• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
West Coast Kitchen Garden
  • Recipes
    • Appetizers and Snacks
      • Albacore Tuna Ceviche With A Side Of Guacamole
      • Arugula Crostini With Boerenkaas Cheese
      • Asparagus and Red Pepper Prosciutto Bundles
      • Basil Aioli For Garden Veggies
      • Caramelized Onion and Blue Cheese Dip
      • Crab Cakes (The best classic cakes!)
      • Dungeness Crab Cakes with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce (Low Carb and Gluten Free)
      • Crispy Fried Oysters With Lemon Caper Aioli
      • Fresh Salsa (Pica de Gallo)
      • Grilled Peel And Eat Spot Prawns With Garlic Herb Butter
      • Guacamole (Fast, Vegan, 5 Ingredients)
      • Healthy Hummus
      • Miso Baked Oysters-A Quick And Easy West Coast Appetizer
      • Olives-Warm Marinated Olives
      • Roasted Eggplant Dip (Skinny Dipping)
      • Savory Spring Rhubarb Salsa
      • Shrimp Cocktail Mexican Style! (Coctel De Camarones) With Wild West Coast Shrimp
      • Skinny Dipping (Into Eggplant)
      • Use-It-Up Fruit Salsa
      • Zucchini Cheddar Fritters
      • Canada Day!!! 8 Fun Recipes To Celebrate Our Country
    • Salads and Side Dishes
      • Apple Fennel Salad with Grainy Mustard Dressing
      • Carrot Apple Ginger Salad Dressing
      • Cauliflower Mushrooms And Wild Mushroom Gratin
      • Celery Apple Salad
      • Fresh Fig Fennel Salad
      • Garden Salad With Orange Vinaigrette
      • Ketchup-Make Your Own (Easy and Healthy) Homemade Ketchup From Your Garden!
      • Microgreen Salad on Carrot Risotto
      • Radicchio and Orange Salad
      • Radicchio Grilled with Cambazola
      • Raspberry Salad Dressing
      • Strawberry Vinaigrette with Arugula, Hazelnuts and Goat Cheese
      • Thai Flank Steak Salad
      • Zucchini Salad with Feta and Hazelnuts
      • Zucchini Tomato Salad
    • Main
      • Chirashi Sushi Bowl (aka Superfood Bowl)
      • Crab Cake Recipe-Pure Crab!
      • Crispy Fried Oysters With Lemon Caper Aioli
      • Fish Tacos With BC Cod
      • Foraged Food! How to find and cook wild foods.
      • Halibut Cheeks
      • Lemon Herb Marinade For Chicken
      • Peanut Sauce Baked Chicken
      • Perfectly Baked Salmon
      • Salmon-Roasted Miso Glazed Salmon
      • Scallops Vongole Style
      • Seafood Alfredo
      • Seared Tuna Nicoise Salad with Asparagus and Arugula
      • Thai Flank Steak Salad
      • Wild West Coast Prawns In Tomato Fennel Broth And How to Grill Them Simply
    • Vegetarian Main
      • Basic Pizza Dough and Easy Zucchini Pizza
      • Best Meatless Monday Recipes- 35 Dinners That Aren’t Salad!
      • Easy Lemon Asparagus Risotto
      • Fiddleheads-A Wild Spring Vegetable and a Delicious, Easy Tart
      • Pesto-Mint Basil Pistachio Pesto (Vegan, GF)
      • Pesto- Sorrel Pesto, Bright, Citrusy, Delicious And Easy
      • Mushroom Gratin-Cauliflower and other Wild Mushrooms
      • Mushrooms-Wild Chanterelle Mushroom Croustade
      • Mushroom-Wild Mushroom and Lentil Stew
      • PNW Fiddleheads with Garlic, Ginger and Sesame
      • Risotto-Carrot and Microgreen Salad
      • Risotto-Best Ever Wild Mushroom Risotto
      • Vegan Italian White Beans
    • Soup
      • Beet And Beef Borscht Inspired By Grandma
      • Broccoli Cheese Soup (GF, Healthy, Easy)
      • Easiest Creamy Tomato Soup
      • Laksa-Easy Authentic Homemade Snapper Laksa
      • Oyster Stew-West Coast Oysters, East Coast Stew!
      • Potage Parmentier (Potato Leek Soup)
      • Roasted Cauliflower Soup With Hazelnuts
      • Roasted Sweet Pepper Soup
      • West Coast Wild Mushroom Soup
    • Herbs and Recipes to use them
      • Herbes De Provence
      • Lavender-20 Recipes To Use and Preserve Lavender
      • Vegan Mint Basil Pesto with Pistachios (Gluten Free and Dairy Free too)
      • Mint-25+ Best Fresh Mint Recipes
      • Parsley-20 Best Parsley Recipes
    • Drink, Sauce, Syrup, Etc
      • 3 Ways To Preserve (And Use) Your Lavender
      • Blackberry Barbecue Sauce
      • Classic Canadian Caesar Cocktail
      • Fresh Squeezed Lime Margarita
      • Kate’s Fresh Peppermint Tea
      • Lavender French 75
      • Lavender Simple Syrup
    • Baked, Preserved and Condiments
      • 3 Ways To Preserve (And Use) Your Lavender
      • Apple Brown Sugar Cake With Cardamom
      • Apple Oatmeal Cake-Best Ever Easy Cake Recipe
      • Blackberry Yogurt Popsicles
      • Blackberry Apple Jam-Makes 1 jar, no canning required!
      • (One Bowl!) Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins
      • Chocolate Almond Brownies
      • Chocolate Hazelnut Tart
      • Christmas Collection-Easy Festive Drinks To Keep Your Holiday Merry And Bright
      • French Apple Beignets- And Easy Apple Fritter
      • Ketchup-Make Your Own Easy and Healthy Sauce From Your Garden!
      • No Knead Bread-A Fast And Easy Rosemary Boule
      • Plum Clafoutis Recipe- Classic French Dessert That’s Fast and Easy
      • Strawberry Rhubarb Muffins with oatmeal and Greek yogurt
      • The Raspberriest Raspberry Sauce with Quick Chocolate Cake for 8
      • Rhubarb Snack Cake with Yogurt and Olive Oil
      • Ultimate Strawberry Rhubarb Shortcake
      • Zucchini Muffins
      • Easy Healthy Recipes From The West Coast
  • Shop
  • About
    • About
    • Portfolio
    • Contact and Media

