Big Italian Salad
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This big Italian salad is loaded with big flavor, fresh veggies, and zesty homemade dressing—just the kind of salad that makes any dinner feel special.
This big Italian salad is my go-to for spaghetti and meatballs, bolognese, pasta e fagioli, baked ziti, zuppa Tosacana, focaccia, or anything else in that Italian comfort food realm. The homemade dressing is what makes it so good. Think of it as a much, much-improved version of that bottled Italian vinaigrette dressing sitting in your fridge door. It takes just a few minutes to make—and if you’re used to the beige bottled stuff, you’ll be surprised to see how fresh herbs make this vinaigrette a beautiful and vibrant green.
Feel free to get creative with this salad—swap in your favorite veggies or add some diced salami, prosciutto, or grilled chicken, or roasted chickpeas for a protein boost. Topping it off with homemade croutons would also be delicious.
“We LOVE this salad!! Sometimes I add pepperoncini and artichoke hearts. The dressing is so fresh and herby. It’s our go-to salad for Italian dinners.”
What You’ll Need To Make A Big Italian Salad
- Herbs: Fresh basil and parsley bring fresh herb flavor to the dressing, while dried oregano adds that classic taste. (Pro tip: Many chefs prefer dried oregano over fresh because drying concentrates its earthy, slightly peppery flavor while also mellowing out the bitterness that fresh oregano can sometimes have.)
- Red wine vinegar, extra-virgin olive oil, honey, and garlic: Combine to create a balanced vinaigrette that’s tangy, slightly sweet, and rich with a garlicky flavor.
- Romaine lettuce: Crisp and refreshing—pre-washed romaine hearts make it easy.
- Romaine lettuce, red bell pepper, cucumbers, carrots, and grape tomatoes: This mix of greens and veggies adds crispness, vibrant color, sweetness, and crunch.
- Pitted olives and ricotta salata or feta cheese: Bring briny, salty, and creamy richness to the salad.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
Make the dressing. In a food processor, combine the parsley, basil, oregano, garlic, red wine vinegar, olive oil, salt, pepper, and honey. Pulse until blended.
Step 2: Toss the salad and adjust to taste. Add all the salad ingredients to a large bowl. Right before serving, pour on about half the dressing and toss well. Add more dressing as needed—the greens should be generously coated. Taste and season with extra salt and pepper, if needed.
Pro tip: Save any extra dressing for another time—it lasts nicely in the fridge for up to 4 days and is great on just about everything, from sandwiches and grilled veggies to roasted potatoes.
More Italian salads and dressings you may like
Big Italian Salad
Crunchy, colorful, and bursting with flavor, this salad is the perfect side to brighten any hearty Italian dinner, from pasta to pizza.
Ingredients
For the Vinaigrette
- 1 cup loosely packed fresh Italian parsley leaves
- 1 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves
- ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled
- ⅓ cup red wine vinegar, best quality such as Pompeian Gourmet
- ¾ cup extra virgin olive oil, best quality such as Lucini or Colavita
- Heaping ¾ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons honey
For the Salad
- 1 large head romaine lettuce (or 3 hearts), washed, dried and cut into large, bite-sized pieces
- 1 large red bell pepper, chopped
- 1 cup seeded and chopped hothouse cucumbers
- 1 to 2 carrots, peeled into ribbons
- Handful grape tomatoes, halved
- Handful pitted olives
- Ricotta Salata or Feta, crumbled to taste
Instructions
- Make the dressing: Combine all dressing ingredients in a food processor and blitz to blend.
- Place all of the salad ingredients except for the cheese in a large bowl. Right before serving, add about half of the dressing and toss well. Add more dressing little by little as necessary; be sure to dress greens very generously, otherwise salad will be bland. Toss in the cheese, then taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper, if necessary.
- Note: Ricotta salata is an Italian sheep's milk cheese that has a salty, slightly tangy flavor, almost like a dry Italian feta. It is not the same as the wet ricotta in the tub. You can find it at Whole Foods, gourmet grocers or specialty cheese shops.
- Note: Nutritional information was calculated assuming ½ cup of ricotta salata and all of the dressing was used.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (6 servings)
- Calories: 338
- Fat: 31 g
- Saturated fat: 6 g
- Carbohydrates: 12 g
- Sugar: 6 g
- Fiber: 5 g
- Protein: 5 g
- Sodium: 393 mg
- Cholesterol: 11 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Gluten-Free Adaptable Note
To the best of my knowledge, all of the ingredients used in this recipe are gluten-free or widely available in gluten-free versions. There is hidden gluten in many foods; if you're following a gluten-free diet or cooking for someone with gluten allergies, always read the labels of your ingredients to verify that they are gluten-free.
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Comments
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Could this dressing be used for a pasta salad?
– Karen
Sure!
Really amazing salad!! I got rave reviews when I served this last night – usually the salad is rather boring but this one, although easy to make, was delicious – of course that fresh dressing was a game-changer from the usual and guests asked for the recipe. You (Jenn) were the topic of discussion and my good friend uses your site almost as much as I do. Which is a LOT. I shared your cookbooks with them. I will be making this salad again. The Romaine makes it extra crispy and I had only ever used that lettuce for Cesars in the past. Thank you!!
Outstanding dressing! I made this salad for a group last weekend and everyone loved the dressing, it was talked about for days. Another fantastic recipe, Jenn! Thank you 🙂
I’m SO glad I found your site and this recipe. I had company for dinner last night and I served your big Italian salad as a first course, along with the dressing.
This dressing is so good, I’m crazy about it! I can’t believe I ever bought bottled dressing. Each time I make a salad that skews Greek or Italian, I’m going to use this dressing. In fact, I feel like buying more salad ingredients just to have an excuse to have more dressing! Thank you so much for the recipe.
Hi Jenn
How long will the dressing last in the fridge? Thx!!
Hi Linda, it lasts nicely for up to 4 days.
What ratio for ingredients to serve ten at lasagne dinner.
Hi Vonna, I think you can get away with making 1.5 times the recipe. Hope everyone enjoys!
My entire family is in love with this dressing! I am using it on salads and panini with cheddar, salami and tomatoes, yum!
Hey Jenn! I wanted to (after several years) let you know that I check in with you regularly whenever i’m looking for a recipe for something, before I reach out to the broader internet-iverse! Your recipes are beloved by me, and other members of my family, and we thank you for sharing! Thank you!! -Sue
This dressing sounds and looks fabulous! My only question is…won’t the basil turn dark after just a day or so? I always have trouble when I make basil pesto of it soon turning brown/dark instead of that beautiful bright green.
Hi Alice, the basil is processed with all the other ingredients in the dressing and doesn’t turn brown. Hope you enjoy if you make it!
Did not care for the dressing, dumped it and made your zesty Italian dressing instead. Since I was serving it with a baked pasta dish loaded with Havarti and Parmesan, I omitted the cheese and added homemade garlic croutons. Garnished each serving with oven roasted marinated artichoke hearts. Beautiful, but I could not make my carrot ribbons as nice as yours. How do you do that?
Sorry to hear you didn’t like the dressing, but it sounds like it turned out to be a lovely meal! For the carrots, use a vegetable peeler to peel the carrots. Then, run the vegetable peeler away from you down the length of carrots, shaving off long ribbons, rotating a few times as you go.
Made it for book club with a baked ziti recipe. To die for!