This italian chopped salad pizza is one of my favorite things to make! Chewy, tangy sourdough pizza crust topped with a zesty chopped salad filled with salami, roasted peppers, mozzarella and more. Tastes amazing!
This might be my current favorite meal!
This grilled sourdough pizza topped with an italian chopped salad is everything I want to eat right now. It’s so flavorful and satisfying. We ALL love it.
If you’re looking for something new and exciting to make for dinner, this is it. Chop up all your salad ingredients, throw the pizza dough on the grill and then pile the salad high on top.
Slice, serve and eat!
It’s perfect.
I’ve been making these grilled garlic baguettes with italian chopped salad for a few years and we LOVE them. It’s such a fun, easy meal and one that really hits the spot.
And one day, when I didn’t have any baguettes, I threw some of my pizza dough on the grill instead. I do this weekly but had never topped it with the italian salad. It’s fantastic.
First up: the crust. You don’t HAVE to use a sourdough crust, but it’s easily my favorite. I can’t stop.
I love this pizza crust so much. You do need to make it the night before, but once it’s mixed, all you have to do is wait. It’s simple and so wonderful. I like to have two or three on hand in the fridge or freezer, so that way if we’re craving pizza, I have this ready to go.
Yes, I still have my classic non-sourdough pizza crust recipe too. But since I feel my sourdough starter daily, I always have discard to use. So I use *fresh* discard for this recipe, meaning the leftover of my starter as soon as it’s re-fed. I haven’t used the discard that has sat in the fridge for awhile, so just keep that in mind.
The sourdough crust is SO chewy and tangy. We all love it – in fact my kids say that it’s their favorite pizza out of any other pizza we order. I either make it on the grill or in a cast iron skillet. Those are my two favorite ways. And they always win.
Next up: the salad.
We all know my love of chopped salads. The best salad to ever be a salad! Having a bit of everything right there on the spoon is ideal. A chopped salad is elite for that exact reason – you can get a bite of each ingredient, an array of texture, flavor and a drizzle of dressing.
My go-to italian chopped salad has salami, chickpeas, iceberg, red onion, tomatoes, roasted red peppers, banana peppers and fresh mozzarella. Oh and smoked provolone cheese! All drizzled with my italian dressing that is super super zesty. I could drink the dressing with a spoon.
Of course – you can use any pizza dough that you have. Add other ingredients to your salad too. Make it your own because anytime you have a salad piled high on pizza crust, it will be delish.
If you’re a once-a-week pizza family like we are, this is such a fun switch up! And it also allows for some customization – you can make an italian chopped salad and a caesar as another option.
Isn’t that just the most beautiful sight?!
Grilled Sourdough Pizza with Italian Chopped Salad
Grilled Sourdough Pizza with Italian Chopped Salad
This italian chopped salad pizza is one of my favorite things to make! Chewy, tangy sourdough pizza crust topped with a zesty chopped salad filled with salami, roasted peppers, mozzarella and more. Tastes amazing!
chopped italian salad
- ½ head iceberg lettuce, thinly sliced
- ½ red onion, thinly sliced
- 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 2 ounces salami, chopped
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, chopped
- ½ cup mild banana peppers
- ¼ cup chopped roasted red peppers
- 4 ounces fresh mozzarella pearls
- 2 ounces smoked provolone cheese, diced
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The night before, make the pizza dough. Combine the sourdough starter/discard in a bowl with water, flour, salt, olive oil and honey. Mix it together until a dough forms. Cover the bowl and let it rise overnight at room temperature – or at least for 8 to 12 hours.
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At this point you can stick it in the fridge or use it!
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Combine the lettuce, onion, chickpeas, salami, tomatoes, peppers and cheese in a large bowl.
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In a measuring cup, make the dressing. Whisk together the vinegar, garlic, dijon, honey, oregano, salt and pepper until combined. Stream in the olive oil while whisking until emulsified. Drizzle 1 to 2 tablespoons of the dressing over the salad and toss well. At this point, you can refrigerate for 15 to 30 minutes until you’re ready to use them, or use them right away!
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Preheat the grill to the highest setting.
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I like to use this dough to make two thinner crusts, but you can use it to make one larger thicker crust! Either way, if you divide it in half or use the whole thing, press it out until it’s a 10 to 12 inch round – or any shape you’d like.
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Transfer your dough to a floured pizza peel. You can lightly brush it with olive oil if you’d like. Slide the dough onto the grill grates – directly on to them. Close the lid. The amount of time to grill will depend on your individual grill, but I start with the lid closed for 2 to 3 minutes.
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Check on the dough and if the bottom has charred a bit and has grill marks, you can flip it. To gently flip it, use either the pizza peel or two spatulas. Grill for another 2 to 3 minutes until the other side is grilled through. Keep in mind that this grilling time will depend on how thick or thin your pizza dough is! Just watch it constantly and don’t let it burn all over.
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Once the dough is finished, slide it off the grill with the peel. Place it on a cutting board. Pile the italian salad on top. Slice the pizza and serve!
A perfect chewy bite.
