Big Italian Salad
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This big Italian salad is fresh, colorful, and packed with crisp romaine, vibrant veggies, and a zesty homemade Italian dressing—the perfect side to any Italian meal!
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 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.
“We LOVE this salad!! 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
- Fresh Basil & Italian Parsley: Add fresh herb flavor to the dressing.
- Dried Oregano: Provides classic Italian seasoning and depth of flavor. (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.)
- Garlic: Adds a punch of flavor to the dressing.
- Red Wine Vinegar: Provides tanginess and acidity to the vinaigrette.
- Extra-Virgin Olive Oil: Forms a smooth, rich base for the dressing.
- Honey: Balances the acidity of the vinegar with the slightest hint of sweetness.
- Romaine Lettuce: Creates a crisp and refreshing base for the salad. I suggest buying pre-washed romaine hearts if possible so you don’t have to bother rinsing the leaves.
- Red Bell Pepper, Cucumbers, Carrots and Grape Tomatoes: These veggies add vibrant color, a touch of sweetness, and crunch to the salad.
- Pitted Olives: Add briny flavor and a salty kick to the salad.
- Ricotta Salata or Feta Cheese: Adds flavor and richness to the salad.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
Begin with the homemade dressing: Combine the parsley, basil, oregano, garlic, red wine vinegar, olive oil, salt, pepper, and honey in the bowl of a food processor
Pulse until evenly blended. The dressing will keep nicely in the fridge for up to 4 days. Just give it a good shake before using it to recombine any separated ingredients.
Next, place all salad ingredients 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. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Reserve any leftover dressing for another use—it’s good on almost everything!
Want to experiment with different versions of this salad? Feel free to use whatever vegetables you have on hand, add some diced salami, prosciutto, or grilled chicken for extra protein, or swap the cheese with shaved Parmigiano-Regianno or even fresh mozzarella pearls for a different twist.
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Big Italian Salad
Move over, boring salads—this Big Italian Salad with homemade herb dressing is bursting with fresh flavor.
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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I made this to go with shells stuffed with lobster and shrimp, which were delicious. However, the star of the show was this salad dressing. I did add a bit of extra honey. My company went wild for it. We dipped bread into it-fabulous. We thought it would also be good over pasta instead of pesto, over meat, etc. A real keeper!
Can the basil vinaigrette be frozen?
Hi Susan, I’ve never frozen salad dressing, so I can’t say from experience, but it looks like you can and this doesn’t have any ingredients that make it freeze poorly. If you try it, please LMK how it turns out once thawed!
I’m sure dressing is tasty, but TOTALLY American with added honey. Italian dressing is always simple and vinaigrette. No sugar or honey. Americans add sugar in some form to just about everything. Masks the wonderful true flavors of the vegetables.
I’ve made this dressing several times both with and without honey/sugar-and on various mixes of salad. A winner either way. Also used it on grilled swordfish, shrimp and chicken as a marinade. A good way to use fresh garden basil and parsley. Lots of positive comments from my guests. Thanks Chef!
Hmmmm, TRIPEL are you in America? If not, just omit the sugar and the honey!
We LOVE this salad!! The dressing is so fresh and herby. It’s our go-to salad for Italian dinners (including Jenn’s delicious Spinach Manicotti). In the summer we add strips of salami, marinated artichoke hearts, garbanzo beans, grilled chicken chunks, etc., for a light but filling one-dish dinner.
This is a simple and delicious salad that was enjoyed with wood fired pizza at a patio party. I used my garden herbs and comments were made about the incredible aroma of the dressing. Thanks for sharing Jen.
This salad, especially the dressing, is absolutely divine alongside your Baked Ziti recipe! Since I didn’t use all of the dressing, I made a salad to take to work the next day, adding some radishes and avocado to the mix, as well as a little homemade crab salad. Oh, my goodness, was it delicious! Carrot ribbons make this such a fun salad, too. Thank you for all of your outstanding recipes!
Made this for my picky family of foodies. Very well received! Delicious dressing.
Can this be left out of fridge for a couple days?
Assuming you mean the dressing (and not the salad), that should be fine.
This is one of the best salads I have ever eaten! The dressing is rich in flavor and well balanced with the salad ingredients! Thanks again !
This dressing is scrumptious! Will make over and over. I am an olive oil and red vinegar fan…..this puts that to shame!