Homemade Sub Sandwiches
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!
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! Â You don’t need a loaf pan. You can also divide your bread into 8 logs and bake it on a cookie sheet.
Sandwich Toppings
After baking, we took out our veggies for the sandwiches and put them in a muffin tin. Â 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)
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!
More Healthy Sandwich Recipes
- Tuna Salad Sandwich
- Pulled Pork Sandwich
- 25 Pita Sandwiches for Kids
- Grilled Apple and Peanut Butter Sandwich
Homemade Sub Sandwich
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
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.
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What did you use to cut your carrot fries?
What is vital wheat gluten? Is it a must in the recipe?
I was also wondering about the vital wheat gluten.
@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.
Brilliant!
Is wheat gluten and wheat germ the same thing?
@Kristin- no- Wheat germ looks like this: http://www.walmart.com/ip/24389861?wmlspartner=wlpa&adid=22222222227000000000&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=41833582510&wl4=&wl5=pla&wl6=19880599990&veh=sem
Can you use any other oil in place of Grapeseed ?
Any liquid oil will work Karen. Vegetable, canola, or olive oil.
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