Description
A flavorful and hearty Vegetarian Italian Chopped Salad featuring chopped romaine, radicchio, chickpeas, cherry tomatoes, and provolone cheese, all tossed in a zesty Italian vinaigrette. Perfect as a side dish or light meal.
Ingredients
Scale
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
- Prepare the vegetables: Chop the romaine lettuce, radicchio, red onion, and celery into bite-sized pieces. Thinly slice the cherry tomatoes and pickled pepperoncini peppers. Rinse and roughly chop the sun-dried tomatoes.
- Drain and rinse chickpeas: If using canned chickpeas, drain and rinse them thoroughly to remove excess salt and canning liquid.
- Make the vinaigrette: In a small bowl or jar, whisk together extra-virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, dried oregano, honey, minced garlic, black pepper, salt, and red pepper flakes if using, until fully combined and emulsified.
- Assemble the salad: In a large bowl, combine romaine, radicchio, red onion, celery, cherry tomatoes, pepperoncini, sun-dried tomatoes, chickpeas, and provolone cubes if using.
- Toss the salad: Pour the Italian vinaigrette over the salad and toss well to evenly coat all ingredients with the dressing.
- Serve: Divide the salad into 6 to 8 side servings and enjoy immediately for the freshest taste and texture.
Notes
- Make it dairy free/vegan by omitting the provolone cheese and substituting maple syrup for honey in the vinaigrette.
- For quicker prep, use pre-chopped romaine and radicchio mix and chop further into smaller pieces.
- Radicchio adds a slightly bitter note and depth of flavor but can be omitted if unavailable or disliked.
- Adjust salt and spices in the vinaigrette to taste.
- This salad pairs well with Italian dishes or can be served as a light main course.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 180 kcal
- Sugar: 4 g
- Sodium: 300 mg
- Fat: 12 g
- Saturated Fat: 3 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 8 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 14 g
- Fiber: 5 g
- Protein: 7 g
- Cholesterol: 12 mg
