If you are looking for the best tasting salad for those who do not love salads and other picky eaters than this is the salad for you!
It is a delightful blend of fresh ingredients that will not only tantalize your taste buds but also make a nutritious addition to your meal repertoire.
This salad is a perfect marriage of crisp vegetables, vibrant colors, and a zesty dressing that promises to elevate your dining experience.
Whether you’re a seasoned home cook or a novice in the kitchen, this step-by-step guide will ensure you create a mouthwatering chopped salad that’s not only a treat for your palate but also a health-conscious choice.
This is a copycat recipe combining two of my favorite salads in the world. These are the famous Original Chopped Salad found at The Stetson/The Gladly/Citizen Public House in Phoenix, AZ and the Wildflower Bread Company chopped salad.
Both of these are in the top 10 rotations of food I eat as they are so good and make me feel somewhat healthy. Both have their pros and I decided I would just combine the two then add my own ideas to improve them.
This salad isn’t exactly the quickest salad to make but it is well worth it and amazing if you want to impress someone. It’s great for a date, show your parents you can make more than mac n cheese or just want a tasty healthy meal for yourself.
This salad is the perfect combo of health, sour, crunch, soft sweet and succulent. I also recommend you put freeze-dried corn in everything… it is a game changer.
I prefer this salad with chicken and here is an amazing baked chicken recipe here or a sauteed chicken recipe here. If you want to marinade your chicken and take it next level here are 5 amazing marinade recipes.
The salad also works great with salmon so here is delicious easy baked salmon recipe.
World's Best Chopped Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups Chicken or Salmoned
- 3 cups shredded arugula
- 1 1/2 cups pearled couscous add a tsp of some Mediterranean seasoning or all-purpose seasoning.
- 1 1/2 cups freeze dried corn
- 1 cup diced tomatoes
- 1/2 cup pepitas
- 1/2 cup feta or asiago cheese
- 1/2 cup red pepper diced
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
Optional
- 1/4 cup currants or dried cranberries I am not a huge fan of berries in my salads and Wildflower puts in too many so if you do add them just do 1/4 a cup but you can always add more.
Dressing
- I love a zesty Mediterranean with this recipe or any Greek or Italian dressing works
Make Your Own Dressing
- 1 cup fresh basil
- 1/2 cup plain non-fat yogurt
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise sub non-fat yogurt if want healthier
- 3-5 cloves garlic 2-3 tbsp of minced garlic, pending garlic preference
- 1.5 full juiced lemons
- 1/2 cup olive oil Optional olive oil salad dressing works great too
- 1 1/2 tbsp red wine vinegar or any vinegar
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
- Make your meat per instructions here & insert info on bake and sautee etc
- Give meat time to rest and cool all the way down, can even refrigerate after cooked.
- Make couscous per instructions and let cool down to be cold as well.
- Mix the pepitas, cheese and currants or cranberries together
- Dice tomatoes and mix them with balsamic vinegar and olive oil
- Shred or cut up arugula and dice red peppers.
- Layout all ingredients together on a plate or bowl as pretty as possible and take a picture.
- Dressing: combine all dressing ingredients into a food processor or blender.
GOES GREAT IN OR WITH:
- baked chicken recipe
- sauteed chicken
- grilled chicken
- salmon
- marinades
This looks delicious and easy to make, I am going to try this for sure!
Yes, it is soooo good! Never been a huge salad person but this one is one of my favorite foods!