La Scala Chopped Salad (Famous Viral Recipe) - Foolproof Living (2024)

Substitutions and Optional Add-Ins

While this recipe uses many basic ingredients, a few are more specialized and may be difficult to find at your local grocery store. Thankfully, you can easily substitute without significantly affecting the flavor. The salad is also a great base for add-ins of your choice. Here are some suggestions:

• Italian salami: If you can’t find specifically Italian salami at the store, feel free to use pepperoni, beef salami, or turkey salami instead. If you’re not a fan of salami in a salad, you can also use Baked Turkey Bacon.
• Dry mustard: The original La Scala Leon dressing recipe uses dry mustard, which is essentially ground mustard seeds. If you can’t find dry mustard or don’t have any on hand, you can easily substitute two teaspoons of Dijon mustard.
• Pecorino romano: It sounds fancy, but pecorino romano is simply an Italian cheese that’s similar to parmesan. If it’s not available, use shaved parmesan cheese instead.
• Optional add-ins: With just a few ingredients, this chickpea salami salad provides a great base for other Italian-inspired additions, which many have used to customize their celebrity chopped salad recipe. I recommend adding a small jar of drained artichoke hearts, fresh tomatoes or sun-dried tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, or roasted red bell peppers. I also love to add a minced clove of garlic to the chopped salad dressing for extra flavor. Feel free to get creative and use what you have on hand.
• Make it vegetarian: If you’re one of my vegetarian friends, you can easily transform this salad with salami into a vegetarian recipe by omitting it. In its place, I recommend adding Baked Shiitake Mushrooms for that “meaty” texture. You can also add chopped boiled eggs to add more protein if you wish.

How to Meal Prep & Store Leftovers?

If you want to make this Tiktok viral chopped salad super quick and easy to throw together on a busy weekday, you can easily meal-prep it in advance. Leftovers are a breeze to store, too. Here are some tips:

• Meal prep: To meal prep this Italian salad with salami and mozzarella, chop up all the ingredients and store them in an airtight container. You can also prep the dressing in advance, but be sure to store it in a separate container (so the salad won’t get soggy). Both will keep for up to 2-3 days in the fridge.
• Store: If you have leftovers, store the rest of the salad in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1-2 days.

Expert Tips

This iceberg chopped salad is easy for even a beginner chef to throw together, so detailed tips aren’t necessary for this recipe. However, I included a few notes below that you may find helpful along the way:

• Double the dressing: This La Scala Chopped Salad Dressing recipe is so simple and yummy that it likely pairs well with many of your favorite salads. Since you’re already making the dressing, why not double the recipe so you’ll have extra to drizzle on your next salad?
• Marinate the chickpeas: If you have the time, I recommend marinating the chickpeas in the tangy dressing to give the salad extra flavor. After draining and rinsing the chickpeas, soak them in the dressing for a few minutes while you prep the rest of the ingredients.

What is La Scala Chopped Salad?

The La Scala Chopped Salad, also known as the “Beverly Hills Chopped Salad” or the “Kardashian Salad Recipe,” is an Italian salad with salami that was first served at the La Scala Boutique restaurant in Beverly Hills, CA. The simple salad combines salami, mozzarella, chickpeas, iceberg lettuce, and romaine, all topped off with a simple red wine vinaigrette.

Who invented La Scala Salad recipe?

Chef Jean Leon, a restaurateur who is the owner of the La Scala restaurant in Beverly Hills, CA, invented the La Scala Salad, also known as the “Kardashian Chopped Salad,” in the ‘50s. This salad was popular among his business and high-profile clients, such as Elizabeth Taylor, Julia Roberts, and JFK, and the restaurant is still a hot spot for celebrities today.

What is a chopped salad?

A recipe for chopped salad, as the name suggests, contains ingredients that have been chopped into a uniform size. The salad is usually tossed together in a dressing for an easily consumable meal with well-incorporated ingredients.

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For the Salad:

• ▢ 1 head iceberg lettuce chopped
• ▢ 1 head Romaine roughly chopped
• ▢ 1 can chickpeas aka Garbanzo beans, (15 oz) drained and rinsed
• ▢ 1/4 pound Italian salami chopped or julienned
• ▢ 1/4 pound mozzarella cheese shredded

For the Dressing:

• ▢ ¼ cup olive oil
• ▢ 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• ▢ 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard or 1 teaspoon dry mustard
• ▢ ½ teaspoon Kosher Salt
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• ▢ 1/4 cup grated pecorino romano or Parmesan cheese- plus more as garnish

• Add salad ingredients to a bowl: Place iceberg lettuce, romaine, chickpeas, Italian salami, and mozzarella cheese in a large salad bowl. Set it aside.

• Make the dressing: To make the dressing, whisk together olive oil, red wine vinegar, mustard, salt, and pepper in a measuring cup or a small bowl. Stir in the Pecorino romano.

• Add the dressing and toss: Drizzle the dressing over the salad. Give it a toss.

• Serve: Serve with more pecorino romano on top.

• Meal prep: To prepare this salad ahead of time, chop up all the ingredients and store them in an airtight container. You can also prep the dressing in advance, but be sure to store it in a separate container (so the salad won’t get soggy). Both will keep for up to 2-3 days in the fridge.
• Store: If you have leftovers, store the rest of the salad in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1-2 days.
• To make it vegetarian, swap salami with roasted shiitake mushrooms.
• Optional add-ins: While this salad is great by itself, you can jazz it up by adding other ingredients, such as a small jar of drained artichoke hearts, fresh tomatoes or sun-dried tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, or roasted red bell peppers. I also love to add a minced clove of garlic to the chopped salad dressing for extra flavor. Feel free to get creative and use what you have on hand.