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When the spring and summer months roll around, there’s nothing that I want to eat more than a crunchy and refreshing salad. After all, a salad that is loaded with crunchy lettuce, tangy parmesan cheese, salty salami, and a creamy dressing… what could be better than that?! I’ve rolled all of those delicious ingredients, and more, into my 10 Minute Crazy-Good Italian Chopped Salad, which, as the name suggests, is actually crazy good. I can’t get enough of this salad, these days, and I know you won’t be able to either!
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Friends, can you believe that it’s been over six months since my very first cookbook, LOVE TO EAT, came into the world?! I truly cannot believe it. It seems like just yesterday I was busy developing all of the recipes that would come to be in this book. And now, you all tag me DAILY sending me recipes from the book that you’ve made. It blows my mind every time you make one of my recipes, so I just have to say… THANK YOU!
In celebration of making it past six months of my book being out in the world, I am so excited to share one of my favorite recipes from the book: my Crazy-Good Italian Chopped Salad. This delicious salad recipe comes together in less than 10 minutes, and is my healthier take on the traditional chopped salad recipe. It’s perfect for the summertime, or anytime that you are craving a crunchy, delicious, flavorful salad.
Plus… we have to talk about this dressing. This homemade dressing is so creamy and delicious, you’ll want to eat it with a spoon! It comes together with just a few simple ingredients, and is also perfect for dipping veggies into as a light snack.
What You Need to Make This Better-Than-Takeout Chopped Salad
- Extra-Virgin Olive Oil: Olive oil is one of my favorite ingredients to use in dressings, because it’s full of heart-healthy fats and a distinct, delicious flavor.
- Red Wine Vinegar: A splash of red wine vinegar helps to form the perfect dressing!
- Dijon Mustard: Dijon mustard not only makes this salad dressing nice and creamy, but it adds the perfect, tangy flavor!
- Seasonings: We’ll be using a combination of dried oregano, garlic powder, sea salt, and ground black pepper to season the dressing.
- Lettuce: This salad calls for a combination of chopped iceberg and romaine lettuces, which truly give this salad the perfect texture and flavor.
- Persian Cucumbers: This is optional, but I love adding in some chopped Persian cucumbers to add extra crunch to this salad recipe.
- Salami: Salami is KEY to achieving the perfect Italian chopped salad. I love using lots of salami, because it’s my favorite part!
- Garbanzo Beans: Make sure to wash and dry your garbanzo beans (aka chickpeas) before adding them to the salad! And here’s a little tip… you can save the water from the can of chickpeas and use it to make homemade mayonnaise!
- Kalamta Olives: No Italian chopped salad is complete without the olives! Pitted kalamata olives add a salty, briny taste that is absolutely delicious in this salad.
- Diced Tomatoes: Diced tomatoes add the perfect amount of acidity to this salad and bring a bright element to it.
- Parmesan Cheese: Of course, no salad is complete without a healthy dose of parmesan cheese! I like to mix mine into the salad as well as sprinkle some on top, before serving.
How to Make This Classic Salad & Delicious Dressing
To make this salad, start by preparing the dressing. Whisk the dressing ingredients together, in a small bowl, until they’re fully combined. Taste and add additional seasonings, if desired.
Next, chop your iceberg lettuce, romaine lettuce, Persian cucumbers, and salami, and add them to a large bowl alongside the garbanzo beans, olives, diced tomatoes, and grated parmesan cheese. Toss to combine, then pour the dressing on top and toss once more until the salad ingredients are fully coated in the dressing.
Taste your tossed salad, and top with more cheese, if desired. Serve immediately, and enjoy!
If you make this recipe, please be sure to leave a review and rating below! To see more recipes and behind the scenes, follow along on Instagram, TikTok, and Youtube! I’m also now on Pinterest, so stop by and take a look at what’s new.
** Photography by Gayle McLeod
When the spring and summer months roll around, there's nothing that I want to eat more than a crunchy and refreshing salad. After all, a salad that is loaded with crunchy lettuce, tangy parmesan cheese, salty salami, and a creamy dressing… what could be better than that?! I've rolled all of those delicious ingredients, and more, into my 10 Minute Crazy-Good Italian Chopped Salad, which, as the name suggests, is actually crazy good. I can't get enough of this salad, these days, and I know you won't be able to either!
