A Bite of New Orleans: Central Grocery Muffuletta Recipe (2024)

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By Michelle Marine

on May 29, 2018, Updated Oct 25, 2023

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Treat yourself to a taste of New Orleans with this Hot Muffuletta Sandwich Recipe! It’s quick to make and delicious to eat. Best of all, you can make these sandwiches in advance and freeze them! Add these ingredients to your shopping list and enjoy the wonderful flavors of New Orleans you’ll experience with my take on the Central Grocery Muffuletta Recipe.

New Orleans is famous for its culinary traditions and cultural diversity. The iconic muffuletta olive sandwich is a true New Orleans tradition. Made with sesame bread, Italian cold cuts, and homemade olive salad, this sandwich is great for busy families.

New Orleans Hot Muffuletta Sandwich Recipe

It’s that time of year when life goes absolutely bonkers for me. My four kids run track, play spring ball and have lots of music lessons so nights and weekends fill up. Every year I think our schedule will be less hectic, but it never is. We run on easy recipes like this one during these busy seasons.

A Bite of New Orleans: Central Grocery Muffuletta Recipe (4)

To survive this crazy season, I really rely on the homemade food I keep in my freezer. Otherwise, it’s ball park popcorn for dinner almost every night. Been there, done that, don’t judge. Since I started cooking freezer friendly recipes, though, it’s so much easier to have a dinner ready on very busy nights. Freezer sandwiches are a family favorite, and this Muffuletta is absolute perfection.

Muffalettas are undeniably delicious. The flavor ranges from savory and salty to slightly briny. Assembling Muffalettas takes minimal cooking or kitchen skills. Bond with your family by letting the kids help make the sandwiches.

Central Grocery Muffuletta Recipe

I first tried this sandwich at Central Grocery a few years ago when I was in New Orleans for Shiftcon, a wonderful conference I go to every year. If you get the chance to try the original, I highly recommend it!! If it’s not possible to get to New Orleans, though, never fear. It’s easy to make something very similar to the Central Grocery Muffuleta Recipe. Here’s what you need to know:

This sandwich is made on Italian bread with Italian meats and cheeses, but the icing on the cake so to speak, is the Italian olive salad. I love the olives on this sandwich. So good! I can’t find a great olive salad in my Iowa grocery stores, but I’ve found it’s very easy to make my own. And it only takes a few minutes if you get the right ingredients.

A Bite of New Orleans: Central Grocery Muffuletta Recipe (5)

To make an olive salad, I use pre-sliced green olives with pimentos, add in a few spices, fresh garlic, and three tablespoons of vinaigrette. The longer you can let the salad sit for the flavors to really come together, the better it will be. But I’ve made it only a few minutes ahead of time before and it’s still good.

A Bite of New Orleans: Central Grocery Muffuletta Recipe (6)

After you make the flavorful olive salad, all you need to do is find the right bread, meats, and cheese, and get layering! I like to heat the final sandwich in the oven to get the cheese all melty. This step is different from Central Grocery Muffuletta recipe – they instead smash their sandwich for several hours with a heavy pan! I don’t personally do that, but if you want to, be my guest!

Printable Hot Central Discount Muffuletta Recipe

Yield: 4 -6 servings

New Orleans Hot Muffuletta Sandwich Recipe

A Bite of New Orleans: Central Grocery Muffuletta Recipe (7)

A freezer friendly hot sandwich, perfect if you like the flavors of New Orleans, and great for busy evenings.

Prep Time5 minutes

Cook Time15 minutes

Total Time20 minutes

Ingredients

For the olive salad

  • 10-ounce jar green olives with pimientos, drained and chopped (or buy one that's already prechopped)
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 3 tablespoons Ken's Simply Vinaigrette Garlic & Basil
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

For the Sandwiches

  • 4-6 sesame seed topped rolls, or one 10" Italian sesame seed topped round loaf
  • 1/4 lb Genoa Salami
  • 1/4 lb Capicola or 1/4 lb deli ham
  • 1/4 lb Mortadella
  • 1/8 lb Sliced Mozzarella
  • 1/8 lb Provolone Cheese

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Combine chopped olives, dried oregano, minced garlic, fresh parsley, and Ken's Simply Vinaigrette Garlic & Basil dressing in a small bowl. Stir until combined.
  3. Slice the bread and top with the olive salad - make sure to spread the oil mix from the olive salad on the top and bottom of the bread.
  4. Then add the cheese, then the meat.
  5. Wrap the sandwiches in aluminum foil and bake for 15 minutes or until the cheese is nice and melty.
  6. Enjoy!

Freezer Options

  1. If you want to freeze these, just wrap them and freeze. Let them thaw in your freezer overnight and cook as directed above. Or, place them in the freezer completely frozen and cook them for about 25-30 minutes.

Notes

Note: if you'd rather eat this sandwich in the traditional manner, don't bother heating it. My family loves the heated sandwiches though, and I like that it's freezer friendly.

Nutrition Information:

Serving Size:

1 sandwich per person
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 1701Total Fat: 147gCarbohydrates: 42gProtein: 78g

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Instagram tagging @simplifylivelove! I love to see your photos!

Have you tried a Muffuletta sandwich before?

