Italian Chicken Salad

This Italian Chicken Salad recipe is loaded with tender bites of chicken, red bell pepper, red onion, kalamata olives and celery all tossed in a delicious creamy dressing with parmesan cheese, pepperoncini juice, red wine vinegar and seasonings.

Our Italian style chicken salad is deliciously creamy and loaded with flavor. It’s also simple to make. So if you’re looking for an easy lunch recipe that’s packed with protein, this is a good salad to make.

Why We Love This Salad

• Flavor. This Italian style chicken salad has a really great mix of flavors going on. 
• Quick And Easy To Make. This Italian chicken salad recipe is made with just a handful of ingredient, so it comes together in a pinch, especially if you use store-bought rotisserie chicken.
• Meal Prep. This is a great meal prep salad for your lunch and afternoon snacks through the week.

Italian Chicken Salad Recipe

• Cooked Chicken. We use store-bought rotisserie chicken for this salad, but you can use poached chicken or grilled chicken if you like. 
• Celery. Adds a little crunch to the salad.
• Red Bell Pepper. Adds flavor and a pop of color.
• Red Onion. We toss in diced red onion.
• Kalamata Olives.  We use kalamata olives, but you can use canned black olives (which are less expensive) if you like.
• Pepperoncini. Just a little pepperoncini adds a hint of flavor like a good Italian grinder submarine sandwich.

Find printable recipe with the measurements below.

Variations

• Add fresh herbs like parsley and basil.
• Add chopped artichoke hearts.
• Toss in finely diced cucumber.
• Swap out the mayo for Greek yogurt in the dressing or use 1/2 mayo and 1/2 Greek yogurt.

For the Dressing

This salad dressing is a delicious blend of ingredients. It also makes a great sandwich spread for sub sandwiches!

• Mayonnaise. Use a good mayo like Duke’s, Hellmann’s or Best Foods.
• Parmesan Cheese.  The parma adds a lot of flavor to the dressing.
• Red Wine Vinegar. We add just a tablespoon for flavor.
• Pepperoncini Juice. And we add tablespoon of pepperoncini for flavor.
• Seasoning. We season the dressing with dried oregano, onion powder, garlic powder, red pepper flakes, salt and black pepper.

How to Make Italian Chicken Salad

1. Make Dressing. Add the ingredients for the dressing to a stand blender or NutriBullet and blend 10-15 seconds until smooth. You can also whisk the ingredients together, but it just won’t be as smooth because of the grated parmesan cheese.
2. Prep Ingredients. Chop and dice your ingredients and put them in a large bowl and toss.
3. Dress Salad. Pour the dressing over the salad ingredients and gently fold until the salad ingredients are evenly coated. 
4. Taste Test. Taste test and adjust the seasoning if you like. Or you may want to add more parmesan cheese to the salad.
5. Storing Salad. Store salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator. If properly stored, the salad should last 3-4 days.

Serving Suggestions

• Sandwich. This Italian style chicken salad is delicious on a baguette or a fluffy croissant, but it is just as delicious between two slices of bread too!
• Tortilla Wrap. Spread a scoop on a flour tortilla with cheese, tomatoes and lettuce rolled into a wrap. 
• Lettuce Wrap. If you want a lighter lunch, serve it on either butter leaf lettuce or Romaine leaves for lettuce wraps.
• Salad. Add a scoop or two on top of a large green salad or on sliced tomatoes.
• Crackers. Simply serve it with crackers or Pita Chips for a light lunch.

More Chicken Salad Recipes

• Chicken Curry Salad
• Greek Tzatziki Chicken Salad
• Curried Chicken Mango Salad
• Avocado Tomato Chicken Salad

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Yield: 6 Servings

Italian Chicken Salad

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

This Italian Chicken Salad recipe is loaded with tender bites of chicken, red bell pepper, red onion, kalamata olives and celery all tossed in a delicious creamy dressing with parmesan cheese, pepperoncini juice, red wine vinegar and seasonings.

 

Ingredients

• 2 cups cooked chicken, chopped
• 1/2 cup celery, diced
• 1/2 cup red bell pepper, diced
• 3/4 cup Kalamata olives, sliced
• 1-2 pepperoncini, seeds removed and diced
• 1/2 small red onion, diced

For the Dressing

Toggle ingredient group

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise (like Duke's, Best Foods or Hellmann's)
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
• 1 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 2 teaspoons pepperoncini juice
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Add the ingredients for the dressing to a stand blender or NutriBullet and blend 10-15 seconds until smooth. You can also whisk the ingredients together, but it just won't be as smooth because of the grated parmesan cheese.
2. Chop and dice your ingredients and put them in a large bowl and toss.
3. Pour the dressing over the salad ingredients and gently fold until the salad ingredients are evenly coated. 
4. Taste test and adjust the seasoning if you like. Or you may want to add more parmesan cheese to the salad.
5. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. If properly stored, the salad should last 3-4 days.

Notes

Variations

• Add fresh herbs like parsley and basil.
• Add chopped artichoke hearts.
• Toss in finely diced cucumber.
• Swap out the mayo for Greek yogurt in the dressing or use 1/2 mayo and 1/2 Greek yogurt.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

6

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 463Total Fat: 36gSaturated Fat: 8gUnsaturated Fat: 28gCholesterol: 97mgSodium: 717mgCarbohydrates: 8gFiber: 3gSugar: 2gProtein: 24g

theharvestkitchen.com attempts to provide accurate information, however, this nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. The nutritional information provided comes from online sources and calculations. See full disclaimer on About page.