Description
This easy Italian chopped salad is packed with fresh veggies, savory salami, creamy mozz, and a homemade vinaigrette. It’s the perfect side.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
Vinaigrette Dressing
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 3 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
- 2 Tbsp. minced shallot
- 1 Tbsp. dijon mustard
- 1 Tbsp. honey
- 1/2 tsp. sea salt
- freshly cracked black pepper
Italian Chopped Salad
- 2 romaine hearts lettuce shredded (washed and dried well)
- 2 cups diced cucumbers
- 2 cups quartered grape tomatoes
- 15 oz. can garbanzo beans (drained and rinsed)
- 8 oz. mini mozzarella pearls
- 1 cup olives, roughly chopped
- 1 cup thinly sliced salami
- 1/2 cup sliced pepperoncini
- grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Make dressing. In a small blender or immersion blender cup, combine olive oil, red wine vinegar, shallot, mustard, honey, salt, and black pepper. Blend until smooth.
- Assemble salad. In a large salad bowl, add cucumbers, tomatoes, garbanzo beans, mozzarella, olives, salami, pepperoncini, and finally lettuce. Drizzle with about 1/2-3/4 of the dressing and toss together. Finish with additional dressing if desired, Parmesan cheese, and freshly cracked pepper.
Notes
- DIY Salad Bar: Prep salad ingredients and arrange on a platter so everyone can make their own salad.
- Storage: Store salad components in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.
- Ingredient notes: Use high-quality espresso beans for best results. Whole milk creates the creamiest foam, but plant-based options like oat or almond milk also work.
- Prep ahead: Make dressing 3-4 days in advance. If storing in the refrigerator, let it come to room temperature before serving. If you’d like to prep ahead for meal prep, layer heavier ingredients (cucumber, salami, beans, cheese, etc.) on the bottom of your salad container. Top with lettuce, store dressing in a separate container, and store in the refrigerator for a day or two.
- Special tools: Immersion blender (this is a blender and chopper in one and I can’t get enough of it!), vegetable chopper makes chopping speedy, and a microplane zester for freshly grated Parm.
- Serve with: Minestrone soup, garlic bread, spaghetti and meat sauce.