Portillo’s Chopped Salad
This copycat Portillo’s Chopped Salad recipe is a great option if you’re looking for a salad that’s a complete meal with meat, veggies and tons of flavor.
The salad, is a delicious mixture of chopped lettuce, red cabbage, green onion, tomato, gorgonzola cheese, diced chicken, bacon and Ditalini pasta. It’s tossed in a tangy homemade house dressing, and honestly, the copycat version tastes just like the one from the Portillo’s restaurant, if not better!
And I should know. I’ve regularly enjoyed this salad from Portillo’s for as long as I’ve lived in the Chicago area (25+ years)!
What is Portillo’s?
Portillo’s is an iconic Chicago restaurant chain known for it’s charbroiled hamburgers, Chicago-style hot dogs, Italian Roast Beef sandwiches, chopped salad and chocolate cake.
They first opened as a hot dog stand in 1963. Today, Portillo’s has numerous locations located in several states.
If you’re ever visiting Chicago, Portillo’s is a must!
Copycat Portillo’s Chopped Salad Recipe
This recipe makes four lunch or dinner salads. It’s the same as ordering four chopped salads at Portillo’s.
What I love about making this salad at home is that it you can serve it several ways.
- Toss everything together in one big bowl (except the dressing) and serve it as a family-style meal or as a side dish for your next party or barbecue.
- For a family of 4-6, prep it into individual salad dishes. I like doing this, so every salad has an equal portion of every yummy ingredient.
- Meal prep the salad into four mason jars for a filling grab-and-go lunch or dinner.
Ingredients
Lettuce – The real Portillo’s salad is a combination of chopped Iceberg and Romaine lettuces, but you can just use one kind.
Red Cabbage – To save time, you can get a bag of pre-chopped red cabbage. I prefer to get a full head and chop it myself. The flavor just seems better.
Tomatoes – You’ll need to de-seed the tomatoes so select a larger kind like Roma. The fleshy outer portion of the tomato is diced into small pieces, so skip cherry and grape tomatoes.
Green Onion – The white and green parts of the onion go into the salad and are a must. (I’ve gotten the salad from the restaurant where they’ve forgotten the green onion and it’s just not the same.)
Gorgonzola Cheese – Crumbled gorgonzola gives the salad a sweet, tangy flavor. And I love that it adds a little creamy texture to some bites. You can sub in blue cheese for a sharper taste, if desired.
Chicken – Cook chicken using your favorite method and cut it into cubes. You can get a rotisserie chicken for quick meal prep.
Bacon – Chopped bacon gives the salad some salt and crunch. If you’re sticking to lean meats, substitute regular bacon with turkey bacon.
Ditalini Pasta – These small, tube shaped pastas are perfect for salads and make this chopped salad extra filling.
House Dressing – Make your favorite homemade house dressing or use store-bought. My house salad dressing recipe is a blend of olive oil, white balsamic vinegar, minced garlic, sugar, oregano and salt.
Instructions
- Cook the chicken, bacon and pasta. Cook chicken using your preferred method or use a rotisserie chicken and cut into cubes. Cook bacon and set on paper towel to drain thoroughly, then cut into small pieces. Bring water to a boil and cook the pasta according to package directions. Immediately after cooking, rinse the pasta in cold water to stop the cooking process and keep it from sticking together.
- Chop the lettuce and cabbage. Wash, dry and chop the lettuce. For crisp lettuce I use an Oxo salad spinner. For the cabbage, remove the thick outer leaves and cut into wedges and cut out the white stem area. Rinse and dry the wedges. To chop the lettuce and cabbage like a pro, use a mezzaluna salad chopper.
- Cut tomato and onion. Cut each tomato into four wedges and scrape out the watery seeds. Dice the remaining portion of the tomato and green onion into small pieces.
- Make house dressing. If you opt to make homemade house dressing, combine olive oil, vinegar, garlic, sugar, oregano and salt in a small sealed jar, and shake it vigorously for a minute to combine.
- Make the chopped salad. Combine all the ingredients, except the dressing. You can toss everything in one large bowl and serve it that way. Or you can portion out each ingredient onto separate dinner plates. Another option is to meal prep the salad into four 1-quart mason jars.
- Serve with dressing on the side.
Detailed recipe and instructions are in recipe card at bottom of post.
How to Meal Prep Chopped Salad in Jars
This recipe makes enough chopped salad to meal prep into four 1-quart mason jars.
