Italian Chopped Salad with Parmesan Vinaigrette
Perfectly paired with our grilled steaks, this Italian Chopped Salad with Parmesan Vinaigrette was chock full of delicious flavors and textures. It was a huge hit with our friends!
When entertaining, I love a green salad on the menu. This versatile Chopped Salad Recipe can be tweaked with your favorite ingredients!
Why You Must Make
- I’m not sure you’d ever find this particular salad in Italy, but it has a certain Italian flair. With roasted peppers, pine nuts, greens, and a Parmesan vinaigrette, it’s tasty and versatile!
- I’m a sucker for a chopped salad! Where the hubby would be happy with a salad of lettuce, tomatoes, and Ranch dressing, I’m more inclined to add multiple ingredients with varied textures like in this colorful Italian salad recipe.
- You can easily personalize this salad by adding or eliminating ingredients according to your preferences.
Ingredient Notes
- Kitchen Staples – Red Wine Vinegar, Kosher Salt, Freshly Ground Black Pepper, Garlic Powder, Olive Oil
- Parmesan Cheese – Use real grated Parmesano Reggianno cheese, not the stuff in the green can on the store shelves.
- Romaine and Iceberg Lettuce – Slice the Romaine into ribbons and chop the iceberg into bite-sized pieces.
- Small Red Onion – Use half. Peel, slice into thin strips, and soak in ice water, sherry vinegar, or champagne vinegar to help remove some of the sharpness or bite.
- Marinated Artichoke Hearts – Drain. Cut into halves or quarters and remove any tough exterior leaves.
- Hearts of Palm – Drain and slice.
- Piquillo Peppers – Drain and chop.
- Pine Nuts – Toasted to bring out their flavor, then cooled to room temperature.
Frequently Asked Questions
A traditional Italian salad is composed of lettuce, red onions, cherry tomatoes, olives, pepperoncinis, mini Mozzarella balls, and/or grated Parmesan cheese. It’s dressed with a simple vinaigrette made with olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. This salad has some elements you would find in an Italian salad, but it is not a classic salad found in Italy.
Serve this salad with pasta smothered in an Italian Meat Sauce, Creamy Chicken Marsala or even an Italian Pesto Burger.
I’m used to finding a pile of artichoke hearts or hearts of palm on the side of the picky hubby’s plate, so feel free to leave out any ingredient your family does not enjoy. You can also add any of the traditional Italian salad ingredients listed above.
If you love onions, you may not need to pickle them by soaking them in vinegar to tame down their sharpness. I like a red or yellow onion as they tend to be sweeter than white onions. Or use green onions/scallions instead.
I found some of my favorite jarred piquillo peppers and diced them up. Feel free to use roasted bell peppers or even chopped raw red bell peppers for some crunch.
Don’t like pine nuts? Sliced almonds would work well, too, or just leave them out. My husband would like the latter option.
Feel free to use your favorite lettuces, add cucumbers, grape tomatoes, etc.
Make sure to shake the vinaigrette well before dressing the salad. Any simple vinaigrette will work with this salad though the Parmesan gives another taste of Italy!
You can prep this salad well ahead of time. Just keep all the components refrigerated and toss with the dressing right before serving so the greens don’t get bogged down from the dressing.
When you make a chopped salad, cut all the components into bite-sized pieces. A chopped salad can also be a composed salad where all the ingredients are arranged instead of tossed together. The dressing is drizzled over the salad to serve. In France, this is known as a salad composée.
You May Also Like
- Green Salad with Feta and Beets from The Food Charlatan
- Israeli Chopped Salad from The View from Great Island
- This Kitchen Sink Chopped Salad needs to return to our menu soon as I love leftovers for lunch. It’s simple and delicious.
- Marinated Vegetable Salad is an old classic that’s perfect for a summer picnic since it doesn’t pose a risk when left out at room temperature for an hour or two.
- You can easily make a Caesar Salad at home, it’s high time you do!
- Plus, check out all my favorites in my Salad Category.
