Whether you want something light for lunch or you need to feed a crowd, a good chopped salad is the perfect thing to serve. My favorite chopped salad recipes are easy to prepare and filled with flavorful ingredients that everyone will love. If you’re looking to shake things up and go beyond the usual chopped salad, I have 20+ recipes that are anything but boring.
20+ Chopped Salad Recipes That Are Anything But Boring
1. Autumn Chopped Salad
A rich and flavorful salad filled with sweet and savory ingredients, like apples, candied pecans, bacon, feta cheese, cranberries and poppy seed dressing. You can use whatever type of salad greens you prefer, but this recipe calls for fresh spring mix lettuce and romaine.
You can easily swap out some of the ingredients if you prefer. For example, you can use pears instead of apples or walnuts instead of pecans.
2. Finely Chopped Greek Inspired Chicken Salad
I love this salad because it’s easy to prepare and it has such a fresh flavor, making it perfect for spring and summer. Each ingredient is finely chopped, so it absorbs the delicious homemade vinaigrette.
You’ll need cucumbers, tomatoes, bell peppers, onion, kalamata olives, feta, herbs and cooked chicken breast. If you’re a vegetarian, you can swap out the chicken for chickpeas or tofu if you want.
3. Mexican Chopped Salad
Looking for simple chopped salad recipes? You’ll love this one! It’s vegetarian-friendly, quick to prepare and filled with flavor.
Toss leafy green lettuce with black beans, tomatoes, corn, avocado, cucumber and fresh red onion. Top with your favorite dressing and enjoy! The recipe author also shares recipes for a tasty cilantro lime vinaigrette and Southwest ranch dressing.
Want to make this salad a little more filling? Add shredded chicken or tofu.
Related: 20 Refreshing Summer Salads to Make for a Crowd
4. The Best Italian Chopped Salad
Whenever I think of chopped salads, the Italian variation is the first thing that comes to mind. And this recipe does not disappoint!
It has all of your favorite Italian-inspired ingredients – salami or soppressata, artichokes, chickpeas, mozzarella, cucumber, tomatoes, pepperoncini, kalamata olives, red onion, lettuce and fresh herbs.
This salad is loaded with so many delicious ingredients that pair so well together. You’ll love the homemade dressing made with Dijon mustard, red wine vinegar, olive oil and fresh lemon juice.
5. Copycat Portillo’s Chopped Salad
This tasty chopped salad is a copycat of fast-casual restaurant Portillio’s salad. It’s a balanced and substantial salad that you can easily serve at a gathering or just enjoy on a Saturday afternoon.
It pairs ditalini pasta with diced chicken breast, bacon, cheese, lettuce, red cabbage, green onion and whatever other veggies you want to add. While this recipe calls for gorgonzola cheese, you can easily use feta, cheddar or even mozzarella if you want.
6. Cherry Chopped Salad with Maple-Mustard Dressing
I adore their recipe because the flavors are so unexpected. Chopped cherries add a tart sweetness to the salad, while the shredded Brussels sprouts add an earthy flavor. Radicchio, quinoa, boat cheese and pecans round out the flavors for a satisfying and tasty salad you can serve any time of the year.
The sherry vinegar dressing is the perfect complement to the ingredients in this chopped salad.
7. Crunchy Chinese Chicken Chopped Salad
One of the best chopped salad recipes for summer (in my opinion). The flavors are so fresh and light.
You’ll mix shredded cabbage (red and green) with romaine lettuce, shredded carrots, green onion, shredded chicken breast, Mandarin oranges and nuts. The Asian-inspired dressing ties it all together.
This salad is perfect as a summer lunch or even to serve as a side at a BBQ.
8. Chopped Kale Salad
This chopped kale salad has all of your favorite ingredients – fresh greens, deli meat (I recommend salami), pepperoncini, red onion, marinated artichoke hearts and a tasty homemade vinaigrette.
Before you toss all of your ingredients together, I recommend taking the time to massage the kale leaves with olive oil to soften them up first.
Then, mix all of your salad add-ins together with your dressing and top with shaved Parmesan cheese.
9. Spring Chopped Vegetable Salad
A super simple salad that will give you a hearty dose of your daily vegetables. It’s a blend of green beans, wax beans, bell peppers, tomatoes, onion, cucumber, corn and rice wine vinaigrette that is absolutely delicious.
You’ll need to blanch the beans before adding them to your salad, but they add so much fresh flavor and a little bit of protein to the dish.
Feel free to add more veggies if you want or to swap out ingredients for your preferred vegetables.
10. Crunchy Detox Salad
This chopped salad is loaded with healthy, immune-boosting ingredients like chopped broccoli, shredded carrots, cauliflower, celery, ginger and cabbage. Fresh herbs, raisins, almonds, sunflower seeds and a tasty honey lemon dressing add crunch and flavor to this dish.
If you want to make this salad a full meal, try adding some shredded chicken, chickpeas or tofu to the mix.
11. Chopped Salad with Chickpeas, Feta and Avocado
A vegetarian-friendly chopped salad filled with fresh ingredients like avocado, cucumber, chickpeas, lemon juice, onion, mint and more. The recipe also calls for feta cheese, but you can use whatever type of cheese you prefer (goat or cheddar would be perfect).
