Italian Chopped Salad with Rotisserie Chicken
Using rotisserie chicken is the ultimate time-saving hack we all need! With the added protein, this classic salad becomes a tasty, balanced option, perfect for a quick and nutritious lunch or dinner.
Another hunger-crushing combo, as promised! This salad is not only delicious, but seriously satisfying—now, who doesn’t want that?
We love salads, but they need to be inspired somehow, loaded with all the veggies or a mix of unexpected ingredients to earn a spot at our table. Gone are the days of just tossing greens with a little dressing. Sure, simple greens with a light vinaigrette, sliced radishes, and chopped chives make a great side to rich quiche or roasted chicken. But let’s be real, boring salads are a thing of the past (were they ever a thing?). And this is not a boring salad.
With a busy schedule, hungry mouths to feed, or just when you’re strapped for time, this protein-packed salad does all the heavy lifting for you. It’s exciting enough to serve to guests, yet easy enough to prep in advance and take to work the next day. Full of flavor, texture, and yes, even joy (we’re serious—salads can be joyful!). Grab a fork, a bowl, and dig in—you won’t regret it.
P.S. As I’m typing this, I’m actually enjoying the leftovers of this salad, and it’s held up perfectly in the fridge for two days and still tastes great, and has a good crunch still. Now that’s what we call a win!
Here’s the recipe including the option to download a PDF copy you can easily print if you want:
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Italian Chopped Salad with Rotisserie Chicken
By Carly Knowles, MS, RDN, LD & Carmen Shah, INHC - Registered Dietitian & Nutritionist team
This salad is a lot of (good) things. It strikes the perfect balance of texture and flavor, offering a mix of crunchy, savory, salty, and zingy elements that make each bite super satisfying. The rotisserie chicken not only simplifies the process, but boosts the protein content, turning this into a more substantial meal compared to your classic chopped salad. It’s an excellent choice for a quick weeknight dinner or an easy, batch-able lunch you can rely on throughout the week. And it holds up beautifully as leftovers, maintaining its crunch for a couple of days, so you save time without sacrificing taste.
Serves: 6 | Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 0 minutes
INGREDIENTS
Chopped Salad
2 cups chopped (or shredded) rotisserie chicken, skin removed
3 cups shredded radicchio (1 small head)
3 cups shredded romaine lettuce (2 hearts)
2 cups canned chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 pint cherry tomatoes, chopped
1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup sliced peperoncini peppers, drained
1 (4 oz) package Genoa salami, thinly sliced
1/2 cup shredded Italian cheese blend
Italian Vinaigrette Dressing
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 garlic clove, grated
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
In a large mixing bowl, combine the salad ingredients and set aside.
For the dressing, whisk or shake the ingredients together in a small bowl or jar until fully emulsified. Taste and adjust with salt and pepper as needed. Or, if you’re short on time, store-bought dressing works just fine.
Toss the salad with the vinaigrette until everything is evenly coated. Serve and enjoy!
(I feel inspired to quote Ina Garten here… “How easy is that?!”)
Looks good, right? If you’re thinking about making it, tap the 💙 above and let us know! Even better—come back and share how it turned out or how amazing you felt after eating it. We love hearing from you! Thanks so much for being part of this.
500 calories | 36 g protein | 5 g fiber | 17 g carbs | 32 g fat
Rotisserie chicken: We highly recommend using rotisserie chicken in this recipe to save yourself time, but baked chicken (pounded flat and seasoned with a quick spray of avocado oil, dried oregano, salt, and pepper will do the trick. Bake at 425 degrees for 18-20 minutes or until your chicken is cooked through. Either way, we recommend using chicken breast with the skin removed for this recipe.
How much meat is on one rotisserie chicken? Depending on the size of your rotisserie chicken, you can usually get 3-5 cups meat out of it, so you’ll have some leftover to feed your kids or make into another meal (chicken salad, chicken stir fry, chicken soup, chicken tacos, yum!). Pro tip: Pull off all the chicken at once versus pick at it for a couple of days. Enlist your kids/family/friends to help—why not? Then feed them dinner—the perfect exchange. Then, here’s where the magic happens… Put the carcass in a freezer bag or airtight container (along with any other chicken bones from subsequent meals - that someone didn’t directly eat from 😉) and store it in your freezer until you’re ready to make chicken stock —> When you’re ready/when the bag is full, add the bones to a soup pot or dutch oven and cover with cold water, any stray vegetables from the back of your veggie drawer (also onion tops, carrot tops, celery nubs), dried or fresh herbs, and salt and pepper, and simmer on low for 3-4 hours. Voila! You now have the most delicious and unadulterated stock.
Radicchio: We’re big fans of radicchio, a slightly bitter “green” that’s actually more pink/purple than green especially when you’re sourcing it from your local grocery store. It holds up exceptionally well in the fridge, even with dressing, making it an ideal choice for meal prepping quick and easy lunches or dinners. If you’re planning to make this salad ahead of time, consider using more radicchio than romaine to hold up in the fridge, just keep the total lettuce amount to 6 cups.
