With lots of different ingredient options, this Italian chopped salad can be easily customized for any kind of eater from vegans to vegetarians to carnivores.
I find myself turning things that aren’t meant to be a salad into a salad.
If I have leftover pasta, I just add greens and whatever veggies I have around and toss everything in some sort of vinaigrette.
What makes these spontaneous garbage salads so good is the different textures and flavors all in one bowl.
Some of the salads that I do put a lot of thought into still look like I whipped them up on a whim.
So much for planned things still looking unplanned!
I absolutely love any and every chopped salad. They tend to be crunchy and so satisfying.
Also, chopped salads are endlessly adaptable.
They are great for entertaining because you can set up bowls with a variety of ingredients. Then your guests can add whatever they want.
It can be tough to handle everyone’s food preferences and allergies.
Creating a mini salad bar is an easy way to let friends and family customize their meal without too much effort from you.
As long as you don’t go totally crazy, you really can’t mess up chopped salad.
It’s meant to be a hodgepodge that has more than just lettuce in every bite. Very straightforward!
Italian Chopped Salad: The Ingredients
With endless options, it helps to come up with a theme to focus your efforts. You can’t go wrong with a classic Italian chopped salad.
My go-to add-ins are chickpeas, Gorgonzola, roasted tomatoes, olives and scallions.
You can also add chopped salami to satisfy the carnivores.
The greens are a mix of romaine and pleasantly bitter radicchio.
An Italian chopped salad is an excuse to take a trip to the olive bar at the grocery or go to the ethnic food aisle for the same ingredients in jars.
Still looking for protein, but you want to keep the salad vegetarian? Feel free to skip the salami completely and instead include hard-boiled eggs.
Rotisserie chicken transforms this Italian chopped salad into a main on its own.
Not a fan of strong cheeses like Gorgonzola, try crumbled feta or goat or shaved Parmesan. Leave out the cheese for vegans.
I toss the greens with a simple red wine vinaigrette with garlic, oregano and Dijon mustard.
Again, don’t be scared to experiment and go off-recipe.
Try These Other Chopped Salads
Autumn Chopped Salad
Mexican Chopped Salad
Italian Chopped Salad
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: –
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: Serves 4–6 1x
With lots of different ingredient options, this Italian chopped salad can be easily customized for any kind of eater from vegans to vegetarians to carnivores.
Ingredients
- For salad
- 1 large head romaine (about 1 pound), chopped
- 1 head radicchio (about 8 ounces), chopped
- 3 scallions, thinly sliced
- 3/4 cup chopped roasted tomatoes
- 1 15-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 1/2 cup chopped Kalamata olives
- 2 ounces chopped salami (optional)
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
- 1/3 cup crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
- For vinaigrette
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- For the salad, combine the romaine, radicchio, scallions, tomatoes, chickpeas, olives, salami (if using), parsley and Gorgonzola.
- For the vinaigrette, whisk together the olive oil, red wine vinegar, mustard, garlic, oregano, salt and pepper in a small bowl.
- Toss the vinaigrette in the salad before serving.
Notes
For vegetarians, leave out the salami.
For vegans, don’t add the cheese.
Other good additions include roasted chicken and hard-boiled eggs.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: –
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: Serves 4–6 1x
[…] Chopped is my preferred way to eat a salad. I like changing up the ingredients depending on my season or mood. For this fall version, the chopping happened in stages instead of all at once. I diced a sweet potato and roasted it before adding to a bowl with kale, romaine, Honeycrisp apples, grapes and sherry vinaigrette. It took some restraint not to keep adding more and more components to the bowl.I wanted crunch and a little something salty to offset the sweetness of the apples and grapes, so I finished the salad with pumpkin seeds and crumbled feta.This chopped salad won’t be limited to just fall and Thanksgiving. I’m planning to eat it through the winter. I love a seasonal salad! […]