I prefer wide-mouth jars for meal-prep recipes. Since I regularly make mason jar salads, I cap them with these reusable, leakproof mason jar lids.
Mason Jar Chopped Salad Layers
- House Dressing (bottom of jar)
- Tomatoes
- Green Onion
- Pasta
- Bacon
- Gorgonzola Cheese
- Chicken
- Chopped Lettuce
- Chopped Red Cabbage (top of jar)
How to Make the Best Chopped Salad
All the ingredients in a chopped salad are chopped into very small pieces. This way the dressing coats everything and each bite of salad has a little bit of everything.
Every flavor is enjoyed in one bite.
The key to making a good chopped salad is in the chopping. If you make a lot of chopped salads, I highly recommend getting a mezzaluna to cut up the leafy vegetables. It makes all the difference!
My Favorite Chopping Tool
A mezzaluna is a great kitchen tool for chopping salads. I like the kind with 2 handles for an easy rocking action.
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Copycat Portillo's Chopped Salad
Enjoy Portillo's Chopped Salad right at home with this copycat recipe that brings together all the same ingredients Portillo's uses in their famed salad. This tangy salad is beyond delicious with a harmonious mix of chopped greens, gorgonzola cheese, pasta, bacon, chicken and more.
Ingredients
Portillo's Chopped Salad
- 2 cups cooked chicken, cubed
- 6 slices bacon, cooked
- 2 cups cooked Ditalini pasta (about 1 cup uncooked)
- 2 1/2 cups chopped Romaine lettuce (about 1-2 hearts)
- 2 1/2 cups chopped iceberg lettuce
- 3 cups chopped red cabbage
- 2 large tomatoes, seeded and diced
- 3 stalks green onion, chopped
- 1 15-ounce package crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
- 3/4 cup House salad dressing (homemade or store-bought)
House Dressing
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Cook the chicken, bacon and pasta. Cook chicken using your preferred method or use a rotisserie chicken and cut into cubes. Cook bacon and set on paper towel to drain thoroughly, then cut into small pieces. Bring water to a boil and cook the pasta according to package directions. Immediately after cooking, rinse the pasta in cold water to stop the cooking process and keep it from sticking together.
- Chop the lettuce and cabbage. Wash, dry and chop the lettuce. For crisp lettuce I use a salad spinner. For the cabbage, remove the thick outer leaves, cut into wedges and cut out the white stem area. Rinse and dry the wedges. To chop the lettuce and cabbage like a pro, use a mezzaluna salad chopper.
- Dice tomato and onion. Cut each tomato into four wedges and scrape out the watery seeds. Dice the remaining portion of the tomato and green onion into small pieces.
- Make house dressing. If you opt to make homemade house dressing, combine olive oil, vinegar, garlic, oregano, sugar and salt in a small sealed jar. Shake the jar vigorously to combine.
- Make the chopped salad. Combine all the ingredients, except the dressing. You can toss everything in one large bowl and serve it that way. Or you can divide each ingredient into equal portions and prepare individual bowls of salad. Another option is to meal prep the salad into four 1-quart mason jars (see recipe notes below).
- Serve with dressing on the side.
Notes
How to meal prep this chopped salad in mason jars:
- You will need four 1-quart mason jars, preferably wide-mouth.
- Prepare all the salad components as directed above and divide each into four equal portions.
- Make sure everything is cool before layering into the jars.
- Here's the order to put each chopped salad ingredient in the jar, beginning at the bottom, and approximately how much of each you'll add: Dressing (3 tablespoons); Tomato (1/2 cup); Green Onion (2-3 tablespoons); Ditalini pasta (1/2 cup); Bacon; Gorgonzola cheese (1/4 cup); Cooked, cubed chicken (1/2 cup); Chopped Romaine and/or Iceberg Lettuce (1 1/4 cups total); Chopped Red Cabbage (3/4 cup)
Recommended Products
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OXO Good Grips Large Salad Spinner - 6.22 Qt., White -
Wusthof 6-Inch Mezzaluna -
HIC Kitchen's Mezzaluna Rocking Vegetable Chopper and Mincing Knife, 6.75-Inch Stainless Steel Blade with Wooden Handles -
Ball Wide Mouth Storage Lid Leakproof 6 pk, Black, Airtight, Freezer Safe, Dishwasher Safe & BPA free (2)
