New Orleans is  famous for so many things -- Bourbon Street, Cajun food, Mardi Gras – and Muffalettas!

Muffalettas were invented over a century ago by Italian immigrants who settled in New Orleans. It’s a gigantic sandwich made on a huge round of seeded Italian bread, sliced in half, then stacked high with slices of ham, salami, mortadella, and capicola plus plenty of provolone cheese. Then, the completed muffaletta is sliced into lots of sandwiches.

A Muffaletta may be similar to an Italian Sub. But the spicy, tangy olive salad is what really sets this meat and cheese sandwich apart. Olive salad is packed with garlicky, salty flavor and it’s crucial for creating the traditional muffaletta.

It’s difficult to find genuine N’awlins olive salad outside of Louisiana, but you may find it in Italian specialty markets or on Amazon. We’ve also included a recipe below. And there are so many ways to use it! Olive salad is a great topping for pizza, grilled chicken, and turkey burgers. It adds a kick of flavor to your favorite salad.  It makes a healthy, flavorful spread for crackers, too.

Why we love these ingredients

You’ve heard all the buzz about the benefits of olive oil for your health.  But olives pack a huge nutritional punch as well!

For example, olives are a surprising source of fiber. The fiber in olives also functions as a prebiotic which feeds the beneficial bacteria in your gut. As a result, olives help balance your microbiome, promote regularity, and boost overall digestive health.

Olives also contain polyphenols, multitasking antioxidants that support heart health, protect against cell damage  and keep your brain sharp. Plus, the monounsaturated fats in olives help lower harmful LDL cholesterol and triglycerides.

A good olive salad also contains capers. Capers are small, pickled flower buds with a salty, briny taste.  They’re rich in quercetin and rutin, antioxidants that help alleviate inflammation, enhance wound healing, and promote healthy blood sugar levels. 

Pro tips for easy prep

True muffuletta bread is a wide, round, flat loaf, covered in sesame seeds, with a soft crust and a texture somewhere between focaccia and ciabatta. It's not commonly made anywhere else than New  Orleans, but your next best bet is to use ciabatta, focaccia or even a sub [hoagie] roll.  Any bread with a relatively soft crust will work.

Giardiniera – an ingredient for the olive salad-- is a pickled vegetable mix that can be found in Italian delis or in supermarkets. If unavailable, you can substitute  2 to 3 seeded and stemmed pepperoncini in its place. Olive salad will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for a week.

Be generous spreading the olive salad on the cut bread. Add the ingredients, then let the muffulettas sit in the fridge for an hour or two to allow the flavors to meld and the olive juice to soak into the bread. You can even make the muffaletta a day in advance. Talk about low stress party prep.

Traditional New Orleans Muffaletta

Ingredients

• 1 10-inch round Italian bread
• 1 cup olive salad [see recipe below]
• ¼ lb. Capicola or deli ham, 4-6 slices
• ¼ lb. Genoa Salami, 6-8 slices
• ¼ lb. Mortadella, 4-6 slices
• ⅛ lb. Sliced Mozzarella, 3-4 thin slices
• ⅛ lb. Provolone, 3-4 thin slices

Instructions

1. Slice the round bread in half horizontally and open it on a flat surface. To make the sandwiches: hollow out some of the excess bread to make room for filling.
2. Brush both inner sides of the bread with olive oil. Next, add the olive salad from the center out and spread it, leaving about a half-inch around the edge.
3. Begin layering the ham, salami, and mortadella on the bottom half of the bread. Top with cheese. Place the top half of the bread over the olive mixture and press down to let the bread absorb the olive salad juices. 
4. Using a bread knife, slice the round sandwich into 4 to 6 wedges, then let the sandwiches sit for an hour or so to let the flavors blend.
5. Optional: place the whole sandwich, before slicing, on a large baking sheet, and toast/warm-up in a 350F preheated oven for about 5 minutes.  Serve and enjoy!

Olive Salad

INGREDIENTS

• 3/4 cup pitted mixed oil-packed olives
• 1/2 cup giardiniera (Italian-style pickled vegetable salad, see notes)
• 1/4 cup chopped roasted red peppers
• 2 tablespoons parsley leaves
• 1 tablespoon capers
• 1 medium garlic clove, minced (about 1 teaspoon)
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Combine olives, giardiniera, peppers, parsley, capers, and garlic in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse to chop until no pieces larger than 1/2-inch remain.
2. Transfer to a bowl. Add olive oil and vinegar and stir to combine.
3. Store in a glass jar and refrigerate for at least 8 hours to overnight. The longer it sits, the better it will taste.