14 Of The Unhealthiest Sandwiches You Can Order At Jersey Mike's

If you haven't had a Jersey Mike's sandwich, you're probably in the minority at this point. The sandwich franchise is everywhere: As of 2024, there are almost 3,000 Jersey Mike's restaurants across the United States, all of them pumping out hundreds of subs every day. Despite the huge amount of stores it has, the chain takes a lot of pride in its ingredients, with its website flagging its devotion to high quality items in its sandwiches (just don't ask for your sub to be toasted). So why, we ask, are so many of them so unhealthy?

Jersey Mike's sandwiches are frequently swimming in sodium and saturated fat, with some of the subs providing more than the daily recommended sodium limit of 2,300 milligrams — in a regular size, no less. Others are laden with saturated fats, which pose a risk to cholesterol levels and blood pressure. Some Jersey Mike's subs are also surprisingly high in calories, covering half or more of your recommended amount per day; eating more than this regularly could contribute to the development of obesity and its associated health risks. When selecting sandwiches for this article, we focused on sodium, saturated fat, and calorie levels as criteria for unhealthiness, while also discussing other considerations along the way.

The Buffalo Chicken Cheese Steak may be tasty, but in return for its high-impact flavor you'll be getting a lot of sodium. And we mean a lot. There is a mind boggling, frankly wild amount of sodium in this sandwich, with a regular size with standard toppings delivering 3,344 milligrams. That's over 1,000 milligrams more than you should be consuming in a full day, across all your meals, and it doesn't even take into account any sides you might grab with it.

That's just on white bread, too: Switch to a rosemary Parmesan bread and add bacon and extra cheese, and the total will skyrocket to 4,141 milligrams of sodium. A regular Buffalo Chicken Cheese Steak will also deliver 14 grams of saturated fat and a generous 870 calories. 

If you want to tweak this sandwich to be a little healthier, try removing one of the two types of cheeses included — it comes with American and blue cheese, and taking one or the other away will reduce its calorie, sodium and saturated fat count. Opting for wheat bread instead of white can also boost its fiber content. ‌

Upon first appearances, the Grilled Italian (which is a secret menu item) from Jersey Mike's looks pretty unassuming. A selection of cured meats, a few slices of provolone cheese, and salad on top — how unhealthy can this sandwich really be? Unfortunately, fairly unhealthy. A regular-sized order (which is a mere 7 inches of sandwich) provides you with 2,796 milligrams of sodium, more than your daily recommended limit in one go. This sandwich doesn't even have any mayo on it, which can provide a modest contribution of sodium to meals. Plus, if you choose to opt out of the sprinkle of salt that adorns each sandwich, you'll only reduce it by 50 milligrams.

Instead, the vast majority of its sodium content comes from the pepperoni, salami, and ham crammed into each sub. Jersey Mike's may have some of the best meat out of all the sandwich chains, but cured meat is well known for being sodium-rich. Here, it is just extravagant and could contribute to a higher-sodium diet overall, which may have knock-on effects for your blood pressure. If the sodium wasn't enough to scare you off, it's also worth noting that a regular Grilled Italian has over 20 grams of saturated fat, which covers your entire daily value, and well over 1,000 calories.

Let's just get this one out of the way first: We know that a club sandwich isn't the healthiest meals in the world. However, even with that in mind we're a little surprised at how unhealthy the Jersey Mike's version is. In a regular size, its Club Sub has 1,110 calories and almost 17 grams of saturated fat. Its calorie levels cover a significant amount of the average adult's daily needs, and its saturated fat content knocks out pretty much your entire daily value for the nutrient.

In addition, the sodium levels for this sandwich are through the roof. The regular size delivers 2,468 milligrams of sodium, more than the average adult needs every day across all their meals. You can make some tweaks to reduce the sodium, saturated fat, and calorie levels, but even if you reduce bacon, mayo, provolone, and salt, the sodium amount only drops to 1,719 milligrams. Besides, you kinda need bacon and mayo in a club, right? 

If you're feeling especially health-conscious, you might want to consider ordering this sandwich in a mini size. While it'll still provide 1,466 milligrams of sodium (a pretty high amount by anyone's standards), it'll lower its energy levels to 630 calories, and provide 9.4 grams of saturated fat.

Bacon, ranch, and cheese steak aren't exactly a recipe for wholesomeness — but even then, the Bacon Ranch Chicken Cheese Steak from Jersey Mike's really pushes things to the limit. In a regular-sized sandwich, each order of the #26 hits you with 2,448 milligrams of sodium. That's more than you should be having every day, of course.

The majority of the sodium in this sandwich comes from the white American cheese, which delivers 668 mg in every portion. The bread is also a major culprit: Order it on white bread, and you'll be munching down 590 milligrams of sodium per sub, and switching to a different bread doesn't change things much. Ordering this sandwich as a 'sub in a tub' does help to bring things down a little on the sodium front, but it's worth pointing out that the Philly chicken that Jersey Mike's uses is also fairly sodium-rich — so unless you're willing to remove the chicken, cheese, and ranch dressing as well (which doesn't leave you with much, let's be real), it'll still be pretty salty.

