Italian Chopped Salad with Grilled Garlic Baguettes.
This Italian chopped salad is so easy and ridiculously satisfying. It’s super flavorful served over this grilled garlic bread, all toasty and golden and warm. Makes for a lovely dinner, happy hour snack or party appetizer!
Get ready for the most flavorful meal!
This Italian chopped salad can be served as a lunch or dinner, a party appetizer or even a happy hour snack. The salad is super flavorful, the bread is crunchy and toasty. Combined, it’s a delicious bite of heaven that is satisfying and simple!
And the best part: you can assemble the salad ahead of time. Always a win.
One of my favorite meals to make in the warmer months is grilled bread piled high with some sort of salad. I love it! It’s easy and versatile, can be a great clean-out-the-fridge meal and can be customized to whomever you’re serving.
Oh and it can serve a crowd or you could even dial it back and make it an easy dinner for two.
I can’t even tell you how often I make a version of this in the hot summer months. Not having to turn on the oven? Dinner gold.
Of course, you CAN turn on the oven if that’s how you prefer to make your garlic breads. Whatever works for you!
This is what I love to put in my chopped Italian salad:
Salami
Fresh mozzarella
Smoked provolone
Cherry tomatoes
Roasted red peppers
Chickpeas
Thinly sliced red onion
Shredded iceberg lettuce
Radicchio
Sliced banana peppers
And the zestiest, most delish Italian vinaigrette ever.
This little chopped salad is fabulous on its own. You’ll be eating it out of the bowl as you’re preparing it. But it’s even better with some bread!
Warm and golden and toasty garlic bread, grilled so it has a touch of smokiness.
Meals like this never seem like a big deal but they taste AMAZING. Loaded with lots of flavor and texture, they are one of those meals that makes dinner time FUN. It’s easy, yet it feels like a restaurant quality meal.
And obviously, you can add in anything or leave something out, depending on what you love. This is a garlic lovers’ paradise. Garlic bread, a garlic-heavy dressing, all tangy and zesty with a bite. You can change that up if you wish or even do something cool like add in spicy peppers.
Make.it.yours.
Italian Chopped Salad with Grilled Garlic Baguettes
Italian Chopped Salad with Grilled Garlic Baguettes
Ingredients
garlic bread
- 2 small baguettes, sliced in half lengthwise
- 4 to 6 garlic cloves, finely minced
- 6 tablespoons salted butter
chopped salad
- ½ head iceberg lettuce, thinly sliced
- ½ red onion, thinly sliced
- 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 2 ounces salami, chopped
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, chopped
- 1 cup sliced radicchio
- ½ cup mild banana peppers
- ¼ cup chopped roasted red peppers
- 4 ounces fresh mozzarella pearls
- 2 ounces smoked provolone cheese, diced
zesty vinaigrette
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ tablespoon dijon mustard
- ½ tablespoon honey
- ½ tablespoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- ¼ cup olive oil
Instructions
- Note - you can use roasted garlic or garlic confit for this butter which is what I do most often.
- Mash the garlic into the butter with a fork. You can make this fancier by adding in fresh or dried herbs if you’d like! You can also add another pinch of salt if desired.
- Combine the lettuce, onion, chickpeas, salami, tomatoes, radicchio, peppers and cheese in a large bowl.
- In a measuring cup, make the dressing. Whisk together the vinegar, garlic, dijon, honey, oregano, salt and pepper until combined. Stream in the olive oil while whisking until emulsified. Drizzle 1 to 2 tablespoons of the dressing over the salad and toss well. At this point, you can refrigerate for 15 to 30 minutes until you’re ready to use them, or use them right away!
- Heat the grill to the highest setting. Spread the garlic butter on the cut sides of the baguette. Once the grill is hot, place the baguette butter-side down on the grill for 2 minutes. Flip and grill for another 2 to 3 minutes until toasted and golden.
- Serve the marinated salad on top of the warm garlic bread. Drizzle on more dressing as desired.
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2 Comments on “Italian Chopped Salad with Grilled Garlic Baguettes.”
SO GOOD! Made this last night for a ladies night and everyone loved it! Came together super fast and held up great as we chatted and ate half the night. I roasted the garlic early in the day and then just did the bread in the oven. I think grilling the bread would be even better though!
Made this for dinner tonight! Wow! So good! Dressing was great but I’d probably make a larger quantity to use the rest of the week! Tons of flavor!! This is a great warm weather recipe. Thanks!!