This vegan Italian salad recipe is bursting with fresh flavors! Make chopped salad with a lettuce base or create delicious pasta salad for a nourishing and satisfying lunch.
With a homemade Italian dressing, this vibrant salad is loaded with tasty veggies and can be customized based on what you enjoy or have on hand. As with pretty much any salad recipe, it’s super easy to make and uses basic ingredients.
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Is Italian Salad Vegan?
When talking about Italian salad, I refer to American-Italian chain restaurant salads, not a true Italian salad that you’d find in Italy.
These restaurant salads are quite tasty but might not be vegan depending on the ingredients used. Cheese, particularly Parmesan, is commonly added to Italian salads and would make that salad not vegan. Croutons are another popular ingredient and may contain dairy (or eggs).
Fortunately, when prepping this type of salad at home, it’s simple to create vegan Italian dressing, vegan Parmesan cheese and use vegan croutons. Most other ingredients are vegan and very customizable to your preferences.
Vegan Italian Salad Ingredients
You can easily make a chopped lettuce base for a tasty side dish, or a pasta salad for a more satisfying side or lunch! Aside from these bases, the toppings stay relatively the same:
- Italian salad dressing: Start by prepping a double batch of vegan Italian salad dressing! This tangy dressing is perfect to use on a lettuce or pasta salad. You can use a store-bought option if you prefer.
- Romaine lettuce or pasta: Choose whether you want a lettuce or pasta salad! Both options create a loaded, satisfying and freshly flavored salad.
- Croutons or chickpeas: For the lettuce salad, I like to add croutons for some crunch. With an Italian pasta salad, I like cooked chickpeas for extra protein; this creates a balanced and nutritious meal.
- Tomato: A common ingredient in restaurant-style salads, tomato offers some acidity and juicy, fresh flavors.
- Cucumber: A delicious, refreshing, crunchy vegetable, cucumber is a great addition to salads. Zucchini also works and you could add even more flavor by grilling or roasting the zucchini before adding it!
- Artichoke: Canned artichoke hearts bring a delicious Mediterranean twist to this Italian salad. I buy artichoke canned in water but feel free to use an oil-packed option for extra flavor.
- Red onion: For color, flavor and a “bite”, red onion is a great addition.
- Black olives: To add even more Mediterranean flavor, sliced black olives are a great choice. They add a salty-tangy flavor and great color contrast. If you don’t enjoy olives, skip them! Sun dried tomatoes are a tasty alternative that offer loads of flavor.
- Pepperoncini peppers: Add a touch of spicy heat and enhance other salad ingredients with the addition of pepperoncini peppers. These pickled peppers are mild enough for many people. Serve 1-2 per person; I squeeze out excess liquid and add them whole to the salad when serving.
- Vegan parmesan cheese: This ingredient is optional, but why not add some cheesy, salty flavor to your chopped or pasta salad?! I quickly create homemade vegan Parmesan from just 3 simple ingredients.
How to Make Fresh Veggie-Loaded Italian Salad
As with most salad recipes, this vegan Italian salad is simple to make with either a chopped lettuce or pasta base.
Step 1: Prep Italian Salad Dressing
Before you start into your salad prep, create a double batch of vegan Italian salad dressing. You could use a store-bought option if you prefer.
You’ll need the full double batch for the pasta salad but may not need quite a full double batch if using leaf lettuce as the base. It completely depends on your preference; I like a very lightly dressed lettuce salad so don’t need a full double batch. If you like dressing, you may want to use it all!
Step 2: Prep Pasta or Lettuce Base
You probably know what type of salad you want, so go ahead and prep either some chopped Romaine lettuce or cook pasta according to package directions.
If using pasta, once cooked, immediately drain and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking process. This prevents mushy pasta and cools the pasta for your cold salad. If you like, the pasta salad can be served hot – it’s quite tasty as a warm dish too!
Step 3: Prep Other Ingredients
Next, chop tomato and cucumber then slice some red onion.
Drain a can of sliced black olives and artichoke hearts. Chop the artichoke hearts into smaller pieces so they can mix throughout the salad and you can get some in most bites!
If making pasta salad, you’ll also want to drain and rinse a can of chickpeas.
Step 4: Toss and Serve
Add all your prepared salad ingredients to a large bowl.
For lettuce salad, toss with dressing right before serving. If using Parmesan cheese, toss that with the dressing or allow each person to top their own salad.
For pasta salad, toss with dressing straight away. If the ingredients aren’t all cold, chill the salad before serving. As with the lettuce option, you can toss vegan Parmesan into the salad directly or allow each person to add to their own portion.
I like to squeeze extra liquid from the pepperoncini peppers before serving everyone one or two with their salad.
How to Serve as a Balanced Vegan Meal
The chopped lettuce salad is intended to be served as a side salad. It offers plenty of delicious non-starchy veggies, healthy fats (dressing and olives) and some carbohydrates (croutons).
Pair your lettuce salad with some additional carbohydrates, from whole grains or starchy vegetables, and some plant-based protein to create a balanced vegan meal. If you serve this salad as a meal, toss in some chickpeas for more plant-based protein and carbohydrates! Otherwise, pair alongside some other foods to create a balanced plate.
The pasta salad offers plenty of carbohydrates (pasta and chickpeas), plant-based protein (from the chickpeas), healthy fats (dressing and olives) and non-starchy vegetables. You can eat it as a meal on its own for a flavorful and satisfying lunch. You can also serve the pasta hot for a warming dinner!
