consists of turkey breast in bread with the chain's standard toppings. The turkey doesn't really have much of a flavor initially. The main note you'll get from it is salt, which blends together well with the mayo Jimmy John's puts on the sandwich. The flavor of the turkey will eventually show up with the aftertaste. The veggies — Jimmy John's tomato and lettuce, in this case — are light and fresh. They also pair well with turkey, and this sandwich should receive your consideration if you're looking for a light option.
The main downside — and this could be said for a lot of Jimmy John's originals — is the lack of meat. While it does keep the sandwich light, the chain could also be a touch more generous with its portion sizes. This doesn't mean it has to go full Dagwood, but a few extra slices would be welcome — especially where milder meats are concerned. Alongside its lightness in the flavor department, the Turkey Tom is also light on calories, coming in at 480 for a standard sandwich.
7. Totally Tuna
The tuna salad sandwich is a staple food in many households and a fixture on most sandwich menus. Jimmy John's take on this classic is the Totally Tuna, and that sandwich totally doesn't disappoint. Jimmy John's adds soy sauce to their tuna salad, apparently, which helps add some umami flavor to the filling. The fish itself tasted fresh and was obviously of good quality. There was no fishy flavor lingering around and ruining the experience. The tuna-to-mayo ratio is also spot on, giving the tuna salad a perfect consistency You get a reasonable amount of tuna salad in the sandwich, and it is far more filling than some of Jimmy John's other offerings.
In terms of toppings, you may notice the addition of cucumber on the Totally Tuna. The cucumber really stood out, adding a refreshing flavor and some welcome texture to the sandwich as a whole. This sandwich doesn't really have any major weaknesses and is one of the better fast food tuna sandwiches you can get. It's also a pretty light option, coming in at 500 calories for a standard 8-inch Totally Tuna on French bread.
6. Vito
The Vito is more than likely a subtle Godfather reverence, and almost definitely Jimmy John's take on an Italian combo. It contains salami, capocollo, and cheese. Beyond that, gone is the standard mayo spread across JJ's famous French bread. Instead, you get a dash of oil and vinegar, onion, and oregano-basil in addition to the usual lettuce and tomato. While it may sound like an offer you can't refuse, it isn't perfect. The meat is delicious and fairly light for an Italian sub. The salami and capocollo aren't overly greasy or salty, which makes the sandwich far less of a struggle. But beyond that, things go downhill.
One of the best parts of an Italian combo is the sharp taste of the provolone punching through. Jimmy John's cheese doesn't really have a taste most of the time. It's just there. It merely exists and offers nothing beyond that. Then there are the toppings. The oil and vinegar aren't noticeable at all. Jimmy John's didn't leave it out, and we saw the person making the sandwich definitely dash it on there, but you wouldn't think that was the case if you'd taken a bite. The same can be said for the oregano-basil — it's totally anonymous. This sandwich has no herbal notes. The other toppings were okay, and the onion is a nice touch. A standard-size Vito on French bread contains 580 calories, which isn't bad either.
5. Jimmy Cubano
The Jimmy Cubano is Jimmy John's take on the Cuban sandwich. In terms of meat, you're doubling up on the pig. Bacon and ham make up the bulk of the sandwich, along with a portion of Jimmy John's cheese. The Cubano also ditches the lettuce, tomato, and mayo you'll find on most other sandwiches and replaces them with a spread of Dijon mustard and an incredible amount of pickles. Seriously, there's a carpet of pickles on this thing. If you like shelf-stable cucumber, then this is your sandwich heaven. If you hate pickles, though, this goes to the bottom of the list. The pickles themselves are, like many items at Jimmy John's, quite neutral. They aren't vinegary, but instead inhabit the salty/sweet side of the pickle spectrum. They aren't rubbery either; each one packs a nice crunch.
Beyond the pickles, the ham and cheese tend to retreat into the background in this sandwich. The smokiness of the ham may make an appearance, but that blends right in — and is likely overpowered by — the smokiness of the bacon. That salty, smoky, bacon flavor will linger in your mouth after every bite. The Jimmy Cubano has 720 calories if you order an 8-inch sandwich on French bread.
4. The J.J. Gargantuan
The Gargantuan may have started out as a joke. It's entirely possible someone walked into a Jimmy John's a while back and asked the person behind the counter to slap absolutely everything they have available to them in between two slices of bread and hand it over. Whatever happened, that sandwich is on the menu now and has been labeled "the Gargantuan." If you're offended by the presence of the Veggie on this list and would like to go out there and make a point, this is probably what you want to order. It's basically a menagerie in a loaf.
