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Fresh Italian chopped salad recipe with salami, provolone cheese, banana peppers, and olives in a bowl

Italian Chopped Salad

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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • For the Chopped Italian Salad:
  • 1 head romaine lettuce chopped
  • 2 cups iceberg lettuce chopped
  • ¾ cup salami chopped
  • ½ cup provolone cheese sliced or shaved
  • ¼ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
  • ½ cup cherry tomatoes halved
  • ½ cucumber diced
  • ¼ red onion diced
  • ½ cup banana peppers
  • ¼ cup black olives
  • ¼ cup green olives
  • Fresh basil for garnish optional
  • Freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • For the Red Wine Vinaigrette:
  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 1 garlic clove minced
  • ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
  • Salt to taste
  • Freshly ground black pepper

Method
 

  1. Wash and dry the romaine lettuce and iceberg lettuce. Chop all salad ingredients into bite-sized pieces for the classic chopped salad texture.
  2. In a small bowl or jar, whisk together olive oil, red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, garlic, Italian seasoning, salt, and black pepper.
  3. Add the romaine lettuce, iceberg lettuce, salami, provolone cheese, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, banana peppers, black olives, and green olives to a large bowl.
  4. Pour the homemade red wine vinaigrette over the salad and toss well until evenly coated.
  5. Top with freshly grated parmesan cheese, extra black pepper, and fresh basil if desired.

Notes

We tested this chopped Italian salad recipe multiple ways and found that using both black and green olives gives the salad a more balanced salty flavor. For best results, add the parmesan cheese right before serving so it stays fresh and doesn’t clump into the dressing.