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Italian Chopped Salad (+Video)

ByBrandie @ The Country Cook
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This Italian Chopped Salad is full of pasta, salami, grilled chicken, pepperoni, tomatoes and the most delicious homemade dressing.

WITH A HOMEMADE CREAMY ITALIAN DRESSING

I love salads. I could eat them every single day. I especially love salads that aren’t just eaten as a side but are the actual meal! The best way to make a salad more filling is to add some sort of protein to it. So I added some store-bought grilled chicken strips and salami and this Italian Chopped Salad recipe turned out perfect!

Italian Chopped Salad shown prepared in a large white serving bowl

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

What other salad ingredients could I use?

The beauty of salad recipes is you can add (or remove) whatever you want. I used what I had in my pantry here. Maybe you’ve got a can of chickpeas or some sun-dried tomatoes hanging around. Go ahead and add some of that in there!

What if I can’t find pre-cooked grilled chicken strips?

You could cut up a store-bought rotisserie chicken. You can use roasted chicken or even canned chicken. If you don’t feel like chicken, you could substitute with some cooked salmon or just skip the meat altogether.

What exactly is a chopped salad?

It’s exactly what the name sounds like it would be. All the ingredients in a chopped salad are chopped up fairly small and bite sized.

Do I have to use ditalini pasta? What if I can’t find it?

You can really use any pasta you’d like for this recipe. I chose a smaller pasta since this is a chopped salad and I wanted a smaller bite for the pasta.

How do I store leftovers?

Once you add the dressing to the salad, it’s going to start getting soft the longer it sits. If you want to keep the lettuce crispy, only add the dressing onto each serving as you eat it. The salad will keep (covered) in the fridge for about 2-3 days. The dressing does not need to be refrigerated but should be consumed within 3 days.

Italian Chopped Salad recipe with homemade dressing recipe from The Country Cook. Rows of each ingredient lined up in a large white bowl

INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (FULL RECIPE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POST)

  • olive oil
  • red wine vinegar
  • honey
  • dijon mustard
  • Italian seasoning
  • garlic
  • salt & pepper
salad dressing ingredients needed: olive oil, red wine vinegar, honey, dijon mustard, Italian seasoning, garlic, salt and pepper.
  • ditalini pasta
  • romaine lettuce
  • grape tomatoes
  • salami
  • mozzarella
  • cucumber
  • green onions
  • artichoke hearts
  • mini pepperoni
  • grilled chicken breast strips
salad ingredients needed: ditalini pasta, romaine lettuce, grape tomatoes, salami, mozzarella, cucumber, green onions, artichoke hearts, grilled chicken breast strips and mini pepperoni.

HOW TO MAKE ITALIAN CHOPPED SALAD WITH HOMEMADE DRESSING:

In a jar with a lid (I like to use a mason jar), add in all the dressing ingredients.

Italian chopped salad ingredients added to a mason jar.

Screw the lid on nice and tight and give it a really vigorous shake to combine all the ingredients real well.

prepared salad dressing shown completely combined in a mason jar.

Add all of the salad ingredients to a large bowl. Pour the prepared salad Italian dressing all over the salad as evenly as possible.

pouring homemade salad dressing from a mason jar over combined salad in a large white bowl.

Toss the salad to combine well and serve!

Italian chopped salad shown on a small white salad plate.

CRAVING MORE RECIPES?

Italian Chopped Salad recipe with Homemade Italian Dressing

Italian Chopped Salad with Homemade Dressing

This recipe for Italian Chopped Salad is full of pasta, salami, grilled chicken, cheese, tomatoes and the most amazing homemade dressing.
5 from 5 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Salad
Cuisine: American
Keyword: chopped salad, Italian Chopped Salad
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Servings: 8
Calories: 391kcal
Author: Brandie @ The Country Cook

Ingredients

For the dressing:

  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
  • 2 Tablespoons honey
  • 1 Tablespoon dijon mustard
  • 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper

For the salad:

  • 1 cup ditalini pasta, cooked and cooled
  • 3-4 cups chopped romaine lettuce hearts
  • 1 cup grape tomatoes halved
  • 1 cup cubed salami
  • 1 cup mozzarella cut into 1-inch cubes
  • 1 cup cucumber sliced
  • 1/2 cup green onions sliced
  • 1/2 cup mini pepperoni
  • 7.5 ounce jar marinated artichoke hearts drained and chopped
  • 2 cups grilled chicken breast diced
  • Additional optional add-ins: olives, pepperoncini peppers, red onions

Instructions

  • In a jar, add in all the dressing ingredients. I like to use a mason jar with a lid.
  • Screw the lid on nice and tight then give it all a vigorous shake to combine well.
  • Add all of the salad ingredients to a very large serving bowl.
  • Pour the dressing over the prepared salad and then toss gently to combine.

Video

Notes

To store: Once you add the dressing to the salad, it’s going to start getting soft the longer it sits. If you want to keep the lettuce crispy, only add the dressing onto each serving as you eat it. The salad will keep (covered) in the fridge for about 2-3 days. The dressing does not need to be refrigerated. Just use it within 3 days. 

Nutrition

Calories: 391kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 20g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 52mg | Sodium: 476mg | Potassium: 333mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 1900IU | Vitamin C: 5.9mg | Calcium: 102mg | Iron: 1.5mg

Nutritional Disclaimer

“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.

Did you make this recipe?Share it on Instagram @thecountrycook and mention us #thecountrycook!

Originally published: June 2014
Updated & republished: July 2021

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4 Comments

  2. 5 stars
    The salad dressing is AMAZING!! I left out some ingredients and it was still amazing. I actually added chicken breast which made it crazy good.

    Reply

  3. 5 stars
    I’m always looking for a good dressing recipe. I had the ingredients on hand, so I thought I would give this a try. OMG! It was amazing! I used it on a caprese salad and to dip bread in. Really delicious! Thank you.

    Reply