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Our Italian Chopped Salad Recipe is a delicious savory salami and cheese salad that is loaded with even more juicy tomatoes, crunchy lettuce, briny olives, and homemade salad dressing.
The combination of the deli meats with the crispy romaine lettuce, beans, and a little bit of cheese makes for the most delicious side salad to serve with any dinner recipe or pass at your next barbecue.
The best part is that as long as you have all of the meat and veggies, everything you need for the salad dressing ingredients can be found in your pantry.
Ingredients:
- Oil: For the best results, use extra-virgin olive oil or avocado oil
- Juice: Fresh lemon juice is best for flavoring this Italian dressing
- Seasonings: For this savory salad, use a combination of dried Italian herbs, garlic powder, kosher salt, and black pepper
- Bean: Use a can of chickpeas that have been rinsed and drained to add extra protein and flavor to this salad
- Lettuce: Get the Italian lettuce blend and romaine lettuce (finely chopped) from the grocery store, or get lettuce from your summer garden
- Veggies: This Italian chop salad is great because of the chopped English cucumbers or Persian cucumbers and chopped tomatoes, plus a can of drained artichoke hearts
- Salami: Get some Italian salami (I used salty salami Milano) from the deli section and chop it into bite-sized pieces
- Olives: You can pick your favorite olives for this recipe, but I used olives stuffed with almonds or kalamata olives, and halved them
- Cheese: Freshly shredded Parmesan cheese adds a great flavor balance to this kind of salad
How To Make Chopped Italian Salad:
Make the dressing:
- Make the dressing. Whisk the dressing ingredients in a small bowl until fully combined.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper and set aside.
Prepare the chickpeas:
- Prepare the chickpeas: Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add chickpeas, Italian herbs, and garlic powder.
- Cook, stirring for 5 minutes. Set aside.
Assemble the salad:
- Start to assemble: chop your veggies as described. Add all of the veggies to a large mixing bowl. Add olives, artichoke hearts, and salami to the large bowl. Add the chickpeas if you are using them.
- Pour the dressing over the salad and add parmesan cheese. Toss to combine well.
Serve:
- Serve salad immediately or chill for 20 minutes before serving.
Substitutions & Optional Ingredients
- Fresh basil, roughly chopped
- Banana peppers or pepperoncini peppers from the jar
- Chopped red onion
- Chopped green bell peppers
- Swap the Parmesan cheese for fresh mozzarella pearls
Expert Tips:
- Make sure your chickpeas are completely cold before you add them to the salad. If they are hot, the salad may wilt.
- The Italian lettuce mix I used is a mix of various types, like iceberg lettuce, a touch of carrot, and radicchio. You can choose any you want.
- For this salad, you can use chickpeas or leave them out. Also, you do not have to cook the chickpeas with the spices – it is just an optional step that gives a bit more flavor, but it is not mandatory.
- For the olives, go with any you have or like. Almond-stuffed olives are my go-to with salads, and also olives stuffed with feta cheese.
- Make sure you stir your salad well so all the flavors blend and that every leaf is coated with the dressing.
Storage Instructions:
Make ahead: If you are choosing to add the roasted chickpeas, be sure to make them ahead of time and store them in separate airtight containers until they are completely cool.
Fridge: Once you have made the crazy-good Italian chopped salad ahead of time, place plastic wrap or the lid that goes with the bowl on top and store it in the fridge for up to 2 days.
Italian Chopped Salad Recipe
Our Italian Chopped Salad Recipe is a delicious savory salami and cheese salad that is loaded with delicious veggies and homemade dressing.
Serving Servings
Ingredients
For the dressing:
- ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 Tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 Tablespoon dried Italian herbs
- Salt and pepper, to taste
For the chickpeas: (optional if you want to include in the salad)
- ½ Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 ½ cups canned chickpeas, rinsed, drained, optional
- 1 teaspoon dried Italian herbs
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
For the salad:
- 4 cups Italian lettuce blend
- 2 cups Romaine lettuce, finely chopped
- 2 cups cucumbers, sliced
- 1 cup canned artichoke hearts, drained
- ½ cup Italian salami, I used salami Milano
- ½ cup chopped tomatoes
- ½ cup olives, I used olives stuffed with almonds or kalamata olives, halved
- 3 Tablespoon Parmesan cheese
Instructions
Make the dressing:
- Make the dressing. Whisk the dressing ingredients in a small bowl until fully combined. Season to taste with salt and pepper and set aside.
Prepare the chickpeas:
- Prepare the chickpeas: Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add chickpeas, Italian herbs, and garlic powder. Cook, stirring for 5 minutes. Set aside.
Assemble the salad:
- Start to assemble: chop your veggies as described. Add all of the veggies to a large bowl. Add olives, artichoke hearts, and salami. Add the chickpeas if you are using them. Pour the dressing over the salad and add parmesan cheese. Toss to combine well.
Serve:
- Serve salad immediately or chill for 20 minutes before serving.
Notes
Make sure your chickpeas are completely cold before you add them to the salad. If they are hot, the salad may wilt.
Nutrition
Calories: 391 kcal · Carbohydrates: 22 g · Protein: 11 g · Fat: 30 g · Saturated Fat: 6 g · Polyunsaturated Fat: 4 g · Monounsaturated Fat: 19 g · Cholesterol: 14 mg · Sodium: 1356 mg · Potassium: 495 mg · Fiber: 8 g · Sugar: 5 g · Vitamin A: 2627 IU · Vitamin C: 12 mg · Calcium: 145 mg · Iron: 3 mg
Did You Make This Recipe?We’d love to hear your thoughts! Leave a review or a question in the comment section below the post.
The homemade dressing ties the salami, cheese, and fresh veggies together perfectly.