Crisp & Crunchy, Make-Ahead Italian Lunch Salad

Say goodbye to sad, soggy desk lunches. This Italian Lunch Salad is the ultimate meal-prep solution for busy weekdays. Built on a crunchy cabbage base, this salad stays crisp for days in the fridge, making healthy eating both effortless and delicious.

What makes this recipe great

• Zero wilting: Cabbage holds its crunch perfectly under dressing, unlike flimsy lettuce.
• Meal-prep champion: Make a massive batch on Sunday to enjoy fresh lunches all week long.
• Nutrient-dense: Packed with vitamins, fiber, lean proteins, and healthy fats.
• Customizable: Easily adapts to whatever veggies or proteins you have on hand.
• Tasty salad base: Boost the protein in this recipe by adding cooked chicken breast or shredded rotisserie chicken for a complete meal.

Ingredients for an Italian lunch salad

The Salad Base

The secret to this crunchy salad is the cabbage base. Cabbage stays sturdy when tossed with all these heavier ingredients, so the salad will stay fresh without dressing for days. Once dressed, the salad is good for a day or two -- but for maximum crunchiness, dress the day of serving and keep cold.

• Green and red cabbage, shredded or thinly sliced. A bag of pre-shredded coleslaw mix is perfect here. I grab a bag almost every week when I go grocery shopping. Fresh, torn kale is also a good base.
• Salami or turkey pepperoni, thinly sliced or diced small
• Provolone cheese, diced. Or use Bocconcini pearls for a lighter-tasting salad
• Cherry tomatoes, cut in half or quarters if they are the larger size
• Cucumber, diced; peel if you prefer, but peeling is not necessary
• Sweet Bell Pepper, diced
• Chickpeas: 1 can (19 oz), rinsed and drained
• Thinly sliced mild white onion: vidalia is my favourite here, red onion also works nicely
• Kalamata Olives, pitted and chopped
• Fresh parsley
• Pepperoncini peppers. I prefer them thinly sliced so they are evenly mixed into every bite. Leave them whole if you prefer.

Light and Creamy Italian Dressing

Light mayo and Greek yogurt add body to this dressing, making it creamy, tangy, and thick enough to dip your veggies. These ingredients also help reduce the amount of oil needed to keep the dressing from separating, and keeps the overall fat and calories in check!

• Olive oil basic extra-virgin.
• Red wine vinegar for tang and brightness
• Light Mayo: adds body and creaminess to any dressing
• Greek Yogurt: more creaminess but without the fat, adds protein
• Honey for balance
• Dijon a must for any savoury dressing
• Shallot: grated or finely minced. Use red onion, or the white parts of scallions finely diced if needed
• Garlic: 1 clove, minced, of course
• Dried oregano & basil
• S&P

How to make an Italian Lunch Salad

1. Prep the base: Shred the cabbage thinly using a sharp knife or mandoline. Place it into a large mixing bowl. Or use my favourite shortcut: 1 bag of pre-shredded coleslaw mix.
2. Drain and rinse the chickpeas. Drain and rinse a 19-oz can of chickpeas, then add to the bowl with the cabbage.
3. Chop the mix-ins: Dice your cucumbers, tomatoes, a mild sweet white or red onion, peppers, cheese, salami, olives, and pepperoncini. Toss everything into the bowl with the cabbage and chickpeas.
4. Make the dressing: In a small jar, combine the olive oil, vinegar, mayo, yogurt, honey, Dijon, minced shallot and garlic, oregano and basil, salt, and pepper. Shake vigorously until emulsified.
5. For immediate serving: Pour the dressing over the salad. Toss thoroughly to ensure every shred of cabbage is coated. Let it sit for 10 minutes before serving to soften the cabbage slightly and marry the flavours.
6. To make ahead: Divide the undressed salad evenly between 8 containers. Keep dressing separate. In the morning, or up to 10 minutes before lunch, pour ⅛ of the dressing - about two tablespoons - over the salad and shake well to combine.

Storage and serving suggestions

• To store: Keep the salad and dressing separate in an airtight glass container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Toss a few minutes before serving to marry the flavours.
• Once tossed with dressing, enjoy it chilled straight from the fridge. The tossed salad will keep, chilled and refrigerated, and tastes great the next day.
• Customize it! Use your favourite deli meets and cheese for a unique and satsify salad. Other great add ins:
  • Finely diced sundried tomatoes
  • Roasted Red peppers
  • Pickled red onions
  • Canned artichoke hearts
• Upgrade it: Pair a portion with a slice of crusty artisan bread or a warm bowl of minestrone soup.

Marco Friendly meal prep

This salad makes enough lunch servings for the whole family!

Divide into 8 servings: 273 cals + 12 grams of protein each.

Divide into 6 servings: 365 cals + 16 grams of protein each.