Ingredients
For the Dressing:
- ⅓ Cup Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
- 3 Tablespoons Red Wine Vinegar
- 1 Teaspoon Dijon Mustard plus additional, if desired
- 1 Tablespoon Dried Oregano
- 1 Teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 1 Teaspoon Sea Salt plus additional, if desired
- ¾ Teaspoon Ground Black Pepper plus additional, if desired
For the Salad:
- 4 Cups Iceberg Lettuce finely chopped; this is about one head
- 3 Cups Romaine Lettuce finely chopped; this is about one head
- 4 Persian Cucumbers chopped; this is optional, but highly recommended
- ½ Cup Salami finely chopped
- 1 15 Ounce Can Garbanzo Beans drained and rinsed
- ½ Cup Kalamata Olives chopped
- ¾ Cup Diced Tomatoes
- ½ Cup Grated Parmesan Cheese plus more for topping, if desired.
Instructions
- To make this salad, start by preparing the dressing. Whisk the dressing ingredients together, in a small bowl, until they're fully combined. Taste and add additional seasonings, if desired.
- Next, chop your iceberg lettuce, romaine lettuce, Persian cucumbers, and salami, and add them to a large bowl alongside the garbanzo beans, olives, diced tomatoes, and grated parmesan cheese.
- Toss to combine, then pour the dressing on top and toss once more until the salad ingredients are fully coated in the dressing.
- Taste your tossed salad, and top with more cheese, if desired. Serve immediately, and enjoy!
Did you make this recipe?
I’d love to see what you made – tag @kalejunkie
in your posts and I’ll re-share!
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WHAT DID YOU THINK?
Rate + Review
Just made this and it’s SO good! I opted to make everything separate so I can have it for lunch this week. The dressing is delicious! Looking forward to eating it all week, thank you!
I made this this week for my lunch meal prep and looked forward to it every day! Delicious. Will definitely be adding this in to my prep rotation.
I made this this week for my lunch meal prep and looked forward to it every day! Delicious. Will definitely be adding this in to my prep rotation.
One of my favorite salads! The only thing I changed was using half the amount of salt in the dressing.
Was craving Italian Chopped Salad but wanted to try a new recipe. This dressing is EXCELLENT. Best I have made. Tweaked the salad ingredients a bit, but that’s the beauty of this type of salad. So flexible.
Wow! I am so thrilled to hear that, Robyn! Thank you so much for making this recipe and for all of your support!!
This salad is my new favorite and hits the spot on all of the flavor profiles. Funny story…I was unable to find the dijon mustard in my fridge and had to text 2 neighbors. I was only able to borrow whole grain dijon mustard, so I used my immersion blender to create the dressing. It was perfect!
Wow, I’m so happy to hear that, Jen! Thank you for making it!
My new favorite salad!!! Literally eating last nights leftovers for breakfast right now. Still yummy
I am so happy to hear that, Rebecca! Thank you so much for making it and for all of your support!
Forgot to mention…I added prosciutto as well. Sorry about that!
Yum! That sounds delicious, Christina!
This salad was FABULOUS! I just loved the dressing (it will be great on subs as well!). We did add canned artichoke hearts, fresh mozzarella pearls, and pepperoncini. I will make this again and again…thank you!
I am so happy that you enjoyed it, Christina! Thank you so much for making it, and for leaving such a kind review!
I made this salad for the second time tonight and it was so delicious! I love how light it is, but still so filling. And the dressing is perfect! Thank you for your recipes 🙂
Woohoo! I am so thrilled to hear that, Julia! Thank you so much for all of your support!
This was a wonderfully delicious salad. I used freshly microplaned parmigiano reggiano and added some red pepper flakes to the dressing and also included some banana peppers for the salad (to me the salad was begging for banana peppers). I will definitely make this again.
I’m so happy you enjoyed it, Eric! Thank you so much for your review!
This salad is so good! I’ve made it 3 times now because I have so much lettuce to use up from the garden. My husband who always wants Greek salad started asking for this. We have been enjoying it as an entree. I sometimes add red onion and pickled peppers.
I’m so happy that you and your husband enjoyed it, Terri! Thank you so much for your review!
I made your Hearty Tuscan White Bean Soup.
