Pizza Salad
This Pizza Salad is packed full of everything you’d enjoy on a pizza, and served as a side salad for pizza night, or as a main dish salad! This salad feeds about 20 people, so it’s perfect for any party and always a hit for Game Day! It’s up to you how you want to mix up the pizza ingredients to make it your own!
By popular demand, our showstopper Epic Salad Bowl is here, and we’re sharing an easy holiday winter salad recipe to serve to a crowd. Everyone loves pizza, so for a pizza night, or just a pizza salad night, whip up this salad, made with iceberg and romaine lettuces, and packed full with pizza toppings.
Pizza Salad
For pizza in salad form, this recipe tosses crisp lettuce with your favorite pizza toppings, crunchy and salty and cheesy and delicious–all served up in our Epic Salad Bowl. Drizzle with your favorite Italian dressing and serve. We love the crunch of croutons, and your guests will too. If not a main meal, then serve it with our Charcuterie (pizza) Pull Apart Bread or our homemade pizza. Yum!
We recently served this for dinner the other night with hot crunchy bread and a side of Italian soup. Everyone raved over the fun, light dinner!
This salad serves about 20 people for a side salad, but if it’s a main dish, it’s more like 10-12. It’s a “make and serve” salad, which means as soon as you add the salad dressing, you want to serve it right away, as it can get a little soggy. No problem for us, as we quickly devoured the entire bowl. :)
Why I love this salad
- This salad feeds a crowd, and you can double the ingredients to serve even more.
- Swap out the cheeses and make it your own, or add extra pizza toppings.
- It’s a great side salad served with pizza or Italian recipes.
- The salad stands on its own as a main dish served with hot crunchy bread.
Gather these ingredients
We bought most of our ingredients at Trader Joe’s, but of course, you can use your favorite brands. Many of the brands are al Walmart, too.
- Romaine lettuce (use salad bags or fresh, cut up)
- Iceberg lettuce salad bags (or buy 2 heads of Iceberg and chop)
- Red onion
- Provolone cheese, we buy slices, then cut into matchstick pieces
- Pepperoni slices
- Pepperoncinis slices
- Medium olives
- Beef steak tomatoes (optional to use sun dried tomatoes)
- Grated Parmesan cheese (use canned (powder) or you can use fresh grated)
- Trader Joe’s Pizza Sprinkle Seasoning (or your favorite Italian seasoning)
- Rosemary Croissant Croutons (Trader Joe’s)
- Salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
- Chives
- Favorite Italian dressing (we use Trader Joe’s Italian Dressing with Romano Cheese)
How do you make an epic Pizza Salad?
- Bowl: In an Epic Salad Bowl, if using bagged lettuce, add both varieties of lettuce and toss with your hands to mix it up. If using fresh, wash and air dry and tear into bite-sized pieces. TIP: You can prepare the lettuce ahead and leave in the fridge to get nice and chilled before adding all of the ingredients.
- Mandolin: Using a mandolin, slice the red onion, then cut a few times to make smaller pieces, and add to the lettuce. Optional to dice the red onion.
- Cheese and meat: Add matchstick pieces of provolone cheese. Optional to add shredded mozzarella cheese if you are in a hurry. Cut the small pepperoni slices in half and add to the greens.
- Add Pickled food: While preparing the above, drain a cup of peperoncini and the black olives, and add to the greens. Optional to chop the peperoncini if you like smaller pieces, and we like to leave the black medium olives whole. Also optional to dice.
Add chunks of red tomatoes + garnish
- Lightly pour on grated, powdery Parmesan cheese that comes in a can next, but you can also add fresh grated Parmesan.
- Next, sprinkle the salad with Trader Joe’s Pizza Seasoning. You can also use Italian seasoning.
- Garnish the salad with fresh chopped chives.
- Optional to make your own dressing, or you can buy store-bought.
- Add fresh cracked pepper (and salt if you prefer).
- When ready to serve, drizzle with dressing and serve.
How much salad do you need per guest?
We estimate that each person will eat about 2.5 ounces (1 cup), if it’s a side salad. Of course if you want this to be a main salad, you’d double the amount. Based on this guideline, here’s the breakdown for a side salad:
- 4 people – 10 ounces (4 cups)
- 6 people – 15 ounces (6 cups)
- 12 people – 30 ounces (12 cups)
- 20 people – 50 ounces (20 cups)
Cook the pepperoni and croutons:
There are 2 cooking tips that you may want to try (but not necessary unless you want a kick of more flavor):
- Cook the pepperoni first. I do this when we have time. In a medium nonstick skillet, add 2 tablespoons olive oil, and once hot, add the pepperoni and cook until nice and crisp, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat, using a slotted spoon, and transfer to a plate lined with paper towels.
