Mediterranean Chopped Salad

by Kayla Berman on November 17, 2022 0 comments

Mediterranean Chopped Salad is a fresh, colorful, delicious, and flavorful salad recipe! Made with romaine lettuce, radicchio, cucumber, tomato, feta cheese, parmesan crisps, and a creamy oregano dressing – this recipe is super easy to make, great for a crowd, and a perfect meal prep option too.

Colorful, Fresh, & Delicious Salad

I went out to dinner on Saturday night with my best friend the other weekend and I had one of my favorite salads I have ever had. In my life!

I’m not going to lie, I am not a super big salad fan. So I didn’t really expect much when I ordered the chopped salad from David’s Cafe. But oh my god, I was blown away!

It was so good, I made it at home the next day. And here it is – the most delicious Mediterranean Inspired Chopped Salad. Dare I say the recipe that gave me a new found love for salad!

Anyway! This chopped salad is fresh, bright, colorful, and so dang flavorful. It is full of small pieces of vegetables, parmesan crisps, and tangy feta cheese. It is topped with a flavorful creamy oregano dressing too!

It’s truly the perfect salad for a crowd or just for yourself. Either way it is bound to be a total hit.

Looking for more salad recipes? Check out my Copycat La Scala Chopped Salad, Taco Salad or Italian Sub Chopped Salad.

Ingredients

This mediterranean chopped salad recipe is made with colorful fresh vegetables, tangy feta cheese, delicious parmesan crisps, and a creamy oregano and red wine vinegar dressing!

Ingredient Notes

Chopped Salad

Romaine Lettuce: The base of this delicious salad is 2 romaine hearts! The lettuce is fresh, light, crunchy, and perfect here.
Radicchio: Radicchio is a cabbage-like, leafy vegetable with a slightly bitter, spicy taste. It adds such a unique and delicious flavor here! You’ll need 1/2 a radicchio.
Tomatoes: Cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes can be used interchangeably here. 1 1/2 cups of the juicy red vegetable (or fruit!) is needed.
English Cucumber: I love using english cucumbers in recipes like this! They are the most crunchy variety of cucumber and add a wonderful texture here. You will need 1 whole cucumber.
Red Onion: 1/3 cup diced red onion adds strong and delicious flavor to this salad. See my tip on preparing recipes with raw red onion in the Expert Tips section of this post!
Feta Cheese: The salty, tangy flavor of feta cheese is incredible in this salad! I like to cube an 8 oz block of feta cheese into small blocks. But crumbled feta is a great option to disperse the cheese further throughout the salad.
Parmesan Crisps: Parmesan crisps are the secret ingredient to this easy chopped salad! They truly set it apart from all other salads. They add such tasty flavor in every single bite and you simply cannot skip them. Add 1 1/4 cup parmesan crisps.

Creamy Oregano Dressing

Olive Oil: 3 tbsp olive oil is the base of this salad dressing. Make sure to us a high quality extra virgin olive oil for the best flavor.
Red Wine Vinegar: Red wine vinegar is key here. 2 tbsp brightens and balances this dressing perfectly.
Mayo: Add 1 tbsp of mayo to the dressing for ultimate creaminess.
Oregano: 1 tsp of dried oregano gives this salad recipe its mediterranean flare. So delicious!
Garlic Powder: 1/2 tsp garlic powder adds extra flavor.
Salt & Pepper: Lastly, add salt and pepper to this dressing recipe to taste.

Substitutions & Additions

This easy salad is actually quite customizable! There are a few substitutions and additions you could make in order for it to meet your personal preferences, tastes, or needs.

Lettuce: This recipe calls for romaine lettuce. But it actually works great with iceberg lettuce too!

Fresh Herbs: Fresh herbs would be a fantastic addition here. Try swapping the dried oregano for some fresh oregano.

Vegetables: You could easily add more vegetables to this salad. I think bell pepper is the best option.

Extra Mix-ins: To give this salad more of a greek salad vibe try adding kalamata olives, artichoke hearts, or garbanzo beans!

Kitchen Tools

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How To Make This Recipe

This healthy salad recipe is incredibly easy to make! It takes minimal effort, just tons of chopping – which I actually find therapeutic.

Then you whip up a simple, yet flavorful salad dressing and combine thoroughly. That’s it!

Step By Step Instructions

Step 1: First add all the romaine lettuce, radicchio, grape tomatoes, english cucumber, red onion, feta cheese, and parmesan crisps to a large bowl.

Step 2: Then to a small bowl add the extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, mayo, dried oregano, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Combine with a fork or whisk until smooth.

Step 3: Pour the creamy oregano dressing over the chopped salad.

Step 4: Toss until the salad is evenly combined and dressed.

Step 5: Serve and enjoy!

Expert Tips

Chop the salad ingredients finely. I just love when a chopped salad is really really chopped.

Prepare the ingredients ahead of serving. Such a timesaver!

Make sure to use an english cucumber – it adds such fresh and delicious crunch.

Rinse the red onion under water for a few minutes! This is my tried and true trick to make red onion a little bit of a more palatable salad ingredient. It gets rid of that strong, sometimes unpleasant onion flavor.

Do not skip the parmesan crisps!!!! They are incredibly key here.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I meal prep this salad recipe?

Totally! I myself love to meal prep this salad recipe. It is a great way to have healthy lunches prepared for the week.

I simply chop all of the vegetables ahead of time and prepare the dressing in a mason jar. Then I assemble a salad when I want it!

How to serve this recipe?

This recipe can be served as a side dish to a main course or as a main course itself!

It would be delicious as a side to my greek baked chicken, parmesan crusted salmon, or mozzarella stuffed meatballs, or greek chicken meatballs.

If serving as a main course I like to add protein on top for a more well rounded meal. Like canned tuna, breaded chicken cutlets, or rotisserie chicken. It is delicious!

How to best store this salad?

If you have leftover chopped salad that is already dressed you can store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. It will keep for about 1-3 days! Just know that it will most definitely become a bit soggy.

For longer storage or meal prep, I recommend dressing the salad as you go. So storing the chopped salad ingredients separately from the dressing and just combining when needed.

Love this recipe? Check out more healthy recipes below…

Connect With Me!

If you make this mediterranean salad recipe or any of my other recipes I would absolutely love to know! Tag me @wellnessbykay on Instagram, so I can see and share your recreations!!

Love this recipe? Leave a comment and a rating! I love to see and it helps me continue to develop delicious recipes for this blog.