10 Of The Unhealthiest Subway Sauces And Toppings

Subway's success is largely due to the infinitely customizable nature of its sandwiches, which are made directly in front of the customer — and a big aspect of the customization process is the sauces and toppings that you can choose to go on top. At the end of your sandwich-making process, you can opt for anything from a simple squeeze of mayo to a dollop of hot pepper relish, with slices of American, Swiss, or Provolone cheese for good measure, adding creaminess and making everything more satisfying. However, some of these sauces and toppings may be slightly less healthy than you think. 

While Subway menu items are generally pretty clearly signposted with their calories, and it isn't hard to find their nutritional information online, they tend to only reflect the base ingredients in the sub. When you add extra cheese and sauces, the sandwiches' calories, fat, saturated fat, sodium, and sugar content can start to skyrocket. In this article, we classified items as unhealthy based on these factors, which could arguably push your sandwich into less-healthy territory. When compared to Subway's other menu items, these ingredients stood out as those you might want to avoid.

There aren't many sandwiches out there that are better without mayonnaise, and as Subway sandwiches are typically made without any extra moisture, it's a great way to make everything a little creamier. However, an unassuming portion of regular mayo contains the highest calorie count of any sauce on the Subway menu. There are 100 calories in one 14-gram serving of mayo, with virtually all of them coming from its 11 grams of fat. As well as this, there are 2 grams of saturated fat in every serving, which is a pretty high amount for such a small squirt.

Unfortunately, condiments and sauces like mayo are a common source of hidden calories. These can contribute to weight gain way more than you think: Just one serving of mayonnaise per day, for example, may lead you to gain 10 pounds in a year, per Michigan State University. Excess weight and weight gain can have a large impact on health and increase the risk of developing conditions like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and stroke, and may also contribute to mental health conditions like depression (via Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health).  It might be worth swapping out regular mayonnaise on your sandwich for a lite version, or using a condiment like mustard instead, both of which are lower in calories.

Giardiniera is only available at certain Subway locations, but if your local store has it, it's easy to get tempted. This classic Italian relish is a standard item on many subs, and it can add a level of complexity and sourness to a Subway sandwich that other sauces or toppings don't achieve. All of that taste will cost you on the sodium front, however. Just one serving of Subway giardiniera contains a massive 340 milligrams of sodium, making it one of the saltiest toppings available at the fast food chain.

The high levels of sodium in the Subway giardiniera are created through the pickling process the vegetables undergo, which involves a lot of salt. While it may add flavor, though, it also adds risk. Americans are particularly prone to overconsuming sodium, and this can seriously increase your long-term chances of developing a chronic condition like high blood pressure or suffering stroke, per the American Medical Association. Limiting sodium is crucial, but if you already have a chronic condition, it's even more important. "If someone has high blood pressure, heart disease, that type of thing, 1,500 milligrams is probably a better target, but for the general population that's really interested in limiting the burden of chronic disease, 2,300 milligrams is generally what is recommended," advises the American Medical Association's vice president of cardiovascular health Brent M. Egan.

Peppercorn ranch sauce kicks things up a notch. This Subway-specific condiment puts a twist on a regular creamy ranch by spiking it with distinctive peppery flavors, which cut through the density of the dressing pretty significantly. Unfortunately, though, all that flavor has to come from somewhere –- and a lot of it is due to fat. Peppercorn ranch sauce is one of the fattiest sauces on the Subway menu, containing 8 grams per serving, and 2 grams of saturated fat. According to UC Davis Nutrition Department,  This also means that it's pretty calorific, clocking in at 80 calories for each serving.

Ranch is commonly made from sour cream, buttermilk, or mayonnaise, and all of these ingredients are high in fat. The fat content and calories, though, may contribute to weight gain, which may have some knock-on health effects, such as higher blood pressure, blood sugar, inflammation, and cholesterol levels, per Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health. If you're concerned about this, it may be wise to opt for a lower-calorie, lower-fat option from the menu, like a simple sprinkling of red wine vinegar or an oil-and-vinegar combo.

For many people, a Subway sandwich is nothing without its cheese. The chain offers several options to top your sandwich, with American being arguably the most popular one. However, it's also the one that's the highest in sodium. One 11-gram serving of American cheese (which, it should be pointed out, is smaller than a lot of the other cheese options by a few grams) has 210 milligrams of sodium, which amounts to almost 10% of your daily value for the nutrient.

American cheese is also highly processed – and while all cheeses are processed to some degree, American can often contain artificial colorings and flavorings, which some people may find unappealing. As well as this, it's a fairly poor source of protein and has the lowest amount of any of the Subway cheese options apart from parmesan, which has a 1-gram serving size. If you're craving some cheese on your sandwich, but don't want to contend with the sodium, try going for shredded or regular mozzarella, which have only 55 milligrams of sodium apiece and a higher protein content.

Subway's sauces offer you a chance to imbue your sandwich with brand-new flavors, and its sweet onion teriyaki sauce is perhaps the best example of this. With its savory-sweet top note and soy-infused depth, a squirt of it is a nice way to add flavor dimensions to the dense-tasting meats and cheeses on offer. However, sweet onion teriyaki sauce has the highest amount of sugar on the menu. One 14-gram serving has 8 grams of sugar, six of them added, giving it the equivalent of 2 teaspoons of sugar.