The Gargantuan contains salami, capocollo, ham, roast beef, turkey, and cheese along with the toppings you'll find on Jimmy John's attempts at the Italian sub — oil, vinegar, onion, and oregano-basil. Before you even take a bite, you may notice something odd. While Jimmy John's sandwiches are usually pretty light, the ridiculous amount of meat inside this could lead to some grease leaking out and coating the bread. In terms of flavor, it's pretty nice. You can detect different meats at different points, though the sausage-based meats tend to stand out a lot more. It's pretty heavy too; making it all the way through a regular gargantuan is a struggle. As you may expect, this is the most calorific sandwich on the menu with a regular having 1080 calories in total — double what some other offerings have.
3. The Pepe
On the face of it, The Pepe is one of the most basic sandwiches you can get anywhere. It's ham and cheese. But Jimmy John's ham and cheese sandwich does some weird and surprising things. The ham itself is smoky and of high quality, and somehow the previously uninspiring cheese really stands out on this sandwich. Beyond that, the mayonnaise Jimmy John's applies to pretty much every sandwich as standard really, really works with the ham for some reason. All in all, it's further evidence that Jimmy John's does the basics incredibly well and proves its simpler sandwiches should not be written off.
The other salad ingredients, tomato and lettuce, are as fresh and pleasant as usual but aren't really as necessary on this sandwich as they are on others. While some options need that moist punch from the lettuce or the sweetness of the tomato to set things off, The Pepe would be just fine without the extras. In terms of calorie content, The Pepe is in the middle of the pack. A standard 8-inch sandwich on French bread contains around 600 calories, with the "Little John" coming in at half that and the "Giant" doubling it.
2. Spicy East Coast Italian
The Spicy East Coast Italian is the best Italian sub on the Jimmy John's menu and the second-best sandwich we tried overall. Perhaps the strangest thing about the Spicy East Coast Italian is how light it is, even with the extra meat that comes with the sandwiches on the "favorites" menu. Sometimes, an Italian sub can be a bit difficult to get through. The high fat content of the meat, the saltiness, and the overall texture can be great at first, but become a chore after a few bites. The Spicy East Coast Italian doesn't suffer from any of those problems, and you may feel like you can eat these all day. That may not be a good idea, though, as despite the lightness, it was one of the more calorific options we tried, coming in at 850 calories per standard 8-inch sandwich.
Beyond the meat, the vaguely named "hot peppers" were this sandwich's surprising star. They weren't in any way overly hot but gave a delightful burst of spice and vinegary flavor to every other bite. The oil and vinegar were more noticeable on this sandwich than on the Vito, Jimmy John's other Italian offering. That wasn't a bad thing, and they both complimented the rest of the sandwich perfectly. As with the other sandwiches on which it featured, the oregano-basil was pretty flavorless and may as well not be there. Fortunately, the other ingredients — onion, lettuce, and tomato — were fresh and bright. All in all, this is a must-order for fans of the Italian sub.
1. J.J.B.L.T
While the items on Jimmy John's premium "favorites" menu may have an advantage, with their extra ingredients and bolder sauce choices, the "originals" can still hold their own. The best sandwich on the Jimmy John's menu is one of the cheaper options, and this makes sense when you think about it. A BLT, which at its core just consists of bacon, lettuce, and tomato, doesn't need to be excessively fancy. It just needs to have fresh, high-quality ingredients — beyond that, the sandwich can stand on its own. If you eat a lot of Jimmy Johns, you'll notice the sandwich chain specializes in exactly that. There's very little on the menu that's crazy, daring, or too far out there. But everything the outlet offers is of high quality. A "regular" 8-inch sandwich on Jimmy John's French bread contains around 590 calories, so it isn't the heaviest sandwich on the menu, either.
The J.J.B.L.T. contains a good amount of salty, crispy, bacon balanced out with fresh, crunchy, lettuce and some slices of tomato. The mayo, a Jimmy John's staple from the looks of things, adds just the right amount of moisture to the sandwich and balances out the bacon perfectly. It's actually quite refreshing to eat one of these, and that's exactly what a BLT should be. If you create a BLT correctly, it's arguably the best sandwich you can have, and the J.J.B.L.T. proves this theory.