Our family makes The Best Italian Green Salad with homemade dressing! You can make this simple salad in five minutes. This is my most requested recipe!
Drumroll...I give you The Best Italian Green Salad. It's legendary in my family and among Cooking with Mamma C visitors.
It's the G.O.A.T. (Greatest of all time!)
Our family calls this "The Salad." Our friends refer to it as "That Sallladdd," while rolling their eyes and swooning.
So, what makes this the best green salad? Why does it steal the show so often?
Maybe it's the white balsamic vinegar. Or the regular — not extra-virgin — olive oil.
Or the fact that we've thumbed our noses at the standard vinaigrette ratio (three parts olive oil to one part vinegar) and basically do the exact opposite.
Or, it could be because there's no oregano. We never use oregano in anything, because we find it bitter tasting.
Or maybe, it's the Italian salad's smooth texture, with every leaf coated just right.
Let's take a closer look at this insalata verde (green salad in Italian). And don't miss this Grilled Romaine with Toasted Walnuts and Parmesan!
Recipe ingredients
Lettuce: Use your favorite lettuce or a combination of two kinds. I prefer soft butter lettuce with some red leaf lettuce mixed in. Romaine also is delicious.
Olive oil: Use regular olive oil, which is milder than extra-virgin olive oil. This makes a big difference in the flavor of our salad with Italian dressing.
White balsamic vinegar: This has a smooth, mild, fruity taste and is the main ingredient in our Italian vinaigrette recipe. Look for it at the grocery store or buy it online (affiliate link).
If you use a different type of vinegar, you won't get the signature taste of The Best Italian Green Salad. But, in a pinch, you could substitute white vinegar, red wine vinegar or dark balsamic vinegar. The latter obviously will produce a dark dressing.
White bottoms of green onions: This is optional, but we sometimes thinly slice the white bottoms of two green onions (scallions) and add them to the salad.
How to make Italian green salad
In my family, we simply place the lettuce in a serving bowl, add each dressing ingredient one at a time, then toss the salad with two spoons. If you want to do that here, use the exact amount of lettuce and dressing items called for in the recipe.
If you want to make the dressing first, here's what to do.
See the card at the end of this post for the full recipe, but here's an overview.
- Place the Italian dressing ingredients in a tiny bowl.
- Whisk to combine.
- Pour the dressing over the lettuce and toss with two spoons.
Recipe tips
- Dress the salad just before serving it. The longer a dressed salad sits, the soggier the lettuce becomes.
- This recipe includes the exact amount of homemade Italian salad dressing needed for nine ounces of lettuce. If you decide to make the vinaigrette separately to use with a smaller amount of lettuce, only use enough dressing to gently coat the leaves, or the vinegar will be overpowering.
- If you're making a different quantity of salad and realize you poured in too much dressing, add extra lettuce and toss to combine. Taste again to see if more lettuce is needed to balance it out.
How to serve it
This amazing salad goes perfectly with just about everything. Make a big Italian salad to go with ricotta lasagna, homemade pizza or as a side salad for any of these Pasta Recipes.
Make it a garden salad by adding tomatoes and carrots.
Serve it as a main dish salad with a protein such as Italian Chicken Cutlets, Carolina Pulled Pork or Broiled Cod added.
Storing leftover Italian green salad
This salad is best eaten within 30-45 minutes, before it starts getting soggy. In my family, if there's extra dressed salad left over, someone will gladly hug the serving bowl and dig in.
If needed, you can store the leftover salad in a sealed container in the refrigerator and eat it within a day or so.
Storing leftover oil and vinegar dressing
If you made the oil and vinegar dressing separately, you can store the leftover vinaigrette in a sealed container at room temperature for several weeks. Refrigeration isn't needed, since all of the dressing ingredients are stored at room temperature anyway.
The oil and vinegar will separate, so shake the container before serving.
If you added any raw garlic, herbs, onions or any refrigerated ingredients to the dressing, be sure to store it in the refrigerator. It will keep for up to five days.
