Chopped salads are nothing knew, in fact if you did a search on the Internet you would see thousands of different variations. Crisp, colorful veggies tossed into a light vinaigrette, it just screams healthy and fresh!
The vegetables you choose are up to you, in the past I’ve added things like peas, asparagus, carrots, radishes, raw zucchini, yellow squash and even jalapeno , I’ve added cheese, different herbs, but mostly I like to keep it pretty simple and above all colorful!
This time I added green and yellow wax beans, something I saw Martha do on one of her shows, it’s a great addition for the color and texture it gives, and I always use planks of fresh corn for the taste and visual.
Don’t get me wrong, this is not the quickest salad to make, you have to do some chopping, after all it is a chopped salad, but I find it therapeutic. Play some music, watch a TV show or just drift into your own thoughts, it will go by fast. You can chop all your veggies the day before then mix everything together the day of.
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This salad couldn’t be more perfect as a side to all your summertime cookouts or just make it and eat it for lunch for a few days plus there’s no mayo required, so that’s a good thing with the summer heat.
Chop and then dress adding more or less, it’s up to you, be creative!
- ½ pound of green beans cut into ¼ inch pieces
- ½ pound of yellow wax beans cut into ¼ inch pieces
- ½ can of garbanzo bean, drained and rinsed
- 1 cucumber, seeded and cut into ¼ inch pieces
- 2 ears of fresh corn
- 1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and cut into ¼ inch pieces
- 1 red pepper, seeded and chopped into ¼ inch pieces
- 1 small red onion cut into ¼ inch dice
- 4 or 5 tomatoes, seeded and diced into ¼ inch pieces
- a handful each of fresh basil and fresh parsley, chopped
- FOR VINAIGRETTE YOU WILL NEED:
- olive oil
- white balsamic vinegar or champagne vinegar
- ½ minced garlic
- dijon mustard
- salt and pepper to taste
- You need to blanch the beans for 2 minutes in boiling water, remove with slotted spoon and then place into an ice bath, then drain well, even wiping them down with paper towel until moisture is removed.
- Place corn in boiling water after beans for 5 minutes and also place into ice bath to cool down, when cool, cut corn into planks.
- Place everything into a large bowl, veggies, beans, herbs and toss to mix.
- In a small bowl whisk together, 2 ounces of olive oil, 2 ounces of vinegar, a dollop of dijon mustard, ½ minced garlic and salt and pepper to taste.
- This is just a general guideline, you can add more or less as needed to taste.
- Pour vinaigrette all over and toss!
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I’m Marie, a wife, mother, mother-in-law, and gramma of two beautiful girls. My passion is food, clear and simple but especially Italian food, hence the name of my blog, Proud Italian Cook. I want you to feel right at home here so grab a cup of coffee, I’ll get the pastries, take a look around and enjoy your visit! {
Hi Marie,
I just discovered your site a couple of weeks ago and I’m so glad! My husband and I are kind of obsessed with this salad right now. The basil is delicious in it and I really like having a huge variety of salad ideas in my repertoire, including non-lettuce ones. I’ll be trying your olive-crusted cod this weekend . Looks delicious!
Missed this recipe last week–too much going on at home, but all good things! I love salads like this, especially with sweet corn added–yum!
How I love the colors of summer…. 🙂
Oh this is simply show stopping! I can’t wait to make it1 I feel like eating “fresh” things all the time now. Thank you!
Gorgeous colours and presentations! It looks fabulous! Thank you so much for sharing. 🙂
And yet another great recipe…….I’m becoming stalker like with the amount of times I’ve been
on your site and pinterest. I’ve made so many of your recipes that I know my name is ringing
in your ears!!! You were born with the golden hand…or should I say spatula…..
Many thanks as always, Warmly, Carol from Chicago
Hi Carol, Ha ha, that’s a good kind of stalking, thank you! FYI, I’m on Instagram too, you could stalk me there also my friend.
Made this yesterday morning so it could “marinate” all day! I had a ton of leftover veggies from the week (Costco size bags that I only use a few of throughout week) so I added, chopped cauliflower, English cucumbers, corn cob kernels, orange bell pepper, celery, tomatoes. I made your vinaigrette but with apple cider vinegar because we used a lot of balsamic this week and I ran out! Also used honey dijon which gave it a nice sweetness. The best part is it was perfect for my hubby (low-carb) and almost 0 points (except vinaigrette) for my daughter and I who are on Weight Watchers! Nobody feels deprived when we eat good, fresh food like this! I also added some chopped blue cheese crumbles to mine 🙂 Can’t wait to try it when I have zucchini and green beans in the garden! Thanks for the inspiration Marie!
Your version sounds wonderful Jessica and “Thank You” for the inspiration also!
Chopping therapeutic? Yes, I agree. And this beautiful salad will be on my plate soon – with lettuce leaves from my garden tucked below. Happy weekend Marie.
Absolutely gorgeous. What a delight to look at and talk about stimulating the appetite!! Wow!! this is definitely a MUST do. With summer right around the corner I can see making a big batch of this salad and feasting on it. Thank you for sharing. Have a wonderful weekend!!
Marie,
I can’t wait to try this one. Love when there’s no mayo and fresh fresh! Thank you.