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Homemade Sub Sandwiches

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These choose-your-own style Homemade Sub Sandwiches are a great way to let your kids have autonomy when making their own sandwiches. Prep the toppings the night before making lunch packing a breeze on school mornings!

homemade sub sandwich for kids wrapped in white paper with carrot stickshomemade sub sandwich for kids wrapped in white paper with carrot sticks

The fun thing about restaurant dining is everyone in your family can get something different! The very thing we avoid when we are cooking for our family at home.  If you’ve ever said before “I’m only making one meal tonight, you eat it or you don’t”, you know what I’m talking about!

But this is also the reason we love a good old home style buffet- The potato bar, the oatmeal bar, the salad bar, pasta bar, taco bar, etc.  Enter, our version of a sandwich bar. These Homemade Sub Sandwiches are perfect for helping your kids learn to pack their own lunches and have much lest wasted food!

How to Make Homemade Sub Sandwiches

To make our sandwich bar just like Subway’s, we had two things in mind. One, to make our hoagie rolls. And second, to find as many veggie toppings as we could come up with.

Our bread, we adapted this recipe from Copycat Recipe Guide (and replaced the regular flour with whole wheat flour and the soybean oil with Grape Seed Oil)- Our full recipe is below.

We then baked our bread in a mini loaf pan– because we like small things!  You don’t need a loaf pan. You can also divide your bread into 8 logs and bake it on a cookie sheet.

Our-Way Mini Sub Sandwiches. Picky eaters? Satisfy each family member's unique tastes and only serve ONE meal!

Sandwich Toppings

After baking, we took out our veggies for the sandwiches and put them in a muffin tin.  These are some ideas to use for sandwich toppings:

  • Green peppers, chopped
  • Shredded carrots
  • Avocado
  • Jalapenos
  • Spinach
  • Roasted Red peppers
  • Pickles
  • Banana Peppers
  • Lettuce, shredded
  • Tomatoes, chopped
  • Cucumbers, thinly sliced
  • and Olives, chopped (sliced would work too)
collage of sandwich toppings with sandwich assembly for a homemade sub sandwich

Prepping your veggies the night before and putting them in a muffin tin makes your sub sandwich assembly SO easy. I just cover it with plastic wrap or tin foil and pull in out when we are ready to assemble our sandwiches. And there you have it! The kids can assemble their sandwiches to their liking!

muffin tin with sandwich toppings and cheese and hoagie rolls in the background

More Healthy Sandwich Recipes

homemade sub sandwich for kids wrapped in white paper with carrot sticks
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4.5 from 4 votes

Homemade Sub Sandwich

These choose-your-own style Homemade Sub Sandwiches are a great way to let your kids have autonomy when making their own sandwiches.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time25 minutes
Rising1 hour
Total Time1 hour 35 minutes
Course: Lunch
Cuisine: American
Servings: 10 sandwiches
Calories: 355kcal

Ingredients

Homemade Hoagie Buns

  • 2 1/2 tablespoons active dry yeast
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 2 cups warm water
  • 1/3 cup oil
  • 6 cups flour
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon vital wheat gluten

Topping Ideas

  • Green peppers, chopped
  • Shredded carrots
  • Avocado
  • Jalapenos
  • Spinach
  • Roasted Red peppers
  • Pickles
  • Banana Peppers
  • Lettuce, shredded
  • Tomatoes, chopped
  • Cucumbers, thinly sliced
  • Olives, chopped sliced would work too

Instructions

Hoagie Buns

  • Combine yeast and sugar. Pour warm water over the top and let proof for 10 minutes.
  • Add oil, salt, and two cups of whole wheat flour. Mix in a large stand mixer with your dough hook, or with a regular mixer with as much of the flour as the mixer can handle.
  • If using a stand mixer, add the rest of the whole wheat flour and then the white flour and knead in the bowl for about 5 minutes. If not, mix in as much flour as your mixer can handle, then take it out of the bowl and knead by hand for 10 minutes.
  • Place dough in a lightly-greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for about one hour.
  • Punch dough down and divide into eight pieces. Roll each half into loaf-shapes.
  • Place loaves onto two large baking sheets lined with parchment paper or a well greased mini loaf pan.
  • Cover the eight loaves and allow to rise for about an hour.
  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Cook for 25 minutes, or until the top of the loaves are golden brown.

Sub Sandwich Assembly

  • Prep toppings and place each topping in the cup of a muffin tin. When hoagie buns are cool, slice in half and let your kids add whatever toppings they want to their sandwich. Wrap in parchment paper or place in a baggie. Enjoy!

Nutrition

Calories: 355kcal | Carbohydrates: 60g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.03g | Sodium: 700mg | Potassium: 91mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin C: 0.003mg | Calcium: 13mg | Iron: 4mg
Keyword : Mini Sub Sandwiches

www.superhealthykids.com

Natalie Monson

I'm a registered dietitian, mom of 4, avid lover of food and strong promoter of healthy habits. Here you will find lots of delicious recipes full of fruits and veggies, tips for getting your kids to eat better and become intuitive eaters and lots of resources for feeding your family.

Learn More about Natalie

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11 Comments

@Chrissy- We got a “crinkle cutter” from Bed Bath and Beyond on their gadget wall. We also have a link to an amazon one in our “Favorite products”
@magdalena, ChrissyW- Vital Wheat gluten does a great job of holding bread together. Without it, it seems to get crumbly. It’s definitely not necessary though.

What a fantastic and creative idea. This recipe would be a super fun activity to involve the kids in. You’re absolutely right about the one home meal made to share as opposed to restaurant meals where we choose our own. This recipe has the best of both worlds – it’s a healthy home cooked meal and provides a variety of choice. Also – i love how you have made your own bread. Carbs aren’t evil! Everything in moderation. You should watch this short Jamie Oliver video on ‘Don’t be Scared of Carbs’ –> http://www.jamieoliver.com/videos/don-t-be-scared-of-carbs-jamiessuperfood-daily-jamie/#8XLWSMMwcYY9e1OB.97

Hi!
Looks great! But it doesn’t say when to add the vital gluten…
I added it after the flour, when I realized it doesn’t mention it.
Thanks