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Classic New Orleans muffuletta recipe scaled down to serve one person. Layers of meats, melted cheese, and olive salad piled high onto sturdy Italian bread.

a muffuletta on a white plate next to a purple green and gold mardi gras mask and a bowl of green olives

This authentic New Orleans muffuletta recipe is a scaled-down version of the muffuletta recipe I use for parties and large gatherings. Our muffuletta is packed with meats and our homemade olive salad which is traditionally found on the original muffulettas at Central Grocery in New Orleans.

If you’re looking for other authentic New Orleans recipes, you might like to try our single-serving jambalaya, shrimp creole, or seafood gumbo recipes.

What Is A Muffuletta?

A Muffuletta is a deli sandwich filled with ham, pastrami, pepperoni or salami, and provolone cheese. The key ingredient in a Muffuletta is the olive salad which is the sandwich’s signature trait.

The word muffuletta means soft and spongy bread. The spelling varies based upon which region in Sicily you’re from and can be spelled muffuletta, muffeletta, or muffaletta.

Where Did The Muffuletta Originate?

Although Italian, the muffuletta didn’t originate in Italy. It is the creation of Sicilian immigrant, Salvatore Lupo who arrived in New Orleans in the early 1900s and opened Central Grocery. He developed this sandwich for his customers, many of whom were farmers who would order bread, sliced cold cuts, olives, and cheese. Since they would eat standing, Mr. Lupo decided to put all of those ingredients together in a sandwich to make it easier for his customers to enjoy.

Growing up in New Orleans, my family and I visited Central Market often and I have many fond memories of sharing a muffuletta with my parents. This single-serving recipe is my version of this legendary muffuletta.

a muffuletta sliced in half next to 3 carrots and a bowl of olives

Why This Recipe Works

  • Incredibly delicious: The flavors are perfect in this mini muffuletta recipe. Layers of ham, pastrami, pepperoni, and provolone cheese are piled high on a small loaf of sturdy bread.  But the key ingredient, in my opinion, is the traditional olive salad. Green olives, black olives, and carrots are put in a food processor and finely chopped.  Then, we stir in olive oil and grated Parmesan cheese to pull it all together.
  • Easy to make: Assembling a muffuletta is as easy as making a sandwich. Double or triple the ingredient amounts to make additional individual muffulettas.
  • The perfect muffuletta bread: The bread you use in a muffuletta is extremely important. When making a large muffuletta, I use a loaf of French or Italian bread but when making a single muffuletta I like to use a ciabatta roll (or two rolls if they happen to be small). Whichever type of bread you use, make sure it’s sturdy enough to hold all of the ingredients together.

Ingredients

ingredients in a muffuletta on a kitchen counter

Ingredient Notes: The Bread, The Olive Salad, And The Fillings

See below for ways to use leftover ingredients.

Muffuletta Bread

The perfect bread for a muffuletta is hard to find outside of New Orleans. A Sicilian sesame loaf is a large, wide loaf covered with sesame seeds. Since I no longer live in New Orleans and can’t easily find this bread I use either french or Italian bread. When making small muffulettas, soft ciabatta rolls, focaccia, or sourdough make excellent substitutes. You may like to use our french bread recipe to make a small loaf of french bread and use a part of it to make your muffuletta.

For this mini muffuletta recipe, I’m using two small ciabatta rolls (as shown in the photos). I can often find larger ones that are great for using to make a single muffuletta but the ones I purchased were much smaller, so I’ve divided the ingredients between the two rolls.

two images with one image of Schar brand Ciabatta packaging and second image with two rolls cut in half

The Olive Salad

The olive spread recipe is a take on Central Grocery’s olive salad mix which is an essential element of a true muffuletta sandwich. Our small batch olive salad contains pitted green and black olives, a medium carrot, grated Parmesan cheese, and olive oil. It comes together easily in a food processor. If you’d like to make a little extra to use later, just double or triple the ingredient amounts.

muffuletta olive salad spread on a sandwich

The Cold Cuts

Most muffuletta sandwiches are made with 3 types of deli meat along with cheese. I use ham, pastrami, pepperoni, and provolone. Feel free to use slices of salami, mortadella, prosciutto, capicola, or coppa instead of one or two of the ones we use in our recipe. You can use mozzarella or swiss cheese instead of provolone if necessary.

Heated or Unheated

I prefer to enjoy my individual muffuletta heated but the choice as to whether or not to heat yours is entirely up to you. To heat, brush a little bit of melted butter over the top of the bread and wrap the muffuletta in aluminum foil tightly. Bake it in the oven for about 30 minutes.

How To Make A Muffuletta

See the recipe box below for ingredient amounts and full recipe instructions.

  1. Gather the ingredients together and read through the recipe and the ingredient notes. Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C).
  2. Make the olive salad: Place the green olives, black olives, and a chopped carrot in a food processor. Pulse until the ingredients are finely chopped. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the olive oil and Parmesan cheese. Set aside.
olives and carrots in a food processor
  1. Assemble the sandwich: Slice the bread horizontally and on one half, layer the meats, then the cheese, and then top with the olive salad. Place the other half of the bread on top.

Pro Tip: For this recipe, I used two small ciabatta rolls and each roll measures approximately 4 inches x 2 inches. If you use a single roll that is larger than 4 inches x 4 inches, you may need to increase the amount of filling accordingly.

a small muffuletta on a wooden cutting board
  1. Place the muffuletta on top of a sheet of foil. Brush the top of the bread with melted butter.
brushing melted butter on the top piece of bread for a sandwich
  1. Heat the sandwich: Wrap the muffuletta in aluminum foil and place it on a rimmed baking sheet to catch any possible spills.

