Updated: May 13, 2026
If you love bold, fresh salads packed with texture and flavor, this Italian chopped salad recipe is about to become your new favorite. Inspired by some of my favorite salads, including the Farmers Salad from North Italia, this chopped Italian salad is loaded with crisp romaine lettuce, savory salami, briny olives, tangy pepperoncini, and creamy provolone cheese. It’s fresh, colorful, and comes together with simple ingredients for the perfect easy salad during salad season.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Packed with bold flavor from savory salami, briny black olives, roasted red peppers, and pepperoncini peppers
- A great way to turn fresh ingredients into a complete meal
- Crisp romaine lettuce and iceberg lettuce create the perfect big crunch
- Easy to customize with your favorite salad dressing or Italian vinaigrette
- Great for meal prep and entertaining
Ingredients
This salad comes together with just a few fresh ingredients:
- Romaine Lettuce – Fresh romaine lettuce adds crisp texture and creates the hearty base for this italian chopped salad recipe. Finely chopping the lettuce gives the salad its signature restaurant-style texture.
- Shredded Iceberg Lettuce – Iceberg lettuce adds extra crunch and helps balance the bold ingredients with fresh, crisp lettuce.
- Cherry Tomatoes – Juicy cherry tomatoes add freshness, sweetness, and vibrant color to the salad.
- Cucumber – Cucumber adds a cool, refreshing crunch that balances the savory ingredients beautifully.
- Pepperoncini – Pepperoncini peppers bring tangy, slightly spicy flavor that gives this chopped italian salad its signature bite.
- Black Olives – Black olives add a nice brine, richness, and depth while complementing the savory salami and creamy cheese.
- Roasted Red Peppers – Roasted red peppers add sweetness and soft texture while bringing beautiful color to the salad.
- Pickled Red Onions – Pickled red onions add brightness and acidity that balances the richness of the italian salami and provolone cheese. If you don’t have time to pickle them, thinly sliced work as well.
- Salami – Salami adds a bold savory Italian deli flavor and transforms this easy salad into a satisfying main dish.
- Provolone Cheese – Creamy provolone cheese adds richness and helps tie all the fresh ingredients together.
How to Make Italian Chopped Salad
This recipe comes together in just four easy steps:
STEP 1: Prepare the Lettuce – Start by washing your romaine thoroughly. For best results, soak it briefly in cold salted water, then rinse and dry completely. Finely chop the romaine into bite-sized pieces and add it to a large bowl along with the shredded iceberg lettuce.
STEP 2: Add the Vegetables – Using a sharp knife, chop all veggies and add the cherry tomatoes, cucumber, pepperoncini, black olives, roasted red peppers, and pickled red onions to the bowl. Gently toss the remaining salad ingredients together.
STEP 3: Add the Salami & Cheese – Fold in the chopped salami and provolone cheese, distributing evenly throughout the salad.
STEP 4: Dress the Salad – Drizzle with your favorite salad dressing just before serving. I love pairing this salad with a homemade oregano vinaigrette. Toss thoroughly so every ingredient is coated. Serve and enjoy!
Recipe Tips & Substitutions
- Use romaine hearts if preferred for extra crisp texture. For speed, I buy the pre-shredded iceberg lettuce from the store.
- You can add garbanzo beans for more protein and texture
- Swap provolone cheese for creamy mozzarella, fresh mozzarella balls, or parmesan cheese
- Kalamata olives work beautifully in place of black olives
- Add green bell pepper or yellow peppers for even more crunch
- Sun-dried tomatoes are another delicious addition for concentrated flavor
- For extra freshness, top with fresh basil before serving. This is one of my favorite flavor hacks!
- If serving as a complete meal, grilled chicken or shrimp pair perfectly with this kind of salad
- Use a salad spinner to ensure your crisp romaine stays fresh and crunchy
Storage & Make Ahead
This chopped italian salad recipe is best enjoyed fresh, but you can easily prep the ingredients ahead of time for meal prep. Store the chopped vegetables, salami, and cheese separately in an airtight container in the refrigerator. To prevent having a soggy salad, wait to add the italian vinaigrette or salad dressing until just before serving to maintain the great texture and big crunch of the lettuce. Leftovers can be stored in the fridge and enjoyed the next day, though the lettuce may soften slightly over time.
