Easy Tossed Big Italian Salad Recipe | Wicked Spatula (2024)

This big tossed Italian salad recipe is like your favorite sub sandwich in salad form. See how to make easy Italian green salad in just 15 minutes.

by Maya Last Updated on 19 Comments

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This tossed Italian salad recipe has all your favorite sub flavors – without the bread, for a low carb and paleo easy Italian salad! I’m not even sure this can be called a recipe, it’s really more of a method. But I knew that I had to share it because if you’re like me, you’ve missed Italian sub sandwiches since going gluten-free. Well, not anymore! Enter the big Italian SALAD. It’s perfect for lunch or a light dinner accompanying your favorite Italian meals. And, this Italian green salad will totally take care of those sub cravings.

This Italian sub salad is basically all my favorite flavors from a local pizza shop’s sub sandwich I used to love. Pepperoni, salami, crunchy lettuce, tomatoes, banana peppers, olives, and red onions… all tossed in an herb-y submarine-style dressing.

The ingredients down below are all suggestive if you want different veggies (maybe sun-dried tomatoes or roasted red peppers?) or different meats (prosciutto, capicola, or ham?). Go right ahead and mix things up. Just be sure to make this delicious Italian dressing to go with your Italian chopped salad!

Easy Tossed Big Italian Salad Recipe | Wicked Spatula (1)

How To Make Italian Salad

It literally takes less than 15 minutes to throw this simple salad together, but it tastes like it was made in a fancy Italian restaurant.

The steps for how to make Italian salad couldn’t be any easier:

  • Prepare the salad dressing. Mix the olive oil, red wine vinegar, Italian seasoning, sea salt, and black pepper together.
  • Chop all the veggies and meat for salad. Toss salad together and drizzle with the submarine vinaigrette dressing. Serve!

Easy Tossed Big Italian Salad Recipe | Wicked Spatula (2)

Can You Make Tossed Italian Salad For A Crowd?

Yes, you can definitely make this Italian green salad for a crowd. I recommend preparing all the veggies and having the homemade salad tossed together. Then, set out the dressing, so everyone can add as much as they want. This will prevent the chopped salad from becoming too soggy as it sits.

TIP: When making this easy salad for a crowd, it helps to set the bowl inside a large container of ice. That way, it will last longer.

Is This Italian Green Salad Healthy?

Yes, this tossed Italian salad is VERY healthy! It’s loaded with tons of vegetables and nutrients. Let’s chat about all the goodness in what I consider the best salad ever:

  • Romaine Lettuce – When you use romaine lettuce for this Italian salad, you will be filling up on calcium, vitamin C, phosphorus, folate, potassium, magnesium, and more.
  • Tomatoes – One of the most awesome aspects of eating tomatoes is the antioxidants they provide! You will get lots of lycopene, vitamin C, folate, and potassium.
  • Olives – Many people don’t realize that olives offer a lot of nutrients. They are packed with iron, copper, calcium, and vitamin E.
  • Red Onions – Adding some red onions to your Italian salad gives you vitamin B6, vitamin C, potassium, and fiber.

How Do You Store This Italian Salad Recipe?

Store this Italian green salad in the refrigerator. Keep it in an airtight container or bowl.

TIP: Store the salad undressed or it will get soggy. The dressing itself will store in the fridge for 1-2 weeks.

Easy Tossed Big Italian Salad Recipe | Wicked Spatula (3)

What To Serve With Italian Green Salad

One thing about this quick salad recipe is that it goes with EVERYTHING! You can eat it all by itself, as an appetizer or even the main course. Take a peek at some of my other paleo salad recipes while you at it.

Here are some of the main courses I like to serve this Italian salad recipe with:

  • The Best Easy Paleo Meatloaf – Meatloaf is a household favorite and goes lovely with this Italian green salad.
  • The Best Easy Lemon Chicken Piccata – So much flavor in this amazing dinner idea.
  • Tuscan Chicken Spaghetti Squash Boats – These are seriously so amazing and the flavors match perfectly with Italian salad.
  • The Best Chimichurri Chicken – Every bite of this juicy chicken is heavenly.

RECIPE CARD

Easy Tossed Big Italian Salad Recipe | Wicked Spatula (5)

4.88 from 16 votes

Easy Tossed Big Italian Salad Recipe

This big tossed Italian salad recipe is like your favorite sub sandwich in salad form. See how to make easy Italian green salad in just 15 minutes.

Course Salad

Cuisine Italian

Keyword Big Italian Salad, Easy Italian Salad, Italian Green Salad, Italian Salad Recipe, Tossed Italian Salad

Calories 289 kcal

Prep Time 15 minutes

Total Time 15 minutes

Author Maya Krampf from WickedSpatula.com

Servings 4 servings

Recipe Video

Click or tap on the image below to play the video and learn how to make this recipe!


★ Review Print

Ingredients

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  • 6 cups Romaine lettuce (shredded)
  • 2 medium Roma tomatoes (diced)
  • 1 cup Mixed Italian olives (pitted)
  • 1/4 medium Red onion (sliced)
  • 1/4 cup Pickled banana peppers (sliced)
  • 6 ounces Italian meats (diced; I used pepperoni and salami)

Submarine Vinaigrette

  • 1/2 cup Olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon Red wine vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
  • 1 pinch Sea salt
  • Black pepper

Click to convert between US & metric measurements:

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

More TIPS about this paleo recipe in the post above!

  1. Whisk the ingredients for the dressing together and set aside.

  2. Toss all of the salad ingredients together and toss with dressing. Easy as that!

Recipe Notes

Serving Size:~2 1/4 cups, or 1/4 entire salad

Nutrition Information Per Serving

Nutrition Facts

Amount per serving. Serving size in recipe notes above.