Note: As mentioned above, since my rolls are small, I’m making two mini muffulettas.

two mini muffulettas wrapped in aluminum foil on a baking sheet
  1. Bake for 30 minutes or until the cheese has melted.
  2. Remove the sandwich from the oven and before unwrapping, gently push down on the top of the sandwich.
  3. Unwrap and enjoy hot.
a heated muffuletta on a rimmed baking sheet

Expert Tips

  • Make Ahead: You can make the olive salad ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Assemble the sandwich up to two days in advance and keep it in the refrigerator until you are ready to enjoy it.
  • Gently press down on the heated sandwich before eating. This is an important step because it allows the olive salad’s juices to absorb into the bread.
  • Recipe doubles well: If you’d like to make another muffuletta, just double the ingredient amounts. The olive salad can stand on its own as a flavorful spread, consider making a double batch of the olive salad and enjoy it with pita chips.
  • For this recipe, I used two small ciabatta rolls and each roll measures approximately 4 inches x 2 inches. If you use a single roll that is larger than 4 inches x 4 inches, you may need to increase the amount of filling accordingly.
a heated mini muffuletta next to a mardi gras mask

Frequently Asked Questions

How Can I Make A Muffuletta For A Group?

The authentic muffuletta recipe I use when I want to make a muffuletta for a party or for tailgating is Isabel’s Famous New Orleans Muffuletta Recipe.

Do I Have To Use The Olive Spread?

Yes, the olive salad is an essential part of a muffuletta. If you leave it off it will not be an authentic muffuletta sandwich.

What Do I Eat With A Muffuletta?

This small muffuletta is a hearty meal in itself but I love to enjoy crispy potato or kettle chips and an ice-cold beer with mine.

How Can I Make A Vegetarian Muffuletta?

Many people say the most important part of a traditional muffuletta sandwich is the meat but I actually think it’s the olive tapenade. If you’d like to eliminate the meat from this sandwich and make a vegetarian muffuletta, roast vegetables and use them instead of the meats. Consider using quartered red bell peppers, broccoli florets, and/or diced eggplant instead. To roast, place the vegetables on a rimmed baking sheet and drizzle them with a little bit of olive oil, and a pinch of salt and black pepper. Roast the vegetables at 425°F for 20 to 25 minutes.
Leave the Parmesan cheese out of the olive spread or use vegetarian Parmesan or nutritional yeast instead.

a single muffuletta sandwich with cheese melted and dripping down the sides

Ways To Use Leftover Ingredients

If you have any ingredients leftover from this mini muffuletta recipe, you might like to consider using them in any of these single serving and small batch recipes:

More Single Serving Authentic New Orleans Recipes

For more information on the cooking and baking dishes I use in our “recipes for one”, please visit our FAQ page.

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Recipe

Mini Muffuletta

5 from 3 votes
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 30 minutes
Total: 40 minutes
Servings: 1 serving
Classic New Orleans muffuletta recipe scaled down to serve one person. Layers of meats, melted cheese, and olive salad piled high onto sturdy Italian bread.

Equipment

Ingredients 
 

For the olive salad

  • 8 pitted green olives
  • 6 pitted black olives
  • 1 medium carrot , peeled and rough chopped
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil (extra virgin olive oil is recommended)
  • 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

For the muffuletta

  • 1 (4×4-inch) ciabatta roll (or use 2 rolls if your roll is small)
  • 2 slices ham (2-ounces/48 grams)
  • 2 slices pastrami (2-ounces/48 grams)
  • 5 slices pepperoni (.5-ounce/15 grams)
  • 2 slices provolone cheese (1.5-ounce/40 grams)
  • ½ tablespoon butter , melted

Instructions 

  • Gather the ingredients together and read through the recipe and the ingredient notes. 
    Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C).

Make the olive salad

  • Place the green olives, black olives, and a chopped carrot in a food processor. Pulse until the ingredients are finely chopped. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the olive oil and Parmesan cheese. Set aside.

Assemble the muffuletta

  • Slice the bread horizontally and on one half, layer the meats, then the cheese, and then top with the olive salad. Place the other half of the bread on top.
  • Place the muffuletta on top of a sheet of foil. Brush the top of the bread with melted butter.
  • Wrap the muffuletta in aluminum foil and place it on a rimmed baking sheet to catch any possible spills.
  • Bake for 30 minutes or until the cheese has melted.
  • Remove the sandwich from the oven and before unwrapping, gently push down on the top of the sandwich.
  • Unwrap and enjoy hot.

Notes

Expert Tips
  • Make Ahead: You can make the olive salad ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Assemble the sandwich up to two days in advance and keep it in the refrigerator until you are ready to enjoy it.
  • Gently press down on the heated sandwich before eating. This is an important step because it allows the olive salad’s juices to absorb into the bread.
  • Recipe doubles well: If you’d like to make another muffuletta, just double the ingredient amounts. The olive salad can stand on its own as a flavorful spread, consider making a double batch of the olive salad and enjoy it with pita chips.
  • For this recipe, I used two small ciabatta rolls and each roll measures approximately 4 inches x 2 inches. If you use a single roll that is larger than 4 inches x 4 inches, you may need to increase the amount of filling accordingly.

Nutrition

Serving: 1sandwich, Calories: 860kcal, Carbohydrates: 59g, Protein: 38g, Fat: 57g, Saturated Fat: 18g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g, Monounsaturated Fat: 27g, Trans Fat: 0.2g, Cholesterol: 101mg, Sodium: 2197mg, Potassium: 499mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 8g, Vitamin A: 10842IU, Vitamin C: 23mg, Calcium: 416mg, Iron: 3mg

The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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2 Comments

  1. I have always loved and made this. I get the genuine New Orleans bottled spread on Amazon. I have only made it cold which I prefer. I weight the sandwich down on a tray in the fridge with heavy cans. Nice to read your version.