What Was Really In Subway's Green Eggs And Ham Sandwich

For a fast-food chain that almost exclusively deals in sandwiches, Subway can get pretty innovative, especially in their international locations. In various Subways around the world, you can find anything from kebab options to pizza subs and shrimp-and-avocado endeavors. However, in 2019, the company took things a lot closer to home when locations in Los Angeles and New York padded their menus with one of the most famously grim foodstuffs in all of fiction (via Thrillist). Yes, the dish in question was from Dr. Seuss' Green Eggs and Ham, the famous beginner book in which a character called Sam-I-Am haunts a nameless character until he agrees to eat the titular course – and yes, Subway actually sold a sub based on the vile-looking meal.

Of course, this wasn't a call for help from a struggling sandwich chain that felt it could not, would not, come up with anything better. The Green Eggs and Ham sub was actually a clever limited-time item that was launched as part of their partnership with Netflix and their animated Green Eggs and Ham show. Still, one can't help but wonder: How on Earth did they manage to bring one of fiction's most suspicious dishes to reality? Let's take a look at what was really in Subway's Green Eggs and Ham sandwich.

Just like Sam-I-Am's original dish ultimately turned out to be delicious, Subway's take on the green theme was significantly less troublesome than its theme would suggest. While the Green Eggs and Ham sub did contain both ham and eggs, the meat was perfectly regular and ham-colored. The eggs, meanwhile, did actually come with worryingly green yolks that made them seem quite close to Seuss' originals. However, their emerald hue was actually just a spinach-based dye job (per Today). The other ingredients of the Green Eggs and Ham sub included sliced tomatoes, American cheese, and even more green stuff in the shape of guacamole and fresh spinach, all piled in an Italian loaf. 

While the green-tinted delicacy was only available in the chain's New York and Los Angeles locations, other Americans had a shot at stumbling onto it as well, courtesy of the Subway Hambulance. This was basically an ambulance with a giant green ham on top, which toured the U.S. and gave out samples of the Green Eggs and Ham sandwich. Yep – just like the book's unnamed character, people could just go about their day and suddenly be offered ham and green eggs. That's pretty clever, actually.