comment icon 431 more comments If you asked me if I’ve made this 1500 times in the last two weeks, I’d say yes. Yes, emphatically yes. It’s the kind of recipe where everything stays good for a long time in your fridge or freezer, so I just keep all the ingredients on hand at all times, and this becomes my we-don’t-have-any-groceries-but-I-can-still-make-magic meal. Crust = freezer. Pepperoncini, salami, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, sauce = fridge. Chickpeas, olives = pantry. Gang’s all there and ready to party, no matter how many days (fine, weeks) I’ve been neglecting the grocery store. This chopped salad pizza situation is what summer tastes like to me. We’ve got a crispy, crackery crust baked with just a super thin layer of tomato sauce and mozz, and topped off with a complete bomb-overload of Italian-y chopped salad – the type that is in no way a “salad” but more like heavy with salami, cheese, pepperoncini, olives, tomatoes, and homemade Italian dressing. Ohmygoodness. I cannot get enough. Take a little look: I could actually dive into a bowl of this and be happy living there until the end of summer. It is my warm-weather food bliss. Once you’ve got the salad chopped (it’s a little bit of a pain so just pour yourself something to drink and put some good music on), the rest is so easy. You just bake a crust with sauce and cheese, and put that salad right on top. Also notable is that in case you don’t have sauce/cheese or maybe don’t like sauce/cheese (please no, I hope not), it actually does well on top of just a crust, too, as long as the crust has a good crispy crackle to it. We’re looking for the kind of crust that just sort of crackles into little shattered pieces when you cut into it. Thin crust, flatbread, that sort of thing. Or you know what? Try it on just crackers. You can be that basic. This is a safe zone for all your crispy chopped salad delivering vehicles. K, let’s just make sure to be clear about how easy it is to eat. Which is NOT VERY EASY. It is a big ol’ mess – I mean, it’s a salad on a pizza. Stuff is going to be falling off all over the place, especially if your crust gets a little soft in the middle. It also doesn’t keep well (again, SALAD ON PIZZA) and kind of requires you to eat the whole thing in one sitting, or do some prep work while keeping everything stored separately. So please be advised – chopped salad pizza is ideal for the following situations:
Solo hungry moment with a glass of Rose Dinner with friends who love to shove food in their faces equally as much as you do Lunch where you can start with a fork and knife and finish with your hands A time and place where you’ve got one hundred napkins at the ready
Please don’t let that stop you. Pretty please. This could be our summer 2017 food fling. This is one of those no-recipe recipes where I just tell you what to put in it and you decide on the amounts of everything. You cool wit dat? The only thing I’d recommend measuring out specifically is the Italian dressing, if you want to make your own, and I included the amounts for that in the notes section. 😘 Get after it!
One More Thing!
This recipe is part of our easy summer dinners page. Check it out! 4.8 from 340 reviews
9 oz. romaine lettuce, chopped 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved one 14-oz. can chickpeas, rinsed and drained 3/4 cup salami, cubed 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese 1/2 cup sliced pepperoncini 1/2 cup sliced kalamata olives 1/4 cup parsley – or any other herbs you like
Italian Dressing:
1/2 cup olive oil 1–2 tablespoons white vinegar (depending on preference) 1/2 tablespoon coarse salt (less if using table salt) 1/2 teaspoon dried basil 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano 1 clove garlic
Pizza:
2 pizza crusts, either shelf-stable (gives you a thinner crust) or refrigerated (requires pre-baking and gives you a thicker crust) 14-oz jar pizza sauce 13-oz. package shredded mozzarella cheese
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