Chopped Salad with Red Wine Vinaigrette
This Chopped Salad with red wine vinaigrette is a show-stopper of a salad. With nine salad ingredients and a tangy dressing, it’s packed with flavor, texture, and looks beautiful, too!
This Chopped Salad with Red Wine Vinaigrette admittedly has a LOT going on. Crunchy lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, crispy bacon, parmesan, pasta, zesty green onions, and a homemade red wine vinaigrette-phew!
I promise you that this salad is worth it, though! The vinaigrette makes all the ingredients more flavorful, and the combination is just right for a chopped salad.
I love making it for guests, or for a family pizza night at home. It pairs wonderfully with a variety of dishes (like baked ziti), and it’s even hearty enough on its own for a light lunch or dinner. Chopped cooked chicken or hard boiled eggs would be a good addition to make it a little more filling, too!
Salad ingredients
The nice thing about this salad is that you can add your mix-ins however you like. Here’s what I put in mine:
- Lettuce is the backbone of the salad. Red leaf lettuce, green leaf lettuce, or romaine (or a mix of any of these) work really well for this.
- Use your favorite tomatoes. I gravitate toward roma tomatoes, but beefsteak, grape, cherry, or tomatoes on the vine are all great.
- Cucumbers add lots of refreshing crunch. I used a seedless cucumber to make it easier.
- Olives contribute a briny bite. Use your favorite variety.
- Cooked pasta is a bit unexpected, but it’s such a wonderful addition since it makes the salad a little more hearty. Use a miniature variety, such as miniature penne, ditalini, or miniature bow ties.
- It’s not a chopped salad without cheese! I shaved parmesan (Parmigiano Reggiano-the good stuff!) with a vegetable peeler to get strips. Many grocery stores also sell shaved parmesan in little plastic tubs.
- Green onions add an savory kick.
- Crispy, crumbled bacon tops it all off!
Making a homemade red wine vinaigrette
The homemade red wine vinaigrette is the star of this salad. I like to keep several of these salad dressing mixer bottles
on hand for this. You could also use a mason jar, or anything with a tight-fitting lid.
Just place the ingredients into the bottle/jar, place the lid on, and shake. I usually shake it carefully over the kitchen sink-you just never know when the lid isn’t on tight! 🙂
How to make chopped salad with Red Wine Vinaigrette
1. Start by bringing a small pot of water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook according the package directions. Drain and reserve.
2. Place the bacon in a skillet and cook until crisp.
3. While the pasta and bacon are cooking, shake the vinaigrette ingredients together in a jar with a tight-fitting lid.
4. Tear the lettuce into bite-size pieces. Avoid chopping the lettuce with a knife, since it bruises the tender lettuce and the edges will turn brown quickly. Place the lettuce in a large bowl or on a serving platter.
5. Chop the tomatoes and cucumbers.
6. Halve the olives (and take the pits out, if they still have them in).
7. Slice the green onions.
8. When the bacon has finished cooking, chop or crumble it into small pieces.
9. Shave the parmesan with a vegetable peeler, if it’s not already shaved.
10. Top the lettuce with the tomatoes, cucumber, olives, green onions, bacon, and parmesan. Pour half of the vinaigrette over the salad. Taste and add additional vinaigrette as necessary.
Serving suggestions
Chopped salad pairs wonderfully with Slow Cooker Italian Beef Sandwiches. The sandwiches are made in the slow cooker, so there’s plenty of time to make the salad while it cooks!
Both the sandwiches are the salad are perfect for a cozy afternoon indoors. The beef can hang out in a slow cooker set to "warm" for several hours, and the salad (without the vinaigrette) can hang out on the countertop. Just add the vinaigrette right before serving, toast the bread for the sandwiches, and you're ready to eat!
The salad also pairs nicely with pizza or pasta. And since it features Italian flavors, the salad would be a great side dish for Italian Stuffed Peppers.
📖 Recipe
Chopped Salad with Red Wine Vinaigrette
Ingredients
For the salad:
- 1 head green or red leaf lettuce, torn into small pieces
- 2 roma tomatoes, cut into a small dice
- ½ seedless cucumber, cut into a small dice
- ⅓ cup kalamata olives, halved
- ½ cup miniature pasta, such as mini penne, mini bow ties, or ditalini
- ⅓ cup shaved Parmigiano Reggiano
- 2 green onions, sliced thinly
- Optional: 3 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
For the red wine vinaigrette:
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon honey
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
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Instructions
- Place a small pot of water over high heat. Add the pasta and cook according to package directions. Drain and let cool.
- Combine all salad ingredients in a large bowl.
- Place the red wine vinaigrette ingredients in a jar with a tight-fitting lid. Shake to combine.
- Pour half of the vinaigrette over the salad ingredients. Toss to combine.
- Add the remaining vinaigrette as desired. Serve immediately.
I made this salad for a dinner with friends and it was a big hit. Very tasty combination of ingredients. The dressing was just perfect.
That’s so great to hear! Thanks, Mary!
I love chopped salads! I would make this without the bacon 🙂
Me too! I’ve made it with and without bacon and both are delicious. 🙂