7 Hacks For Ordering At Jimmy John's Everyone Should Know

Sandwiches and subs — for lunch, dinner, or in between — delivered blindingly fast is the modus operandi of Jimmy John's. The sandwich chain was founded in 1983, in Charleston, Illinois, by Jimmy John Liautaud. According to stories told by the founder, the shop started out humbly, offering delivery as a means to combat its less-than-ideal location. Today, the business has grown a lot. Its many locations and fast delivery are just part of the appeal of this sub chain. Another appealing aspect of this fast food giant is its ability to modify to fit your specific needs.

The average Jimmy John's visitor can get very creative with the chain's menu, if they know how to work it. From hollowing out sandwiches for those wanting a less messy bite, to creating a sandwich so giant you can comfortably feed two people, we've got Jimmy John's restaurant hacks you need to know for your next order.

It seems sort of obvious, but nixing condiments that automatically come on Jimmy John's sandwiches can make for a healthier meal overall. Take a peek at the Jimmy John's menu, and you'll notice that more than half of the sandwiches — from the Big John to the Pepe to the Turkey Tom — automatically come with mayonnaise. Others, like the Vito and the Spicy East Coast Italian, come with a mixture of olive oil and vinegar. Even more have doubled up condiments, like the Jimmy Cubano, which boasts both yellow mustard and mayonnaise.

Obviously, condiments help bring out the flavor in any sandwich. However, if you're avoiding foods with higher amounts of nutrients like saturated fat, which are sometimes avoided for their negative health effects, you may want to take a closer look at the toppings you're getting. Mayonnaise is known for containing higher levels of saturated fat, at 1.6 grams per tablespoon. Vinaigrettes may contain less saturated fat, but are often known for being higher in sodium or sugar. If you are limiting your daily intake of saturated fat, sodium, or salt, oil and vinegar may be a better option.

Additionally, you can just have condiments on your sandwiches removed altogether. Overall, if you have health concerns, it's best to take a second look at the nutritional info for condiments before ordering a sandwich at Jimmy's Johns. 

At this sandwich chain, you can actually ask the fine folks at Jimmy John's to hollow out your sandwich and remove some of the bread. Not only does this provide an option for those with those looking occasionally for a lighter meal, but the sandwich fillings tend to stay put better with this option as well.

These days, if you're ordering online or on the Jimmy John's app, you can access this hack on the menu. There will be boxes to check on different sandwiches that state "take bread out" or "leave bread in" depending on your sandwich selection. If you want less bread on your sandwich, you can select "take bread out," and if you want a more filling sub like normal, you can select "leave bread in." 

Imagine your cheese, meat, pickles, lettuce, and tomatoes all snuggled into their little hollowed sub section. Not only will things be more harmonious in each bite, but you're likely to have a less messy meal, too.

You can hack the J.J. Gargantuan to make it even bigger — doubling meat, cheese, and more for a sandwich that can comfortably feed two people. The J.J. Gargantuan contains several meats, cheeses, veggie toppings, seasonings, and condiments. At its size, it's big enough to feed "the hungriest of humans," as Jimmy John's puts it on its website. Since it's made with Hellman's, it may not use the mayo brand considered the best among chefs, but it contains quite a bit of bang for your buck. So, if you're super hungry or if you're looking to get sort of a two-for-one deal, we have the hack.

Referred to as Noah's Ark because it has so many toppings on it, the hack involves simply doubling all of the meat on the already gargantuan J.J. Gargantuan. That way, you can split the sandwich in half and have two meals to feed two people — all from one sandwich. 

One of Jimmy John's popular secret menu items is an order called the BLAHs. It is named for its ingredients — bacon, lettuce, avocado spread, hot peppers, and salami — which are layered on Jimmy John's signature French bread. The combo is probably one of the tastiest hacks you can put together, next to selecting the perfect toppings for your BLT sandwich, in our opinion.

To execute the BLAHS, choose the J.J.B.L.T. Next, choose whichever bread or wrap option you want (we recommend the wheat bread, toasted if possible). Then, remove the tomato, add avocado spread, Jimmy peppers, and salami. The combo is delicious, with the avocado spread acting like an earthy butter, while the salty salami and crispy bacon play well together with the cool crunch of the lettuce.

You can make any Jimmy John's sandwich into a salad by ordering an "Unwich" and chopping up the ingredients. With this hack, bread is replaced with lettuce, and all your meats and cheeses are chopped up and added on top. Ordering is a simple way to put the flavors of your favorite Jimmy John's item into a delicious salad.

To get it, simply order an "Unwich" with oil and vinegar on the side, or other condiments, if you prefer them. Once you have your Unwich, it will basically come as a wrap, with the lettuce taking the place of your bread. Next, it's time to chop it up. You will likely have to do this part yourself, so the ingredients become salad-size. Once that's taken care of, add the oil and vinegar on top and mix it up. Finally, your Unwich is ready, and you've transformed your sandwich into a salad.

Pickle lovers, rejoice. There's a hack that makes pickles the star of the show at Jimmy John's, and it's easier than you might think. This builds on the Unwich hack, but adds a hefty pickle for some added flavor.

According to a Redditor, this hack is simple to access. First, opt for an Unwich by ordering a sandwich without bread. Then, add one large dill pickle to the order. Since the pickle is so large, it creates a substantial bite and textural contrast to lettuce. 

This hack is inspired by the real Picklewich, an official menu item of the same name, which was offered by Jimmy John's for a limited time. In this version, a large dill pickle took the place of bread: it was sliced in half, and the sandwich ingredients were stuffed in between. While this isn't available at the time of writing, our hack gets closer to it than what's on the official menu.

Jimmy John's offers a plethora of sandwiches, and while some are perfect as they are (looking at you, Ham & Three Cheese Melt), some could use some zhuzhing. But, as we've all learned in the fast casual world, veggie add-ons like guac (not the store-bought kind) are usually extra. Luckily, this is not the case at Jimmy John's.

To take advantage of the free veggies, pay attention to the "Freebies" section of your order (which can be accessed no matter if you're ordering online or in person). This section contains a lot, including cucumbers, Jimmy peppers, pickles, tomatoes, onions, lettuce, oregano-basil, oil & vinegar, and more. Since you can add as much as you want from this section, take advantage of it and pack on the veggies. Not only will it make your sandwich crunchier and more nutritious, but it will also make it more filling, at no extra cost.