This Marinated Vegetable Salad with Italian dressing is packed with broccoli, cauliflower, tomatoes, and more, all tossed in a simple Italian vinaigrette. It’s great for picnics, potlucks, or keeping in the fridge for easy meals all week.
“I was looking for something different in a salad. I tried this recipe and loved it!” -Bev
Looking for something that’s veggie packed AND tasty?
Overnight Marinated Vegetable Salad is packed with a variety of veggies (which you can customize) and tossed in an Italian vinaigrette. After the veggies marinate overnight in the dressing, each bite is loaded with Italian flavor.
I love using this salad for meal prep—it can sit in the refrigerator all week, and it’s just as tasty on Friday as it is on Monday. It’s also great for potlucks, picnics, and outdoor gatherings since it’s delicious at room temperature.
The recipe is adapted from a 1980s church cookbook. I personally love that it’s really customizable. You can use your favorite veggies and even add additional toppings (more on that below) to suit your tastes.
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Salad ingredients
Raid your veggie drawer and grab what looks good! I used a mix of broccoli, cauliflower, grape tomatoes, mushrooms, red onion, carrots, olives, and water chestnuts.
Vinaigrette ingredients
A homemade vinaigrette really does make all the difference in this salad!
- I used vegetable oil, but you can use any neutral flavored oil you like (including light olive oil)
- I used red wine vinegar, but white wine vinegar or champagne vinegar work well here
- Italian seasoning (if you don’t have a bottle of it, you can create your own with a mixture of dried thyme, rosemary, basil, oregano, and red pepper flakes)
- Worcestershire sauce creates umami flavor—don’t skip it!
How to Make Marinated Vegetable Salad with Italian Dressing
- Add all of the vinaigrette ingredients to a jar with a tight-fitting lid.
- Shake the jar to combine.
- Chop the veggies, and pour the vinaigrette over the top. Stir to combine.
- Refrigerate overnight to allow the flavors to blend, and serve either chilled or at room temperature.
Customizing the salad
This salad is easy to customize. Just use your favorite veggies! Here are some ideas to get started:
- Add chopped green pepper and/or diced celery for even more crunch
- Use sliced green onions instead of a white onion
- Use cherry tomatoes or chopped roma tomatoes instead of grape tomatoes
- Leave out the mushrooms and/or olives if you don’t like them!
- In the summer when it’s in season, add diced zucchini or yellow squash
- Add fresh peas
- Add crumbled bacon to the top!
- Make this a meal by stirring in diced grilled chicken breast
- Top with chopped toasted pecans or walnuts
- Add cheese! Shredded cheddar would be delicious. Add it right before serving.
Meal prep
This salad gets so much more flavorful as it sits, making it great for meal prep. I like to portion individual servings at the beginning of the week so I can just grab one and go.
These glass containers are perfect individual servings, or this set of plastic ones are really nice, too.
Marinated Vegetable Salad: Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! This salad is entirely customizable. If you don’t like something, just leave it out, or replace it with another veggie.
The veggies will soften a little as the salad sits, and the dressing infuses them with even more flavor. As a result, you can make this salad a few days in advance of when you want to eat it.
For toppings like nuts and bacon, add those right before you plan to serve the salad. That’ll ensure that the toppings stay nice and crunchy.
Olives can be added when you initially make the salad, since they benefit from sitting in the Italian dressing.
You can make your own Italian seasoning with a mixture of dried basil, rosemary, parsley, oregano, thyme, red pepper flakes, and garlic powder. Here’s a great recipe for it.
📖 Recipe
Marinated Vegetable Salad with Italian Dressing
Ingredients
For the salad:
- 1 small head broccoli, cut into bite-size florets
- ½ small head cauliflower, cut into bite-size florets
- 8 oz cherry tomatoes
- 1 small red onion, cut into thin rings
- 8 oz fresh mushrooms, sliced
- 12 baby carrots, diced (or substitute 2 large carrots)
- 1 (8 oz) can water chestnuts, sliced
- 1 (4 oz) can pitted black olives, sliced
For the vinaigrette:
- ¾ cup vegetable oil
- ⅓ cup red wine vinegar
- 3 garlic cloves, finely minced
- 1½ tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning (or use a mixture of dried basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary, and red pepper flakes)
- 2 teaspoons worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Place broccoli, cauliflower, cherry tomatoes, red onion rings, mushrooms, carrots, water chestnuts, and black olives in a large bowl.1 small head broccoli,, ½ small head cauliflower,, 8 oz cherry tomatoes, 1 small red onion,, 8 oz fresh mushrooms,, 12 baby carrots,, 1 (8 oz) can water chestnuts,, 1 (4 oz) can pitted black olives,
- In a mason jar (or another jar with a tight-fitting lid), combine the oil, red wine vinegar, minced garlic, sugar, Italian seasoning, worcestershire sauce, and salt. Place the lid on the jar, seal, and shake to combine.¾ cup vegetable oil, ⅓ cup red wine vinegar, 3 garlic cloves,, 1½ tablespoons granulated sugar, 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning, 2 teaspoons worcestershire sauce, 1 teaspoon salt
- Pour the vinaigrette over the vegetables and toss to combine. Refrigerate overnight to allow the flavors to blend, then serve. The salad can be refrigerated for up to 4 days.
This is soooo good!!
I’m glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for taking the time to write a review.
This is so good! Makes a lot which is perfect for serving lots of friends!
I’m so glad that you enjoyed it! Thanks for taking the time to write a review.
I was looking for something different in a salad. I tried this recipe and loved it!
I’m so glad that you enjoyed it. Thanks, Bev!
How much corn oil? May I substitute canola/olive oil? If so, would measure be the same?
Hi Janette, you need ¾ cup oil for the vinaigrette, and yes—you can substitute canola/olive oil in the same measurement.
Email will not go thru. It is the correct one
Hi Pat! Where are you putting in your email? I’ll see if I can troubleshoot—I’m sorry for any hassle!