Muffuletta-An Easy Picnic Sandwich Recipe

February 11, 2021 by SabCurrie Leave a Comment

Where Did This Picnic Sandwich Come From?

A muffuletta is a pressed Italian style sandwich invented in New Orleans! Whaaat? This really delicious and easy sandwich was developed in an Italian (Sicilian) deli in New Orleans. The ingredients are authentic Italian ingredients so you’d probably never guess it’s made in the Big Easy. I’m publishing this recipe just in time for BC’s Family Day holiday. These are perfect for taking on a snowy picnic up the mountain or a cozy lunch by the fire.

Classic Muffuletta Picnic Sandwich
Classic Muffuletta Picnic Sandwich

Recipe Ingredients For A Classic Muffuletta

Italian deli meats (ideally 3 varieties), provolone cheese and a savoury and zesty olive salad or bruschetta. These meld together infusing flavour into every bite as they sit, weighted in your fridge. You can make your own olive salad from scratch if you have time. I absolutely love the olive bruschetta from Canadian company Sardo Foods so I use that. It has all the traditional ingredients like green, black, and kalamata olives, carrots, cauliflower, other veggies and a hint of spice. (Love everything olive? Try my Warm Marinated Olive recipe for an easy appetizer with an aperitif.)

Ingredients For This Italian American Recipe
Ingredients For This Italian American Recipe

Special Bread You Can’t Find Anywhere

Yep. While there is an actual bread called Muffuletta bread, sadly it is pretty much only available in New Orleans. So I recommend a nice loaf of ciabatta or an artisanal sourdough loaf that isn’t too crusty. Something easy to bite into but sturdy enough to hold up to the big bold ingredients.

Why You Should Make A Muffuletta

This is known as a picnic sandwich because traditionally it is made in a big round loaf of bread and then cut in wedges. Muffuletta also travels really well, in fact it’s best made a half to a whole day ahead. A grand sandwich also makes a festive meal! For family meals I like to do one large sandwich. When there is other company, this is easily made into individual sandwiches. This will taste equally great either way. Here a picture of a Nicoise version I made for Edible Vancouver Island magazine.

Nicoise Muffuletta Sandwich Recipe From Sabrina Currie for Edible Vancouver Island Magazine

Don’t Hesitate To Refrigerate

Because this sandwich has meat and cheese, this New Orleans specialty should be stored in the fridge. Once you layer your ingredients, you will wrap and weight down your sandwich to let all the flavours come together. Place the sandwich, weight and all, in the fridge until you’re ready to serve or go on your picnic

The Ideal Make Ahead Picnic Recipe

Making this 6-24 hours in advance is ideal but you could make this right before serving (maybe add an appetizer pick to hold it together better) or as much as 2 whole days before serving. I have made these into individual sandwiches this time, which works just as well and can be handy for germ free sharing.

