How to Order a Subway Sandwich

Co-authored by Eric McClure

Last Updated: October 25, 2022 References

Ordering a sandwich at Subway can seem like a daunting task if you’ve never done it before. Even if you have ordered one, you know that you have to make a plethora of decisions when building your sandwich. Luckily, you can build the perfect sub by carefully selecting your bread, meat, and toppings based on what you’re in the mood for.

Things You Should Know

Choose between a footlong or 6-inch sandwich and pick the bread you want. Look at Subway’s menu to pick a meat base or ask for something specific.
Substitute a veggie patty if you don’t want meat on your sandwich or simply don’t have any kind of meat (or patty).
Select toppings, including cheeses, veggies, sauces, and spices. Decide whether you want it toasted or not before finalizing the order.

Part 1

Part 1 of 2:

Picking Your Bread and Meat

1
Select a footlong or 6-inch sandwich depending on how hungry you are. Subway is well known for offering a choice between a 6-inch and footlong sandwich. The first step is figuring out how hungry you are. If you’re typically capable of eating an entire sandwich and happen to be very hungry, order a footlong. If you’re just stopping by for a light lunch, order a 6-inch sandwich.
2
Pick the type of bread that you want for your sandwich. Every Subway offers honey oat, Italian herbs and cheese, 9-grain wheat, and Italian bread. Italian and honey oat are classic sandwich choices, while 9-grain wheat provides a healthier option. Italian herbs and cheese has the strongest flavor profile. Select your bread based on what you’re in the mood for, and what kind of sandwich that you’re getting.^{[1]
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- Some Subways offer other bread options as well. You may run across hearty Italian, jalapeno cheese, or rosemary and sea salt. These breads all have unique flavor profiles, and you can choose one if you want to try something new.^{[2]
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- Subway also offers a flatbread, but it isn’t as healthy as some of their other breads, like the Italian bread. Choose it for the texture, not the healthiness factor.^{[3]
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- Some Subways offer lettuce wraps, regular wraps, and gluten-free bread if you’d really like to keep the calories to a minimum.^{[4]
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3
Order one of Subway’s menu items to determine your meat. Choosing an item from the menu determines the meat base that they’ll use on your sandwich. Most of the menu items are named after their meat, like the Classic Tuna or Rotisserie-Style Chicken. Some of the sandwiches have slightly ambiguous names, like the Cold Cut Combo or Spicy Italian. If you want to know the traditional contents of each sub, you can either ask the sandwich artist or consult a menu.
- If you’re getting turkey, ask to upgrade it to the Subway carved turkey. It’s a deli-style cut that offers a better texture, and it usually doesn’t cost very much.^{[5]
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4
Ask for a specific kind of meat if you don’t want a menu item. Alternatively, you can simply say that you want a particular meat, and the Subway sandwich artists will create a custom sandwich using that meat as the base. You can pick and choose as you like, but keep in mind that you may be charged for ordering extra meat.
5
Substitute your meat with a veggie patty if you don’t want meat. While it isn’t usually offered on any traditional sandwich on their menu, Subway has a veggie patty that can be swapped for any meat on the menu. It’s a meatless option, and is high in protein and carbohydrates.^{[6]
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- You don’t have to order meat if you don’t want it. You can always start by jumping right into the vegetables.
- The Veggie Delight is a vegetarian sandwich that features no meat.

Part 2

Part 2 of 2:

Adding Your Toppings

1
Choose the kind of cheese you want on your sandwich. Every Subway has American and Monterey cheddar cheese, but most of them also have mozzarella, cheddar, pepper jack, provolone, and swiss.^{[7]
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Research source} Select a cheese that you think goes best with the meat on your sandwich.
- If you’re not sure what kind of cheese belongs on your sandwich, ask your Subway artist what it traditionally comes with.
2
Have your sandwich toasted if you’d like it heated. After you pick your bread, menu item, and cheese, your sandwich artist will ask you if you’d like it toasted.^{[8]
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Research source} Deciding between toasted or untoasted boils down to whether you want your sandwich to be warm or not.
- The oven will make your bread a little crispy and usually adds a delightful texture to your sandwich.^{[9]
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3
Start with larger vegetables to add to your sandwich. You’ll want to start with the larger vegetables so that your sandwich is properly stacked and won’t fall apart. Start by choosing from lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, or red onions.^{[10]
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- You can always specify how much of an ingredient you want to add. Say, “Only a little lettuce” or, “Please add more tomatoes,” and they’ll adjust your order accordingly.
- You may get charged extra for adding an additional serving of veggies, but not for taking some off of your sandwich.
4
Cover your larger vegetables with smaller toppings. Once your bigger toppings are added, you’ll be given the option to add pickles, olives, banana peppers, or jalapenos. Add whatever toppings you enjoy to your sandwich.
- Remember, jalapenos will add some spice to your sandwich while banana peppers tend to be sweet.^{[11]
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5
Choose your sauces based on your preferred flavor. Subway offers chipotle, light mayonnaise, regular mayonnaise, ranch, oil, and vinaigrette. They also have mustard, vinegar, and sweet onion, which are fat-free choices. Choose whichever sauce sounds good on your sandwich.^{[12]
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- Some Subway restaurants have additional sauces, like barbeque, honey mustard, or Italian. If you’re looking for a specific sauce, ask to see if they have it even if it’s not listed on the menu.^{[13]
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- Try to avoid mixing sweet toppings with spicy or salty sauces and vice versa. A Sweet Onion Teriyaki Chicken sandwich with banana peppers and olives probably won’t pair well with a spicy chipotle sauce.
6
Finish your sandwich with oils or spices if you’d like. Oil and vinegar are listed as sauces on Subway’s menu, but they’re usually offered to the customer at the end of the sandwich-making process.^{[14]
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Research source} They’ll usually be offered alongside oregano, salt, pepper, and other spices. Consider adding some spices or oils if you want a final dimension of texture or flavor on your sandwich.
7
Ask them to make it like the photo if you don’t want to choose your toppings. Alternatively, if you don’t feel like dealing with any of the choices involved in making your sandwich, you can ask your sandwich artist to make your sub the way it is in the photo. They’ll automatically add the traditional ingredients and you won’t have to worry about choosing each individual topping.

Community Q&A

Question

Can we choose how many types of vegetables to use?

Community Answer

Yep, you can choose as many or as few vegetables as you'd like, as long as they have them available.
Question

Which subs qualify as "classic" subs, (as my coupon is for "classic" subs)?

Community Answer

Turkey, ham, chicken maybe, bmt, meatball, and sometimes they are nice and add a few good ones like teriyaki, but it's really just the basic subs, no steak or anything -- just cold cuts really.
Question

Can I get a sandwich without vegetables in it?

Community Answer

Yes, they will make your sandwich exactly how you want it, with or without vegetables. Just order meat, cheese, and whatever condiments you want and that's all they'll give you.