Portillo’s Chopped Salad

Portillo’s Chopped Salad is brimming with lettuce, cabbage, tender pasta, vegetables, and plenty of bacon, all coated in a delectable creamy balsamic dressing, with a perfect finishing touch of gorgonzola cheese!

Loving pasta in your salad? Give this BLT Pasta Salad, Asian Pasta Salad, or this Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad a try!

Portillo’s Chopped Salad

Portillo’s, a well-known spot with locations across the U.S. (Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Florida, Arizona, and California), has a famous chopped salad that’s been a hit since 1990. I finally tried it after seeing it all over the internet and knew I had to recreate it. Let me tell you, it’s even better than I expected!

This salad is a delicious mix of sweet and savory flavors with a ton of textures, making it a quick family favorite. It’s perfect for potlucks and BBQs. While my “copycat” version is a bit different from the original, me and taste teseters actually prefer it—especially the dressing. Portillo’s Chopped Salad uses a sweet Italian dressing, but I went with a Creamy Balsamic Dressing, my current favorite, which I’ve been dying to try in a pasta salad.

Ingredients In Portillo’s Chopped Salad

Chopped Salad:

• Ditalini pasta: Salt the water when cooking.
• Cooked and crumbled bacon: Adds a smoky, crispy crunch. Cook the bacon until crispy.
• Pre-cooked chicken: Grab a rotisserie chicken or use some leftover grilled chicken, diced up for a quick assembly.
• Chopped lettuce (half romaine, half iceberg): It’s delicious with two different lettuce varieties. I use half romaine and half iceberg, but in a pinch, either one will work.
• Chopped red cabbage: Chop finely for even texture.
• Cherry tomatoes: Adds juicy sweetness, halve or quarter each tomato to keep everything in the salad a similar size.
• Thinly sliced green onions: Use both green and white parts of the onion.
• Crumbled gorgonzola cheese: Feta or goat cheese are a great substitute if you’re not a fan of gorgonzola.

Creamy Balsamic Dressing: Blend everything together until smooth and creamy. Store in a jar in the fridge and shake before using.

How To Make Portillo’s Chopped Salad

1. Dressing: Blend all dressing ingredients until creamy and emulsified. Transfer the dressing to a mason jar and refrigerate. Shake the dressing before using.
2. Cook Pasta: Cook pasta until al dente, generously salting the water. Drain, cool, and toss with a few tablespoons of dressing.
3. Bacon and Chicken: Cook bacon, then chop it coarsely. Dice rotisserie or grilled chicken into small pieces.
4. Salad Assembly: In a large bowl, combine lettuce, red cabbage, tomatoes, and green onions. Add pasta, chopped bacon, chopped chicken, and gorgonzola cheese. Dress with the prepared dressing (add to taste) and toss.

More Delicious Salad Recipes

• Honey Mustard Salad Dressing with a chicken salad
• Steak Salad Recipe with a citrus vinaigrette
• Greek Pasta Salad with a Greek-inspired dressing
• Broccoli Grape Pasta Salad with a creamy dressing
• Italian Pasta Salad with an Italian-inspired vinaigrette

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5 from 27 votes

Portillo’s Chopped Salad

By Chelsea Lords

Portillo’s Chopped Salad is loaded with crisp lettuce, cabbage, pasta, veggies, bacon, and a creamy balsamic dressing, all topped with gorgonzola for a flavorful finish!

Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes minutes

Servings: 6 as a side

Equipment

• Small blender
• Medium pan or electric griddle

Ingredients 

USMetric

 

1x2x3x

Chopped Salad

• ▢ 1 cup uncooked ditalini pasta
• ▢ 1/2 cup cooked and crumbled bacon 7 slices
• ▢ 2 cups rotisserie chicken or leftover grilled chicken, diced
• ▢ 5 cups chopped lettuce I like to use half romaine (2-1/2 cups; 100g) and half iceberg lettuce (2-1/2 cups; 150g)
• ▢ 1-1/2 cups chopped red cabbage
• ▢ 1 cup cherry tomatoes halved or quartered
• ▢ 1 cup thinly sliced green onions
• ▢ 1/4 to 1/2 cup crumbled gorgonzola cheese

Creamy Balsamic Dressing

• ▢ 1/2 cup honey-vanilla Greek yogurt I recommend Greek Gods
• ▢ 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• ▢ 1/4 cup maple syrup not pancake syrup
• ▢ 1/4 cup olive oil
• ▢ 1 tablespoon Dijon-style mustard
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon finely minced garlic
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon salt
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon pepper

Instructions 

• Place all dressing ingredients in a small blender. Blend until combined, creamy, and emulsified. Transfer dressing to a mason jar and store in the fridge until ready to eat. Shake the dressing before dressing the salad.
• Cook pasta according to package directions to al dente. Generously salt the water; this is what will season the pasta! I add 1 teaspoon salt to every 4 cups water. Drain and cool; run under cold water and shake off to dry. When dry, toss with a few tablespoons of the prepared dressing.
• Cook bacon in a pan or on an electric griddle. Remove, let cool slightly, and chop coarsely. Chop a rotisserie chicken (or leftover grilled chicken) into bite-sized pieces.
• In a large bowl, combine lettuce, red cabbage, halved or quartered tomatoes, and thinly sliced green onions. Add cooled pasta, chopped bacon, and chopped chicken. Add gorgonzola cheese. If not eating all the salad, only dress what will be eaten; this salad doesn’t sit well with the dressing. If eating all the salad, add dressing to desired preference (you may not use it all—see note 1) and toss to combine.

Video

Recipe Notes

Note 1: The dressing recipe makes a good amount of dressing. Depending on how dressed you like your salads, you may use it all or you could have a good amount leftover. Leftover dressing will stay fresh, stored in an airtight container in the fridge, for 5–7 days.

Storage: The salad can be made in advance as long as the salad, bacon, cheese, and dressing is stored separately. Combine right before eating.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 253kcal | Carbohydrates: 20.3g | Protein: 12.3g | Fat: 10.6g | Cholesterol: 28.8mg | Sodium: 92.9mg | Fiber: 1.7g | Sugar: 9.7g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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