Italian Salad Veggie Variations
There are many veggie options you can use in this Italian salad; it’s so versatile! Some other tasty additions or substitutions include:
- Grilled zucchini (in place of cucumber)
- Roasted or grilled eggplant
- Sun dried tomatoes
- Sun dried black olives
- Bell peppers
- Cherry or heirloom tomatoes
- Chopped radicchio (can replace up to ⅓ of the Romaine for extra color and flavor)
- Any other type of lettuce (instead of Romaine)
- Green onion (in addition to or in place of red onion)
- Avocado (not exactly Italian-inspired but still delicious)
- Green olives (instead of black)
- Artichokes marinated in herbed oil (rather than water-packed artichoke hearts)
- Radishes (fresh or roasted for an extra pop of color)
Another delicious variation on the pasta salad is to serve it hot rather than cold. It’s particularly tasty alongside a roasted summer vegetable tian!
How to Store Leftover Italian Salad
If making a lettuce-based salad, store the dressing and croutons separate from the other salad ingredients. Lettuce wilts quickly and croutons become soggy if left to sit in dressing.
If possible, toss the dressing and croutons into the portion you’ll eat immediately and refrigerate leftover chopped vegetables in an airtight container separate from the dressing. Store extra croutons in the cupboard (or wherever you store your croutons).
When separate, the dressing and chopped salad can last 4-5 days in the fridge. If you’ve already tossed on all the dressing, it’s best to eat the lettuce-based salad the next day (it’ll still taste good, but with somewhat wilted lettuce).
You can toss the pasta salad in dressing immediately and refrigerate in an airtight container for up to a week.
If you make this recipe, please rate and comment below to help others benefit from your experience!
Vegan Italian Salad (Lettuce and Pasta Recipes)
Equipment
- Large salad bowl (or mixing bowl)
Ingredients
- 2 batches Vegan Italian dressing (about 1 cup)
Leaf Salad
- 8 cups Romaine lettuce (about 2 Romaine hearts)
- 1 cup tomato , diced
- ¾ cup artichoke , diced
- ¾ cup cucumber , diced
- ¾ cup croutons
- ½ cup red onion , sliced or diced
- ½ cup black olives , sliced
- 6 Pepperoncini peppers (one per serving)
- Vegan parmesan cheese (optional)
Pasta Salad
- 375 grams pasta (about 4 cups dry pasta)
- 2 cups chickpeas (19 oz/ 540 mL can, rinsed and drained)
- 1 cup tomato , diced
- ¾ cup artichoke , diced
- ¾ cup cucumber , diced
- ½ cup red onion , sliced or diced
- ½ cup black olives , sliced
- 6 Pepperoncini peppers (one per serving)
- Vegan parmesan cheese (optional)
Instructions
For Lettuce Salad
- Prep a double batch of vegan Italian dressing. You may not need the entire double batch, depending on how dressed you like your salad.2 batches Vegan Italian dressing
- Wash, dry and chop Romaine hearts. Add the chopped lettuce to a large mixing or salad bowl.8 cups Romaine lettuce
- Dice tomato; I like to halve or quarter cherry tomatoes, but any tomato can work.1 cup tomato
- Drain a can of artichoke hearts and dice some.¾ cup artichoke
- Chop cucumber and slice or dice red onion. For photos I sliced the red onion but diced is more practical to eat.¾ cup cucumber, ½ cup red onion
- If using, drain a can of sliced black olives and measure some out.½ cup black olives
- If using, strain the liquid from a few pepperoncini peppers; one or two per person (or however you want). Give the peppers a squeeze to release liquid inside.6 Pepperoncini peppers
- If using, prep a batch of homemade vegan parmesan cheese (or use store-bought).Vegan parmesan cheese
- Add the prepped tomato, artichoke, cucumber, red onion, olives and croutons to the salad bowl.¾ cup croutons
- Toss salad with dressing.
- Optional to serve with a sprinkle of vegan Parmesan cheese and/ or pepperoncini peppers.
- Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
For Pasta Salad
- Prep a double batch of vegan Italian dressing.2 batches Vegan Italian dressing
- Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain the cooking water and rinse your pasta immediately under cold water. This stops the cooking process and cools the pasta.375 grams pasta
- Add pasta to a large mixing bowl.
- Drain and rinse a can of chickpeas and add to the pasta.2 cups chickpeas
- Dice tomato; I like to halve or quarter cherry tomatoes, but any tomato can work.1 cup tomato
- Drain a can of artichoke hearts and dice some.¾ cup artichoke
- Chop cucumber and slice or dice red onion. For photos I sliced the red onion but diced it is more practical to eat.¾ cup cucumber, ½ cup red onion
- If using, drain a can of sliced black olives and measure some out.½ cup black olives
- If using, strain the liquid from a few pepperoncini peppers; one or two per person (or however you want). Give the peppers a squeeze to release liquid inside.6 Pepperoncini peppers
- If using, prep a batch of homemade vegan parmesan cheese (or use store-bought).Vegan parmesan cheese
- Add the prepped tomato, artichoke, cucumber, red onion and olive to your pasta.
- Toss with salad dressing and serve cold.
- Optional to serve with a sprinkle of vegan Parmesan cheese and/ or pepperoncini peppers.
- Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to a week.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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About Nicole Stevens
Nicole is a vegan Registered Dietitian (RD) and founder of Lettuce Veg Out.
She helps people thrive on a vegan diet with balanced recipes and easy-to-understand nutrition science.
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