Perfect For A Picnic Or A Party Platter
Perfect For A Picnic Or A Party Platter

Grill It Like A Panini

Guess what else is delicious? Making the muffuletta like a panini! Grilling it melts that yummy provolone cheese and oh my, sooo delish! Definitely not traditional but oh so good and a great way to try it if you’re making it to eat right away.

Grill Your Muffuletta Like A Panini
Grill Your Muffuletta Like A Panini

Top Muffuletta Tips For Picky Eaters

The calling card for a muffuletta sandwich is the olive salad or bruschetta. It is traditionally the only condiment and it is really briny, salty and generally delicious. Sometimes kids find the flavours too strong so you can use a little less olive mixture and add a little olive oil or mayonnaise. The other ingredient you may choose to tame is the spicy salami. If you aren’t a fan of spice, you can simply use a combination of non spicy meats.

Recipe Brought To You By…

I have partnered with Sardo Foods for this recipe but I want to assure you that all opinions and recipe ideas are my own. I truly think their olive bruschetta (a zesty and addicting blend of various olives and giardiniera style vegetables) is the bomb and makes this recipe the best 😉 ( Another recipe I did with Sardo is my Roasted Red Pepper Soup and I think it goes great with these pressed sandwiches.)

Sardo Olive Bruschetta And Italian Meats For New Orleans Sandwich
Sardo Olive Bruschetta And Italian Meats For New Orleans Sandwich
Perfect For A Picnic Or A Party Platter

Classic Muffuletta With Olive Salad

Muffuletta is a truly savoury, zesty and piquant sandwich. Traditionally made out of one whole loaf of bread and then cut into wedges, it can just as easily be made into individual servings. Olive salad is the delicious "secret" ingredient to this sandwiches popularity.
5 from 12 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Lunch, Main, sandwich
Cuisine: American, Italian
Keyword: American, giardiniera, Italian, Muffelatta, Muffuletta, New Orleans, Olive Oil, Picnic, Pressed Sandwich, Sandwich
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Author: SabCurrie

Ingredients

  • 6 Ciabatta Buns or 1 round or oval loaf of ciabatta or similar.
  • 12 slices Provolone Cheese (approx 170 g or 6 oz)
  • 150 g Choose 3 of these: Capicola, Mortadella, Prosciutto, Soppressata, Salami or Ham 3 meats x 150 g each (approx 5.5 oz)
  • 3/4 c Sardo Olive Bruschetta Or similar chopped olive and vegetable salad mix

Instructions

  • Slice loaf of bread or buns in half horizontally so you have a top and bottom. Lay them open in front of you.
    Ingredients For This Italian American Recipe
  • Spread olive bruschetta equally over tops and bottoms of bread.
    Olive Bruschetta spread on bread for muffuletta recipe
  • Then layer 1/2 of cheese, meat and remaining half of cheese.
    Layered pressed sandwich is easy to pack for a picnic
  • Place top half of bread on top, wrap carefully with parchment or plastic wrap. Place on a plate, put another plate on top to weight it down, then place in fridge until ready to enjoy.
    Classic Muffuletta Picnic Sandwich
  • If made individually, these are ready to go. If it is a large round, cut this into about 6 wedges.
    How To Cut Your Muffuletta
  • Optionally, you can grill these in a panini press or weight down in a regular frying pan. Not traditional but a tasty alternative.
    Grill Your Muffuletta Like A Panini
Best Sandwich For A Picnic Is A Muffuletta!
Best Sandwich For A Picnic Is A Muffuletta!
Muffuletta Pressed Sandwich Grilled
Muffuletta Pressed Sandwich Grilled

Share this:

  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)

Related

Filed Under: Main Dish, Recipe Tagged With: American, Italian, Muffuletta, Panini, Pressed, Sandwich

Previous Post: « Best Apple Oatmeal Cake
Next Post: Best Microgreens To Grow Yourself And A Micro Pea Recipe To Use Them »

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Join Us On Social

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

Shop West Coast Kitchen Garden

West Coast Kitchen Garden Homewares Shop

West Coast Kitchen Garden Homewares Shop

West Coast Kitchen Garden on Facebook

West Coast Kitchen Garden on Facebook
Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy

Copyright © 2021 West Coast Kitchen Garden on the Foodie Pro Theme