Vegetarian Italian Chopped Salad
Truly the best Italian chopped salad recipe, with chopped fresh greens and veggies in a simple Italian vinaigrette. This salad is vegetarian (easily vegan).
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on August 29, 2024
I have a challenge for you (and me) today. I challenge us all to start making a giant fresh salad on Sundays, so we can eat salad all week long.
Starting with this gigantic, colorful, dare-I-say the best Italian chopped salad. This Italian chopped salad recipe is bold, vibrant and truly irresistible. It’s the perfect accompaniment to your favorite Italian meal, and it’s also a nice hearty salad on its own.
When you have a really great salad in the fridge, you might even reach for it before you grab the bag of chips. Happened to me! I’ve enjoyed four iterations of this salad over the past couple of weeks (especially the final version you see here), and I’m still craving more.
The motivation behind this salad recipe came when I ordered an Italian chopped salad and a pricy Neapolitan pizza down the street. I requested the chopped salad without the bacon, and it was definitely missing that salty, savory, gimme-more edge without it. Crispy bacon is the only meat I ever miss…
The Best Italian Chopped Salad
I set out to create a better meatless Italian chopped salad, and here it is. You’ll find most of the usual ingredients, including crisp lettuce, radicchio, red onion, fresh tomatoes, pepperoncini peppers and provolone cheese. I tried a few other kinds of cheese, but it’s no wonder provolone is the most common—it’s the tastiest. That said, you could easily skip it for a delicious dairy-free/vegan salad.
You’ll find a few unexpected ingredients here that send this salad over the top. First up, chickpeas, which aren’t uncommon but make this salad more hearty. I also added celery for extra crunch, and sun-dried tomatoes for some extra oomph. The umami flavor in sun-dried tomatoes make up for the umami-rich pork that you usually find in Italian chopped salads.
Toss all of those ingredients in a bold, homemade Italian vinaigrette and you will have a seriously addictive salad. I’ve enjoyed smaller portions as a side or larger portions as a light meal.
Serving Suggestions for Chopped Italian Salad
This vibrant salad is the perfect accompaniment to Italian dishes, such as:
- Baked Ziti with Roasted Vegetables
- Italian Eggplant Parmesan
- Pasta alla Norma
- Pizza of any flavor
- Vegetable Lasagna
Watch How to Make Italian Salad
Please let me know how you like this recipe in the comments! Your feedback is so important to me.
Craving more big chopped salads? Don’t miss my Chopped Greek Salad, Colorful Chopped Salad with Carrot Ginger Dressing, Mexican Green Salad with Jalapeño-Cilantro Dressing or Fattoush Salad Recipe.
Vegetarian Italian Chopped Salad
Truly the best Italian chopped salad recipe, with chopped fresh greens and veggies in a simple Italian vinaigrette. This salad is vegetarian and easily vegan. Recipe yields 6 to 8 side servings or 3 to 4 meal-sized servings (a lot). If you store the salad separately from the vinaigrette, it will keep well for up to 4 days.
Ingredients
Salad
- 10 ounces chopped romaine lettuce* (about 2 medium or 3 small heads, chopped)
- ½ medium head of radicchio*, finely chopped (about 2 cups)
- ½ medium red onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
- 2 ribs celery, chopped
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes, thinly sliced
- ⅓ cup stemmed and thinly sliced pickled pepperoncini peppers
- ⅓ cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, rinsed and roughly chopped
- 1 can (15 ounces) chickpeas, rinsed and drained, or 1 ½ cups cooked chickpeas
- 1 cup (4 ounces) ¼″ cubes of provolone cheese (optional)
Italian vinaigrette
- ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- ⅓ cup red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
- 10 twists freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon salt, more to taste
- Pinch of red pepper flakes, for heat (optional)
Instructions
- In a large serving bowl, combine the chopped lettuce, radicchio, onion, celery, cherry tomatoes, peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, chickpeas and cheese (if using). Toss the ingredients together and set aside.
- To prepare the dressing, combine all of the ingredients in a liquid measuring cup. Whisk until blended. Taste, and add more salt if the dressing doesn’t knock your socks off (I usually add one to two more pinches of salt).
- If you’ll be serving all of the salad at once, go ahead and drizzle enough dressing in to lightly coat the salad and toss to combine. I prefer to store the salad and dressing separately so I can enjoy salad for a few days. Just whisk the dressing again before drizzling (if the olive oil solidifies a bit in the refrigerator, don’t worry, that’s normal—just let it warm up for about 5 minutes at room temperature or microwave for 10 to 20 seconds).
Notes
Recipe inspired by the chopped salad at 1889 Pizza and created with reference to Smitten Kitchen and The Kitchn.
Make it dairy free/vegan: Omit the cheese! It’s still great without it. For a vegan dressing, substitute maple syrup for the honey.
