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This Italian Chopped Salad comes together in 10 minutes and is perfect for lunch or dinner. This salad is packed with amazing ingredients like crisp romaine lettuce, cherry tomatoes, roasted red pepper, banana peppers, salami, olives and mozzarella all tossed in a creamy robust Italian dressing.
Big salads are my thing and something I eat daily, usually for lunch. This insanely good Italian Chopped Salad came about one night when I needed a new salad idea for our pizza night.
I quickly turned to my pantry and looked around for any ingredients that could go in a salad that were Italian. Which is the same thing I did to come up with the dressing as well, which is so epic. Just wait until you try it!
It is almost as good as this Healthy Caesar Dressing that is one of my faves as well.
The crisp, fresh romaine lettuce mixed in with the bright cherry tomatoes, flavor packed peppers plus the salty olives and salami is everything. Top it off with cubed mozzarella cheese, crunchy chickpeas and a homemade Italian dressing and it is literally a perfect salad. My family went crazy over this recipe and I will now be making it all the time.
Oh and it goes perfectly with pizza or you can enjoy it as a complete meal all on it’s own.
Why you will love this incredible salad
- You can make it in 10 minutes!
- It is made with mostly pantry ingredients and some accessible produce
- Packed with so much flavor and texture
- The homemade Italian dressing is incredible and so simple to make!
- You can make it ahead and enjoy it all week long.
- It is packed with protein and veggies so you can enjoy it as a complete meal
- Crazy good!
Ingredients needed to make this recipe
How to make an Italian Chopped salad
- Make the dressing. Add all dressing ingredients to a mason jar or small bowl.
- Whisk or cover and shake well to fully emulsify into a creamy, robust, herby dressing.
- Then add all salad ingredients to a large salad bowl.
- Pour on the dressing and toss well.
How easy is that? Plus it is full of pantry ingredients which means you probably have most of the ingredients to make this Italian chopped salad right now.
I just love all of the beautiful colors. It just makes you want to dig in and eat this salad. Which my family did! They ate all of it in one meal and it is a big salad.
The best part about this salad is you get a taste of each ingredient almost with every bite so it keeps you wanting more, which is a good thing when it comes to tasty salads.
This salad is anything but boring and may even cause you kids to want to partake in the fun, lol.
What to serve with this Italian Chopped Salad
Since this salad is packed with protein and lots of veggies, it can easily be enjoyed as a meal all on it’s own but here are some suggestions for other recipes you can serve with this salad.
- Pair it with these Kale and Squash Quinoa Patties or of course this incredible Chickpea Flour Pizza that is my absolute favorite.
- Burgers would be a great meal addition to this salad. Try this Healthy Turkey Burger or this Black Bean Burger.
- Eggplant Meatballs on top of this Instant Pot Spaghetti Squash would also be delicious with this salad.
- Pair it with some pasta: Such as these Skinny Spinach Lasagna Rolls Ups or this Butternut Squash and Spinach Lasagna.
Here are some more easy salad recipes you may also enjoy!
- Autumn Chopped Kale Salad With Quinoa
- Best Kale Salad Recipes You Need To Try!
- 10 Minute Curry Chicken Salad
- Crispy Chickpea Kale Caesar Salad
- Mediterranean Israeli Couscous Salad
Recipe Tips and Variations
- Use any greens you like. I opted for crisp, fresh romaine lettuce that I sliced into thin ribbons but sliced kale, baby spinach or even peppery arugula would all go great in this salad.
- Switch up the protein. I used chickpeas and Salami but cooked diced chicken, ham, or even sliced hard boiled eggs would also work.
- Make this salad vegetarian. To make this recipe vegetarian simply leave out the salami.
- To slice the lettuce into ribbons. Take a bunch of the whole lettuce leaves and roll them up like a cigar then run your knife through it to create nice lettuce ribbons.
- To store this Italian Chopped Salad. If you are making this salad in advance, prepare the salad and dressing but store the dressing separately and dress and toss when ready to eat. Store the salad and the dressing in airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Did you try this recipe? If you did, then please leave a rating and comment below.
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10 Minute Italian Chopped Salad
- Prep Time: 10
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
This Italian Chopped Salad comes together in 10 minutes and is perfect for lunch or dinner. This salad is packed with amazing ingredients like crisp romaine lettuce, cherry tomatoes, roasted red pepper, banana peppers, salami, olives and mozzarella all tossed in a creamy robust Italian dressing.
Ingredients
For the salad
- 1 bunch of romaine lettuce – About 4-6 cups sliced into ribbons
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes – quartered
- 1/3 cup mild banana peppers – chopped
- 1/3 cup roasted red peppers – chopped
- 1/4 cup diced red onion
- 1 cup pitted kalamata olives
- 1 cup chopped salami
- 1 cup cubed mozzarella
- 1 (15oz) can chickpeas – drained and rinsed
For the robust Italian dressing
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- the juice of 1 lemon – about 2 tablespoons
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon real maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Add all salad ingredients to a large salad bowl. I added the sliced romaine lettuce first and then added the rest of the ingredients on top of the lettuce.
- Make the dressing. Add all dressing ingredients to a mason jar fitted with a lid and shake well to emulsify or add the ingredients to small bowl and whisk well to combine and emulsify until slightly creamy.
- Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to coat everything in the dressing.
- Serve cold and enjoy!
Notes
- Use any greens you like. I opted for crisp, fresh romaine lettuce that I sliced into thin ribbons but sliced kale, baby spinach or even peppery arugula would all go great in this salad.
- Switch up the protein. I used chickpeas and Salami but cooked diced chicken, ham, or even sliced hard boiled eggs would also work.
- Make this salad vegetarian. To make this recipe vegetarian simply leave out the salami.
- To slice the lettuce into ribbons. Take a bunch of the whole lettuce leaves and roll them up like a cigar then run your knife through it to create nice lettuce ribbons.
- To store this Italian Chopped Salad. If you are making this salad in advance, prepare the salad and dressing but store the dressing separately and dress and toss when ready to eat. Store the salad and the dressing in airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Category: Quick and Easy Salads
- Method: Tossed
- Cuisine: Italian
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