This may not sound like a lot, but it can have a big effect. Eating too much sugar is one of the leading causes of inflammation throughout the body, according to Healthline. When this inflammation spans a long length of time, it can increase your risk of, and potentially cause, a host of serious health issues, such as diabetes, liver and heart disease, and cancer. It's worth remembering that you'll also be getting a fairly high amount of refined carbohydrates from the bread your sandwich comes in, which can also contribute to inflammation, so it's best not to add too much extra in through your sauce choice. ‌

Frank's RedHot is one of the most prominent hot sauce brands in the U.S., and so it's logical for Subway to jump on the bandwagon and offer it at its stores. However, its nutritional profile leaves a lot to be desired. The version that's available at Subway, Frank's RedHot Buffalo Sauce, adds a massive 350 milligrams of sodium to your sandwich, in just a 14-gram serving size. As the sauce has only 5 calories, no fat, and 1 gram of sugar, it appears that it's nothing more than pure salt.

This is a large chunk of your daily value, and exceeding this regularly can lead to some pretty worrying health outcomes. Sodium intake and blood pressure are directly linked, with higher amounts leading to elevated blood pressure, and reduced amounts allowing blood to flow more freely through your system, according to BMJ. By choosing Frank's RedHot Buffalo Sauce, you will be adding a high amount of sodium to a sandwich that's already very salty. Subway's sandwiches are frequently high in sodium, even the ones that look pretty healthy: Its 6-inch Cold Cut Combo, for example, may only have 320 calories and 10 grams of fat, but it has 1,000 milligrams of sodium. ‌

Nearly everyone loves pepper jack cheese, and Subway has responded to this adoration by including it as a topping for its sandwiches on its core menu. As its cheese options go, however, it is one of the unhealthiest. Subway's pepper jack cheese comes in a 14-gram serving size, and within that tiny amount, there are 140 milligrams of sodium. As well as this, it adds 4 grams of fat, and 3 grams of saturated fat to your meal.

This probably comes as little surprise, given that cheese is hardly devoid of sodium or fat-free – but it's still worth bearing in mind. WebMD notes that eating higher levels of saturated fat has been associated with higher cholesterol levels, which may contribute to a greater risk of chronic conditions like heart disease. While these may seem like relatively small amounts, too, you should remember that there are options on the Subway menu, like grated parmesan, which offers big flavor without any saturated fat and barely any sodium. Opting for mozzarella on your sandwich will also reduce your overall sodium and saturated fat levels.

Barbecue sauce is a natural fit in many Subway sandwiches, with its smoky yet sweet flavor giving your meat some valuable additional complexity. Subway's house blend of barbecue dressing, though, errs a little too heavily on the sweet side for our taste. Each serving has 6 grams of sugar in it, and every single one of those grams is made up of added sugar. Additionally, its sodium content is slightly better than some of the other sauces on the menu, but it's not insignificant, and the sauce still manages to pack in 135 milligrams per squeeze.

Added sugars are commonly recognized to be the worst types we can consume, and usually create more issues than they solve. Eating too many added sugars can cause dental issues, as the molecules contribute to acid production, leading to tooth decay, as noted by the British Nutrition Foundation. Added sugars are also a source of empty calories, which can result in excessive energy consumption and potential consequences like weight gain. If you're trying to reduce added sugar consumption, it's useful to remember that apart from barbecue, sweet onion teriyaki, and honey mustard, every other sauce on Subway's menu has no additional sugars — aside from its MVP Parmesan Vinaigrette, which has a single gram. ‌

With its mellow umami notes and fragrant aroma, roasted garlic aioli is one of the classiest sauces on the Subway menu. It's also one of the fattiest. It is essentially a garlic-infused mayonnaise, and it has the fat content to show for it, with 9 grams per serving. It also has 2 grams of saturated fat, approximately 10% of your daily value. While its amount of fat is slightly lower than Subway's regular mayonnaise, it's still up there, and with 80 calories per serving, it delivers a significant amount of energy.

Our bodies need a certain amount of fat to survive, and demonizing them is never the way forward -– but it's important to consider what type of fats you're eating. Saturated fats are often found in creamy sauces and dairy products, and they've been associated with higher "bad" LDL cholesterol levels, whereas unsaturated fats have been found to raise "good" HDL cholesterol, per Harvard Health Publishing. These fats can also affect our brain health, with saturated fats potentially raising inflammation throughout our bodies and in brain tissue, and unsaturated fats lowering it. It could be a good idea to go for a sauce on the menu that's slightly lower in saturated fats, like yellow mustard or Baja Chipotle, if you want to keep an eye on your intake.

A few slices of melted Swiss is a surefire way to make a sandwich gooier, creamier, and tastier. Regretfully, though, all that goodness comes from somewhere, and it's largely from fat. Subway's Swiss cheese is a high-fat blend, and this means that one portion provides 5 grams of fat, three of them being saturated. This also means that its calorie count is the joint-highest on the menu for the chain's cheeses, adding 60 calories to your sub.

Crucially, there are some benefits to opting for Swiss: It provides 4 grams of protein per serving, and it's also delightfully low in sodium, having a mere 30 milligrams. It's just the saturated fat content that's difficult to get past. 

You should also consider what kind of sandwich you're going to put it on. If you're opting for Swiss on a Veggie Delite or an Oven Roasted Turkey sub, both of which have low amounts of saturated fat, it may not be such an issue. Stick it on a 6-inch Chicken and Bacon Ranch, however, and you'll end up consuming 14 grams of saturated fat in one small sandwich.