It is amazing❣️ Thank you so much.
Sorry, I haven’t made this salad, yet. I will.
I am so happy you enjoyed it, Judy! Thank you so much for your review!
When you say salami what exactly do u buy at the deli? I only buy boars head Genoa salami or hard salami, not sure what most people use exactly in recipes like this
Hi DeeDee, any salami will work well in this recipe.
I love your cookbook. I made this recipe many times and everyone loved it 🥰
Agnes, I am so happy you loved this recipe! Thank you for all of your love for the cookbook, it truly means so much to me!
I love this salad! I made it for the first time a while back and it has got me on a salad kick. It was one of the first things I made of Nicole’s and have been obsessed with anything she posts or puts in her cookbook ever since. I have yet to be disappointed. I would never think to put chickpeas in a salad but so good.
This is one of my favorite salad recipes-thanks, Nicole! It’s a delish combination of ingredients.
Yay! Thank you so much for all of your support, Sarah!
Where can I get the chopper you have in the video?
Thank you
Hi Colette! You can find it here: https://rstyle.me/+avUaN50Iqz7FVs8eHEINKw
I’m curious – if I wanted to have this as an entree what would go well with this? Seems like a perfect salad for the summer and not wanting to turn the stove on, and I love a salad dinner, but is this fulling enough?
Hi Jess! I think this is a filling salad, but everyone is different. You might enjoy trying this recipe alongside my perfectly juicy chicken: https://kalejunkie.com/how-to-make-perfectly-juicy-chicken-every-single-time/
So, so good! A few notes…
1. This made a LOT of salad — not sure where the “4 servings” came from unless it meant using this as an entree? In any case, I will definitely make again and bring to a potluck as there was plenty to share.
2. I intuitively doubled the measurements for the dressing as I usually like my salads more heavily dressed — glad I did and I have some extra to have on something else.
3. I somehow misread the ingredients and bought ONE English cucumber instead of FOUR Persian cucumbers. Turned out perfectly fine since Persian cukes are smaller and the English cuke is quite a bit bigger.
Great salad with a great mix of flavors — definitely a keeper!
Hi Shannon! Thank you for your feedback. Yes, this is meant to be an entree, not a side salad. ☻ Hope that helps!
There’s no option to print recipes as indicated in your reels. What’s the secret? Also, there’s a ton of pop up ads when I visit your site. It’s hard to see the content properly.
Hi Molly! If you scroll down to the recipe card, you’ll see a little button on the top right-hand corner that says “print” ☻
Made this for a family get together and it was such a big hit! I love it!! So delicious, will definitely be making it again and again
I am so so happy to hear that, Steph! Thank you so much for making this recipe, and for leaving such a kind review!
Made w/slight substitution
*Ham vs salami
*English cucumber vs Persian cucumber
Super yummy – can’t wait to try w/salami (had ham in fridge needing to be used)
Loved the smelting of flavors.
Made the dressing…kind of bitter just to taste but once it hit salad, perfectamundo!
This recipe makes a lot. I had to switch to a bigger mixing bowl prior to adding dressing. There’s only two in our house, so I could probably have cut the recipe in half. That being said my husband ate himself silly and has lunch leftovers.
Thanks for sharing, Kalejunkie! Will def make again 😀
I am so happy to hear that you found a variation of this recipe that worked well for you, Carla! Thank you so very much for making it, and for leaving such a kind review!
Do you think I could meal prep the salad without the salad dressing and just add that right before?
Absolutely, yes!
Looks amazing! I’m so eager to try it that I bought a vegetable chopper. Do you know the nutritional values?
Hi Melissa! Unfortunately I do not include nutritional information for my recipes, and you can read more about why, here: https://kalejunkie.com/why-i-decided-not-to-include-nutrition-information-on-my-blog/
Please can you give me the calories and protein stats
Hi Lousanne! Unfortunately I do not provide nutritional information for my recipes, and you can read more about why, here: https://kalejunkie.com/why-i-decided-not-to-include-nutrition-information-on-my-blog/
Do you have a link for the veggie chopper?
Here you go, Terry! https://rstyle.me/+QKPZR_d8fNdHb5kukg7xag
This salad was delicious! Definitely a keeper.
I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe, Janet! Thank you so much for making it, and for leaving a review! ☻