This easy Italian house salad is one of my favorite Italian side dishes. 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 cheese pizza? Here I am, 15 years later, running a food blog for my full-time job and posting about awesome italian side dishes. Life is strange, right?

"This was excellent. Husband really liked the dressing and the addition of the artichokes."- Mary, Blackberry Babe reader

If you had told me I'd be making things like this Italian house salad, this Bacon Jam, this Bourbon Walnut Pork Tenderloin, or Scallops with Tomato Butter Sauce on the regular, I would have laughed at your!

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!

"One of my favorite salads, I literally crave it all the time- good thing it’s super easy to make!! Great work Michelle!"- Emily B.

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!

This Italian salad is one of my favorite Italian side dishes! It's the perfect compliment to your favorite pasta or lasagna, or served on the side of a classic Italian dish like Chicken Parmesan.

My mother-in-law, Julie, is famous for this salad and it's her recipe! It's a knock-off from a local Italian café 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 is famous for it's bread sticks, just on a smaller scale. I absolutely love how fresh this Italian house salad tastes!

You will need marinated artichoke hearts for this recipe. Add them to your Amazon cart here.

Julie's Famous Italian House Salad

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

½ head iceberg lettuce, washed and chopped into bite size pieces
½ head romaine lettuce, washed and chopped into bite size pieces
½ can artichoke hearts, drained
½ cup red onion, sliced
⅔ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
⅔ cup olive oil
⅓ cup red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

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