Whether you need a quick lunch, a snack, or an on-the-go meal, sandwiches are common food items. They’re fast, simple, and cost less than dining out or making a gourmet meal at home. Sandwiches are so popular that the National Library of Medicine reports that about 47% of all adults eat at least one sandwich daily.
When it comes to preparing a sandwich, ingredients can differ. One common sandwich ingredient is lunch meat, though cold-cut brands can vary widely. Some options are more processed than others while some contain added ingredients like nitrates, sugar, artificial colors, and MSG (monosodium glutamate), a flavor enhancer. When looking for the healthiest prepacked cold-cut options, be sure to read nutritional labels and opt to avoid brands that include sodium nitrate, added flavors, corn syrup, and excess sodium.
This list includes a few of the healthiest and best cold-cut meat brands available on the market today. From Boar’s Head, a brand that’s known for its high-quality meats, to North C0untry Smokehouse, a company that focuses on organic and sustainable meat options, there are plenty of lunch meat brands to choose from when the hankering for a sandwich hits. This list is, of course, subjective to flavor and personal preference. (For similar reading, be sure to check out 7 steak brands you absolutely must try.)
To compile this list of cold-cut meat brands, 24/7 Tempo reviewed several sources. These include Tasting Table, USA Today, Self Magazine, and Eat This, Not That! We also reviewed personal blogs like The Lean Green Bean and took into account personal experience and Reddit threads. In no particular order, here are 10 cold-cut meat brands you don’t have to avoid.
1. Boar’s Head
When reviewing information for this article, Boar’s Head was one brand that kept turning up again and again as a healthy cold-cut brand people love. The company, headquartered in New York City, has been in business since 1905. For nearly 120 years, Boar’s Head has been producing high-quality meats.
High-quality ingredients
Boar’s Head is known for being a healthier lunch meat alternative. This is due to the brand avoiding sneaky additives like sugar and gluten. Each Boar’s Head product is made without MSG or added flavors and fillers. Their products are gluten-free, milk-free, sugar-free, and lower in sodium than others on the market. Additionally, the brand offers products that are certified as heart-healthy through the American Heart Association.
2. Dietz & Watson
What began in 1939 with founders Gottlieb Dietz and Walter Watson, has carried on through 80 years and four generations under the company name of Dietz & Watson. This delicatessen may have begun as a meat company that made sausages in Philadelphia, but it has grown into a global production line of deli meats, artisan cheeses, and snacks.
Family recipes
Even after four generations of family members leading the company, Dietz & Watson is still known for its use of family recipes that date back to the founding of the company. They are also known for their transparency in the production process and their use of high-quality ingredients. Today, you’ll find products from Dietz & Watson that include hot dogs, smoked sausages, bacon, and homestyle lunch meats.
3. Battistoni
Founded by Umberto Battistoni in 1931, this brand of meat products is focused on Italian meats. You’ll likely find their products when searching for salami or pepperoni for your charcuterie board or homemade pizza.
Italian roots in America
While other cold-cut meat brands focus on ham, turkey, pork, and roast beef, Battistoni focuses on Italian meats dating back to Old World Italy. In fact, the company still uses Umberto’s original spice blend and recipes that he brought with him to America from Italy. Additionally, the company is known for its gluten-free facility that’s still located in Buffalo, New York, where Umberto got his start. The brand’s products include various flavors of salami, calabrese, and pepperoni.
4. Applegate
Grilling Cajun andouille.
Applegate is a brand most known for its production of natural and organic meat. The company’s meat products come from animals raised without added hormones or antibiotics. Additionally, the company refrains from using byproducts and fillers in their meat.
A holistic and humane mission
What sets Applegate apart is its dedication to producing meat from humanely raised animals. The result of their work allows for products that are organic and free from hydrogenated fats, MSG, or genetically modified additives. What began over 30 years ago has become a larger mission to create healthy and delicious meats that anyone can enjoy. Beyond cold cuts, Applegate produces sausages, bacon, hamburger, and various cheeses and snacks.
5. Gusto
Similar to Applegate, Gusto Craft Meats is committed to producing antibiotic-free meats and snacks. Their products are also only available in Whole Foods Markets nationally, which showcases their desire to produce high-quality, healthy options.
From charcuterie board to deli meat
Gusto is most known for its sliced meats that are perfect additions to both a charcuterie board and a sandwich. Their products include Italian dry salami as well as Toascano, a fennel pollen salami. Each product is gluten and milk-free, as well as produced from animals that are vegetarian-fed and antibiotic-free.
6. Primo Taglio
As a Safeway brand, Primo Taglio is known for its affordability and product variety. Most of the company’s products are also made without added flavors or colors, offering consumers an affordable and healthier option.
A variety of products
While many of the brands discussed here offer specialized products, Primo Taglio offers a little bit of everything. Their sliced Italian meats are a great option for charcuterie boards, while their ham, turkey, and roast beef deli meats are perfect for a sandwich. The company also offers meats that haven’t been sliced, like its pepper turkey and pan-roasted turkey breast, giving customers an opportunity to bring these meats home and cut them fresh for themselves.
7. Creminelli
With roots that date back centuries in Italy, Creminelli Fine Meats is a brand brought over to Salt Lake City, Utah, in 2006 by Cristiano Creminelli. Cristiano partnered with two other meat producers to create the brand which began introducing high-quality deli meats to the United States.
Dedication to sustainability
The Creminelli brand is known for producing meat from antibiotic-free animals. Additionally, all products are gluten- and nitrate-free and don’t contain artificial ingredients. Beyond the ingredients used, the company is also dedicated to creating a sustainable production process. Currently, Creminelli sells their meat in trays that are made with recycled plastic. Additionally, their secondary packaging is made to be renewable and recyclable.
8. 365 by Whole Foods Market
While the 365 brand covers a wide range of products specifically crafted for Whole Foods Market, the company’s meat line is especially popular with shoppers. Most items in the cold-cut line of meats are organic as well as dairy and nitrate-free.
Natural ingredients
From oven-roasted turkey breast to black forest uncured ham, the 365 brand of deli meats includes natural ingredients like meat, water, sea salt, vinegar, and national flavors. A few of the products have additional sugar, but consumers love the flavor. Additionally, the meat is Animal Welfare Certified, meaning that the products stem from animals raised in a pasture or outdoors using sustainable farming practices.
9. Naturalissima
Similar to the 365 brand, Naturalissima is a product line specific to Whole Foods. What sets this line of products apart, however, is its focus on Italian meats. Shoppers love these products for their affordability and deliciousness on an Italian sub or charcuterie board.
Thinly sliced Italian meat
From prosciutto to salami and pepperoni, the Naturalissima brand offers a full line of Italian meat products. Shoppers also love the brand’s prosciutto panino, which is thinly sliced prosciutto wrapped around mozzarella. Naturalissima products are also gluten-free as well as free from nitrates, artificial colors, and flavors. The animal meat used for these products is antibiotic-free and fed a vegetarian diet as well.
10. North Country Smokehouse
This family-owned and operated meat production company has been in business since 1912. What began as a butcher business, morphed into a local retail meat market before gaining the capacity to ship their cured and smoked meats across state lines.
Certified Humane and USDA Organic
North Country Smokehouse places a high importance on where their meat comes from and how it’s handled. The company is a member of the Free Farmed program, allowing them to produce humanely raised meat. While the company has a plethora of meat options available outside of deli meat, their deli ham and turkey are organic and sugar-free, making them a healthier option. (For additional reading, click here to see 7 healthier tortilla brand alternatives.)