No matter how hard it tries, Jersey Mike's can't resist loading its subs up with sodium. The #13 Original Italian is proof of this statement — while it may be one of the best Jersey Mike's subs, a regular size delivers a massive 2,467 milligrams of sodium per serving. It's all down to the combination of salty meats (the prosciuttini has 417 milligrams of sodium alone), provolone cheese, and the surprisingly sodium-rich bread.

Compare this to a similar order from Subway, and you'll see how drastic the sodium levels are. In a 6-inch Italian BMT from Subway, you get 1,160 milligrams of sodium — still a high amount by most people's standards, but less than half of what you'd get at Jersey Mike's. Granted, the extra sodium levels in the Jersey Mike's version appear to be because of its abundance of meat (it has 45 grams of protein compared to the Italian BMT's 20 grams), but you have to put up with a lot more saltiness. You also get a high amount of saturated fat for all that protein, with 15 grams per serving. We'd instead recommend trying to fill your protein quota for the day with low-sodium, lean options like chicken or turkey breast, and avoiding this sandwich.

The #9 from Jersey Mike's is supreme by name, supreme by nature — but not in the ways you'd expect. Its Club Supreme sandwich is one of the saltier options on the menu, with a regular size delivering 1,977 milligrams of sodium per serving. Interestingly, one of the biggest sources of sodium in this sandwich is the sliced turkey, which clocks in at 645 milligrams of sodium. While this sodium acts as a flavor enhancer and preservative for the turkey, it also pushes it into unhealthy territory, with the overall sodium content of this sandwich potentially contributing heavily to a higher-sodium diet and various health risks.

This sandwich is hardly light elsewhere, either. It packs a generous 1,140 calories into each portion, and 16 grams of saturated fat. The saturated fat content here is almost the entire amount you need each day, and eating significantly high amounts regularly could raise your cholesterol levels and add to your risk of heart-related diseases. Opting to remove either the olive oil blend or the mayo added to this sandwich can help to bring its saturated fat levels down, while removing the turkey or replacing it with more roast beef (which has 152 milligrams of sodium per portion) can make it less salty.

Jersey Mike's has an extensive breakfast menu, and its Sausage, Egg & Cheese sandwich is the star attraction for hungry customers. However, you'll have to put up with a fair bit of unhealthiness if you order it. This simple-looking sandwich is abundant in saturated fat, containing 23 grams per regular size. Incredibly, opting for a mini size doesn't make any difference to its saturated fat content, as you're still getting the same amount of cheese, egg, and sausage — the only thing that changes is the size of the bread.

The regular size also has 960 calories per serving, a high amount for a breakfast item. As well as this, the combined effect of the egg, sausage, and cheese is to give this sandwich 441 milligrams of cholesterol. It's worth bearing in mind that this is way more than the 300-milligram recommended limit for adults who don't have risk factors for heart disease, and more than double the 200-milligram limit for those that do, as noted by UCSF Health. As cholesterol from food sources can be more impactful on those who already have cardiovascular health considerations, it's important to watch where you're getting it.

The Chipotle Cheese Steak from Jersey Mike's (#43, if you want to get all numerical about it) isn't the healthiest-looking sandwich on the menu — and unfortunately, that look is confirmed by its nutritional info. In every regular portion of this sandwich, there is a mammoth 2,317 milligrams of sodium, providing your entire daily value in just a few bites. The sodium is delivered by everything in the sandwich apart from the grilled onions (which have a tiny 1.41 milligrams of sodium), so asking to remove items won't make it much less salty.

As well as this, the Chipotle Cheese Steak has 990 calories per regular size, and almost 19 grams of saturated fat. While you might assume that ordering it as a wrap will make it healthier, it actually makes things worse. Each wrap is not only more calorific and fatty than the white bread it's usually served on, but they're also higher in sodium, containing 740 milligrams. To top it all off, while you can often rely on Jersey Mike's sandwiches to be piled high with salad, this isn't the case here. Sure, you get grilled peppers and onions, but that doesn't do much for its fiber content, which comes in at just under 3 grams when ordered on white bread.

Ham, egg & cheese — how bad can these three everyday ingredients be? Well, when they're in the hands of the good folks at Jersey Mike's, things can take an unhealthy turn. This meek-looking sandwich may only have 570 calories and deliver an impressive 36 grams of protein per regular serving, but it also crams in 1,654 milligrams of sodium in its regular size. The vast majority of this comes from the ham and bread, which provides 664 and 590 milligrams respectively.

