Italian Chopped Salad (Inspired by Olive Garden!)
My Italian chopped salad is a simplified version inspired by the beloved salad served at Olive Garden! It’s got both romaine and iceberg lettuce, pepperoncini peppers, diced red onion, fresh parmesan cheese, homemade dressing, and homemade croutons! My husband and I aren’t huge salad people but this one we crave all the time. It’s that good! I hope you love it as much as we do!
This recipe is inspired by the salad served at Olive Garden . My recipe is not affiliated with or endorsed by the restaurant. This post may contain affiliate links of items I know and love. Read our disclosure policy for more information. I NEVER use AI (artificial intelligence) to create content for Plum Branch Home. Recipes, blog posts, photos, videos, social media content: everything is made from scratch by me, Molly LaFontaine. After developing my recipes, they’re tested 2x by my husband, Tyler, and I before publishing. What you see from Plum Branch Home is real. It’s made for a reason, tested, and loved!
This salad, my goodness, is it good! The homemade dressing and croutons take it to another level. They’re simple swaps from store-bought, but the flavor difference is huge. I highly recommend making them both from scratch. It only takes a few minutes!
Inspiration Behind My Recipe for Italian Chopped Salad
I have always loved Olive Garden’s salad, so I wanted to recreate it in my own way at home! Instead of adding chunks of tomatoes and olives, I decided to leave those out. I also wanted to make the croutons and dressing from scratch.
It’s so good my husband even loves it! We’re both not big on salads but this is one we can’t get enough of!
I wanted to create this recipe just in time for the Lenten season so we had something for our meatless Fridays. It’ll go great with cheese pizza and pastas.
What’s in an Italian Chopped Salad?
An Italian chopped salad can have many ingredients depending on the person making it. Mine is full of romaine lettuce, iceberg lettuce, pepperoncini peppers, fresh Parmesan cheese, homemade croutons, and homemade dressing. It’s my favorite of all chopped salad recipes!
Why We Love This Salad Recipe and Think You Will Too!
- Restaurant Quality: It tastes even better than restaurant salad!
- Homemade Dressing & Croutons: These make this salad out of this world delicious.
- Simple Steps: The steps are super simple and easy to follow.
- Wholesome Ingredients: Each ingredient is wholesome, especially when using the recommended brands.
My Tips For Making This Italian Chopped Salad Recipe
- Read the entire recipe before you get started so you know what to expect.
- Let the croutons cool completely before adding them to the salad.
- Whisk the dressing until there are no more lumps of mayonnaise.
- Rinse and dry your lettuce with cool water and ensure it’s dry before adding to the salad bowl.
- Eat immediately after adding the dressing to prevent soggy salad.
Ingredients You’ll Need (with notes and substitutions)
Note: Please see the recipe card at the bottom of this blog post for measurements
Crouton Ingredients
- bread: sourdough is my favorite but you can use any and it doesn’t need to be stale
- melted butter: I like to use salted grass-fed butter
- garlic powder: salt-free
- sea salt: my favorite type of salt
Dressing Ingredients
- avocado oil: or you can use olive oil
- mayonnaise: use any brand, I like to use a wholesome option like Chosen Foods mayo or homemade
- distilled white vinegar: I like to use organic
- onion powder: make sure it’s salt-free
- sea salt: a good wholesome salt
- garlic powder: make sure it’s salt-free
Salad Ingredients
- red onion: I like to use organic but you could also use a yellow onion
- peperoncini peppers: use a brand without food coloring like Jeff’s Garden
- iceberg lettuce: I like to use organic
- romaine lettuce: I like to use organic
- freshly grated Parmesan cheese: I don’t recommend using processed Parmesan cheese
The Best Bread for Homemade Croutons
I like using homemade sourdough bread for homemade croutons, but you’re welcome to use any. It does not need to be stale. It can be fresh!
The Best Pepperoncini Peppers for This Recipe
I love using Jeff’s Garden pepperoncini peppers. They’re wholesome, non-gmo, and have zero food dyes! I highly recommend using this brand or look for one that has few ingredients. Especially no food dye.
I buy Jeff’s Garden jarred peppers at Sprouts but they should have them at most health food stores!
Variations
- Instead of or in addition to Parmesan cheese, add a little fresh mozzarella.
- Add in tomato chunks and black olives to make it just like Olive Garden’s.
- Use banana peppers instead of pepperoncinis for a different taste.
- Add shredded, cooked chicken or chickpeas for a protein filled salad
Helpful Kitchen Tools for this Recipe
This section contains Amazon affiliate links to items I use and love for this recipe.
- large glass bowl (my favorite for this recipe!)
- whisk
- sheet pan
- parchment paper
- salad forks
How to Make Italian Chopped Salad
Note: Please see the recipe card at the bottom of this blog post for the full written recipe.
Make the Croutons
Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
Slice bread, with crusts still attached, into small 1/2 inch cubes (approximately 2.5 cups of cubed bread). Place in a mixing bowl.
Drizzle melted butter all over cubed bread. Add garlic powder and sea salt to bowl.
Mix to evenly coat all bread cubes then spread them out on a parchment-lined baking sheet pan.
