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This easy italian house salad will quickly become a family favorite! Crisp, fresh lettuce is paired with artichoke hearts, parmesan cheese, onion and a simple red wine vinaigrette. 

Can you believe that I used to subsist on chicken fingers and pizza? Here I am, 15 years later, running a food blog and making things like this italian house salad, this Bacon Jam, this Bourbon Walnut Pork Tenderloin, or Scallops with Tomato Butter Sauce on the regular. Chicken fingers? Seriously, I missed out on so much for so long. 

Like most kids, I gravitated towards beige foods. And then, honestly, I just got stuck there. My parents made great food. I turned most of it down. I think most of it was “fear” of not liking it. I’m sure it was absolutely maddening for them! I branched out a bit when I left for college, but I really started to branch out when I started dating my husband. His family cooked really different foods and I had to eat, or starve! All of a sudden, not liking most foods was kinda embarrassing. Little by little, I got over it. Now I’m making up for lost time!

My mother-in-law, Julie, is famous for this salad. It’s a knock-off from a local italian cafe in Jefferson City, Missouri. The place is called Madison’s Cafe, and it’s famous for this salad the way that Red Lobster is famous for it’s biscuits, or Olive Garden it’s bread sticks, just on a smaller scale. I absolutely love how fresh this italian house salad tastes!

Julie's Famous Italian House Salad

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This easy Italian house salad will quickly become a family favorite! Crisp, fresh lettuce is paired with artichoke hearts, parmesan cheese, onion and a simple italian vinaigrette.

Ingredients

• 1/2 head iceberg lettuce, washed and chopped into bite size pieces
• 1/2 head romaine lettuce, washed and chopped into bite size pieces
• 1/2 can artichoke hearts, drained
• 1/2 cup red onion, sliced
• 2/3 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
• 2/3 cup olive oil
• 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper

Instructions

1. In a medium bowl, toss iceberg lettuce, romaine lettuce, artichoke hearts, red onion and Parmesan cheese.
2. In a small bowl, combine olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper. Whisk well to combine.
3. Top salad with dressing and let stand for 15 minutes inrefrigerator before serving.

 Love this recipe? I think you’d also love my Easy Chicken Milanese, or this Crab Linguine Carbonara pasta.