The oil in the vinaigrette will solidify in the fridge. You can run the container under warm water to liquify it, then shake it to combine.
Frequently asked questions
For a side salad, figure about 2.5 ounces of lettuce greens per person. This equals one cup.
For a main dish salad, you'll need two cups of lettuce per person, which is 5 ounces.
Italians eat salad at the end of the meal, before fruit and dessert. This is to cleanse the palate and refresh the mouth. It's also believed to help with digestion.
In America, the salad is served first, to help prevent overeating. In my family, we plate this tossed salad in side dishes and place one at each table setting before the meal.
More recipes like this
- Spinach Salad with Mandarin Oranges and Pancetta
- Apple Mozzarella Pecan Salad
- Italian Potato Salad with Green Beans
- Italian Carrot Salad with Basil
- Lemon-Infused Olive Oil
- 33 Italian Side Dishes (Contorni)
Enjoy!
If you make this Italian green salad, be sure to leave a comment and a rating!
The Best Italian Green Salad
Ingredients
Salad
- 9 ounces lettuce (butter lettuce, romaine or a combination)
- white bottoms of 2 green onions (optional)
Dressing
- 4 teaspoons olive oil (not extra virgin)
- 3 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar (see notes)
- ⅛ teaspoon garlic powder
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- scant ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Use a pre-washed bag of lettuce or, if starting with a head of lettuce, make sure the leaves are rinsed and dried. Place the lettuce in a large bowl.
- If using the white part of the green onions, rinse and dry the green onions, snip off the root end and slice the white part of the onion thinly. Add the white onion slices to your salad.
- If you are using the 9 ounces of lettuce called for, you can just add the dressing ingredients one at a time to the salad and toss with two spoons to mix well.
- If you would rather make the dressing separately, add the dressing ingredients to a small bowl or container and whisk to combine. (If you have a lid on the container, you can shake it up to mix it.) Pour the mixed dressing onto the lettuce and toss well with two spoons. (Use less dressing if you have less than 9 ounces of lettuce.)
- Serve immediately and finish leftovers within an hour or so. Leftover salad will get soggy, but keep it refrigerated if saving it and eat it within a day or so.
Notes
- This recipe includes the exact amount of dressing needed for nine ounces of lettuce. If you decide to make the vinaigrette separately to use with a smaller amount of lettuce, only use enough dressing to gently coat the leaves, or the vinegar will be overpowering.
- If you're making a different quantity of salad and realize you poured in too much dressing, add extra lettuce and toss to combine. Taste again to see if more lettuce is needed to balance it out.
Nutrition
(Recipe Source: Cooking with Mamma C, based on our family's everyday salad. Originally published on October 19, 2016 and updated now with additional photos and information.)
Lauren says
This was delicious! Perfect light Italian salad. I used butter lettuce and the white part of the green onion - just what I was looking for. Thank you for the recipe!
Mamma C says
Hi Lauren - I'm so happy you enjoyed it! You're welcome!
Fred Thomas says
Are use this as a base for making raspberry vinaigrette, skipping the garlic, and adding a handful of fresh raspberries all in a blender, great.BTW a serving for me is about 4 cups. I have never used white balsamic before but now I’m a convert.
Mamma C says
Hi Fred - Thanks for sharing the raspberry variation. It sounds delicious! I agree, the white balsamic is wonderful.
Fred Thomas says
I’ve made this a couple of times with a few slight variations. The first time I didn’t have plain olive oil so used extra virgin, it was decent. The second time I used ordinary olive oil, a slight difference, another decent dressing but I could not taste any garlic. So today I made it exactly in a Cuisinart mini-prep but doubled everything and used a clove of fresh garlic. The best version by far.
A very nice, easy to make healthy dressing but nothing special. The salad is chopped lettuce, also nothing special.
Mamma C says
Hi Fred - The garlic sounds good! You might like it with the white part of green onions too.