Jersey Mike’s Subs is a famous sandwich shop that is most famous for its subs and chips. For someone with a vegan lifestyle, you may think it’s simpler to forgo this restaurant as a lunch spot under the assumption that they won’t have anything vegan-friendly.
At Kathy’s Vegan Kitchen, we’re happy to report that that’s not the case. Here are Jersey Mike’s vegan options.
What is Jersey Mike’s Subs?
Jersey Mike’s Subs is an American submarine sandwich chain with more than 1500 locations in the United States.
Here’s a fun fact: Jersey Mike’s was owned by a 17-year-old high schooler! Yep, you heard us right. When Peter Cancro of Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey, was only 14 years old in 1971, he took a part-time job at Mike’s Submarines, a few blocks away from his high school at Point Pleasant Beach High School.
He loved working at the shop -- he loved talking to people behind the counter and knowing all about the cool things they did that summer.
When Peter was a senior in high school, he overheard the then-owner of Mike’s Submarines’ plans to sell the business which gave him a life-changing lightbulb moment. He loved the food, and he loved the business. Perhaps he should buy the shop.
His mother agreed; however, they didn’t have substantial money. Peter decided to seek help from his football coach who was also a banker. Within three days, he was able to pull up $125,000 to buy the business and became the owner at 17 years old. Today, Peter is still the owner and CEO of the sub shop.
The American submarine sandwich chain opened its doors to franchising in 1987, and has over 1,900 locations in the United States, Canada, and Australia. The sandwich shop also didn’t veer from the traditional way that Mike’s Subs were served: the submarine sandwiches are still made to order, slicing the meats and cheese as needed.
7 Vegan Options at Jersey Mike’s
1. Sandwiches
The Veggie
Jersey Mike’s Subs has one vegetarian sandwich that can easily be modified to fit your vegan diet. The Veggie Sub comes with Swiss and provolone cheese, green bell peppers, onions, lettuce, tomatoes, red wine vinegar, oregano, olive oil blend, red wine vinegar, oregano, olive oil blend, and red wine vinegar, and salt. Make sure to order this without the two kinds of cheese. Most Jersey Mike’s places will be more than happy to substitute cheese and add avocado free of charge.
Build Your Own Sandwich
Try their Build Your Own Sub activity if you’re feeling creative and would love to try out different tastes and flavors. Start with their wheat bread or seeded Italian bread (not the rosemary parmesan bread or white bread), and choose your toppings! Add green bell peppers, banana peppers, dill pickles, cherry pepper… the list goes on!
We’ll list down everything you can use for your own sub.
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2. Toppings
Jersey Mike’s has two classifications to their toppings: Cold and Hot. Sadly, they don’t offer vegan cheese. Here are the vegan toppings you can add to your sub:
Cold Toppings
- Lettuce
- Avocado
- Onions
- Tomatoes
- Red Wine Vinegar
- Olive Oil Blend
- Oregano
- Banana Peppers
- Jalapeno Peppers
- Dill Pickles
- Cherry Pepper Relish
- Mustard
- Green Bell Pepper
- Guacamole
Hot Toppings
- Red/Green Pepper Strips
- Grilled Onions
- Mushrooms
- Portabella Mushroom
- Tomato Sauce
3. Bread Options
And, of course, your own vegan sub wouldn’t be complete without bread! Jersey Mike’s boasts of baking their bread fresh in-store daily.
Among the five bread options, two of them are completely vegan friendly.
- Wheat Bread
- Seeded Italian Bread
Jersey Mike’s carries gluten-free bread options in some locations, called Udi's Gluten-Free sub bread. [1] This is also vegan-friendly.
The White Bread, on the other hand, contains honey, so it’s up to you whether or not you consider honey vegan. The Rosemary Parmesan Bread contains cheese, so that’s a no-go, too. We suggest you make your vegan bruschetta.
4. Wraps
Jersey Mike’s offers vegan-friendly wraps for those who don’t want to go the bread route. Their homemade wraps are made from a simple mixture of flour and water, with a little bit of salt for flavor. Here are the sandwich shop’s vegan options for wraps:
- Flour Wrap
- Golden Wheat Wrap
- Spinach Wrap
- Tomato Wrap
5. Sides
Chips
You also have an option of getting a bag of chips alongside their subs. Jersey Mike’s locations carry Baked Lays Chips, Fritos, and Miss Vickie’s Sea Salt Chips are great vegan chips. The Regular Sun Chips are vegan friendly, but other Sun Chips flavors contain non-vegan ingredients. Classic BBQ Lays are also vegan.
Some Jersey Mike’s carry french fries, but we have yet to see these for ourselves!
Also Read: Are Pringles Vegan?
Tossed Salad
Most Jersey Mike’s locations offer Tossed Salad as a side dish. This vegan option is not a satisfying meal in and of itself, but it’s a great way to add healthy options to your meal.
The standard ingredients include lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, and green bell pepper, but Southwestern salads have the addition of rice and corn. You can drizzle in a little bit of red wine vinegar olive oil blend to make the salad less dry.
We can recall another side dish that the place used to offer: Jersey Mike’s vegan vegetable soup! However, we have yet to see this vegan option make its rounds again. The website also does not feature the vegetarian vegetable soup, so we think this may already be phased out in many different locations.
6. Condiments
Slather these Jersey Mike’s vegan-approved condiments onto your sandwiches and salads:
- Mustard
- Olive Oil Blend
- Oregano
- Salt
- Red Wine Vinegar
- Teriyaki Sauce
- Buffalo Sauce
7. Drinks
And lastly, you would need something that would wash that vegan sandwich down. Jersey Mike’s carries plenty of vegan-friendly drinks, like soft drinks, juice, and hot drinks. Here’s the entire list:
- Fountain drinks (Pepsi products)
- Gatorade
- Sobe
- AMP Energy Drink
- Pure Leaf Tea
- Lifewtr
- Fruit Juice
FAQs
Yes, Jersey Mike’s carries vegan wraps on its menu! You can choose from their Flour, Golden Wheat, Spinach, or Tomato for vegan-approved wraps.
Unfortunately, none of the menu items listed at Jersey Mike’s secret menu are okay for someone on a vegan diet. Most of the secret menu items contain ham, cheese, or bacon.
In Summary
We always have fun mixing and matching different toppings and bread whenever we’re at Jersey Mike’s! Although they have yet to add plant-based meat to their menu, we don’t walk away from this establishment deprived of a great meal.
Now that you have this list, why not visit the nearby Jersey Mike’s at your location and try their great vegan menu items? It’s a great experience for your vegan journey!
Reference:
- https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/11-healthful-alternatives-to-wheat-bread
About Author
Hi! My name is Kathy, I am a retired high school English teacher & vegan enthusiast and blogger. My entire blog is fully plant-based vegan. I truly believe what we eat & how we live determines our health & the preservation of our planet! 🙂
Trent
Just wanted to let you know that the gluten free bread at Jersey Mike’s is not vegan. It contains egg.
Kathy Carmichael
Thanks, Trent. I appreciate you letting us know.