You’re going to love this Italian chopped salad! It’s loaded with veggies, salami, chickpeas, parmesan, and the yummiest homemade Italian vinaigrette. It’s the perfect light lunch or dinner side salad.
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You are in for a treat with this Italian chopped salad! Loaded with tons of veggies, chickpeas, tangy pepperoncinis, salami, and a dreamy homemade Italian vinaigrette. It’s the ideal salad to prep for a week’s worth of lunches (keep in mind that it isn’t super protein heavy, so if you’re eating it solo, you may want to add some extra protein in) or enjoy next to pizza or pasta for dinner.
If you’re looking for more delicious salad recipes, we’ve got plenty! Some of our favorites include this strawberry spinach salad, this easy (but always a favorite) lemon arugula salad, and, if you’re looking for a great meal prep lunch option, this Thai-inspired beef salad.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- It’s flavorful – just one look at the ingredient list will tell you that this salad is out of this world flavorful. It’s loaded with so many delicious, bold ingredients (red onion, pepperoncinis, and black olives to name a few) and is a real show-stopper.
- It’s the perfect side – this salad was made to be served alongside pizza or pasta for the ultimate Italian dinner!
Recipe Ingredients for an Italian Chopped Salad
While there are quite a few ingredients in his recipe, rest assured that all of them can be easily found at your local grocery store, and I’d be willing to bet that you even have a few of them on hand already! Find ingredient notes (including substitutions and swaps) below.
- Salami – use any brand of salami you love here, and if you aren’t a salami fan, pepperoni is a great swap!
- Chickpeas – canned chickpeas work great here. Just drain and rinse them before throwing them into the salad!
A full ingredient list with exact amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
Recipe Variations and Modifications
- Add more protein – as mentioned above, this recipe would make for a delicious lunch, but because there isn’t a whole lot of protein in it, it may not be very filling. To up the protein, you could add shredded or cubed chicken or chopped turkey (or chicken) deli meat.
- Omit or add as you’d like – this recipe is extremely flexible! Nix any of the ingredients that you don’t love, and if you have a yummy idea for an addition (think: chopped red bell pepper), feel free to add it.
- Make it dairy-free – simply omit the parmesan cheese to make this salad dairy-free.
- Make it grain-free – this recipe is grain-free as written.
- Make it gluten-free – this recipe is also gluten-free as-is!
How to Make an Italian Chopped Salad
Chop and toss – that’s really all you’ll need to do to pull this easy salad recipe off! Follow along below for the full how-to.
Step 1: Add the olive oil, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, honey, dried oregano, minced garlic, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes to a bowl or jar and whisk (or shake) until combined.
Step 2: Add the romaine to a large serving bowl, and top with the salami, chickpeas, pepperoncinis, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, olives, and shredded parmesan cheese.
Step 3: Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to combine. Serve and enjoy!
Recipe Tips
Though chopping all of the ingredients into (smaller than) bite-sized pieces can feel like a heavy lift, it’s totally worth it. One of the reasons that chopped salads are so incredible is because you get SO MUCH in just one bite (thanks to the small pieces)!
How to Serve
Serve this salad as a ridiculously delicious side next to your favorite pizza or pasta dish. If you want to enjoy this salad as a complete meal, we recommend adding a little bit more protein (in the form of either cubed or shredded chicken or chopped deli turkey or chicken) to keep you full and satisfied for longer.
How to Store
Store your salad in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. If you’ve already dressed the entire salad, know that it may not be quite as crisp on days 2-5, but the flavors will still be REALLY delicious.
If you’re prepping this recipe for a week’s worth of lunches, we recommend storing the salad dressing separately to keep the lettuce and softer veggies from wilting.
Frequently Asked Questions
There are TONS of different chopped salad variations! The commonality among them all is that the salad greens and toppings are chopped quite small (definitely smaller than a regular salad). They also tend to be really topping dense, making for especially delicious salads.
One serving of this Italian chopped salad (there are 6 servings in the recipe, total) comes in at 495 calories with 12 grams of carbohydrates, 22 grams of protein, and 40 grams of fat.
This is a great question! If you’re meal prepping this salad, we recommend waiting to dress the salad with the homemade Italian vinaigrette until just before enjoying it. This will keep the salad greens and toppings nice and crisp.
More Favorite Salad Recipes
If you tried this Italian Chopped Salad or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below!
Italian Chopped Salad
Ingredients
For the Salad Dressing
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice (the juice from 1 medium lemon)
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
For the Salad
- 1 head romaine lettuce, chopped
- 1 pound salami, cut into thin strips
- 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- ½ cup pepperoncini slices, drained
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- 2 mini cucumbers, chopped
- ½ red onion, thinly sliced
- 4½ ounces sliced black olives, drained
- ½ cup shredded parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Add the olive oil, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, honey, dried oregano, minced garlic, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes to a bowl or jar and whisk (or shake) until combined.
- Add the romaine to a large serving bowl, and top with the salami, chickpeas, pepperoncinis, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, olives, and shredded parmesan cheese.
- Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to combine. Serve and enjoy!
Recipe Notes
- Add more protein – as mentioned above, this recipe would make for a delicious lunch, but because there isn’t a whole lot of protein in it, it may not be very filling. To up the protein, you could add shredded or cubed chicken or chopped turkey (or chicken) deli meat.
- Omit or add as you’d like – this recipe is extremely flexible! Nix any of the ingredients that you don’t love, and if you have a yummy idea for an addition (think: chopped red bell pepper), feel free to add it.
- Make it dairy-free – simply omit the parmesan cheese to make this salad dairy-free.
Nutrition
I wasn’t sure how this would turn out because it had so many different ingredients, but it was perfect, and my husband and I munched it on multiple days for lunch. It kept well in the fridge and was great to bring to the pool on a hot day! Would definitely make again, and I followed the directions to a T, although I probably only used half a pound of deli-cut salami and not a full pound. Guess I’ll have to make another 😉
Haha love it!! We are SO happy y’all enjoyed it, Megan! Thank you so much for taking a moment to share!