Italian Chopped Salad
on Jun 09, 2023, Updated Feb 18, 2025
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Italian Chopped Sandwich lovers will be more than excited that they can now turn their favorite sandwich into a salad! This 🇮🇹 Italian Chopped Salad takes just a few minutes to make and is incredibly satisfying. Although it’s not traditional, it uses fresh Italian ingredients that you may even already have on hand, including any sliced ham or cured pork, sliced cheese, and 🌿 Italian seasoning.
Why You’ll Love Italian Chopped Salad
What makes this Italian Chopped Salad so special is that every ingredient is chopped as finely as possible. This allows you to experience each flavor and enjoy a perfect bite every time. This is the perfect salad for a picnic, school lunches, or even ⛺ camping. You can prep all of the ingredients the night before (leaving the lettuce on the side so that it doesn’t get soggy) and assemble the following day. With just a few simple steps, this 🥗 salad comes together in no time. It’s perfect for a quick lunch or dinner option when you’re short on time but still want a flavorful and satisfying meal.
How to Prepare Italian Chopped Salad
🥬 Chop the lettuce and place it on a clean cutting board along with slices of prosciutto cotto, mortadella, provolone cheese, and pepperoncini.
🔪 Use a big sharp knife to chop everything as finely as possible.
🥣 You can transfer the chopped ingredients into a bowl and then add the dressing or simply add the dressing to the salad while it’s still on the cutting board.
🥒 Once everything is finely chopped, make the dressing by adding the add mayo, Italian seasoning, and pickled juice from the pepperoncini jar.
🥗 Mix everything well and your salad is ready to enjoy!
Nonna’s Tip 🥗
You can customize the salad by adding more protein or using lean ground turkey to make it lighter.
Variations and Substitutions for Italian Chopped Salad
Feel free to get creative and experiment with different combinations to find your favorite version of this salad. Don’t forget to tell me in the comments how you make this your own!
- Instead of prosciutto cotto and mortadella, you can use any other types of deli meats such as turkey, ham, or salami. Additionally, you can add grilled chicken, shrimp, or tofu for a different protein option.
- If you’re not a fan of provolone cheese, you can substitute it with other 🧀 cheeses like mozzarella, cheddar, or feta. You can also omit the cheese altogether for a dairy-free version of this Italian Chopped Salad.
- Instead of the dressing I use, you can try olive oil and vinegar, Italian dressing, or a balsamic vinaigrette for a lighter option.
- You can also make your own homemade dressing with ingredients like 🍋 lemon juice, garlic, mustard, and herbs.
- To lighten up your Italian Chopped Salad, you can use lean ground turkey instead of deli meats, opt for low-fat or fat-free mayo or 1/2 yogurt and 1/2 mayo, and increase the amount of 🥬 lettuce and other vegetables while reducing the amount of cheese and dressing.
Similar Recipes
If you love this salad, you’ll probably also enjoy my Italian Chopped Sandwich as well!
Best Served With
- A crusty bread like my No Knead Peasant Bread
- A simple pasta dish like Pasta Limone
Common Questions
Prosciutto Cotto is an Italian ham that is salted and dry-cured. It is much more exquisite and healthier than regular deli ham. But you can absolutely use any variety of deli ham you prefer. I recommend going to a local Italian bakery and getting good-quality meats for your Italian Chopped Salad.
Mortadella is a large Italian sausage or luncheon meat made of ground meat-cured pork, which incorporates at least 15% small cubes of pork fat. It is traditionally flavored with black pepper grains, but modern versions can also contain pistachios or, more rarely, myrtle berries.
First, chop all of the ingredients finely and add them to a Tupperware. Make sure you leave the chopped lettuce separately so that it doesn’t get soggy. Assemble the Italian Chopped Salad the next day or at your destination by mixing the lettuce with the rest of the chopped ingredients and finally mixing in the dressing.
If you want to make this into a chopped pasta salad, boil your favorite small pasta shape of choice, let it cool, and add it in. You may need to adjust the amount of mayo to make it as creamy as you like.
If you prefer a lighter dressing, you can omit the mayo and use olive oil and vinegar. Or use a mixture of 1/2 yogurt and 1/2 mayo instead. Alternatively, you can use a light or low-fat mayo for a healthier option.
Italian Chopped Salad
Ingredients
- ½ head iceberg lettuce
- 3 slices prosciutto cotto, or any sliced ham
- 3 slices mortadella
- 3 slices provolone cheese
- ⅓ cup pepperoncini, sliced, optional
Dressing
- 2 tablespoons mayo, more or less to taste
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, more or less to taste
- 1 tablespoon pepperoncini juice, more or less to taste
Instructions
- Chop the lettuce of choice into small pieces. Add it to a clean cutting board with slices of prosciutto cotto, mortadella, provolone cheese, and pepperoncini (if using).
- With a big sharp knife, chop everything as small as possible. Note: You can transfer this into a bowl and add the dressing or simply add it on top.
- Once finely chopped, add the mayo, Italian seasoning and the pickled juice from the pepperoncini jar.
- Mix well and enjoy!
- Note: You can definitely add more protein to it or use lean ground turkey to lighten it up.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I made this for lunch today and it was delicious! I got my meats and cheese at Kroger. The mortadella was no problem, but the woman at the counter had never heard of prosciutto cotto so I had to make a quick substitution. Luckily I had read the notes to this recipe so I knew not to go with traditional proscuitto but rather a deli ham.
I shared this with my three kids and they all loved it and asked me to make it again! My only complaint was it got watery very quickly. I’m not sure if it’s because I didn’t dry the lettuce enough or maybe I went too heavy on the pepperocini juice. Regardless, I’ll be sure to make this again!
Nice improvising, Blair! You really can use any kind of deli or cured meat you like here, and it sounds like it worked out! The wateriness could be due to wet lettuce, but in any case, be sure to serve the salad as soon as you’re finished preparing it — it will get soggy if it sits around.
So good. Found the panini pak of deli meat at Costco has both the prosciutto cotto and mortadella (plus bonus capicolla) that works perfectly. Will be perfect for packed lunch
omg so happy you made this recipe and loved it