Take this “deli of a salad” to your next picnic! Chock-full of cheese, salami, garbanzo beans, and crunchy veggies, this hearty salad is a meal by itself! Dress it up in your favorite Italian dressing and you are good to go. When I don’t have time to make my own, I fall back on Olive Garden’s yummy Italian dressing. It’s perfect for this salad!
The more crunchies the better in this salad. I use cucumber and celery for the crunch and pepperoncini for the punch!
I’m just a little crazy about salads … salads for lunch, salads for dinner, and side salads, too. My brother-in-law introduced me to Israeli chopped salad for breakfast, and guess what? I love that too. It’s fantastic with a scoop of plain yogurt or cottage cheese … or both!
For a substantially filling “light” meal, this Italian Chopped Salad is a great way to go. Cubed Parmesan, salami, garbanzo beans, and plenty of chopped veggies tossed in your favorite Italian dressing makes for a fun dinner at home, or a great dish to take on the road to your next potluck or picnic spot. Though there is a dressing recipe included, here, good bottled dressing is perfectly fine, too.
Italian Chopped Salad
Ingredients
Salad:
- 1 large head of Romaine lettuce chopped
- 1/4 head radicchio chopped
- 1 or 2 yellow, orange or red bell pepper, diced
- 1 15- ounce can garbanzo beans drained
- 1 1/2 cups diced salami
- 1 cup Parano or white cheddar cheese cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese cut into ½-inch cubes
- 1 large English cucumbers peeled and diced
- 2 stalks celery diced
- 1 cup Kalamata olives halved
- 6 marinated artichoke hearts coarsely chopped
- 1/2 cup pepperoncini coarsely chopped
Dressing:
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons fresh basil leaves finely sliced
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- S&P to taste
Instructions
Salad:
- In a large glass salad bowl, layer lettuce, garbanzo beans, cucumber, salami and cheeses. Toss with dressing and serve with bread or crackers.
Dressing:
- Mix all ingredients in a container with a tight-fitting lid. Shake well and toss over salad.