The ultimate Chopped Salad combines crunchy bacon, garlicky shrimp, ripe avocado, juicy tomatoes, sweet corn, and creamy cheese, along with a generous handful of fresh parsley to brighten all of the flavors. Not a fan of bleu cheese, or any “stinky” cheese? Don’t let that stop you from making this recipe.
I’ve served this salad with and without cheese, with cheddar, with goat cheese, and with bleu cheese. However you make it, this is the chopped salad of your dreams.
This chopped salad recipe is from Jessica Merchant’s new cookbook, The Pretty Dish. If you don’t already follow Jessica’s blog, How Sweet Eats, you’re missing out. Her recipes never fail to make me crave something new.
Like so many of the recipes in this cookbook, the description and the photos for the Bacon, Bleu Cheese, and Shrimp Chopped Salad were more than enough to have me craving this salad for several days before I had a chance to make it.
There are endless recipes in The Pretty Dish that I will be trying soon. Do you see all those bookmarks in the photo?? It’s almost embarrassing how difficult it was to make up my mind which recipe to share with you. Quick Sesame Ramen Noodles are actually going to be our lunch today and the Butternut Squash Queso will be happening very soon as well.
The Blueberry Cream Cheese Biscuits sound heavenly. And I can hardly wait for peach season this year because the Peach Panzanella Salad is screaming my name. I think I have about 18 recipes flagged to try and there are so many more that I’d love to make as well.
Chopped Salad Recipe
The key to a great chopped salad is to make every bite the same size. Also called a Chop Salad, I’ve been a fan of chopped salads for years. I’m all about having a little bit of each flavor in every bite. That’s really all there is to a chopped salad. To make a chopped salad, simply cut all the ingredients as close to the same size as possible.
For this salad, that means chopping the shrimp and slicing the bacon into bite-size pieces. Halve the tomatoes, chop the avocados, cut the lettuce into small, bite-size pieces, and then toss everything together along with the remaining ingredients. I’m willing to bet that after your first bite you’ll agree with that it is well worth the few minutes of extra effort to chop things small.
As the weather warms up here in the Valley of the Sun (a.k.a. the land of no relief from the heat for the next 5 months), I am all about the salad recipes. If you haven’t already figured out How To Eat A Salad Everyday, I’ve written this post that is filled with all kind of tips and instructions for keeping your salads interesting and craveable day after day.
This Blueberry Apple Walnut Salad, Southern Style Coleslaw, and this Spinach Pasta Salad have been on my table on repeat for the past few months. Tex-Mex Cobb Salad is another favorite and this Pesto Chicken Pasta Salad sounds perfect for summer barbecues and parties.
Kitchen Tip: I use this bowl and this knife to make this recipe.
Anne Williams says
Can one use already cooked salad shrimp for this salad?
It looks delicious especially after a very hot day!!
Mary Younkin says
Anne – You certainly could.