This chopped salad will amaze everyone around the table! Homemade Italian dressing, crisp veggies and Parmesan cheese combine into one extraordinary salad.
On the lookout for a side salad to accessorize with all your meals? We’re always on the lookout for a great green salad. (It’s like your favorite pair of shoes, right?) May we present, this incredible chopped salad.
It’s classy and tight. There’s our homemade Italian dressing: tangy, savory, and herby. Add to that shallots, tomatoes, cucumber, and a zing from pepperoncini. Parmesan cheese seals the deal. Are you ready to get cooking? Because this chopped salad wants to be part of your kitchen repertoire.
How to make a chopped salad
Last weekend we served this salad at a dinner party. Wow! What’s in this salad? was murmured around the table. That’s when you know a recipe is a keeper! It looks unassuming, but it’s one of our favorites to date. What carries this chopped salad is our homemade Italian dressing recipe. The flavor is zesty and bright, full of garlic, white wine vinegar, and balanced with a touch of maple syrup. Dried basil, thyme, and oregano bring in an earthy flair. (See our dressing tips below.)
Other than the dressing, this chopped salad is just a matter of, well, chopping up all the ingredients! Here we’ve chosen ingredients that vibe on an Italian chopped salad. You can feel free to customize the veggies in this chopped salad to your liking…but we found this combination to be just about perfect:
- Crunchy veggies: shallot, cucumber, and cherry tomatoes
- Jarred pepperoncini: add a tang and a little heat
- Green olives: add just the right salty hit.
This chopped salad recipe is…
Vegetarian and gluten-free. For vegan, plant-based, and dairy-free, omit the Parmesan cheese. (It’s still just as tasty!)
Ingredients
- 1 recipe Homemade Italian Dressing
- 1 Romaine heart (3 cups)
- 5 cups leafy lettuce
- 1 large shallot
- 1 English cucumber (2 cups chopped)
- ½ cup cherry tomatoes
- ½ cup ripe green olives, halved
- ½ cup jarred sliced pepperoncini
- ¼ cup Parmesan shavings or shreds, plus more to serve
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional
Instructions
- Make the Homemade Italian Dressing.
- Chop romaine and lettuce. Thinly slice the shallot. Peel and chop cucumber. Slice tomatoes and olives in half.
- Mix together all the ingredients for the salad, including the dressing, and toss to combine. If making in advance, refrigerate the components separately; bring the dressing to room temperature before serving.