• Portion the salad into 8 individual meal prep containers.
• Portion dressing into 8 small sauce containers, about two tablespoons each.
• To make a full meal and add protein, add 3 oz of diced cooked chicken to each container. Adds 150 cals and 25 grams of protein to each serving!
• Add dressing just before eating. Or do what I do and add dressing to the meal prep container first thing in the morning before I leave for work, toss, and it the salad is perfectly dressed and still crunchy by lunchtime.

Related recipes

• Easy Tortellini Pasta Salad with Arugula & Pesto
• Summer Pasta Salad with Tofu
• 20-minute Chopped Broccoli and Lentil Salad

My favourite meal prep containers - these hold about 4 cups and perfect for this salad. I use these reusable stainless containers for the dressing.

📖 Recipe

Italian Lunch Salad

Trish | The In Fine Balance Food Blog

A hearty lunch salad packed full of your favourite Italian ingredients. The base of this salad is cabbage. So it can be made ahead and will keep fresh for lunches during the week.

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Course Salad

Servings 8 servings

Calories 273 kcal

Ingredients

  

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Creamy Italian Dressing

• ¼ cup olive oil
• ¼ cup red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons light mayo
• 2 tablespoons Greek yogurt
• 1 tablepoon honey
• 1 tablepoon shallot grated or finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard I like a grainy mustard
• 1 teaspoon garlic grated or finely chopped, about 1 clove
• 1 teaspoon each, dried oregano and basil
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• freshly grated pepper to taste

Italian Lunch Salad

• 4 cups shredded cabbage green cabbage or a mixture of red and green. To save time, use pre-shredded bagged cole slaw mix
• 4 oz Italian salami thinly sliced
• 4 oz provolone cheese cubed, diced
• 2 cups grape tomatoes cut in half or quarter if large
• 1 cucumber diced
• 1 red, yellow or orange bell pepper diced
• 1 can canned chickpeas 19 oz can
• ½ cup red or white onion, sliced
• ½ cup sliced kalamata olives
• ¼ cup fresh parsely
• ¼ cup pepperoncini peppers, sliced

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Instructions

 

• Make the dressing: In a small jar, combine the olive oil, vinegar, mayo, yogurt, honey, Dijon, minced shallot and garlic, oregano and basil, salt, and pepper. Shake vigorously until emulsified.
  ¼ cup olive oil, ¼ cup red wine vinegar, 2 tablespoons light mayo, 2 tablespoons Greek yogurt, 1 tablepoon honey, 1 tablepoon shallot, 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard, 1 teaspoon garlic, 1 teaspoon each, dried oregano and basil, ½ teaspoon sea salt, freshly grated pepper to taste
• Prep the base: Shred the cabbage thinly using a sharp knife or mandoline. Place it into a large mixing bowl. Or use my favourite shortcut: 1 bag of pre-shredded coleslaw mix.
  4 cups shredded cabbage
• Drain and rinse the chickpeas. Drain and rinse a 19-oz can of chickpeas, then add to the bowl with the cabbage.
  1 can canned chickpeas
• Chop the mix-ins: Dice your cucumbers, tomatoes, a mild sweet white or red onion, peppers, cheese, salami, olives, and pepperoncini. Toss everything into the bowl with the cabbage and chickpeas.
  4 oz Italian salami, 4 oz provolone cheese, 2 cups grape tomatoes, 1 cucumber, 1 red, yellow or orange bell pepper, ½ cup red or white onion, sliced, ½ cup sliced kalamata olives, ¼ cup fresh parsely, ¼ cup pepperoncini peppers, sliced
• For immediate serving: Pour the dressing over the salad. Toss thoroughly to ensure every shred of cabbage is coated. Let it sit for 10 minutes before serving to soften the cabbage slightly and marry the flavours.
• To make ahead: Divide the undressed salad evenly between 8 containers. Keep dressing separate. In the morning, or up to 10 minutes before lunch, pour ⅛ of the dressing - about two tablespoons - over the salad and shake well to combine.

Notes

1. To store: Keep the salad and dressing separate in an airtight glass container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Toss a few minutes before serving to marry the flavours.
2. Once tossed with dressing, enjoy it chilled straight from the fridge. The tossed salad will keep, chilled and refrigerated, and tastes great the next day.
3. Customize Use your favourite Italian deli meat and cheese to make this salad your own. Other great additions - artichoke hearts, roasted red peppers, pickled onions, or finely diced sundried tomatoes. 

Nutrition

Calories: 273kcalCarbohydrates: 16gProtein: 12gFat: 19gSaturated Fat: 6gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 0.003gCholesterol: 22mgSodium: 921mgPotassium: 441mgFiber: 5gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 1180IUVitamin C: 45mgCalcium: 172mgIron: 2mg

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