10 Sandwiches to Eat in Italy

When in Rome, do as the Romans do. And romans, love their local, classic, and delicious sandwiches or as we say, panino.

 

From Porchetta to Pucia, if you are looking for the best sandwiches to try in Italy, you might want to rub your hands warm. While local restaurants and street food carts are always there, you might want to check out our offering here at Origini for some of the delicious Italian sandwiches to order.

If you're planning to make a panino at home, you would find all the Italian ingredients here at Origini Italian Market, just a click away.

 

Because there are hundreds of sandwich options to choose from and with myriads of sandwiches that are just too good to miss out on, here are 10 sandwiches to eat in Italy.

 

Best Sandwiches to try in Italy

 

Porchetta Sandwich

Porchetta is seasoned, roasted, and boneless pork and when combined to make a sandwich, it is one of the most popular ones sold in Italy now.

Herbs and spices like garlic, fennel, pepper, and rosemary are allowed to marinate the deboned pork.

The sandwich is only made when the meat has already been roasted for 8 hours or more. While the porchetta sandwich may look incredibly simple, it makes for a firework of complex flavors for your taste bud.

The sandwich is sold in the streets of Italy in the form of paninis, subs, and crusty rolls.

 

Lampredotto

If you're looking for a classic Italian deli, Lampredotto sandwiches are what you need to eat in Italy. Lamprdotto, a delicacy that was conceived in Florence, is a dish made from the final and fourth stomach of a cow.

The stomach is slow cooked and braised for hours in broth with spices, onion, and a lot of tomatoes. For many, the thought of having a sandwich made with a cattle’s innards is repelling but for anyone who has tried lampredotto sandwiches even once in their lifetime, it's never their last.

It is one of the most popular street foods in Florence, where you might have to wait at the end of long lines to get a taste of this juicy, greasy, and messy meat squished in a panini bread.

 

Panontella

When in Italy, one of the sandwiches you would want to eat is the simple and traditional panontella sandwich. These are classic snacks that originated in Rome. The meat used in panontella is guanciale or pancetta, but mostly a combination of both. While pancetta is pork belly and guanciale is pork jowl, the latter has a slightly sweeter taste to it.

The cured meat in the sandwich comes in many forms including a smoked, rolled, or flat form. When used in the panontella sandwich, the pork meat is both cut into smaller pieces and grilled slightly.

Panontella sandwiches use a mixture of bread but casareccio bread is a favorite to go with the juicy stuffings.

 

Mozarella In a Carriage

Drumming into trying this sandwich just from the name of it, aren’t we? Mozzarella in Carrozza, or mozzarella in a carriage, is a sandwich assembled with a fried mozzarella stick in the middle.

The mozzarella stick is deep fried with a coating of crispy and crusty bread crumbs and is often served as a sandwich with either pesto or Mariana sauce as a spread or even a dip. Originally eaten in Campania, this snack is not the cheapest sandwich to find.

The sandwich also comes in a variety where buffalo mozzarella is used, with generous amounts of olive oil trickled inside the bread. If you're planning to cook one up, you would want to buy yourself low-moisture mozzarella for the best results.

 

Puccia Sandwich

One of the reasons why the sandwich is such a popular food in Italy is their love for a different type of bread. One of the sandwiches that you need to have when in Italy is puccia sandwiches. Puccia is a kind of bread variety that stems from Apulia. What's so great and interesting about these loaves of bread is that they are made from the dough of a pizza.

One of the best combinations to try is the puccia meatball sandwich. Milk soaked Apulian bread, juicy meatballs, and canestrato cheese is a match made in heaven, and you’d need to try to know.

 

Piadina

Piadina is not your conventional panini bread or rolled sandwich. Going back and digging up some history, you would know that this sandwich was made in the region of Romagnia. In these regions, this round and authentic flatbread have been a stable food.

As for its admittance to the hall of fame of sandwiches that you need to have in Italy, Piadina is stuffed with various meat, salami, and cheese and folded to create a sandwich. Geography plays a big part in the type of piandina you can have.

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Panino col polpo

Springing out from the Bari region, panino col polpo is a sandwich known for its unique blend of flavors and the addition of octopus in a panini.

Grilled and seasoned octopus is wedged between cut-out bread rolls and sprinkled with olive oil and parsley.

The simplicity of the sandwich is what wins everyone over. This street snack is a popular one during Apulian events. After all, you don’t eat octopus sandwiches every day. 

 

Caprese Sandwich

Caprese sandwiches in Italy are in a league of their own and there's no way you can miss having one when in Italy!

From the faraway lands of Capri Islands, comes a sandwich that combines the famous Caprese salad with crusty bread.

Although a protein option is not needed in this sandwich, many people like to add grilled chicken to the abundance of mozzarella, tomatoes, basil, and of course lots of olive oil.

 

 

Venetian Tramezzino Sandwich

Finally a triangular sandwich! Tramezzino sandwiches are as classic as they look. With the crust removed and white slices of bread, filled with cold fillings, the Venetian version of the tramezzino sandwich is one you would want to try.

The sandwich gets generous amounts of fillings, thus creating a dome-shaped triangular sandwich. Hard boiled eggs are a go-to filling with mayo for a Venetian tramezzino sandwich but it also goes well with tuna, mushroom, ham, or cheese.

 

Profezeni

You might feel squeamish at the sound of its main ingredient, but this sandwich is quite a filling delicacy coming from Trentino. Profezeni uses chopped cattle brains as a source of protein and that’s exactly what makes it unique.

The traditional sandwich is steeped in a batter once all the fillings are combined and then deep fried. Other than cooked brain, onions, parsley, eggs, cheese, and butter as also used as stuffings.

 

Final Thoughts

Italians love a good sandwich. With the vast variety of meats, cold cuts, and cheese available, there are different sandwiches to try on for tourists in almost all regions.

 

While Origini Italian Market, helps you find some of these sandwiches and the ingredients, there’s no end to what you can find down a street in Italy.

 

Whether it’s a Profezenil or a Piadina, you may want to get your hands on these 10 sandwiches to try in Italy. No time to go to Italy? We got you covered, now you can have an Italian Panino in Miami, just check out our offering here or at the bottom of this page.

 

 

 

Sources:

https://www.foodandwine.com/news/italian-sandwiches-eat-before-you-die

https://www.tasteatlas.com/most-popular-sandwiches-in-italy

https://insanelygoodrecipes.com/italian-sandwiches/

https://restaurantclicks.com/italian-sandwiches/

https://www.airtransat.com/experiencetransat/3-sandwiches-to-try-in-italy/