This abundant Italian salad is the perfect compliment to any meal! It is filled with roasted red peppers, marinated artichokes, and drizzled with a simple parmesan herb dressing.

wooden bowl with greens and chopped vegetables in it with grey napkin and small condiment bowls surrounding it.

Serving up this very large and very delicious Italian salad today! And it’s filled with a lot of my favorite things – roasted red peppers, marinated artichoke hearts, and crispy homemade croutons!

This salad has about 6 different veggies in it and it’s paired with a very simple Italian-style dressing – with a touch of parmesan cheese! The parm is a great addition because it adds a nutty, salty flavor that you can’t get with many dressing ingredients. And I pretty much top every Italian dish with parmesan so it’s already a given, right?!

You’ll also find this salad to be incredibly versatile! You can switch it up with different vegetables and customize it to whatever you have on hand.

Salad Ingredients

You’ll need a handful of vegetables for this Italian bowl of greens. Here’s the full list:

Mixed greens: I used organic butter lettuce.
Roasted red peppers: I used fire roasted peppers from a jar or you can find them at the antipasta bar section at your grocery store.
Cherry tomatoes: I used a variety of cherry tomatoes for a sweet taste.
Marinated artichoke hearts: these are a must for me. Drain the oil and serve whole or chopped up!
Cucumbers: I recommend English cucumbers for the best flavor!
Croutons: I used leftover bread and pan-fried in oil to create a simple crouton. You can use your favorite store-bought crouton!
Red onion: sweet red onion adds the perfect zing to the salad.
Fresh herbs: I love topping any salad like this with fresh herbs such as basil or oregano (or both!).

The Italian Parmesan Dressing

To pair with this salad, I whipped up a really simple herb dressing with freshly grated parmesan cheese!

This Italian dressing requires ingredients like: olive oil, red wine vinegar, dried oregano, dried thyme, dried basil, garlic powder, and parmesan cheese. It’s very simple but wonderful when paired with the chopped vegetables!

You can also use your favorite store-bought Italian or greek dressing for this salad too.

Tips For Success & Recipe Variations

My Quick Homemade Crouton Hack: make the easiest croutons by utilizing leftover french bread, sourdough, or in this salad’s case – leftover focaccia.

How to: Dice up the bread into bite sized pieces, then simply sauté it in a pan with a touch of oil until “crispy” and warm. The heat and oil will revive your hard, leftover bread into the perfect crispy addition to your salad! Add a pinch of garlic powder and salt for flavor. Easy peasy!

Add extra vegetables: you can also use veggies like black olives, banana peppers, chickpeas, raw bell peppers, and avocado.

Greens to use: As the base, I love using butter lettuce, chopped romaine, spinach, or assorted mixed greens.

Add protein: you can pair this salad with your favorite protein such as grilled chicken, salmon, steak, or garbanzo beans for vegetarian friendly protein.

Make it dairy-free: You can completely take out the parmesan cheese and swap for a little nutritional yeast instead to give that nutty bite.

Italian Meals to Pair it With

Want to pair your beautiful salad with the perfect meal? We love serving this alongside this lemon chicken piccata, vegetable lasagna, or with a cozy soup like pasta e fagioli!

More Salads to Try: