Olive Garden Salad (Copycat)

"My whole family loves Olive Garden's Salad! There are already a couple of recipes here for the dressing, so here is a recipe for the salad itself."
 
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photo by Jonathan Melendez photo by Jonathan Melendez
photo by Jonathan Melendez
photo by *Parsley* photo by *Parsley*
photo by COOKGIRl photo by COOKGIRl
photo by CookingONTheSide photo by CookingONTheSide
photo by Halcyon Eve photo by Halcyon Eve
Ready In:
15mins
Ingredients:
9
Serves:
4-6
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ingredients

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directions

  • In a large glass or wooden salad serving bowl, toss together the lettuce mix, onion slices, olives, pepperoncini, tomatoes, and croutons. Add dressing and toss to combine.
  • Serve with fresh Parmesan cheese and black pepper to taste.

Questions & Replies

  1. what brand of croutons work best
     
  2. what brand of croutons work best
     
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Reviews

  1. Ladies and Gentlemen, I am a chef. I normally leave only positive reviews, and this one Halcyon posted is much more positive than you are giving her credit for. Some countries do not have an Olive Garden, so looking at a photo, say in a poor country, and trying to guess the ingredients that they may or may not have can become trying as you may be looking for a substitute for a vegetable or item they may not have, import, or grow. They are now able to google "what can I substitute for pepperoncinis" and now are able to bring a very popular version to their home without ever leaving the country. Food is a universal language. Never be close minded about what may be simple to you may not be so easy for others. Sincerely, a Two heritage chef who constantly runs into this problem opening in new areas.
     
  2. What I found to be the biggest question for me was, how much salad dressing do I use? So I tested it. My end result for this particular recipe is no more than 1/3 cup of dressing. Anything more than that and it’s too salty or you have drowned your salad. I use Olive Garden Signature dressing from the grocery store. As a personal tip for the pepperoncini, I buy the sliced ones that allow me to have some with every bite.
     
  3. This recipe is -SPOT ON- a match for Olive Garden Salad! Right down to the bagged pre-chopped lettuce. Olive Garden starts with bagged pre-cut lettuce, adds some cut onions, cut tomatoes and a few canned black olives and pepperoncini and croutons - just like this recipe. Really? Come on! If you really want to one-up the OG salad - make this recipe, do yourself a favor and at least start with a whole head of iceberg and chop it yourself. It's not that hard to do, but then your salad will not taste exactly like Olive Garden. Or do you really like the taste of bagged lettuce? You decide...
     
  4. I usually order this salad and their Zuppa Toscana and rarely order anything else off the menu. I was out of pepperoncini so a slice of serrano chili filled in the role nicely. Omitted the croutons because we served this with Recipe #69004. Made my own quick vinaigrette recipe as follows: 1/2 cup white wine vinegar, 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, pinch of unbleached white sugar. pinch salt, few sprinkles of freshly ground black pepper. Allow to marinate at least an hour for best flavor. Thank you! cg
     
  5. This salad is amazing and even quicker now because Olive Garden now sells its dressing in store
     
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Tweaks

  1. If you really want to amp this up and make it your own instead of a true copycat, roast some garlice with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and add 1 tsp to 1 tbsp sauce from a can of adobos in paste, blend together with other ingredients. It will have the same flavor but with a subtle smoky hint on the back end that makes it unique while adding a whole new depth and dimension. Great post, Halcyon (Greek mythological sea bird.....awesome name)!
     
  2. Use better ingredients, and you will be rewarded.
     
  3. This is delicious best salad ever!
     

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