Salad recipes

Italian salad pizza on a prebaked crust with melted mozzarella, fresh tomatoes, and a cool romaine-watercress-olive topping tossed in Italian dressing. Vegetarian dinner ready in about 20 minutes.

Warm Italian rice salad with crispy parmesan chicken, fresh asparagus, spinach, and walnuts tossed in tangy vinaigrette.

Chilled pasta shells layered with basil pesto, spinach, Roma tomatoes, black olives, and shrimp. This make-ahead Italian pasta salad is a crowd-pleasing potluck star that only gets better as it sits.

Italian-style green bean salad tossed with thinly sliced onions, red wine vinegar, olive oil, basil, and Parmesan. A low-calorie make-ahead side dish that gets better the longer it chills.

Salad bar pizza is a vegetable-loaded deep-dish pie on whole wheat crust with broccoli, cauliflower, peppers, carrots, and red onion under mozzarella and Parmesan. Vegetarian, lower calorie.

This salad is pretty hardy, but to turn it into a main dish salad, just add pasta shells, bows, or tortellini.

Quick microwave Italian potato salad with new red potatoes, olives, bell peppers, and fresh tomatoes tossed in zesty Italian dressing. Ready in 25 minutes with no stove required.

Cold tortellini pesto salad with julienned zucchini and carrot, cherry tomatoes, Parmesan, and toasted walnuts. A creamy mayo-based picnic pasta salad that holds up in the fridge.

Italian tomato pasta salad with elbow macaroni, canned tomatoes, white wine vinegar, herbs, and parmesan. A no-mayo, oil-free cold pasta salad that chills for hours to blend flavors.

Market salad with Parmesan brittle: arugula, radicchio, and romaine tossed in Dijon-garlic vinaigrette, topped with buttery Parmesan-paprika shortbread strips. Bitter greens meet rich, savory crunch.

Chunks of tomatoes and lots of Italian spices make this a real winner.

Skip store-bought packets and make your own Italian dressing mix that will keep in the pantry for up to a year.

Italian dressing variations: customize a base Italian vinaigrette with anchovies, bacon, Parmesan, tomato puree or red wine to create five distinct dressings from one starting point.

Homemade Italian cheese dressing blended with Parmesan, garlic, dry mustard, celery salt, and white pepper. A creamy vinaigrette made in the blender and chilled to serve.

Baked tomatoes with Parmesan, breadcrumbs, and thyme. A 3-ingredient Italian side dish that comes together in 30 minutes and pairs with almost any main course.

Rotini with shiitake mushrooms marinated overnight in olive oil and red wine vinegar, tossed with prosciutto, sun-dried tomatoes, olives, white wine, and toasted pine nuts.