This Pepperoni Pizza Chopped Salad combines everything you love about a slice of pepperoni pizza with a fresh chopped salad on the side. It has pepperoni, mozzarella, tomatoes and crispy homemade croutons that act as a crust to soak up a pizza sauce inspired dressing.
Weeknight-easy
Beginner-friendly
You’ll Learn: How to prep for crisp salads all week long
Worth It: Pizza flavor meets fresh salad
Bonus: Simple swaps to match what’s in your pantry
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Two things in one! – I love a slice of pizza with a salad on the side. This pizza salad combines those two in one easy meal.
- Serve to guests – Wow guests with a hearty and flavorful salad that is a full meal on its own OR a delicious side dish.
- Perfect for meal prep – Separate the salad into individual portions and store the dressing separately. Then, toss the salad in the dressing each day for lunch!
Serving Suggestions
This pizza salad can certainly be a full meal on its own or it can be served with a protein on the side. These balsamic grilled chicken tenders would be the perfect thing to serve alongside this chopped salad for guests at a backyard barbecue.
Ingredients and Ingredient Substitutions
- Sourdough bread, olive oil, kosher salt and Italian seasoning blend – use these ingredients to make crunchy homemade croutons. You can also use large slices of Italian bread or save time with store bought croutons.
- Romaine lettuce – wash and chop lettuce into shreds for the fresh base of this delicious lunch recipe. You can use any kind of lettuce you like here. I even like using a blend of arugula and romaine.
- Cherry tomatoes – quartered cherry or grape tomatoes add fresh tomato flavor to this pizza inspired salad. You can also use full size chopped tomatoes
- Mozzarella cheese – I like to use fresh mozzarella cheese for ideal taste and texture, but you can also use part skim shredded mozzarella cheese or even a blend of cheeses.
- Grated parmesan cheese – adds that extra pizza flavor that you get when you shake a bottle of parm over top of a pepperoni slice
- Fresh basil – cut into ribbons really makes this salad pop with fresh flavor.
- Tomato paste, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, garlic powder and oregano – get whisked together to make a savory, pizza sauce inspired dressing that coats each part of this chopped pizza salad.
How to make
Step 1: Make homemade croutons
Cube sourdough bread and toss in oil and seasonings. Bake in the oven until crispy and golden brown. Set aside and cool while you prepare the rest of the pizza salad ingredients
Step 2: Chop ingredients
Clean and chop the romaine lettuce, quarter the cherry tomatoes, cut the mozzarella into bite sized pieces and cut the pepperoni and basil into thin strips. Whisk tomato paste, balsamic vinegar, olive oil and seasonings together to make a pizza sauce inspired dressing.
Step 3: toss it all together
Place cooled croutons and all other ingredients in a mixing bowl. Pour the homemade pizza sauce dressing over the salad and toss everything together. Toss until all ingredients are evenly coated in the dressing.
Storage
Once this salad is tossed with the dressing it is best enjoyed immediately. If you would like to prep this pizza salad ahead of time for meal prep, store the salad separately from the dressing and toss each serving in dressing just before eating.
Check out these other delicious salad recipes
You can find the full recipe below. If you make this recipe, please rate and review it in the comments, or share it with me on Instagram!
You can find the full recipe below. If you make this recipe, please rate and review it in the comments, or share it with me on Instagram!
Email Recipe for Later
Recipe
Pepperoni Pizza Chopped Salad
Ingredients
Homemade Sourdough Croutons
- 2 slices sourdough bread or Italian bread about 4oz
- 1/2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning blend
Salad Ingredients
- 1 head romaine lettuce
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes
- 8 oz fresh mozzarella
- 1 cup pepperoni or turkey pepperoni
- 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
Instructions
- To make homemade croutons: Preheat oven to 400F and cut bread into small cubes. Toss bread in olive oil, salt and italian seasoning. Bake at 400F for 8 minutes and allow to cool while you prep the rest of the salad
- Wash and chop romaine lettuce. Cut tomatoes into quarters and mozzarella into small bite sized pieces. Cut basil and pepperoni into strips.
- Whisk tomato paste, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic powder and oregano together to make a dressing
- Pour croutons, chopped lettuce, tomatoes, mozzarella, pepperoni, basil, and parmesan cheese into a large mixing bowl. Pour dressing over top and toss to coat all pieces.
- Serve immediately after it is tossed in the dressing for best taste and texture. If not serving immediately, store salad and dressing separately.
Recipe Notes
- Make this salad dairy free by skipping the mozzarella and parmesan cheese. You can use dairy free substitutes or add something extra like chopped artichoke hearts
- Use gluten free bread to make the croutons to make this salad gluten free
- Save time by buying premade croutons, shredded lettuce and bite sized mozzarella balls
- Feel free to add extra veggies for more flavor. I like adding cucumbers for crunch, red onion and sun dried tomatoes for depth.
Nutrition Information
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
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