My husband and I are on a salad-for-dinner kick and loving it. This Italian chop chop? Total obsession. (And yes, we had some garlicky bruschetta on the side—no regrets!)
This Italian chop chop salad is one of my favorites! It’s based on all the wonderful Italian flavors I grew up with in New York where Italian food reigns supreme. This particular salad recalls the mighty Italian sub (aka grinder) ~ loaded with Italian-style deli meats, provolone, and zesty toppings like tomatoes, onions, pepperoncini and olives ~ all drenched in a classic vinaigrette dressing.
My goal with this Italian chop chop salad is to give you that same hearty satisfaction you get biting into a perfect Italian sub. The beauty of a crisp chop chop salad is that you get a little of everything in each and every bite. Serve crusty bread (or even a sandwich) on the side and you’ve got yourself an Italian sandwich inspired feast!
Chop Salad vs Chop Chop Salad ~ what’s the diff?
🥗 Let’s break it down…
chopped salad
- A technique more than a specific recipe.
- Everything is chopped, yes, but often in larger pieces—think fork-sized chunks of lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, etc.
- Can be made with various ingredients and types of dressings.
chop chop salad
- A specific recipe inspired by Italian/American Chicago-style deli recipes and Includes deli-style meats, cheese, beans.
- The term “chop chop” is often used to emphasize that everything is chopped more finely—almost to a relishy or deli-style texture.
- Tossed in an Italian vinaigrette
Italian chop chop salad ingredient notes
Our theme here is a classic Italian sub or hero sandwich in salad form…
the lettuce: sturdy crisp romaine hearts and radicchio are not only easy to slice and dice, but they stand up to the rest of the chunky ingredients.
the meats: I use Genoa salami and pepperoni which I ask my supermarket deli counter to slice in a single chunk rather than thin slices.
the cheese: provolone cheese is the Italian sandwich cheese of choice. Again I ask the deli counter to slice me a chunk so I can dice it easily.
the veggies: red onion, olives, pickled peppers.
ok so why the chickpeas? You caught me, chickpeas certainly aren’t Italian sub themed…but I love them (which is reason enough to add them) and they really add to the satisfaction factor of this salad.
that’s a lot of chopping!
Yes, but you’ll get in a rhythm and it goes fast. Here are some tips for making a chop chop salad:
- You’re aiming for about a 1/4 inch dice, but don’t let me catch you with a tape measure (it’s a salad, not math class.)
- Be sure to use firm crisp lettuce like romaine hearts and radicchio for easy chopping.
- Some ingredients are easy to dice, like cheese and salami. others, like olives and pepperoncini, are more tricky. Simply run your knife one way, and then do a 180 and chop again.
- This salad is make-ahead friendly: do all your chopping and then wrap in plastic and refrigerate for later in the day, or overnight.
- Save the dressing for just before serving to avoid wilted lettuce.
dressing shortcut
I start with Boar’s Head sandwich dressing, and doctor it with a bit of olive oil, red wine vinegar, and salt. Easy, and has that authentic Italian sandwich vibe.
A nice shower of dried oregano (or a readymade Italian herb mix) finishes everything off.
bottom line
This salad is so delicious and so easy to eat. There are no stray strands of onion or lettuce precariously dangling from your fork (or worse, from your mouth!) ~ just delicious little nuggets of all our favorite Italian flavors. I like it for entertaining because it’s so easy to serve and fits nicely on those paper plates.
(Is this too much talk about a salad? I think maybe it is, sorry!) Just go make it!
Italian Chop Chop Salad
Ingredients
salad: ingredient amounts are only suggestions…
- 5 cups romaine hearts lettuce, finely chopped
- 1 small head radicchio, finely chopped
- 1 cup finely diced Genoa salami
- 1 cup finely diced pepperoni
- 1 cup finely diced provolone cheese
- 1 cup chickpeas
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, diced
- 1 cup black and green olives, finely diced
- 1/2 cup pepperoncini peppers, finely diced
- 1/2 cup red onion, finely diced
dressing shortcut
- 1/2 cup Italian sandwich dressing , I used Boar's Head
- extra virgin olive oil
- red wine vinegar
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Put all the salad ingredients into a large salad bowl.
- Stir together the sandwich dressing with the olive oil and vinegar. Add salt to taste.
- Toss the salad with enough dressing to moisten everything, but not drown it. Serve right away, maybe with a shower of dried oregano.
Notes
- small balls of mozzarella
- diced ham, prosciutto, capicola, or soppressata
- roasted red peppers
- banana peppers
