Italian Chopped Salad
Redefine lunch with this easy Italian Chopped Salad! Bites of salami, olives, mozzarella and more are tossed together with Italian dressing and plenty of parmesan cheese. With all of the different bold flavors and textures in the mix, this salad is anything but bland!
Italian Chopped Salad
I think I’m obsessed with this easy salad recipe. Seriously, I’ve been tossing this salad up more than once a week lately! And while I usually enjoy it for my lunch, I’ve also been making it for dinner too. This salad is filling, flavorful as can be, and it comes together in just a few minutes. It really does check all of the right boxes, hence the obsession.
The best thing about a chopped salad is that you can fit so many various ingredients onto your fork at a single time, making sure you always have the very best bite. There’s nothing quite like a bite of salami, mozzarella, and olives all at once! Tomatoes, red onions, and pepperoncini peppers are just a few more of the bold ingredients that you’ll want to squeeze onto each forkful as well.
Varying flavors and textures in each bite of Italian chopped salad are what make it so irresistible. That’s not the only reason I make it as often as I do, though! I’m also pretty in love with how quickly it comes together (which really depends on how fast you are at chopping) and how filling it is. All of the various ingredients, especially the salami, help keep you nice and full! It’s a salad that seriously satisfies.
How to Make Italian Chopped Salad
Chop, toss, eat, repeat! Just like any good salad recipe, this comes together in just a few minutes with easy to follow steps.
- Prepare the base ingredients. Rinse the radicchio, romaine and escarole in cold water. Drain and gently pat dry with a paper towel, or use a salad spinner.
- Assemble the salad. Arrange the rinsed base ingredients on a platter. Top with all of the remaining ingredients, drizzle on the Italian dressing, then sprinkle with parmesan.
- Enjoy! Toss everything together and serve immediately.
Tips for the Best Italian Chopped Salad
Toss together the very best Italian chopped salad every time when you use these easy tips and tricks!
- Chop everything into similarly sized pieces. This is very important! The key to a good chopped salad is making sure all of the ingredients are about the same size. That way, everything fits nicely onto your fork.
- You can make it ahead of time. If making in advance, assemble the salad without the dressing and croutons. Right before serving, add the croutons and dressing, tossing to coat.
- Try out some homemade ingredients. This is the easiest way to elevate your salad! Homemade croutons and homemade Italian dressing are both so easy to make and do wonders for the whole salad. You could even use pesto marinated mozzarella balls for more added flavor!
- Use fresh parmesan cheese. You can always just buy a bag of the pre-shredded stuff to save a little bit of time, but it never tastes quite as good as parmesan that’s been shredded right off the block.
- Serve it whenever. Serve this salad as an appetizer, lunch, or side dish! It’s a super versatile recipe that can be enjoyed at various times of the day. If you choose to use this salad as a side dish, serve it with something like homemade stromboli for a super satisfying dinner.
Enjoy more of the very best easy salad recipes!
For more easy salad ideas, follow us on Instagram and Facebook!
Get the Recipe: Italian Chopped Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups chopped Radicchio
- 2 cups chopped Romaine Lettuce
- 2 cups chopped Escarole
- 1 cup chopped English cucumber
- 2 cup sliced cherry tomatoes
- 1 yellow bell pepper, diced
- 1 cup mozzarella pearls, or diced fresh mozzarella
- 1/2 cup sliced black olives
- 1/2 cup green olives
- 1/4 pound chopped salami
- 1/4 cup diced red onion
- 1/4 cup pepperoncini peppers
- 1 cup croutons
- 1 1/2 cups Italian Dressing
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese, optional
Equipment
- 1 serving bowl
- 1 kitchen knife
- 1 cutting board
- 1 salad spinnger Optional
Instructions
- Rinse the radicchio, romaine and escarole in cold water. Drain and pat dry or dry in salad spinner.
- Arrange the radicchio, romaine and escarole on a platter.
- Top the lettuce with the cucumber, tomatoes, bell peppers, mozzarella, olives, salami, red onion, peppers and croutons.
- Drizzle with the dressing and toss to coat.
- Sprinkle with the parmesan and serve immediately.