Italian Salad Recipe

When you hear “Italian”, your mind instantly thinks of PIZZA! But we are here with another famous part of Italian cuisine- the Italian salad. 

Italians love to eat salads as they have lots of vegetables and are low in fat- considered best for those who are on a diet. They are fulfilling and equally nutritious.

Italian salads are a perfect pick for office lunches and dinners in the summer for giving you freshness after a tiring day. 

In this post, we would explain the famous Italian salad recipe, its nutritional value, ingredients, and procedure. 

Types of Italian Salads

Numerous types of Italian salads are there to attract you with their lightness and health value. With fresh and seasonal fruits and vegetables, they are quick to make. Their dressings are a cherry on top when we talk about presentation. They complete the whole flavor of the salad. 

Pasta salad, Caprese salad tomato mozzarella salad, antipasto salad, etc. are some of the exclusive Italian salads that are famed worldwide. 

Nutritional Value of Italian Salad Recipe 

One serving of Italian salad has 170 calories in total. The total fat is 12g with 2.2g only as saturated fat. It has 4.8mg of cholesterol, 590mg of sodium, 14g of total carbs, 4.3g of protein, and 507.6mg of potassium. 

Italian salad dressing is a mix of sweet and sour. What makes it so is the combination of vinegar, lemon juice, oil, and sweetener with a ting of pepper, salt, fennels, etc. A simple toss of your salad in this dressing makes it irresistible!

 Italian salad dressing has cholesterol-free calories. It has 3.1g of fat, 146mg of sodium, 1.8g of carbs, 1.6g of sugar, 0.1g of protein, and 35 calories in total.

Ingredients

As we told you Italian salad is easy to make and so are its ingredients. Italian salad ingredients are conveniently found at home. For making it fast when your guests are arriving at a delicious lunch at your home, note down the Italian salad ingredients, which are as below: 

• Red onion: half
• Capsicum or green bell pepper: half
• Fresh lettuce: chapped and as many leaves as you like
• Tomatoes: 2 
• Bread slices: 2 (for crotons)
• Parmesan cheese: Only for sprinkling at the end 
• Kalamata or any olives you like (as per your desire)

For Italian dressing, you would need:

• Dried herbs and spices like basil and garlic powder
• Chilli flakes if you like extra spicy  
• Extra virgin olive oil: 2 tables spoons
• Vinegar: 2 tablespoons
• More parmesan (as per your desire)

Procedure 

Easy Italian salad recipe goes like this: 

• Mix all the ingredients for Italian dressing in a bottle that would help you pour over the salad later. If you do not have a bottle or feel like doing it in a bowl, go ahead! Keep it aside.
• Cut the bread pieces into cubes. Put them in a preheated oven with a drizzle of olive oil and bake them until they are golden brown and crispy. Voila! Your crotons are ready to go in easy Italian salad. 
• Cut tomatoes and green pepper into small cubes too.
• Chop the lettuce. It depends on your choice if you like it finely or roughly chopped. 
• Add all the salad veggies with olives, add crotons, and drizzle the dressing at the end.
• Keep in mind that the drizzling of Italian dressing should be “at the end” otherwise, the crotons would go soggy. It would kill the flavor of the salad. Bleh!
• Sprinkle parmesan cheese with as much heart as you like, if you are NOT on a diet and you are a cheese lover.
• SO, the Italian salad is ready to devour!!

Special Info: Italians sometimes serve the salad before the main course and sometimes after. Serving it before the meal prevents you from eating too much in the main course (stop overeating you see!). On the other hand, serving it right after the main dish helps in digestion (a happy tummy!).