Romaine: If you’re not a fan of radicchio (slightly bitter or sometimes very bitter), then using all romaine works well in this recipe, too. Stick with the same 6 cup measurement, but ONLY dress what you’re eating in the moment to keep the romaine crisp and crunchy. Kale works great in this recipe too and can handle being dressed all at once. Arugula would be good too, but dress the salad as you go.
Chickpeas: The chickpeas add a source of plant protein and fiber to this salad which creates that hunger-crushing combo we love to talk about! Really though, you can use any bean in this recipe. We recommend sticking to the white varieties like Cannellini or Great Northern beans. Also, crispy chickpeas would be amazing in this recipe, either store-bought or prepared yourself. If you go this route, the macro numbers will change slightly (crispy chickpeas are usually baked with additional oil), so if that matters to you, then definitely run your numbers through a nutrition tracking app like Cronometer.
Peperoncini peppers: We’re in the camp of “more is more” when it comes to peperoncinis! The more the merrier. If you like them too, you could reduce the red-wine vinegar in the dressing (or eliminate it all together) and add a splash (1/4 cup) of peperoncini liquid instead to make the most zingy and delicious dressing! However, if you don’t love spicy food, then a good substitute could be to use pickled red onions instead of peperoncinis or in lieu of the raw red onions or in addition, or… or… or! And, definitely opt in for pre-sliced, ready to go peperoncinis if you’re limited on time.
Salami: Did you know there’s over 300 different types of salami out there?! We chose Genoa because it’s easy to find in most grocery stores and it often comes pre-sliced which we like for saving (even more) time. Genoa salami is the foundation of many great Italian recipes including in sandwiches or antipasto for example. It has a fairly mild flavor, so it adds that salty/savory taste that makes this classic salad so good without over-powering the already-powerful flavors. We like using uncured, pre-sliced Genoa salami in case you’re wondering. If you don’t like/can’t find/don’t want to use Genoa salami, any hard salami will do or just leave it out entirely. Also, using a whole link salami (versus pre-sliced) works well too, just know you’ll spend a little extra time cutting each piece fairly small (think chocolate chip-size small). You’ll need about 1/2 cup more or less total.
Italian cheese blend: We went this route, using shredded cheese, for one purpose… drumroll please… to save time! Are you starting to see what we’re all about over here? Most pre-shredded Italian cheese blends include some variety of provolone, parmesan, mozzarella, and in this case, cheddar cheese. Any of these single cheeses would work well too! Pre-shredded or cut off the block both work. Again, if cutting straight from the block, plan to spend a little extra time cutting small cubes/pieces. And if we had to choose just one single cheese to use in this recipe, for whatever reason, we’d probably choose provolone. Also, fresh mozzarella “pearls” or Bocconcini in Italian, sliced in half, would be pretty great in this recipe too.
Optional salad toppers/croutons: Think of this like a BONUS tip! These ideas were too good to leave out, but ultimately didn’t make the final recipe cut. Some great toppers that you could treat almost like croutons for this salad include whole wheat or whole grain pita chips, crushed and sprinkled on each serving after you dress the salad or peperoncini-flavored potato chips—I mean, come on! Yes. SO. GOOD. My husband actually took a bag of these chips with him with his prepped salad and reported back that he used the potato chips like a spoon and scooped up the salad for lunch—wha?! Yes please!
Meal prep/leftovers: We’ve mentioned this a few times already, but it’s worth repeating: this salad holds up beautifully in the fridge and makes for a seamless leftover lunch/dinner situation. Pro tip: Dress your leftover salad with a touch of red wine vinegar (or store-bought dressing if you went that way) and a pinch of salt to brighten it up. A squeeze of lemon would do the trick too. The salad ingredients soak up all the dressing and might need a little nudge after storing it especially if you wait to eat the leftovers more than a day later. For more prep-ahead tips, see the notes above.
Food storage/containers: When it comes to storing leftovers (like the ones pictured below) or meal prepping individual ingredients ahead of time, we recommend glass containers, whenever possible, like these with airtight lids. If you want really high-vibe containers, these coated ceramic and glass containers are a great choice—though they do come with a higher price tag. Worth it? If you try them, let us know what you think!
Bagged lettuce: It’s always a great time-saving hack to use bagged lettuce! Look for a romaine-blend or an Italian-blend for a similar flavor profile. Also, leave the dressing off if there’s more romaine than radicchio or less heartier greens in your blend, and dress as you go to keep the salad crunchy and lasting for days.
Store-bought vinaigrette: This is an obvious choice when you’re short on time. We almost skipped the homemade dressing, but then we asked ourselves—could we really call this a recipe then? You be the judge. While we love a homemade dressing, we’re all for leaning on store-bought dressings, marinades, sauces, and dips when we need a shortcut. Just be sure to check the ingredient list for added sugar and any long list of preservatives or unfamiliar ingredients. Two of our go-to, trusted vinaigrette dressings are this one and this one.
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Did you catch last week’s recipe for Everything But the Bagel Salmon with Cucumber Yogurt Salad? If not, you’ll definitely want to check it out!I t’s like a high-vibe version of bagel and lox paired with a souped-up deli salad. The salmon is coated in Everything Bagel seasoning (have you tried it yet?!). The cucumber and edamame salad adds a nutrient-packed, hunger-crushing combo that makes this meal both delicious and filling. Yes, hunger-crushing.