Italian Chopped Salad with Parmesan Vinaigrette
A loaded Italian chopped salad with an easy Parmesan dressing
Ingredients
- 1 head Romaine lettuce, sliced crosswise into ½-inch ribbons
- ¼ head of iceberg lettuce, chopped into bite sized pieces
- ½ small red onion, peeled, thinly sliced and soaked in sherry or champagne vinegar while salad is prepped
- 1 jar marinated artichoke hearts (14 ounces), cut into quarters and tough leaves removed if needed
- 1 jar (or can) hearts of palm, drained and sliced
- 1 jar piquillo peppers, drained and chopped
- ½ cup pine nuts, toasted
Dressing:
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- ⅓ cup olive oil
Instructions
- Place the lettuce in the bottom of a large salad bowl.
- Add the toppings.
- To make the dressing, whisk red wine vinegar, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and Parmesan in a large Pyrex measuring up.
- Slowly whisk in olive oil.
- To serve, rewhisk the dressing and pour over the salad ingredients. Toss until combined. Serve immediately.
- May top with more Parmesan if desired.
Notes
Dressing can be made ahead of time. If you refrigerate it, it must come to room temperature before serving.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 255Total Fat: 22gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 17gCholesterol: 7mgSodium: 300mgCarbohydrates: 10gFiber: 4gSugar: 3gProtein: 6g
21 Comments on “Italian Chopped Salad with Parmesan Vinaigrette”
I love Italian Salad…Very healthy and tasty.. l love this salad and thanks for the recipe..Photos are also good and tempting. I will make make it once in my home.
I don’t think I’d need an entree with this salad. It’s a complete meal in this house. Love the vinaigrette.
There are several ingredients in this salad that I’m not familiar with but I would try it in a heartbeat. Every once in a while you have to change things up a bit, thank you for the inspiration.
I plead guilty to ending up with a green salad, tomatoes and blue cheese dressing … every time. It’s not that I don’t like all the ingredients and alternatives you suggested, it’s just that by the time I get to the salad, I’m done with the planning part of dinner or lunch and just want to eat. I love hearts of palm, just forget to buy them. And, the artichokes, of course. Good ideas. Good salads.
I love chopped salads as well. Here in the states, it was Wolfgang Puck who made his famous, a very long time ago. I would call this Italian-inspired! Doesn’t matter if it really exists in Italy or not! Love the dressing, too.
This is my kind of salad, Liz! Just wow!! I could eat it every day of my life!
A good salad is a wonderful accompaniment to any meal. Your salad looks so bright and fresh.
When I was pregnant I always craved salads like this! I am no longer pregnant but I’d still love this fresh, delicious salad!
I love a good chopped salad and this looks like a winner. The variety of flavours and textures really makes it, and then there is the Parmesan dressing!
Nice! My idea of the perfect lunch.
Amalia
xo
At one glance, I thought you’ve added Scallops. I’ve been eating a lot of salads lately, & this comes handy. Happy Valentine’s Day, babe! xoxo
YUM! My kind of salad, love everything about this, don’t change a thing!
Beautiful salad Liz, and I love that you added heart of palms…the dressing sounds delicious.
Thanks for the recipe…Happy Valentine’s Day!
Good idea to marinate the onion — I like onions, particularly red onions, raw, but many people don’t. This looks terrific — and we’re really starting to crave salads again (it’s that time of winter) so your timing is excellent. Thanks!
Light and lovely. We have not had hearts of palm in ages. This is the perfect side salad for a grilled steak. Now we just need to shovel a path out to the grill… lol.. Wishing you a very special Valentine’s Day!
i love eat salad because it’s very healthy and beneficial for our health …According to this recipe, now I will make italian- chopped- salad !!
I’m coming over for a plate! 🙂
I could eat this salad for breakfast! What a great combination of flavors Liz. I’ve been craving salads lately and can’t wait for spring produce to appear in the markets!
I’m with the others, this sounds like a nice dressing to change things up a bit:@)
A simple yet very tasty salad! The star here is that dressing :-))
I’m a sucker for chopped salads, too! And this vinaigrette sure beats the stuff that came with its own cruet. I think I’ve been in a salad rut so this will help change that. Thanks Liz!