Muffuletta
Muffuletta Say it: muh-fuh-LET-uh
The muffuletta is New Orleans’s iconic round sandwich, built on a sesame-crusted Italian loaf and packed with thinly sliced ham, salami, mortadella, and provolone. Its signature is the chunky olive salad—green and black olives, pickled vegetables, capers, garlic, oregano, and olive oil—spread on both cut sides. Created by Sicilian immigrants, it is eaten for lunch, often quartered, and tastes savory, briny, and rich. Wrapping and pressing lets the bread soak up the dressing, making it dense, tender, and deeply flavorful.
Muffuletta
Muffuletta
Pronounced muh-fuh-LET-uh
- Serves
- 4
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- —
- Total
- 20 min
- Level
- Easy
Also nut-free and egg-free.
Allergens: contains gluten, milk, sesame. Check labels on packaged ingredients.
Ingredients
Amounts are scaled. Cooking times and pan sizes stay the same.
Olive salad
Sandwich
Method
Finely chop the green olives, black olives, giardiniera, capers, and garlic. In a bowl, combine them with the olive oil, red wine vinegar, oregano, and black pepper. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes; the mixture should look glossy and spoonable.
Using a serrated knife, split the loaf horizontally. Pull out a thin layer of soft crumb from both halves, leaving a 1/2-inch (1 cm) border.
Spread half of the olive salad over the bottom cut side and the remaining half over the top cut side, pressing gently so it clings in an even layer.
Layer the provolone, ham, salami, and mortadella over the olive salad on the bottom half, folding the slices so they fit and draping them slightly over the edge.
Set the top half over the fillings, olive-salad side down, and press gently with your hands.
Wrap the sandwich tightly in plastic wrap or foil, set it on a sheet pan, and weight it with a heavy skillet or several cans for 30 minutes at room temperature. For a make-ahead sandwich, refrigerate up to 24 hours and let it stand 20 minutes before cutting. The sandwich should compress and the bread should look moist but not soggy.
Unwrap and cut into four wedges with a serrated knife. Serve at room temperature, when the layers hold together and the olive salad has soaked into the bread.
Regional variants
Some New Orleans cooks add mozzarella or use a seeded French loaf; a lightly toasted version also appears, though the classic is pressed cold.
Cook's notes
- Use paper-thin slices of meat and cheese; thick slices make the sandwich bulky and harder to press.
- Olive salad tastes best after at least 30 minutes, and even better the next day.
- If the bread is very soft, hollow it a little more; if it is crusty, press it a few minutes longer.
Serve with
Potato chips, pickles, and an ice-cold beer or root beer.
Make ahead and storage
The olive salad keeps refrigerated for up to 1 week. Wrap the assembled sandwich and refrigerate up to 24 hours; let it stand 20 minutes before cutting.