*Romaine and radicchio notes: If you want to make this salad in a hurry, buy two bags of chopped romaine/radicchio mix, and chop it into even smaller, bite-sized pieces. Radicchio is very bitter and can be hard to find, but I thought it added something special to this salad. If you hate it/can’t find it, skip it. If you adore it, feel free to use the whole head.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
Everyone (mostly myself as I ended up eating almost all of it) really loved this salad! I stored it for about 3 days and it was great every time. Perfect amount of salad dressing even though I worried there wasn’t going to be enough in the beginning. I also realized I don’t like provolone cheese much… :D
Great, Jessica! Nice when you are surprised. I appreciate the star review. :)
There is a slim chance I’ve already rated this one…but I just made it again tonight and it was a hit! This salad is so tasty! The dressing is like “classic italian” but actually fresh and full of flavor. The boyfriend loved it too! Thank you!
I will take another rating! :) Thanks so much, Elena.
Salad dressing was delicious.
Seriously tasty.
It’s going into the rotation.
And thanks!
Well, thank you Fay! Thanks for the review.
Hello Kate
I really appreciate your blog post especially (ITALIAN CHOPPED SALAD) which is really helpful to me because I like to eat Italian salad.
Thank you!
Love it! I’ve made it three times. Thanks!
Wonderful! Thank you for your review.
Can’t wait to try this! I’m in the UK so can’t get pepperocinis but hoping it will still be as delicious without them!
Let me know what you think, PJ!
I love it! The dressing, especially, is DELICOUS! Have had it for dinner for the last 3 nights. Can’t wait to try your other recipes! Thank you
Excellent! Made it for lunch today using my homegrown lettuce. Will definitely be making this salad to take to work as well.
I bet it was even better with homegrown! Thanks for your review, Debbie.
Truly delicious, Kate! Well done! I added some marinated artichoke hearts from Costco, subbed cucumber for celery (because I didn’t have celery on hand), and used maple syrup in lieu of honey to make the dressing vegan. I also added vegan cubed mozzarella. My husband and I are hoovering it down as I type it. Your recipes always receive the highest praise from friends and family. Thank you for all the time and effort you put into sharing your recipes. Have good day!
Thank you, Taya!
I made this salad for Christmas Dinner at my in-law’s house. They were serving lasagna for the main dish. This salad recipe was a hit with everyone. It complemented the dinner nicely. I was even told that I’m going to have to bring this salad for every family get together now.
I love that! Thanks for sharing, Ann!
Absolutely Delicious! I made this for my daughter and her family as they just brought my beautiful new granddaughter into the world! It’s not always easy to feed folks who are dairy free and vegetarians, they raved about this! Thank you so much Susie H.
Congratulations, grandma! Thanks so much for sharing. Enjoy the new little one.
Looks fantastic..made for tonight’s dinner. Used chopped kale instead of radicchio cause it’s what I had. Added sliced kalamata olives cause no Italian salad is complete without olives! And I left out the added sugar..looking forward to a week of great salad..will add ingredients as needed..Thanks!
Thank you for sharing, Mary Anne!
Thank you, this was so fresh and delicious. I loved the radicchio as it adds a nice crunch and tartness and I never buy it. I omitted the cheese and added lots of Pepita seeds, some radish and chopped raisins which help cut the overall tartness. The dressing is best if made ahead of time, It is simply delish. I added a bit more heat/red flakes to the dressing. Tomorrow this gets a bit of dry tuna topping for lunch as I think it will be a terrific match. Thanks for a great new salad to add to the rotation!!!
More heat sounds like a great way to make this suit your tastes more, Jenna! Thanks for your review.
Hi,
I tried this recipe in preparation for a large ( 70 people) summer, anniversary party. The salad is brilliant: tasty, satisfying, easy, quick. It lasted well in the fridge. We ate it for lunch for a couple of days.
I felt crushed garlic was too much garlic taste ( and I love garlic). My second go, I put slices in the dressing and removed them later…Improved as less overwhelming taste. I left out the cheese and doubled the chickpeas… Thanks so much. Love it.
Thank you for sharing! I’m glad you were able to make it fit your tastes, Emily.
This salad was amazing! I took it to a picnic and everyone who had it loved it! I couldn’t find radicchio so I just used all romaine. And I had to use mozzarella instead of provolone. But, it was so good! The dressing was delicious. I am making it again tonight and leaving it undressed so I can eat it for lunches this week.
Thanks for sharing, Kecia!
excellent
Thank you, Gaye!
I love this kind of recipe. So Healthy and yummy
Thank you for your review, Rosalie!
We made this salad and dressing for dinner tonight and both are amazing! I gave some to my daughter and son in law (who are both vegan) to take home for their dinner and I still have plenty left for side salads tomorrow night (unless I eat it all for lunch!). I couldn’t find Radicchio at Sprouts, so I added Lacinato Kale to the Romaine for crunch. The dressing is SOOO good and will definitely be a staple in the fridge for salads to come this week. Can’t wait to go through your entire recipe list! Thanks! P.S….Your furry baby is just too cute!
Thank you for sharing, Marine!
Can I use normal vinegar instead of red wine vinegar? Will it change the taste of the dressing?
