Review: Subway's New Saucy Sandwich Lineup Brings In Mixed Results

Summer is the prime time for picnics in the park, lunch out on the boat, and generally enjoying meals on the go, which is why Subway has introduced three new summer subs. The New Signature Sub lineup features the Spicy Nacho Chicken, Cheesy Garlic Steak, and Honey Mustard BBQ Chicken sandwiches. All three subs are available nationwide, and join a host of other new menu items as Subway celebrates its Summer of Footlongs.

Headlining all three subs are their featured sauces, including the sweet and smokey BBQ sauce that makes its return to the menu after a three-year hiatus, as well as the brand-new Cheddar Cheese sauce. As always, Mashed is here to help you decide which new menu items to add to your next order, so we sent our reviewer to try all three. Each sub was prepared as specified on the menu, with no additional toppings included and no substitutions made.

Subway isn't new to the cheesesteak game, and their latest creation is a solid, if not slightly mundane, addition to the lineup. Steak, green peppers, and red onions all get toasted together on your choice of bread before being joined by the new SubKrunch topping, and a healthy portion of Roasted Garlic Aioli and Cheddar Cheese sauce. I ordered this sandwich on the Italian Herbs & Cheese bread because it seemed like a good fit with the flavor profile.

The first bite is all about the sauce. The Cheddar Cheese sauce is your classic nacho cheese: gooey, tasty, and a little overpowering. The Roasted Garlic Aioli has great flavor, but is playing second fiddle to the much more intense cheese sauce. The cheese is also best consumed hot, so if you're not planning on eating this sub right way, you may want to look elsewhere.

The steak itself is fine. It's pretty tender but nothing to write home about. The veggies on this sub are all cooked, leaving the sandwich feeling heavy. If you're looking to avoid a post-lunch nap, add in some fresh veggies like spinach or lettuce. Banana peppers or jalapeños would also be welcome additions to bring some acidity. Last but not least, the SubKrunch gets lost in this one. The sauces drown out the crunch, which is basically just a seasoned cornflake. But more on SubKrunch in a moment.

While the Cheddar Cheese sauce is overpowering on the Cheesy Garlic Steak, it's the perfect complement of the hot Spicy Nacho Chicken sub. Rotisserie chicken, green peppers, and red onions are heated before being topped with jalapeños, SubKrunch, Cheddar Cheese sauce, and Creamy Sriracha. For this sub, I went with the Artisan Italian bread because spice is the star of this show, and I didn't want the bread to interfere.

We're no strangers to creamy sriracha concoctions here at Mashed, but Subway's Creamy Sriracha might be one of the best ones out there. It blends with the Cheddar Cheese sauce to create a spicy queso that is greater than the sum of its parts. The rotisserie chicken is juicy and tender and an excellent conduit for the sauces. The jalapeños offer some added heat, but for those looking for only a mild bite, skipping the peppers may not be enough as the Creamy Sriracha also packs a solid punch.

This is a sub that would benefit from some additional fresh ingredients. Treat it like the nacho it aspires to be and add lettuce, tomatoes, and black olives to liven this sandwich up and add some crunch. The extra crunch is necessary because SubKrunch is a bit of a dud. If you want to add some texture, we recommend going the old-fashioned route and add chips to your sandwich as you eat to avoid the SubKrunch sogginess after about 5-minutes inside a saucy sub.

Rotisserie chicken is up there with shredded pork as one of, if not the best, meats for pairing with sauces on a sandwich, as evidenced by Subway's Honey Mustard BBQ Chicken sub. Shredded Monterey Cheddar cheese is melted over a BBQ sauce-tossed bed of chicken before being topped with lettuce, tomatoes, red onions and pickles. To finish it off is a squirt of sweet Honey Mustard sauce. I opted for the new Honey Oat bread and an extra squirt of BBQ, both choices I would happily make again.

This feels like the most balanced and Subway-esque of the new offerings. The two sauces are a dream team, mashing up sweet, smokey, and the unmistakable tang of mustard to create a well-rounded flavor. Once again, the chicken is tender and juicy and the use of shredded cheese rather than cheese sauce is a welcome change from the other newbies. The fresh vegetables also make this sub stand out because it feels more complete than its counterparts. This was the first of the three sandwiches I didn't have any immediate upgrades for, and was also the best tasting as it began to cool down. If you're looking for a new sub to add to your go-to list, strongly consider the Honey Mustard BBQ Chicken.

Subway is, of course, known for having two size options: the 6-inch and footlong. For the purposes of this review, I ordered 6-inch sandwiches, so that's what the nutritional section will reflect. For a footlong, just go ahead and double everything. The Honey Mustard BBQ Chicken and Cheesy Garlic Steak both contain 510 calories in a 6-inch size, while the Spicy Nacho Chicken clocks in at 440 calories. Compared to similar items at Jersey Mike's, these subs are reasonably calorie-conscious. For example, a 7-inch regular Chipotle Chicken Cheese Steak sub from Jersey Mike's has 920 calories, a Bacon Ranch Chicken Cheese Steak has 840 calories, and Mike's Famous Philly Cheese Steak contains 700 calories. That said, they're still on the high end regarding calories compared to the rest of the Subway menu.

Additional ingredients can mean more calories, but many of the veggies on the Subway menu contain less than one calorie per serving, so don't be afraid to load up. As for the sauces, the Roasted Garlic Aioli is the hearty one with 160 calories in a 6-inch serving, while Honey Mustard contains 120 calories in the same size. The BBQ and Cheddar Cheese sauces are much lower at just 50 and 60 calories, respectively.

All three subs are priced in line with the other hot chicken and cheese steak Subway menu items, which run roughly $3 more for a footlong than a traditional cold-cut sub. Prices may differ based on region and ingredients.

Our reviewer ordered the subs in person at his local Subway before bringing them home to be photographed and tasted. Each sub was evaluated based on its sauces, meat, toppings, and overall taste and cohesion. No additional items were added to any of the sandwiches, nor were any substitutions made. The reviewer chose breads based on his perceived best pairings and was happy with his selections overall.

Neither the author of this piece nor Mashed was paid or compensated by Subway in any way for this review. Subway was not aware of the review prior to preparing the food.