I recommend letting the flavors marry for a few hours or overnight before serving this dish.
12. La Scala Salad
The famous La Scala chopped salad is known for its balance of flavors and ingredients that are finely chopped. It pairs chickpeas with salami, romaine lettuce, finely chopped red onion, Parmesan cheese, shredded mozzarella and a delicious red wine vinaigrette.
Want to make this salad more substantial? Add grilled chicken, hardboiled eggs or avocado. We love adding pepperoncini and black olives, too.
13. 10-Minute Mediterranean Chickpea Salad
Quick, healthy and flavorful, this is one of our favorite chopped salad recipes. The ingredients are simple: chickpeas, kalamata olives, bell peppers, tomato, red onion and feta.
We like to add shredded chicken when serving this for lunch. Chopped arugula would be another great addition to this salad.
Related: How To Eat a Salad Every Day and Like It
14. Spicy Ranch Chopped Chicken Cabbage Salad
Spicy and delicious. While still easy to make, this salad and its 27 ingredients require about 40 minutes to prepare in total. You’ll start by making a marinade for the chicken out of chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, paprika, olive oil and honey.
Imagine chicken with a taco seasoning, and this is what your marinade will taste like.
For the salad itself, you’ll have cilantro, red bell peppers, jalapenos, carrots, green onions and a spicy ranch dressing. You’ll top with creamy avocado and tortilla chips to complete the salad.
Related: 20 Easy High Protein Salads for Meal Prep
15. Simple and Fresh Israeli Summer Salad
Enjoy a taste of summer with this Israeli salad. And unlike the other salads with kale, lettuce or arugula, this one only includes:
- English cucumbers
- Red onions
- Herbs
- Lemon zest
- Red bell pepper
- Tomatoes
- Yellow pepper
You’ll also use lemon juice and olive oil for your dressing, along with some seasoning.
16. Winter Pomegranate Salad
Pomegranates can never be boring. Nutritious and fall-inspired, this recipe calls for cabbage, kale, pecans and pomegranate arils. You’ll also learn how to make a homemade vinaigrette made out of:
- Orange zest and juice
- Dijon mustard
- Maple syrup (or honey)
- Onion
- Seasoning
- Olive oil
With the nice texture and taste of the candied pecans, this is a salad that is truly refreshing.
17. Chopped Chef Salad
Do you like creamy, sweet onion dressing? If so, you’ll love this chef salad. Your salad will be filled with bacon, ham and turkey for added protein, cheese (I prefer cheddar), celery, tomatoes, boiled eggs, creamy dressing and other delectable ingredients.
The one complaint that people have with this recipe is that there’s a lot of chopping.
You can use a stainless steel chopper to cut down prep time drastically. But overall, this is an easy recipe to make and the crispy bacon always hits the spot.
18. Cabbage Crunch Salad
Just look at how colorful this Pin is, thanks to the kale, romaine, green and red cabbage and carrots. But the best part is the creamy peanut dressing that you’ll make with peanut butter, soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, Sriracha, garlic and ginger and a pinch of brown sugar.
And if you don’t like some of the ingredients, such as the romaine lettuce or peanut butter, the author provides a thorough list of substitutes that you can swap in.
19. Persian Shirazi Salad
Do you want a super light salad? If so, this Persian-inspired recipe has just over 100 calories in each serving. You’ll need to stock up on your Persian cucumbers, Roma tomatoes, red onion, Persian limes, dried mint, olive oil and salt and pepper.
No cooking is involved, so you’ll only need to chop up the ingredients and assemble everything.
20. Chopped Broccoli Salad
One Balanced Life’s chopped salad recipes take just 20 minutes to make and are made with broccoli, bacon, cauliflower, cranberries, almond slivers, lemon, Greek yogurt, apple cider vinegar, Dijon mustard and a handful of other ingredients.
You’ll spend more of your time chopping and making your dressing while the bacon cooks.
Your dressing will be made of ACV, Dijon mustard, lemon, Greek yogurt, mayo, sea salt, garlic powder and pepper.
21. Creamy Southwestern Chopped Cabbage Salad
Fans of cabbage will love this recipe. If cabbage isn’t your favorite, skip this recipe. You’ll need heaps of green cabbage, corn, bell peppers, black beans, red onion, cucumber, sunflower seeds and creamy dressing.
As the author explains, she calls this “magical cabbage” because it:
- Aids in digestion (thank you, fiber)
- Contains lots of vitamin C and K
- Offers an abundance of phytochemicals
22. Chinese Chicken Salad
Low carb, guilty pleasures like this salad are always good options to add into your weekly meal plan. Your salad will contain two cups of chicken, crispy noodles, sesame seeds, sugar, avocado oil, rice vinegar, sesame oil and soy sauce.
For the veggies, you’ll add in carrots, cilantro, garlic, green onions, Napa cabbage and red cabbage.
Making the dressing, filled with umami flavors, is what turns this salad into one of my favorites. You can also add in almond slivers for even more flavor.