If you liked this freezer friendly oven sandwich recipe, you might like these too:

Our favorite taco meat – perfect for the freezer

Spinach Mozzarella meatloaf

Another Easy Oven Sandwich recipe

About Michelle Marine

Michelle Marine is the author of How to Raise Chickens for Meat, a long-time green-living enthusiast, and rural Iowa mom of four. She empowers families to grow and eat seasonal, local foods; to reduce their ecological footprint; and to come together through impactful travel.

Read More About Me

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A Bite of New Orleans: Central Grocery Muffuletta Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What meats are on a Central Grocery muffuletta? ›

The olive salad is generously spread on the bread, infusing the sandwich with bold, tangy flavors. Cold Cuts: The classic muffuletta contains layers of assorted Italian cold cuts such as salami, ham, mortadella, and provolone cheese. These cold cuts add richness and depth to the sandwich.

What is the original muffuletta sandwich? ›

The muffaletta is one of New Orleans' most iconic and identifiable dishes. Made on large rounds of sesame bread and layered with olive salad, genoa salami, ham, mortadella, provolone and Swiss cheese, the muffaletta is clearly Italian in spirit and yet no such sandwich exists in Italy.

Do you eat muffuletta hot or cold? ›

Is a Muffuletta Served Hot or Cold? Throughout New Orleans, you'll find muffulettas served either warm or cold, depending on the restaurant. The most famous spot for a muffuletta — Central Grocery — serves cold-style muffulettas to highlight the Italian cold cuts, while others, like Napoleon House, serve it warm.

What is a substitute for muffuletta bread? ›

Substitute 2 to 3 seeded and stemmed pepperoncini in its place. Muffuletta rolls are difficult to locate outside of New Orleans. If unavailable, use ciabatta or focaccia in its place, or any good bread with a relatively soft crust.

How much is the Central Grocery muffuletta? ›

The local resellers have them for between $24.95 (at Sidney's) and $25.99 (at Zuppardo's). Sidney's also stocks a half muffuletta for $13.95.

What is a key component of a muffuletta? ›

The muffuletta–a mammoth sandwich of round sesame bread layered with Genoa salami, ham, mortadella, cheese, and olive salad–is a signature dish of New Orleans.

What does muffaletta mean in spanish? ›

The muffoletta (or muffuletta, moffoletta, muffoletto, muffulietta, depending on the dialect) derives its name from Sicilian dialect that means 'soft and spongy bread'.

What is the New Orleans signature sandwich? ›

A muffaletta is a famous italian sandwich invented in New Orleans with cured meats (ham and salami), provolone cheese, olive dressing and great bread. The olive dressing sports chopped green and black olives with onions and olive oil and spices, and the bread is a round sesame-seed roll big enough for sharing.

What is a fun fact about muffuletta? ›

The muffuletta bread has origins in Sicily, Italy. The muffuletta sandwich is said to have been created in 1906 at Central Grocery Co. on Decatur Street, New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S., by its delicatessen owner Salvatore Lupo, a Sicilian immigrant.

What side dishes go with muffalettas? ›

What to Serve With Muffuletta Sandwiches. Enjoy it like a true New Orleanians by serving it with onion rings or seasoned fries, coleslaw or potato salad, and fried pickles. If you'd like healthier options, try baked potato wedges, roasted asparagus, and a side of lentil soup.

Do you refrigerate muffaletta after opening? ›


  1. Muffuletta Olive Salad is shelf-stable for 12 months.
  2. Once opened, keep muffuletta Olive Salad in the fridge.

How long does muffaletta last in the fridge? ›

The sandwiches arrive ready-to-eat in temperature-controlled boxes. Upon arrival, place them in the fridge. We recommend serving them within 3 days. Muffulettas can be stored in the freezer for up to 60 days in their original packaging.

How do you eat muffuletta? ›

This simple muffuletta spread is reminiscent of a classic New Orleans muffuletta sandwich. It can be served on crackers, toasted bagels, or crostini. It's also a nice addition to a pasta salad, a cheese board, or spooned onto grilled fish, pork, or chicken.

Is Schlotzsky's a muffaletta sandwich? ›

The chain started as a small restaurant on South Congress Avenue in Austin, TX run by Don and Dolores Dissman. The only menu item was a single muffuletta sandwich, which is known as The Original today.

What's the difference between a po boy and a muffuletta? ›

Po Boy's are oblong shape like a hot dog but bigger with good fresh NOLA bread. Traditional ingredients are shrimp, oysters, roast beef and a couple dozen other items. A muffaletta is round but filled with a oily olive salad. Po boys usually have lettuce, tomatoes and etc.

What kind of lunch meats are there? ›

12 lunch & deli meats
  • 1 – Chorizo. Chorizo is a cured Spanish sausage made from pork, garlic, black pepper and smoked paprika, which gives it a red colour. ...
  • 2 – Pancetta. ...
  • 3 – Prosciutto. ...
  • 4 – Ham off the bone. ...
  • 5 – Pepperoni. ...
  • 6 – Mortadella. ...
  • 7 – Chicken roll. ...
  • 8 – Salami.

What are Italian sandwich meats? ›

This meat category includes (but is not limited to) soppressata, prosciutto, speck, capicola, and any kind of salami. Cured meats will bring a saltiness and, usually, a tang to the flavor of a sandwich. Texturally, they supply some chew.

What is deli meat sandwiches? ›

Lunch meats—also known as cold cuts, luncheon meats, cooked meats, sliced meats, cold meats, sandwich meats, delicatessens, and deli meats—are precooked or cured meats that are sliced and served cold or hot. They are typically served in sandwiches or on a tray.

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