It will change the flavor some, but you can try that. Maybe start with a little less since white vinegar can be a little stronger.
Very difficult webite to be on!! Pop-up ads make it nearly impossible to look at content. I feel like I’m being attacked. Too bad, it looks like it’s got potential.
Hi Chris, I’m sorry you feel that way and have been frustrated. I appreciate your feedback.
I served this salad today at our Thanksgiving pizza party and it was a huge hit. It was so fresh and flavorful! So good that I’m adding this to our meal prep rotation. Thanks for another great recipe!
This is delicious! We do salad Saturdays and we love your website for inspiration! Keep up the good work :-)
Thank you, Ash!
Made this salad and love it! I usually hate salads that I have made myself, but not this one. Am recommending to others!
That’s great, Lori! Thanks for your review.
I absolutely love the vinaigrette and get great compliments. How long will it store in the refrigerator?
Hi Gigi! It should be ok 3-4 days covered. It might separate as you store it.
I love the recipe
This salad is WONDERFUL!!!! The taste is fabulous, as usual, and the ingredients so fresh and flavorful. You do such a great job making all your dishes colorful and delicious. This is definitely a keeper!
Great to hear, Rose! Thanks for your review.
This is such a treat! Have been eating for lunch all week and still can’t get enough of it.
This was very good. I made it to spec (no cheese). It was filling and substantial meal on its own.
This is a wonderful salad! I made it to take to a friend’s to accompany potato soup and it was a big hit. For me, it was an entrée, but others loved it as a side.
I made this salad for a Bridal Luncheon. Everyone enjoyed it and it looked beautiful on the buffet table. Thank you for the recipe.
This Italian Chop Salad was absolutely delicious!! Thank you!
What is the serving size?
Hi Danielle! Roughly 2 cups I believe.
Loved it! This salad was a big hit with my husband and 11 year-old son who normally isn’t a big fan of radicchio. However, it was really fresh and I think finely chopping it did the trick. We didn’t miss having meat in the salad and really liked the addition of the sun-dried tomatoes. I served it with your Best Stuffed Shells and – wow, what a great meal!
This tastes as good (or better) than any salad I’ve ever eaten in a restaurant. I was impressed with how filling and pretty it was! Adding it to my permanent salad rotation!
Hooray, Nancy! Thanks so much for sharing.
I made this salad and dressing. It was so,so good. I made it to take to a dinner party and received so many compliments
This salad is AMAZING. Such a nice change from an ordinary tossed salad.
I would recommend shopping a day ahead as it isn’t always easy to find all the ingredients in one store, particularly the pickled peppers.
The dressing is simple to make and tastes wonderful.
I’m excited you loved it! Grocery shopping can be tough right now, so thanks for sharing your insight.
Hi Kate
Just made this for my lunch, very gooda!! Thanks
Plan on trying stuffed shells this week
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE your recieps!!!
This is best chopped Italian salad, and the dressing is perfection! I added chopped hearts of palm and picked carrots to mine. This is a keeper that I will make again and again.
This is a go to for me. So packed wirh delicious fresh ingredients ! Also have gotten rave reviews from others when entertaining
I like italian salad.thanks for sharing it.
HI Kathryne,
Thanks for posting these beautiful recipes. I want to make this chopped salad but see that it contains 45 grams of fat. That amount of fat in a salad is not healthy for me. Do you have suggestions or modifications to lower the fat content?
Thank you
Hi BK, I would suggest eating smaller portions. Or, you could omit the cheese?
I was thinking these recipes were meant to be healthy but this has more fat than a whopper and almost as much saturated fat. I appreciate that you share the nutritional information so your followers can alter or just dig in. TY
Kate- I made this today for lunch and it was soooo delicious. I adore pepperocinis so that ingredient sold me on trying the recipe. So glad I did. Definitely saving the recipe to make again in the big batch.
Wow, my family loved this salad. My dad was raving about the dressing, and my sister said it tasted like a restaurant salad. I’ll definitely be making this again.
Great salad although I omitted the tomatoes for personal taste. My local grocery store didn’t have radicchio, so I subbed with beets, and it was just as good! Definitely recommend this recipe
Made this tonight for my husband and two girls and everyone gobbled it up – delicious! We lightly toasted the chickpeas and added hard boiled egg and homemade croutons- yum!
You could add some pine nuts for a delicious additional crunch.
I’ve never prepared a salad using radicchio, so I’m excited to make
your recipe. Thank you for sharing.
Can I use apple cider vinegar instead of red wine vinegar
We really enjoyed this salad. The only tweaks I made was roasting the chickpeas in olive oil and the Oh She Glows 10 spice mix. I also added a bit more honey and mustard to the dressing. It was devine. thank you so much
Thank you for sharing, Kristie! I’m glad you got to be creative here and it worked out well for you.
I added little cubes of vegan Epic Mature Cheddar by Violife and it was amazing. I also added Greek olives, broccoli florets and frozen peas and corn. Amazing! In my weekly rotation.