Eat the Rainbow With This Winter Chopped Salad

Perhaps it’s a Midwest thing, but the second the weather rises above thirty degrees after a particular cold snap, we’re all rolling down the windows and leaving the house without a jacket. Once you’ve spent a few days in the single digits, anything above that is basically like summer. Which also means that my cravings for non-cozy recipes begins to find its way into my kitchen. Now I’m not saying that it’s time to kick all the soup recipes and cozy baked goods to the curb, after all, we all know that a Midwest winter can be quite a tease, but I am saying that we can all welcome some fresh energy into our recipe repertoires this time of year. Enter, my perfect winter chopped salad.

For me, a chopped salad is the most versatile of salads. It lends itself perfectly to celebrating the season and ingredients you have on hand while also being incredibly easy to bring together. There’s no fancy techniques and just a whole lotta goodness. Get chopping, let’s make a salad that’s hearty and satisfying for dinner tonight.

Ingredients for this Chopped Winter Salad

Consider the ingredients for this chopped salad a starting point, knowing that you can customize and adapt it based on what you have available and what you prefer.

Radicchio. In the winter, a salad base of heartier leafy vegetables is always my favorite. Not just for their added texture, but also the flavor is a little punchier and more peppery. You could also use chopped endives, cabbage, or kale.

White beans. I love cannellini beans for their creamy texture, but you can also use garbanzo beans.

Sweet potatoes. Roasted simply with salt and pepper, the sweetness of an orange sweet potato pairs perfectly with the bitter radicchio.

Pickled onions. I love a pickled onion and always have them on hand. They add the perfect tangy sweetness that brightens up a salad like this.

Parmesan. Shaved parm adds the best salty and savory bite here, but you could also use goat cheese or feta if you prefer.

Fresh chopped herbs. No salad is complete without fresh herbs for me, and on this one I love dill, chives, and a little cilantro if I have it. 

Lemon vinaigrette. I use Camille’s vinaigrette recipe and just add extra lemon juice for this salad, it’s truly the best.

How to Prep and Store this Chopped Salad

Usually when it comes to salad, I’m more likely to make them regularly through the week if the prep is extremely low. Nothing is worse than having to chop and prep a ton of ingredients for one bowl of salad for lunch. However, when leafy vegetables are involved, unless they are hearty like kale, it can be hard to make ahead of time. For this version, I like to mix all of the ingredients except for the radicchio together in a large fridge container, and then just chop up my radicchio for serving throughout the week as needed. That way, everything is ready to go!

How to Customize (and Other Chopped Salad Recipes I Love)

There are several ways to customize this salad to your liking and adapt it to your tastes:

Make it heartier with grains. I like adding farro or quinoa if I have it leftover in the fridge for making this salad feel like a full meal, but I also like mixing different lentils or beans if I have them. I even like a nice crunchy sourdough crouton here for added texture.

Add extra protein. You can add cubed chicken, boiled eggs, or extra cheeses here for more protein in this salad.

Use extra vegetables. Chopped marinated artichokes or castelvetrano olives, roasted red peppers, avocado, or some chopped celery or cucumbers are all delicious here and work well with the medley of flavors in this salad.

When it comes to chopped salads, here are a few more that I love:

Chopped Mexican Salad with Honey-Shallot Dressing

Malibu Farm Rainbow Chopped Salad

Buffalo Cauliflower Chopped Salad

Feta Salad with White Beans and Lemon

Keep scrolling for the recipe and let us know if you make it!

Print