Review: Jimmy John's Heats Up Menu With New Toasted Sandwiches

The wait is almost over: Jimmy John's is bringing toasted sandwiches to its menu for the first time in the company's 42-year history on March 3, 2025. And it's kind of crazy that the fast food sandwich chain added wraps to its menu before toasting the sandwiches it already made.

Coinciding with the launch, Jimmy John's is adding three new sandwiches to its menu that are designed to be toasted. Beyond these three, however, customers may choose to have any sandwich on the Favorites menu toasted, too. It's been a long time coming for the restaurant, the founder of which initially intended to sell hot dogs before quickly pivoting to deli-style sandwiches. But as Jimmy John's President James North told us regarding the toasted sandwiches launch: "I'm glad we waited."

Daily Meal attended an event in New York City last week to get a sneak preview of the menu additions — and to see if they were "Crispy and golden on the outside, melty and gooey on the inside," as Jimmy John's said in a press announcement. Here's our first-hand look at the new sandwiches.

Some recommendations are based on firsthand impressions of promotional materials and products provided by the manufacturer.

The three new sandwiches that will debut on the new Toasted section on the menu are: the Chicken Bacon Ranch, the Roast Beef & Cheddar, and the Ultimate Italian. Each of these sandwiches has multiple meats and plenty of toppings — think provolone, parmesan, and crispy fried onions, plus lettuce, tomato, onion, and sauces (like the new horseradish dressing). This makes them well suited for toasting, as together, they create layers of flavor when heated simultaneously, and are hefty enough to be heated. As stated, any sandwich on the Favorites menu can now be toasted, too. 

Company President James North told Daily Meal that all of these sandwiches are big enough to handle toasting, while those smaller and simpler sandwiches on the Originals menu don't hold up in the same manner. In a press release, Jimmy John's said of the new offerings: "They're the perfect way to enjoy Jimmy John's fresh ingredients in a whole new way." Chief Brand Marketing Officer Darin Dugan also added: "While we may be fashionably late to the Toasted Sandwich party, we've made sure they're worth the wait."

First up among the new Toasted Sandwiches was the Chicken Bacon Ranch. I already know what you're thinking: "This is a gimme. Of course, a Chicken Bacon Ranch sandwich will be perfect toasted." But that's not entirely the case here. 

While this sandwich — which is made with all-natural chicken, bacon, provolone, lettuce, tomato, mayo, ranch, and rand dressing — isn't bad by any means, it was my least favorite of the three new items. The freshly baked French bread (the only bread Jimmy John's uses) toasted perfectly well, getting crisp on the outside and remaining soft on the inside. The food was hot and the provolone cheese, if mild in flavor, was nice and melty.

My biggest gripe, honestly, was the lack of ranch flavor. The sandwich includes both ranch (which I assume is ranch seasoning) and ranch dressing. But somehow, despite there seeming to be two different ranch-flavored ingredients, the flavor of ranch was not strong enough. Jimmy John's President James North said of this item that the company needed a sandwich "down the middle," to attract a wider audience, something with a simpler flavor profile than that of the other two other new sandwiches. But we could have done with a little more punch in this one. Would I eat it again? Yeah, sure. But would I go out of my way to order this sub at Jimmy John's? No, I would not.

Next up on the taste test was the Roast Beef & Cheddar, which was my favorite of the bunch. The sandwich has roast beef, bacon, cheddar cheese, horseradish sauce, crispy fried onions, lettuce, tomato, onion, and mayo. And it's the horseradish sauce and crispy fried onions that made this sandwich stand out among the trio.

Like the Chicken Bacon Ranch, the bread was perfectly toasted, the meats were nice and hot, and the cheese was ooey and gooey. Not only was the horseradish sauce the standout ingredient in this sandwich, but it was probably the single best ingredient across all three sandwiches. The crispy fried onions also brought some added texture that really made a difference when comparing this sandwich to the other two.

Honestly, the roast beef and bacon were a bit overpowered by the horseradish sauce and fried onions (and with bacon having such a strong flavor in its own right, that's a bit impressive), so I would have liked it if the two meats held their own a bit more. That said, the roast beef was tender, the melted cheddar cheese was subtly present, and this was the sandwich I wanted to come back to.

Let me say this upfront: Toasting Italian deli meat sandwiches is such an underrated decision. The Ultimate Italian comprises capocollo, salami, ham, bacon, parmesan, provolone, lettuce, tomato, onion, mayo, oregano-basil, and a drizzle of oil and vinegar. Not surprisingly, after reading those ingredients, this was the most piled-high sandwich of the new three — and I had no issues with that. The provolone and parmesan both melted nicely and the stack of Italian meats, ham, and bacon with the fresh veggies made this a worthy contender for my favorite of the bunch. The real highlight, however, was the addition of the oregano-basil and oil and vinegar — both used judiciously enough to cut through the richness and saltiness of the meats and cheeses.

One other thing I liked about the Ultimate Italian was that it was most balanced of all the sandwiches (in terms of flavor profile). The Chicken Bacon Ranch's flavor didn't do it for me: No ingredient took the lead, and it lacked significantly in the ranch department. The Roast Beef & Cheddar, while my favorite of the three, was no doubt dominated by the horseradish sauce. But the Ultimate Italian was rich, salty, herby, acidic, and fresh — all at the same time. I could see this one working really well with the chain's famed slow-roasted tomatoes.

The three new sandwiches, as well as the ability to toast any Favorite sandwich, will be available to customers nationwide starting March 3. What's good to know is this is not a limited-time offer; the three new Toasted Sandwiches are permanent menu items at its 2,600-plus locations across the country, with more additions to come in due time. Jimmy John's staff did not share details about pricing for the new menu items, but sandwiches on the Favorites menu cost $11.50 at my local New York City location. (And given that these sandwiches were designed to be of proportionate sizes, I would venture a guess that the new Toasted Sandwiches will cost roughly the same.)

Pretty cool: To show appreciation for customers who are patient enough to wait for their sandwiches to toast, Jimmy John's is giving away $1 million worth of Toasted Sandwiches on Tuesday, March 4 (which is being deemed by the company Toasted Tuesday). The offer will be available through the Jimmy John's app or website using the promo code TOASTEDTUESDAY. In addition, Jimmy John's is hitting the road with the Toasted Truck, bringing free samples and exclusive merch to cities across the United States, including Chicago, Lexington, Atlanta, Dallas, and Phoenix throughout March. Tip: Follow Jimmy Johns on social media for dates, exact locations, and more information.

Was the addition of Toasted Sandwiches to Jimmy John's menu a decade (or three) too late? Well, I will leave that to you to determine. Was it worth the wait, at least? I'd say that's a resounding yes. Just about every other sandwich chain I can think of offers toasted sandwiches of some sort, so Jimmy John's is fashionably late to the party here, but I suppose it's better to wait for the right time and right product rather than rushing to release a menu item simply because other companies are doing it.

All three sandwiches worked as toasted sandwiches, I felt. Notably, the French bread that Jimmy John's uses holds up very well under toasting. It got crispy on the outside and remained fluffy and soft on the inside. The meats were hot and the cheese, as promised, was melty and gooey. As already said, I preferred two of the three sandwiches, but none were bad by any means. I can also imagine that several existing sandwiches — like the Jimmy Cubano, the Smoked Cheddar Bourbon Club (if it ever returns to menus), and a few Jimmy John's secret menu items like the Noah's Ark or the Chuck Norris — would work very well toasted.