How To Recreate Jersey Mike's Iconic Italian Sub At Home (For Cheaper)

Inside you, so the story goes, there are two wolves — and they are both hungry. One of them wants to order your favorite Italian sub from Jersey Mike's, secure in the knowledge that the 70-year-old sandwich chain will craft this mouthwatering assemblage of meat, cheese, and bread exactly as you would expect. The other, however, wants the control, satisfaction, and savings of making a delicious sandwich yourself. Luckily, it is possible to satisfy both wolfish instincts and recreate Jersey Mike's iconic Original Italian sub at home for cheaper.

This sandwich sets an intimidating standard — there's good reason why Jersey Mike's beat Firehouse Subs when we asked which chain offered the superior Italian sub – so achieving a satisfying copycat requires understanding what goes in it. Jersey Mike's Jersey-style Italian sub includes provolone, ham, prosciuttini, cappacuolo, salami, and pepperoni. The sandwich may be further elevated by ordering it "Mike's Way" (one of the three ordering tips we recommend to get the best Jersey Mike's original Italian sub), which piles on iceberg lettuce, fresh tomatoes, red onion, oregano, salt, red wine vinegar, and an olive oil blend known as "The Juice."

Once you have rounded up these ingredients, plus your preferred type of submarine roll, you can begin assembling your sandwich, which Jersey Mike's does in the following order: On your bottom piece of bread, carefully arrange your cheese, meat, onions, lettuce, tomato, oil and vinegar, and your seasonings. Cover it with your top slice of bread, and your copycat Original Italian will be complete.

Looking at the list of ingredients for this pleasingly mountainous sandwich, you may find it difficult to believe that buying everything necessary could possibly be more cost-effective than simply popping into your local Jersey Mike's. Yet numerous copycat recipe authors affirm that making this sub yourself is the more wallet-friendly option, with one commenter on the subreddit r/food writing, "I started making my own subs [too] and they are infinitely better and way cheaper. Jersey Mike's is ridiculously overpriced." 

A homemade Italian sub will typically be cheaper per serving, as the savings will come through making multiple sandwiches. One happy recreator of the Jersey Mike's Italian sub on the Facebook group "Crock Pot For All Recipes!" listed a breakdown of ingredients and their cost in 2024, concluding that $27 would yield six subs, or $4.50 per sandwich. This particular copycat recipe did not include several of the deli meats Jersey Mike's features, but even factoring the cost of these meats from brands like Boar's Head and Hillshire Farm, your homemade Italian subs would still cost closer to $9 apiece, compared to the almost $12 (which varies based on location) you can expect to pay at Jersey Mike's for a regular-size Original Italian.

The other advantage of making your own Italian sub is that you can customize it to your heart's content and perhaps even improve on the Jersey Mike's original. Maybe you prefer thin-cut Genoa salami to the meats Jersey Mike's uses, feel like your sandwich could benefit from some spicy, Chicago-style giardiniera, or just can't live without mayo. The more ingredients you add, the more it will cost per serving, of course, but some things are delicious enough to be worth it.