Bake for 10 minutes at 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Stir then place back in the oven for 5 minutes. Remove from oven, use parchment paper to transfer from pan to cooling rack. Set aside
Make the Dressing
While baking croutons, make the dressing by adding avocado oil, mayo, vinegar, onion powder, sea salt, and garlic powder to a small mixing bowl.
Whisk to evenly combine and set aside.
Make the Salad
Rinse and dry iceberg and romaine lettuce leaves. Then use your hands to shred them or roughly chop with a knife into smaller pieces. Add both to bowl.
Dice red onion finely then measure out 1/2 cup and add to a large salad bowl or mixing bowl. Store others away in the fridge for another use.
If peperoncini peppers are whole, roughly chop into slices. Add to bowl. (Remove seeds if you find them spicy. I leave ours in.)
Grate fresh Parmesan into bowl then stir to evenly distribute all ingredients.
Right before serving, add in cooled croutons and dressing. Toss to evenly coat and serve immediately. Enjoy!
If you don’t plan to eat the entire salad at once, I recommend storing everything separately and making individual salads rather than one big one to prevent sogginess.
Video Tutorial
What I like to Serve with Italian Chopped Salad
I love serving this salad with pastas, soups, pizza, and a few other dishes. Here are a few recommendations:
- Creamy Tuscan Chicken Pasta
- BBQ Chicken Flatbread Pizza (Grilled or Baked)
- Oven-Baked Buttermilk Fried Chicken Tenders
- Better Than Olive Garden Alfredo Sauce
- Alabama White BBQ Chicken Bacon Pizza (with sourdough crust)
- Meatloaf Burgers (with homemade ketchup)
- Creamy Chicken Gnocchi Soup
- Cajun Chicken Alfredo
Leftover Storage Instructions
If you don’t plan on eating the entire salad at once, I recommend storing every ingredient separately in glass, airtight containers. This will prevent everything from getting soggy.
Store all containers of salad ingredients in the fridge for up to 1 week. Store the croutons container at room temperature for up to 1 week. If needed, pop croutons back in the oven to crisp up before enjoying again.
Frequently Asked Questions
You’ll want to store all ingredients separately. This will prevent the salad from getting too soggy. The pepperoncini peppers have moisture and can make the lettuce a little wilted after a day.
Chosen Foods and Primal Kitchen are good, clean mayo options. You can also use homemade too.
Sure! Just add chopped salami to the mix.
You can add cherry tomatoes, tomato slices, celery, green or black olives, radicchio, or any other veggies you’d like.
They are a mild pepper that I don’t find too spicy. Pickled in the jars, they are a little acidic, salty, mildly spicy, and a little tangy.
More Side Dish Recipes To Try
If you’re looking for more wholesome from-scratch sides, try a few of these:
- Old Fashioned Cucumber and Onion Salad (no sugar added!)
- Hawaiian Macaroni Salad From Scratch
- Sourdough Hawaiian Rolls (Better Than Store-Bought!)
- Old-Fashioned Baked Mac and Cheese
- Spring Fruit Salad
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Recipe
Italian Chopped Salad (Inspired by Olive Garden!)
Ingredients
For the Croutons
- 3 slices of bread (sourdough is my favorite but any will work)
- 2 Tbsp melted butter (I like to use salted grass-fed butter)
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder (salt-free)
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
For the Dressing
- 2 Tbsp avocado oil (or olive oil)
- 1/3 cup mayonnaise (wholesome ingredient brand like Chosen Foods or homemade)
- 3 Tbsp distilled white vinegar (organic is best)
- 1 tsp onion powder (salt-free)
- 3/4 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp garlic powder (salt-free)
For the Salad
- 1/2 cup red onion, diced
- 1/2 cup jarred peperoncini peppers, drained (brand without food coloring like Jeff’s Garden)
- 1/2 of an iceberg lettuce
- 1/2 of a romaine lettuce
- 3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
Make the Croutons
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Slice bread, with crusts still attached, into small 1/2 inch cubes (approximately 2.5 cups of cubed bread). Place in a mixing bowl.
- Drizzle melted butter all over cubed bread. Add garlic powder and sea salt to bowl.
- Mix to evenly coat all bread cubes then spread them out on a parchment-lined baking sheet pan.
- Bake for 10 minutes at 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Stir then place back in the oven for 5 minutes. Remove from oven, use parchment paper to transfer from pan to cooling rack. Set aside
Make the Dressing
- While baking croutons, make the dressing by adding avocado oil, mayo, vinegar, onion powder, sea salt, and garlic powder to a small mixing bowl.
- Whisk to evenly combine and set aside.
Make the Salad
- Dice red onion finely then measure out 1/2 cup and add to a large salad bowl or mixing bowl. Store others away in the fridge for another use.
- If peperoncini peppers are whole, roughly chop into slices. Add to bowl. (Remove seeds if you find them spicy. I leave ours in.)
- Rinse and dry iceberg and romaine lettuce leaves. Then use your hands to shred them or roughly chop with a knife into smaller pieces. Add both to bowl.
- Grate fresh Parmesan into bowl then stir to evenly distribute all ingredients.
- Right before serving, add in cooled croutons and dressing. Toss to evenly coat and serve immediately. Enjoy! (If you don't plan on eating the entire salad at once, I recommend storing everything separately and making individual salads rather than one big one to prevent sogginess.)
Video