A regular Ham, Egg & Cheese also has 377 milligrams of sodium per serving, a pretty high amount that unfortunately can't be reduced by ordering a mini size. Having said this, opting for a mini version of the sandwich has other advantages. You'll still get the same amount of ham, egg, and cheese (and therefore the same amount of protein), but you'll be able to cut down on the sodium content by a few hundred milligrams. By opting for a mini size on wheat bread, you'll get 1,466 milligrams of sodium and 5.3 grams of fiber. Crucially, though, that amount of sodium is still pretty darn high.

The Big Kahuna Cheese Steak is true to its word: Even in a regular size, this sandwich looks massive, and is stuffed to the gills with beef, cheese, and veggies. The beef and cheese in this sub helps it score a huge protein content (47 grams when ordered on white bread, to be precise), while still managing to keep its calorie count relatively low. At 750 calories, this isn't the lowest-calorie item on the menu, but it's far from the highest.

However, it's the sodium that lets it down. Every regular portion of the Big Kahuna Cheese Steak has 2,353 milligrams of sodium, thanks to the beef, cheese, bread, and jalapeño peppers. The cheese alone provides 891 milligrams of sodium — and while you can remove it, it's not exactly a cheese steak without the cheese, is it? It also has a hefty amount of saturated fat, with 16 grams per serving. 

While opting for the #65 Portabella Chicken Cheese Steak might be a slightly healthier choice sodium-wise, it'll still deliver 1,983 milligrams of sodium per serving. There's no getting around it: Any cheese steak you get at Jersey Mike's is going to be very, very salty.

The Cancro Special comes with an unexpected origin story. This sub isn't named, as you might expect, after the CEO of Jersey Mike's Peter Cancro, the business wunderkind who bought his first sub shop and started the Jersey Mike's story at 17. Instead, it's named after a Pepsi delivery guy who ordered a combo of provolone, beef, and pepperoni on his sub, and was given the glorious honor of the Cancro name on the sandwich.

What's also unexpected about this sub, however, is how it looks nutritionally. For such a simple sandwich, it's fairly high in sodium, containing 1,400 milligrams per serving. It's also pretty calorific, coming in at 920 calories, and has 13.6 grams of saturated fat. Its calorie content is especially worth noting as it's easy to assume that the Cancro Special, with its blend of veggies and simple slices of deli meat, might be a lighter choice. However, appearances can be deceiving, and ordering this sandwich could unintentionally push your calorie intake into higher territory.

If all else fails in your pursuit of a healthy sandwich on a menu, ordering the veggie option always seems like a good idea... right? Not at Jersey Mike's. This sandwich may be a simple combo of cheese and salad, but it still manages to pack 900 calories into a regular size. As well as this, it delivers an eyebrow-raising 21 grams of saturated fat, which is more than a lot of people should be eating per day – and it's hardly salt-free either, containing 1,243 milligrams of sodium.

It's likely no surprise that the majority of the saturated fat comes from the provolone and Swiss cheese that's layered into each sandwich, but it's also worth noting that 4 grams come from the olive oil blend splashed into each sub. 

Luckily, if you want to make this sandwich healthier, there are a few things you can do. Opt for it without provolone or the olive oil blend, and order it on wheat bread instead of white. Doing this will give you all of the veggie goodness and boost its fiber content to almost 6.6 grams, while reducing its saturated fat to just over 8 grams. 

Mike's Famous Philly is one of the more simple subs, featuring just beef, cheese, pepper strips, and onions served on a roll. Regrettably, though, every single one of those ingredients apart from the onions is pretty salty. The result is that this menu item has almost 2,000 milligrams of sodium in a regular size, as well as almost 14 grams of saturated fat and 700 calories.

If you want to make things a little healthier, there are some tweaks you can make. We recommend opting out of the cheese in this sub (we know, it's delicious, but work with us here), and adding avocado and grilled portabella mushrooms. The avocado will provide some of the creaminess that you'll lose from taking out the cheese, and you'll get a huge boost of fiber, which you can raise even further by ordering it on wheat bread. With all of these changes, you'll get 8 grams of fiber, 7 grams of saturated fat, 640 calories, and 1,265 milligrams of sodium — still a lot, but not nearly as much as before.

There's nothing super about this sub's nutritional information. While it may look pretty tasty, with its assortment of sliced meats, cheese, and salad, The Super Sub is also exceedingly salty. Each regular size has over 2,000 milligrams of sodium, nudging up against the daily limit for adults. It's not exactly modest when it comes to saturated fat or calories, either. While its 11 grams of saturated fat and 790 calories may not make it the unhealthiest thing on the menu, that's still a fairly substantial amount for a simple sub.

As a general rule of thumb with Jersey Mike's subs, removing the cheese can be beneficial on both a sodium and saturated fat level. It can also be a good idea to look for subs that don't have multiple types of cured meats, which can be incredibly high in sodium, thanks to all of those different slices bringing salt to the party. Opting for a bowl version of your order can also reduce sodium considerably.