Italian salad, St. Louis style. Mix up my family’s delicious, memorable Italian salad recipe with a fresh and flavorful homemade vinaigrette, in less than 10 minutes! This is my absolute favorite Italian salad recipe, and one that I grew up with. It’s filled with crisp lettuce, red onion, artichokes, pimentos and grated parmesan to ensure each bite is perfectly covered in dressing.
The 5 star ratings and reviews of this salad speak for themselves – readers have been making and sharing this salad with great success for over 10 years! “I could seriously eat this recipe everyday! It was so delicious!” and “This is my all time favorite salad! Great recipe!”
There are always those few foods that remind you of “home.” A taste of something you love that brings you back. I can’t recreate all of them (like Ted Drewes frozen custard – though I nailed their Secret Chocolate Sauce) or St. Louis style pizza with Provel.
However, my Italian salad is one that was based off the famous St. Louis versions, and it’s perfection! It’s so easy, season-less and delicious, that I find myself making it often. Honestly, this salad is a recreation of the best salads in St. Louis and can be found in almost any local Italian restaurant and American restaurant here.
It’s similar to the Pasta House salad recipe and Rich and Charlie’s salad recipe, but it’s loved worldwide – and for good reason!
It pairs well with everything from pastas, my mom’s lasagna with cottage cheese, sandwiches, burgers, chicken and steak. It’s a great recipe for just about every occasion.
Shopping List
- Red Wine Vinegar
- Olive Oil
- Salt and Pepper
- Artichokes
- Jarred Pimientos
- Red Onion
- Romaine Lettuce
- Iceberg
- Parmesan
Ingredient Substitutions and Variations
- Artichokes – Use a can of quartered artichokes, drained.
- Pimientos – Sub with roasted red peppers if you’d like.
- Romaine – This lettuce is traditionally used in Italian salad, providing the foundation, but any lettuce will do.
- Grated Parmesan Cheese – Sub with fresh mozzarella or in St. Louis, I highly recommend Provel.
- Make it Your Own! Add red pepper flakes for a little heat, pepperoncinis, black olives, or homemade croutons.
- Add Protein – Baked chicken breast, steak, tofu and salmon all work well with this salad.
- Add Beans – chickpeas, garbanzo beans or white beans add a bit of protein.
Tips
- Learn how to grate cheese here. Fresh shaved Parmesan makes all the difference in this salad! Reserve extra to garnish.
- Don’t dress your salad until just before serving – otherwise, the greens will wilt.
- You can make this salad dressing ahead of time – just store the dressing separately! While it’s refrigerated, the vinaigrette will separate into two layers. Shake it up well!
Serving Suggestions
This is one of my favorite Italian Side Dishes. Serve with any of these favorite Italian entrees!
Italian Salad
Ingredients
- 6 cups iceberg lettuce (one head) clean and chopped
- 2 cups romaine lettuce (⅓ head) clean and chopped
- 1 cup artichoke hearts drained (not marinated, 6.5 ounce can)
- ½ cup diced pimientos drained (7 ounce jar)
- 1 cup red onion sliced
- ⅔ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ⅓ cup red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper fresh
- ⅔ cup parmesan cheese fresh grated
Instructions
- Wash and chop ingredients. Dry lettuce.
- In a large bowl, toss to combine chopped iceberg, romaine, artichoke hearts, pimientos and red onion.6 cups iceberg lettuce, 2 cups romaine lettuce, 1 cup artichoke hearts, ½ cup diced pimientos, 1 cup red onion
- In a sealable jar, add olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. Shake vigorously.⅔ cup extra virgin olive oil, ⅓ cup red wine vinegar, 1 teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- Drizzle dressing over salad, tossing with parmesan until coated.⅔ cup parmesan cheese
Julie’s Tips
- Chop Ingredients Uniformly: For the best texture and presentation, chop all salad ingredients into uniform, bite-sized pieces.
- Chill Ingredients: Ensure all ingredients are chilled before assembling the salad for a refreshing crunch.
- Combine Just Before Serving: To keep the salad crisp, combine the ingredients and dress the salad just before serving.
- Toss Well: Ensure the dressing coats all the ingredients evenly. Toss the salad thoroughly.
Make Ahead
- To make Italian salad ahead of time, add the ingredients to the bowl and cover with a damp paper towel.
- Loosely cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate up to 24 hours.
- Tear the lettuce, rather than cutting it, to help prevent wilting.
- Toss with dressing just before serving.
Storage Notes
Store homemade vinaigrette in the refrigerator up to a week in an airtight container. Store salad separately in an airtight container and toss immediately before serving.Estimated nutrition information is provided as a courtesy and is not guaranteed.
I make this all the time and it’s always delicious!
The perfect easy weeknight salad! Love the simple dressing.
I could seriously eat this recipe everyday! It was so delicious!
When I met my husband, who is from St. Louis, he introduced me to it as “Rich and Charlie’s” salad. Now, I believe, their restaurants are just known as the Pasta House. It is yummy and I can’t wait to surprise him with it ๐ Thank you!
There are still Rich and Charlie’s, but Pasta House as well! Most restaurants on The Hill and throughout St. Louis serve a similar salad. Hope y’all enjoy it as much as we do! Have a beautiful weekend!
Looks so fresh and delicious! Yummmm!