Italian Chopped Salad is a vibrant and flavorful salad packed with fresh vegetables, protein, and cheese. A delicious and flavorful meal perfect for any day of the week.
SAVE THIS RECIPE!
Enter your email below and we’ll send this recipe straight to your inbox.
Is Italian Dressing Really from Italy?
Like many “Italian” foods enjoyed in the United States, Italian dressing– a mix of oregano, olive oil, vinegar, and spices- was not invented in Italy. Rather, two American restaurant owners claimed to have invented it- Phillip Sollomi, founder of Wish Bone, and Ken Hanna, founder of Ken’s Steakhouse.
While the dressing may not be authentically Italian, it’s still a clear favorite condiment in many people’s refrigerators.
Why This Hearty Italian Chopped Salad Recipe is a Keeper
- 10 Minute Meal: Just prepare the ingredients, toss them together, and enjoy! It is a great salad recipe to try.
- Easy Ingredients: All of the ingredients for this hearty side salad are pantry staples or found easily in your local grocery store.
- Adaptable: Add or remove anything you’d like with this easy salad recipe. Add all of the ingredients to a bowl and create a salad is perfect for your family. It is easy to make this salad ahead. Add the dressing before your are ready to serve your salad.
How Do I Make the Perfect Salad?
When you prepare your ingredients, make sure they’re finely chopped to ensure a delicious salad. Slice the red onion thinly to give it a crispy texture that isn’t too overbearing, along with the dry Italian salami to disperse the flavor. You can dice the ingredients to make them even smaller.
Chopped Salad Ingredients
- Fresh Salad Greens: Make sure to wash your greens before preparing them. Using fresh vegetables from your garden is also a great choice if you have any.
- Meats and Cheeses: This recipe uses a blend of Italian meats and cheeses- salami, mozzarella, and pepperoncini.
See the recipe card below for a complete list of the ingredients with measurements.
Variations and Substitutions to Make this Recipe
This chopped salad is a salad that you can customize. This tiktok favorite can be made with your favorite ingredients for the best Italian salad. You’ll want to eat this salad again and again.
- Protein: If you want, feel free to use more protein, like prosciutto or grilled chicken for this hearty salad.
- Chopped Salad Ingredients: Add more vegetables to the salad, like cucumbers, artichoke hearts, bell peppers, and kalamata olives. Season with dried oregano.
How to Make Chopped Italian Salad
This hearty Italian chopped salad recipe is packed full of flavor, including chopped red onion and salty salami. The best part is you can make this recipe in a few simple steps. Just assemble the salad ingredients together, pour the dressing, and enjoy!
These are the basic steps for making this absolutely delicious chopped Italian salad. Refer to the full, printable recipe card below for detailed instructions.
Step 1: Combine Ingredients
Clean, wash and chop the ingredients. In a large bowl add vegetables, chickpeas, mini mozzarella balls, Italian dry salami, and provolone cheese, and toss to combine the big salad.
Step 2: Make the Delicious Dressing
Make the dressing by whisking the dressing ingredients and add to a jar with a tight-fitting lid. Shake vigorously until fully combined.
Step 3: Add Dressing and Toss the Awesome Salad
Pour the dressing on top of the salad and toss. Season with salt and pepper if wanted.
Italian Chopped Salad FAQs
Expert Tips to Make this Delicious Salad and Salad Dressing
- Legumes: You can try adding different legumes to this salad. For instance, try lentils or garbanzo beans instead of chickpeas.
- Lettuce: While you can use any crisp lettuce in this recipe, you can make this salad with radicchio, a bitter red lettuce popular in many Italian dishes. If you can’t find it, chopped romaine lettuce or chopped iceberg lettuce works fine for this refreshing salad.
- Dressing: If you don’t want to use Italian dressing, whisk together a red wine vinaigrette works fine for this great salad.
Easy Italian Sub Salad You’ll Make on Repeat
SAVE THIS RECIPE!
Enter your email and we’ll send this recipe to your inbox.
Ingredients
Salad
- 1 head Lettuce, chopped
- 1 pint Cherry tomatoes, halved
- ½ Red onion, thinly sliced
- 15.5 ounces Chickpeas, 1 (15.5-ounce) can, rinsed and drained
- 6 ounces Mini mozzarella balls
- 5 ounces Dry Italian salami, chopped
- 5 ounces Provolone cheese, chopped
- 6 Pepperoncini, stemmed and chopped
Italian Dressing
- ½ cup Olive oil
- 3 tablespoons White wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon Sugar
- 1 clove Garlic, grated
- 1 teaspoon Lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning blend
- ½ teaspoon Salt
Instructions
- Add the chopped lettuce, halved cherry tomatoes, thinly sliced red onion, chickpeas, mini mozzarella balls, chopped Italian salami, chopped provolone, and chopped pepperoncini to a large mixing bowl.
- Add the olive oil, white wine vinegar, mayonnaise, sugar, grated garlic, lemon juice, Italian seasoning blend, and salt to a jar with a tight-fitting lid. Secure the lid and shake vigorously until the dressing is well combined.
- Taste the dressing and adjust the seasoning, vinegar, or lemon juice to your preference.
- Drizzle the dressing over the salad a little at a time. Toss gently to coat, then taste and add more dressing as needed.
- Serve immediately while the salad is cold.
Christina’s Notes
- Use dry Italian salami. The source specifically recommends dry Italian salami rather than regular deli salami because the texture and flavor are different.
- Dry the chickpeas well. Rinse and thoroughly dry them before adding them to the salad. Excess moisture can water down the dressing.
Slice the onion very thin. Thick slices can overpower the other ingredients. A sharp knife or mandoline works well. - Grate the garlic. Grated garlic blends more smoothly into the dressing and distributes evenly.
- Shake the dressing vigorously. The mayonnaise helps bring the dressing together, but it still needs a good shake.
- Don’t use all the dressing automatically. Dress the salad gradually, toss, taste, and add more if needed.
- Serve it cold. The source recommends having the ingredients refrigerator-cold before tossing and serving.
- Don’t skip the pepperoncini. They provide the briny, tangy flavor that gives this salad its Italian-sub character.
- Scale the recipe: Simply adjust the serving size in the recipe card and the ingredients will update automatically.
- Make your own All Purpose Seasoning: When a recipe calls for All Purpose Seasoning, you can use my homemade All Purpose Seasoning recipe or substitute salt and pepper to taste.
- Meat doneness: I always use a meat thermometer to test for doneness when cooking meat.
- Use unsalted butter: I use unsalted butter so I can control the salt level in the recipe.
- Preheat the oven: Unless otherwise noted, always preheat your oven before baking.
For more helpful information about this recipe, such as variations, substitutions and other pro-tips, check out the blog post.