La Scala Chopped Salad with Pasta

5 from 1 vote

A delicious, Italian-style salad packed full of flavor: the famous La Scala Chopped Salad. This TikTok viral salad tastes like an Italian sub with salami, pepperoncini, and marinated chickpeas. The Italian-style vinaigrette makes it especially punchy and bright. It's so easy and so good—an Italian chopped salad you'll enjoy all summer long!

Prep Time15

Cook Time10

Course: Main Course, Salad, Side

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Chopped, La Scala, Salad

Servings:

Calories: 502kcal

Author: Lis Lam

Equipment

Large Bowl
fine mesh strainer

Ingredients

1 head/ 180 grams Romaine lettuce
1 can/ 386 grams Garbanzo beans or Chickpeas
1 160 grams red bell pepper
2 160 grams (total) mini cucumber
1 cup/ 70 grams uncooked pasta
1/4 cup/ 38 grams salami
1/2 cup/ 40 grams parmesan cheese *grated
1/3 cup/ 75 grams pepperoncini

Italian vinaigrette

3 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp mustard
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp sugar or honey
1 clove garlic *minced

Instructions

Cook pasta. In a medium saucepan, cook pasta according to package directions. The pasta should be fully cooked, not al dente. Drain and rinse with cold water until cool to the touch. Set aside.
Chop ingredients. Using a sharp knife, chop the romaine lettuce, bell pepper, cucumber, and salami. Thinly slice the shallot and pepperoncini. As you chop each ingredient, add directly to the large bowl. Add the cooked, cooled pasta to the bowl as well. Also, grate the parmesan cheese and set aside in a small bowl.
Rinse chickpeas. Drain a can of chickpeas in a fine mesh strainer. Rinse with cold water and shake gently to remove excess water. Add to the salad bowl on top of all the chopped ingredients.
Make Vinaigrette. In a small jar, add the salad dressing ingredients. Tightly cover with a lid. Shake to emulsify. Pour the dressing over the chickpeas.
Toss + Serve. Add the parmesan cheese. Toss with a large spoon until everything is well coated with the dressing and juicy looking. Serve and enjoy!

Video

Notes

Tips:

Use a sharp knife. A chopped salad will be easier to chop with a sharp knife!

Chop everything the same size. Uniform pieces that are roughly the same size are easier to eat.

Customize ingredients to your liking. If you'd like, add more pasta. Or adjust the amount of pepperoncini for just the right amount of spice. Sometimes, I'll add Italian dried chili flakes to the vinaigrette to make it extra spicy.

Nutrition