More Salad Recipes
If you enjoyed this Italian chop salad recipe, here are a few more fresh salad recipes for you to try next:
- Chickpea Cucumber Salad
- Traditional Greek Salad
- Watermelon Feta Salad
- Cucumber Dill Salad
- Mediterranean Orzo Pasta Salad
FAQ
What dressing goes best with italian chopped salad?
An Italian vinaigrette or oregano vinaigrette pairs perfectly with chopped italian salad recipes because the acidity balances the savory meats and creamy cheese.
Can I make this salad ahead of time?
Yes! Prep all ingredients ahead of time and store them separately. Add the dressing just before serving for the best texture.
Can I turn this into a main dish?
Absolutely. This Italian chop chop salad already includes salami and cheese, but you can also add grilled chicken, shrimp, or garbanzo beans for additional protein.
What’s the difference between a chopped italian salad and antipasto?
A chopped Italian salad includes fresh lettuce as the base, while antipasto platters typically focus more heavily on meats, cheeses, olives, and marinated vegetables without lettuce. You can see an example of this with my antipasto skewer appetizer.
Recipe Card
Italian Chopped Salad
Ingredients
- 1 head Romaine Lettuce, finely chopped
- 1 cup Iceberg Lettuce, shredded
- ½ cup Cherry Tomatoes
- ½ cup Cucumber, peeled and diced
- ⅓ cup Pepperoncinis, diced
- ⅓ cup Black Olives, diced and drained
- ½ cup Roasted Red Bell Peppers, diced
- ⅓ cup Pickled Red Onions
- ½ cup Dried Italian Salami , chopped
- ⅓ cup Provolone Cheese, chopped
Instructions
- Start by washing your romaine and other veggies thoroughly. For best results, soak it briefly in cold salted water, then rinse and dry completely. Finely chop the romaine into bite-sized pieces and add it to a large bowl along with the shredded iceberg lettuce.
- Using a sharp knife, chop all veggies and add the cherry tomatoes, cucumber, pepperoncini, black olives, roasted red peppers, and pickled red onions to the bowl. Gently toss the remaining salad ingredients together.
- Fold in the chopped salami and provolone cheese, distributing evenly throughout the salad.
- Drizzle with your favorite salad dressing just before serving. I love pairing this salad with a homemade oregano vinaigrette. Toss thoroughly so every ingredient is coated. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- Finely chopping the ingredients helps create the perfect restaurant-style chopped italian salad texture where every bite is full of flavor.
- For extra crunch, keep the lettuce cold until ready to serve. Crisp romaine and iceberg lettuce make a big difference in this salad.
- A salad spinner is the best way to thoroughly dry the lettuce and prevent a watery salad.
- This salad pairs well with oregano vinaigrette, Italian dressing, or a simple olive oil and red wine vinegar dressing.
- For added protein and texture, try adding garbanzo beans or grilled chicken.
- Kalamata olives can be substituted for black olives for a more briny flavor.
- Fresh mozzarella or parmesan cheese can be used in place of provolone cheese if preferred.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 day. For best texture, wait to add dressing until just before serving.
- This recipe is great for meal prep. Chop all ingredients ahead of time and assemble right before serving.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Craving More?
Looking for more fresh recipes, easy entertaining ideas, and restaurant-inspired dishes? Be sure to tag me on Instagram at @elicitfolio if you make this recipe. I love seeing your creations! You can also follow along on Pinterest for new recipes and leave a comment below sharing what salad recipes you’d love to see next.
Sounds great. Salads with meat are so filling and tasty. Will definitely try this one.
I cannot wait to try this tonight. I love salads and I am always looking for new ideas. All my favorite foods in one bowl. This is definitely a great recipe! A must on my list!!
Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe! I will definitely be adding the red onions in. 🙂
This looks so amazing and yet so simple. I am going to try this with vegan ham and vegan salami. Wonderful blog post.
I can’t wait to try it ! I’ve been on a healthy eating journey recently and never thought to add deli meats to a salad! I might have skip on the bell peppers but I’m looking forward to it!
I can’t wait to try it ! I’ve been on a healthy eating journey recently and never thought to add deli meats to a salad! I might have skip on the bell peppers but I’m looking forward to it!
This Salad looks amazing! And it has Ingredients I would love. I do enjoy eating Salad, but definitely don’t eat them as often as I should.
I started eating salads last year and since then, I tried a lot new recipes to adds on my meals. This one looks great. I will try to make one this week.
A pizza salad! This is so smart. I’m going to have to try it!