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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

  • Olive oil
  • Red wine vinegar
  • Garlic
  • Dijon mustard
  • Lemon juice
  • Oregano
  • Sugar
  • Salt/pepper

For the salad

  • Romaine lettuce
  • Tomato
  • Cucumber
  • Red onion
  • Black olives
  • Green bell pepper
  • Banana peppers
  • Salami
  • Mozzarella
  • Fresh basil
  • Fresh parsley

Ingredients to make Chopped Italian Salad with Zesty Vinaigrette
For the zesty dressing
Ingredients to make Chopped Italian Salad with Zesty Vinaigrette.
For the Italian 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.

Ingredients to make Chopped Italian Salad with Zesty Vinaigrette in a bowl with the dressing in the background.

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

Did you try this recipe?

Let us know your thoughts on this chopped Italian salad by leaving a star rating below or sharing it on Instagram!

Thank you! ~ Casey

Chopped Italian Salad with Zesty Dressing

Casey Rooney
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.
5 from 1 vote
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Course Main Course, Salad
Cuisine American, Italian
Servings 4

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

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One Comment

  1. Casey Rooney says:

    5 stars
    I love whipping up this salad on Sunday and having it for lunch during the week! You’ll love the dressing! XO ~ Casey

5 from 1 vote

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