Whether you’re looking for a light dinner or crowd-pleasing side dish, this chopped salad recipe is a favorite all year round!
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News flash: I LOVE salads…especially chopped salads! I could eat them every day, and over time, I’ve become something of a salad expert. Experimenting with new combos is one of my favorite things to do, and this particular salad has quickly become a personal favorite.
Sure, there are plenty of Italian-American chopped salads out there with salami, cucumbers, tomatoes, and the usual suspects, but this one stands out in the best way. Crunchy lettuce, smoky bacon, candied walnuts, and Parmesan cheese come together with a simple homemade vinaigrette that hits all the right notes. This salad is sweet, smoky, salty, bright, tangy, with a hint of bitter from radicchio — and let’s be honest, utterly gorgeous!
P.S. please don’t sleep on my other salad recipes, like this Antipasto Salad, Chicken Caesar Salad, Greek Salad, and Kale Salad recipes. You WON’T regret it!
Why You’ll Love This Chopped Salad Recipe
- The perfect side or main dish for lunch or dinner
- Crunchy, satisfying, sweet-salty-bitter-tangy goodness
- Easy, flavorful dressing
- Make it ahead
- Strikingly beautiful to “wow” your crew!
Ingredients
The best chopped salad is only a handful of ingredients away! Here’s what you need:
- Radicchio – radicchio is crunchy, deep ruby and white, with a bitter yet slightly sweet and refreshing taste. It’s especially delicious blended with other lettuce Like Belgian endive.
- Belgian endive (or romaine) – Belgian endive is crunchy and slightly sweet (it’s not the same thing as regular endive or frisée). It’s so delicious blended with radicchio. It is a bit hard to find though (usually Whole Foods has it!). If you can’t find it, use romaine instead!
- Celery – the young celery stems and tender leaves are delicate yet crisp, with a more mild taste than the more mature celery stalks. I highly recommend adding them into your chopped salad for extra pizazz.
- Bacon – you really can’t go wrong with adding bacon to a salad for pop of salty smokiness. Make sure to finely chop it being cooking for the best results. If you’d like to make your salad vegetarian, just leave it out!
- Finely grated Parmigiano Reggiano – Parmigiano Reggiano adds the perfect Italian cheese flair that’s salty, nutty, and seriously the best cheese ever! You can use regular parmesan cheese if preferred.
- Candied walnuts – you can usually buy pre-candied walnuts right in the grocery store and then finely chop them before adding to the salad for the perfect sweet, buttery crunch. Feel free to make your own or even try my Candied Pecans Recipe instead!
- Extra virgin olive oil – olive oil creates the base for our simple vinaigrette.
- Sherry wine vinegar – sherry wine vinegar is complex and tangy but not as tangy as red wine vinegar.
- Dijon mustard – Dijon creates a creamier dressing that’s *chef’s kiss* perfect.
- Maple syrup – adding a dash of maple syrup (or honey) cuts the acidity of the vinegar and goes super well with the bacon drippings in the dressing!
My Pro Tip
Recipe and Dressing Tips
- Cut everything roughly the same size for the best chopped salad.
- Dry the lettuce well so the dressing clings instead of sliding off.
- Adjust the vinegar amount to taste since everyone has their own preference!
- Feel free to use a favorite store-bought dressing (creamy dressing, light vinaigrette, etc.).
Chopped Salad Serving Suggestions
While this chopped salad can be a meal on its own, it can also be a great side dish! Here are my favorite ways to serve it:
- As an easy vegetarian dinner as-is or with Crispy Roasted Chickpeas, so What to Make For Dinner isn’t a challenge!
- As dinner with extra protein like sliced Grilled Chicken Breast or Baked Chicken Breast, Coconut Shrimp, or crispy prosciutto.
- Pair with soup for a light meal, like with French Onion Soup, Lasagna Soup, Split Pea Soup With Ham, or White Bean Soup.
- As a side dish alongside Baked Salmon, Swedish Meatballs, Grilled Chicken Sandwich, pizza, or any other main!
- With bread like Homemade Baguette or Garlic Naan Bread.
Storage and Make Ahead Tips
- Make ahead: you can prep this salad up to 24 hours ahead, and dress it last-minute!
- Storage: store dressed leftovers in the fridge for up to a day. I actually find the salad tastes good the day after (slightly more like a slaw than salad), but after that, it starts to get mushy.
More Favorite Salad Recipes You’ll Love!
Snacks & Side Dishes
Watermelon Feta Salad
Easy Weeknight Dinners
Classic Italian Salad
Snacks & Side Dishes
Best Pea Salad
Appetizers
The Ultimate Summer Salad
Appetizers
Perfect Caprese Salad
If you’ve tried this Chopped Salad Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please let me know in the comments below. I love hearing from you. Please consider leaving a 🌟 star rating while you are here!
Best Chopped Salad
Ingredients
- 3 cups cored and chopped radicchio
- 2 cups chopped Belgian endive, not regular endive (see notes below)
- ½ cup celery, the tender stems and celery leaves
- ⅓ pound bacon, finely chopped (about 1 cup)
- ⅔ cup finely grated Parmigiano Reggiano, plus more to garnish
- ½ cup candied walnuts, finely chopped
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 ½ tablespoons sherry wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- ½ teaspoon maple syrup, or honey
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Cook finely chopped bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until crispy. Remove bacon from pan using a slotted spoon, into a paper-towel lined bowl. Set aside.
- Drain off fat and save the bacon drippings in a bowl for the dressing. Set aside.
- In a large salad bowl, add the radicchio, Belgian endive, celery, cooled bacon, chopped candied walnuts, and Parmigiano Reggiano.
- In the bowl with the bacon drippings, add olive oil, vinegar, Dijon, maple syrup, and salt and pepper. Whisk together and pour over salad.
- Toss, and serve with an extra sprinkle of parmesan cheese if desired!
Video
Notes
- To chop lettuce: I recommend cutting a small radicchio head in quarters, slicing out the core and then chopping the quarters into small ribbons. For the endive, remove the stem end, slice the heads into quarters, and chop.
- Belgian endive and regular endive aren’t the same! Can’t find Belgian endive? Whole Foods typically carries it. Or use romaine!
- The easiest, mess-free way to chop candied walnuts is to place them in a Ziploc bag and use the back of a water glass to crush them into little bits!
- 3 cups chopped radicchio = roughly 1 small head
- 2 cups chopped Belgian endive = roughly 4 mini heads
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Why don’t more salad recipes use bacon!? This was an absolute delish recipe. I loved the radicchio for a slight bitter taste to help balance the smoky flavors and of course the candied nuts. 12/10
I totally agree! So glad you enjoyed. Cheers!
Grace