Chopped Salad
Chopped salad is an easy, tasty salad recipe. It’s great for emptying the fridge and is perfect as an effortless side dish. Vegetarian, gluten-free and low carb too!
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Cucumber. I used English cucumbers but Mediterranean or Persian cucumbers will also work well.
- Tomatoes. Try to use the ripest tomatoes you can find. If the tomatoes you buy aren’t fully ripe, leave them out at room temperature for a few days and they should turn a beautiful, vivid red and be sweet and juicy.
- Red onion.
- Olives. Olives are optional but we love the salty, briny flavor they add.
- Feta cheese. Substitute with crumbled goat cheese or leave out if you want a dairy-free recipe.
- Extra’s: Other salad ingredients like Romaine lettuce, Iceberg lettuce, chickpeas/garbanzo beans, bell peppers, green onion/spring onion, etc. can all be added. For an Italian spin, add chopped salami, mozzarella, pepperoncini’s and Italian dressing.
- For the dressing: Extra-virgin olive oil, fresh lemon juice (red wine vinegar can be substituted), salt and black pepper. Herbs like dried oregano or parsley can also be added.
How to make easy chopped salad
- The great thing about a chopped salad is that you can add whatever you want. If you’d like you can add avocado, celery, carrots, sweetcorn, spring onion and sugar snap peas. Anything goes, really. I just have red onion, tomato, cucumber, olives and feta at hand permanently so these are featured in this salad more often than not. I also like to change the ingredients depending on what I’m serving the salad with. If it’s just a simple weeknight salad, this version works perfectly. If we are having a rich, spicy curry, I love adding spring onion and cilantro. With Mexican recipes, adding charred sweetcorn, cilantro, finely chopped chillies and cubed avocado creates a flavor explosion.
- Chop all the ingredients finely using a sharp knife. I don’t bother removing the seeds from the tomatoes and cucumbers but you can do so if you wish. Add all the ingredients to a large mixing bowl then pour over the dressing, toss and serve.
- As for the dressing for this chopped salad, I really like to keep things simple. A good lemon vinaigrette is always delicious and this one is as easy as they come. Fresh lemon, a splash of vinegar, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper are all you need. Whisk it up, pour over the chopped salad and you’re good to go. Summer eating at its best!
Can I make this ahead?
This salad can be made up to a day in advance but keep the dressing separate and only pour over right before serving. Transfer the salad to an airtight container and keep in the fridge.
Serving Suggestions
This chopped salad recipe is a great side dish for a variety of dishes. It’s delicious in a grilled chicken wrap but works so well alongside Greek lamb chops, grilled chicken or seared salmon. It’s also delicious served with Chicken Shawarma and flatbreads.
Video
Servings: 6
Calories: 157kcal
Ingredients
- 1 large English cucumber
- 4 large tomatoes or 4 cups of cherry tomatoes
- 1 large red onion
- 7 oz (200g) Greek feta cheese
- 1 cup pitted olives
for the lemon vinaigrette
- 1-2 lemons
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- salt & black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Chop the cucumber, tomatoes, onion, olives and feta into small cubes and combine in a bowl.
- To make the dressing, combine all the ingredients and mix well.
- When you are ready to serve, pour the dressing over the salad and mix well.
- Garnish with parsley (optional) and serve.
Nutrition
Calories: 157kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 6mg | Sodium: 666mg | Potassium: 422mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 1156IU | Vitamin C: 29mg | Calcium: 41mg | Iron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Easy Salad Recipes
We have to eat finely chopped salad , but oh so much work for my arthritic hands. Is there a kitchen appliance for chopping, without mushing it. I spent 3 hours chopping salad ingredients. My daughter took one bite and her face glowed. She had been missing salad so much. Thanks for any advice.
Hi Rose – I know you can find vegetable choppers online. Have a quick Google and see if there are any available locally to you. They make chopping a lot of veg super easy and fuss-free. Hope that helps!
Easy, fresh tasting salad that is great as a side dish, or you could add black beans or chickpeas to make a vegan main course salad. I made some pita crisps to go with it along with hummus and it was delicious. Thanks for a great recipe!
Why isn’t the Lemon Vinaigarette recipe included if the title of is Chopped Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette. You should have just had Chopped Salad & you pick your own dressing. I’d give 5 stars if the it were a complete recipe.
If you have a look in the recipe card, you’ll see the lemon vinaigrette is listed below the salad ingredients.
Oops – old age & eye sight not great. Sorry about that
No problem!! ?
I love easy salads like this for summer!
Thanks Mary Ann. It’s always good to have recipes like this in your back pocket.
Trying this over the weekend. Perfect salad for Memorial Day.
Hope you love it! Have a great weekend!
Fantastic recipe. Love the lemon dressing.
So glad you like it Kate!
this looks so delicious!
Thanks! It really is. 😉