Calories 289

Fat 24g

Protein 11g

Total Carbs 7g

Net Carbs 4g

Fiber 3g

Sugar 3g

Where does nutrition info come from? Nutrition facts are provided as a courtesy, sourced from the USDA Food Database. Net carb count excludes both fiber and sugar alcohols (though the latter are rarely seen on this site), because these do not affect blood sugar in most people. We try to be accurate, but feel free to make your own calculations.

© Copyright Wicked Spatula. We'd LOVE for you to share a link to this recipe, but please DO NOT COPY/PASTE the recipe instructions to social media or websites. You may share a photo with a link back instead.

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Easy Tossed Big Italian Salad Recipe | Wicked Spatula (2024)

FAQs

What's the difference between a salad and a tossed salad? ›

A salad can be a composed salad (with the ingredients specifically arranged on the serving dish) or a tossed salad (with the ingredients placed in a bowl and mixed, often with salad dressing).

What is chopped Italian salad made of? ›

Salty salami, creamy mozzarella, olives, Parm, fresh basil and—oh yeah—some lettuce make this Italian chopped salad recipe truly crush-worthy. The key to a really great chopped salad is uniformity. We kind of want all of these ingredients to be roughly the same size, so keep that in mind as you slice and dice!

How do you get the most out of a salad? ›

Adding protein and fat to the salad helps your body digest the carbohydrates more slowly and give you a steady stream of energy. Protein also provides a feeling of fullness that you won't get from vegetables alone.

How is salad served in Italy? ›

According to Fodor's Travel, most restaurants in Italy don't serve any dressing on salad at all, although as new cuisines are starting to be introduced, you may see options like Caesar salads on the menu. Traditional Italian salads come simply with extra virgin olive oil, vinegar, and salt.

What's in Millionaire's salad? ›

ingredients
  1. 1 (21 ounce) can cherry pie filling.
  2. 1 (8 ounce) carton Cool Whip.
  3. 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk.
  4. 1 (16 ounce) can pineapple chunks, drained.
  5. 1 (11 ounce) can mandarin oranges.
  6. 1 cup seedless grapes (optional)
  7. 1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
  8. 1 cup mini marshmallows.

What is the slang toss salad? ›

It is a slang term. To “toss my salad” would mean you're having someone perform anilingus on you. In other words, someone is licking your butthole sexually. Nicki Minaj references the act in her song Anaconda.

What tool is used to make chopped salad? ›

The salad chopper does have the advantage of acting as a simultaneous mixer and fine-dicer. Once I'd prepped everything, I piled each salad's ingredients on the cutting board and went ham with a mezzaluna chopper, using it to simultaneously chop and toss the ingredients together.

Why do Italians eat salad at end of meal? ›

Serving salad after the main course of a meal is an older tradition in Italy, and nowadays it is usually observed at large and formal dinners rather than during everyday meals. Eating a salad after a meal can help digestion, while eating one before a meal may help discourage overeating.

Why is it called Russian salad? ›

Russian salad was originally called Oliver salad based on the Moscow-based Belgian chef who invented it. During the 20th century, the dish spread throughout Europe and adopted the name Russian salad.

How do restaurants get their salads so crisp? ›

Lettuce actually needs a good amount of airflow, in addition to a bit of moisture (but not too much!), in order to stay crisp. That's why restaurants store their lettuce in special perforated bins that allow for air circulation while it's held in the fridge.

How to make a big salad for the week? ›

Salads that stay fresh all week use separate containers for toppings and dressing to keep crunchy foods crunchy. Prep the toppings and dressing so the entire salad will be ready to grab when needed – just mix the containers together before eating. Meal prep salad is a lot like building a salad you'd eat right away.

What are the best nuts for salads? ›

Nuts and seeds — such as pistachios, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, almonds, peanuts and chia seeds — are highly nutritious salad toppings. For example, 1 ounce (28 grams) of pumpkin seeds has 5 grams of protein and close to 20% of the Daily Value (DV) for zinc.

What is the most common salad dressing in Italy? ›

To dress a salad in Italy is simplicity itself: extra virgin olive oil, salt, and vinegar – but t's not as easy as it looks.

What do Italians eat on their salads? ›

Red onions and cherry tomatoes. Both optional, but highly recommended! Pepperoncinis and olives (an absolute must in our honest opinion, for that authentic Italian salad taste). Grated parmesan...as much as you want, of course!

Do they use salad dressing in Italy? ›

Despite its name, Italian dressing is not used in Italy, where salad is normally dressed with olive oil, vinegar or lemon juice, salt, and sometimes balsamic vinegar at the table, and not with a pre-mixed vinaigrette.

What are the two types of salad? ›

salad, any of a wide variety of dishes that fall into the following principal categories: green salads; vegetable salads; salads of pasta, legumes, or grains; mixed salads incorporating meat, poultry, or seafood; and fruit salads.

What's another word for a tossed salad? ›

mixed greens (noun as in tossed salad) Weak matches. Caesar salad greens vegetable salad.

What is the difference between a Caesar salad and a tossed salad? ›

The main differences lie in the type of lettuce used, key components, and dressing. House salads offer a broader range of ingredients and dressings, while Caesar salads have specific components like romaine lettuce, parmesan cheese, and a distinct Caesar dressing.

What makes a salad a salad? ›

Merriam Webster Dictionary tells us that a salad is any of the various “usually cold dishes” including raw greens, vegetables and toppings. It is served with dressing or small pieces of food, or usually mixed with a dressing or set in gelatin.

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