Chopped Italian Salad with Zesty Vinaigrette
This chopped Italian salad with zesty vinaigrette is a fresh and hearty salad with loads of texture and crunch. It’s all drizzled with an insanely delicious homemade Italian vinaigrette. It’s the perfect salad for dinner or works great as a make-ahead salad for meal preps.
Need yummy salad ideas for dinner? Try this chopped Thai salad or this light and healthy avocado chicken salad!
Recipe Ingredients
You’ll need the following ingredients to make this Italian chopped salad with zesty vinaigrette:
For the Italian dressing
For the salad
Ingredient Notes, Substitutions & Additions
Lettuce: Iceberg lettuce works well, too.
Fresh herbs (basil and parsley): I love this addition and it really freshens up the salad! You can use one or the other or both!
Mozzarella: I love using the small, fresh mozzarella “pearls.” If you can’t find those, you can use regular cubed or shredded mozzarella.
Expert Tips
- Make-ahead tip: Since this is a chopped salad and requires lots of chopping :), I like doing all the chopping the day before. Then, assemble and toss everything the next day.
- Lazy girl tip: The zesty Italian vinaigrette for this salad is incredible, but if you don’t have time to whisk up the dressing, use your favorite Italian dressing. We love Ken’s Northern Italian.
More Dinner Salad Ideas
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Thank you! ~ Casey
Chopped Italian Salad with Zesty Dressing
Ingredients
For the dressing
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 1 garlic clove, finely minced
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice juice from about 1-2 lemons
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp coarse salt (sea salt, kosher salt)
- 1/2 freshly cracked black pepper
- 1-2 tsp sugar
For the salad
- 6 cups romaine lettuce, chopped
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 cup cucumber, diced
- 1/2 cup red onion, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup black olives, sliced
- 1/2 cup fresh mozzarella cheese, cubed
- 1/2 cup green bell pepper, diced
- 1/4 cup banana peppers, sliced
- 1/4 cup salami, sliced
- 2 tbsp EACH fresh basil and fresh parsley, finely chopped
Instructions
- Make the dressing: Place all dressing ingredients in a bowl and whisk until everything is well-incorporated. Or, place all ingredients in a jar and shake well (I personally love the jar method).
- Assemble: Place all of the salad ingredients in a large serving bowl. Drizzle with the zesty dressing
I love whipping up this salad on Sunday and having it for lunch during the week! You’ll love the dressing! XO ~ Casey