The Perfect Chopped Salad

My Chopped Salad is a healthy meal that doesn’t skimp on anything! With lots of protein and crunchy veggies, this main course salad is as gorgeous as it is delicious.

a great chopped salad is the queen of salads

I think a chopped salad like this is just about as far as you can take a salad and still call it a salad – it’s downright loaded. But it’s definitely healthy, and figure friendly, not to mention fork friendly! You won’t need a centerpiece when you serve this chopped salad, it’s one of the prettiest things you can put on your table.

when does a salad become a meal?

When a chopped salad is good and fresh, it’s one of the best meals around. And making it yourself can turn what is sometimes a blah cafeteria staple into a really spectacular meal. The key is to use good fresh ingredients, and lots of them. But that doesn’t mean you can’t take advantage of a few shortcuts…I used a rotisserie chicken, canned chickpeas, and a handful of olives from my supermarket’s olive bar to round out my array of chopped goodies. The bacon can crisp and the eggs boil while you are prepping the rest.

best lettuce for a hearty chopped salad

Sometimes with salads of this type the chopped part looks great and then the lettuce underneath is a bland iceberg, or, worse, a limp spring mix that can’t hold up to the toppings. I found a new organic lettuce blend from Earthbound Farms that I used as my base here. You could also use baby kale, arugula, or romaine lettuce. Anything sturdy will work.

now for all the goodies!

I went to town with the chopped stuff. Between the chicken, bacon, egg, chickpeas and feta cheese, there’s plenty of protein here to qualify as dinner. The rest is chosen for flavor, color and texture. And the best part is that you can assemble it ahead of time and keep it refrigerated, it won’t wilt.

• chicken ~ use leftover or rotisserie chicken to make it easy.
• hard cooked eggs ~ this is my favorite part!
• chickpeas add extra protein and a lovely soft texture.
• bacon ~ you can’t have a chopped chef without bacon!
• feta cheese adds a briny flavor. You might also choose soft goat cheese, or cube up your favorite cheddar or pepper jack.
• cucumber ~ I love to use the small ones, they have soft skin and hardly any seeds. No need to peel, either.
• red onion is a must for color and that bite that only onion can provide.
• tomatoes ~ here I love to use cherry tomatoes because they are good year round, and are never bland or ‘mealy’.
• olives ~ use your favorite, I love Kalamata’s intensity.
• corn ~ I grilled an ear of corn on a super hot grill pan and gave it little turns as I chopped my veggies. It adds a nice starchy sweetness and a little bit of charred flavor.
• bell peppers allow you to really amp up the color in this salad. Red, yellow, and orange are the sweetest.

a unique salad dressing is key

You know I love my salad dressings, they’re easily as important as the salad itself, and I try to include an interesting one with most salad recipes that I share. This spicy tomato vinaigrette is a new favorite.

let’s make it!

I took a medium ripe tomato and whizzed it up in my small food processor. Then I blended it with some harissa paste, which is a Tunisian spicy red pepper paste (think of it as Middle Eastern ketchup.) It adds a depth of color and flavor, but you can also use regular tomato paste if you don’t like it spicy. Some good sherry vinegar, olive oil, and a hit of salt and pepper is all it needs. It has a beautiful color and striking flavor.

variations on a chopped salad…

You can swap out the elements of this salad according to what you have or like. Black or white beans can replace the garbanzos. Goat cheese can replace feta, green onions can substitute for red onion, etc. Steak or shrimp would be delicious instead of chicken. If you don’t eat bacon, consider some toasted or spiced nuts for that extra crunch.

this salad is a feast for all the senses

The salad hit the spot, and definitely is not your cafeteria’s chopped salad. I think this would be a great choice to bring to a barbecue or picnic because as salads go, it’s fairly study, and beautifully impressive. I like to serve it as a composed salad and toss table-side. Don’t forget to snap a pic before you toss!

more main course salads

• Thai Chicken Salad
• Chopped Chef Salad with Creamy Sweet Onion Dressing
• Mexican Fajita Steak Salad
• Shrimp Taco Salad
• How to Make the Best Chinese Chicken Salad
• Spring Salmon Salad Platter

Add The View from Great Island as a Trusted Google Source

Chopped Salad with Spicy Tomato Vinaigrette

4.50 from 24 votes

Chopped Salad with Spicy Tomato Vinaigrette is a light and healthy meal that doesn't skimp on anything.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe Rate Recipe

Prep Time:15 minutes minutes

Total Time:15 minutes minutes

Servings: 4 servings

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

• 4 big handfuls of your favorite lettuce mix
• 2 eggs,boiled, peeled and chopped
• 15 ounce can of chick peas, drained and rinsed
• 1/4 red onion, finely chopped
• 6 strips bacon, cooked until crisp and crumbled
• 1/2 cup cubed feta cheese
• 1 cup chopped cooked rotisserie chicken, more to taste
• 1 ear of corn, grilled, kernels removed
• 1 small Persian cucumber thinly sliced
• 1/2 yellow bell pepper, diced
• 1 handful of Greek olives
• 1 handful halved small cherry tomatoes
• a few basil leaves

tomato vinaigrette

• 1 small to medium ripe red tomato, to yield about 1/3 cup puree
• 1 Tbsp harissa paste
• 2 Tbsp sherry vinegar
• 6 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 tsp salt
• fresh cracked black pepper to taste

Instructions

• Lay the lettuce out onto a wide round salad bowl.
• Top with all the ingredients, laying out each one in its own section.
• Scatter the basil leaves over the top.
• To make the dressing, give the tomato a rough chop and puree it in a small food processor.
• Whisk in the harissa or tomato paste, the vinegar, and the olive oil until blended. Add the salt and black pepper to taste.

Notes

• The salad ingredients are all approximate, use more or less as you like. I like to use a handful of greens for each serving, just as a starting point.
• If you prefer a non-spicy dressing, substitute tomato paste for the harissa.

NEW FEATURE! Click here to add your own private notes.

Course: Salad

Cuisine: American

Author: Sue Moran

Keyword: chopped salad, healthy, main course, salad

Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although The View from Great Island attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.

Did You Make This?We love seeing what you’ve made! Tag us on social media at @theviewfromgreatisland for a chance to be featured.