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italian salad

Easy Classic Italian Salad

This is our take on the famous Olive Garden's unlimited Italian salad (Bread sticks not included).
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes
Servings: 2
Calories: 575
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 1 head Romaine lettuce
  • 1 head artisan lettuce purple
  • 10 pepperocini
  • 12 black olives halved
  • 6 cherry tomatoes halved
  • 1/2 red onion sliced
Dressing/Marinade
  • 8 Tbs EVOO
  • 1 Tbs red wine vinegar
  • 1 Tbs basil
  • 1 Tbs oregano
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • dash red pepper flakes
  • dash salt
  • dash pepper
Optional
  • 1 serving tofu croutons see notes
  • 8 oz chicken breast see notes

Method
 

  1. Wash and prepare lettuce and place in a large bowl
  2. Cut ingredients according to directions
  3. Mix all dressing ingredients in a small bowl and toss with salad, if serving immediately (if cooking chicken, save 2 Tbs of dressing as a marinade)
  4. If cooking chicken, coat in 2 Tbs of Italian dressing and pan fry until cooked thoroughly
  5. Top with tofu croutons and enjoy!

Notes

Total cook time does not account for adding cooked chicken or tofu croutons. If adding grilled chicken, coat 8 oz of chicken breast in the Italian salad dressing and cook in a frying pan until thoroughly done inside. Slice and add to top of salad.
Total calorie count listed on recipe does not include the optional toppings.
Adding 4 oz. of chicken to each salad changes the calorie count to 645 kcal per salad. 
If tofu croutons AND chicken are being added, each salad totals 709 kcal. 
Tofu crouton recipe here!