- Heat up and toast the croutons. You can also heat up the croutons in the fat from cooking the pepperoni, to get them nice and browned.
Tips and Substitutions:
- Remember you can swap out the provolone cheese for grated mozzarella cheese. You can also use fresh mozzarella and tear mozzarella pieces on top, or on individual servings.
- Substitute the beef steak tomatoes for sun dried tomatoes (drained and chopped).
- We love the croissant croutons, but we’ve noticed they do get soggy quickly. Optional to use regular croutons, or make your own (ADD RECIPE LINK). Also, optional to leave the croutons on the side and let guests add their own (to prevent any sogginess).
- For serving: Follow the instructions and add the dressing and the croutons right before serving. Or, divide the salad among plates, or before adding dressing, make individual servings, and drizzle with dressing.
- Top with the pepperoni bread crumbs and serve right away.. Tear mozzarella and divide over salad. Top with the pepperoni bread crumbs and serve right away.
- Pepperoni replacements: For turkey pepperoni, increase the olive oil to 3 tablespoons if sautéing first. If using a plant-based substitute, increase the oil to 4 tablespoons.
Where do I get an epic salad bowl?
The Epic Salad Bowl is a showstopper! Even the simplest salad or pasta dishes become a culinary triumph when served in this beauty. Yes, it’s big. Really big. You can feed a crowd, but somehow even smaller amounts of food aren’t overwhelmed by it. When it’s not the centerpiece of a dinner party, it becomes the foundation for a tablescape!
- Measurements: 21.5″ diameter x 5″ tall
- Food-safe
- Hand-crafted in small batches
- Each piece will have unique markings due to the nature of the wood.
Buy it here today in our store (along with our boards).
More fun party salads to try:
- Epic Dinner Board Salad (on 26-inch)
- Italian Spaghetti Salad
- Asian Chicken Cranberry Salad
- Layered Salad (in a cake pan)
Get the Recipe:
Pizza Salad
Ingredients
- 3 9 oz bags romaine lettuce
- 3 8 oz bags iceberg lettuce, or buy 2 heads of Iceberg and chop
- ½ large red onion, sliced (we use our mandolin)
- 10 oz provolone cheese, sliced in matchstick slices
- 5 oz pepperoni slices, cut in half
- 1 cup pepperoncinis slices, drained (chop if you prefer)
- 1 6 oz can medium olives, drained well
- 3 beef steak tomatoes, cut into small chunmks
- ½ cup grated parmesan cheese, use canned (powder or you can use fresh grated)
- 1-2 Tbsp. Trader Joe’s Pizza SPRINKLE Seasoning, or your favorite Italian seasoning
- 4.5 oz Rosemary Croissant Croutons, Trader Joe’s
- Salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
- ⅓ cup fresh chopped chives, for garnish
- 1 ½ cup Italian dressing, we use Trader Joe’s Italian Dressing with Romano Cheese
- Red pepper flakes, optional for garnish
Instructions
- In an Epic Salad Bowl, if using bagged lettuce, add both varieties of lettuce and toss with your hands to mix it up. If using fresh, wash and air dry and tear into bite-sized pieces. TIP: You can prepare the lettuce ahead and leave in the fridge to get nice and chilled before adding all of the ingredients.
- Using a mandolin, slice the red onion, then cut a few times to make smaller pieces, and add to the lettuce. Optional to dice the red onion.
- Add matchstick pieces of provolone cheese. Optional to add shredded mozzarella cheese if you are in a hurry.
- Cut the small pepperoni slices in half and add to the greens.
- While preparing the above, drain a cup of peperoncini and the black olives, and add to the greens. Optional to chop the peperoncini if you like smaller pieces, and we like to leave the black medium olives whole. Also optional to dice.
- Add chunks of red tomatoes.
- We sprinkle the grated, powdery Parmesan cheese that comes in a can next, but you can also add fresh grated Parmesan.
- Next, sprinkle the salad with Trader Joe’s Pizza Seasoning. You can also use Italian seasoning.
- Garnish the salad with fresh chopped chives.
- Optional to make your own dressing, or you can buy store-bought.
- Add fresh cracked pepper (and salt if you prefer).
- Sprinkle with croutons. Optional to leave the croutons on the side and let guests add their own (to prevent any sogginess).
- NOTE: Do not add the dressing until right before serving, as the salad can get a little soggy.
- When ready to serve, drizzle with dressing and serve.
Hello and welcome to my home and table!
I’m Sandy—lover of food, family, cooking, THE BIG BOARD, travel, and bringing people together. Through great recipes and connection around the table, we become better, stronger, and more courageous people. Feasting on Life is real, and every time we do it, we grow a little more. Read more...
