Gluten-free Dairy-free Italian Grinder Salad + VIDEO

A savory, delightful salad full of classic Italian flavors and toppings like: pepperoni, olives, pepperoncini’s, oregano, basil and homemade gluten-free breadcrumbs. A thick, herby homemade dressing made with a base of mayonnaise really clings to eat piece to ensure every bite is coated with deliciousness. This salad is free of: gluten, wheat, dairy, fish, shellfish, peanut and tree nuts, making it free of 7 of the top 9 allergens, with options to make it egg free and soy free.

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WHY THIS GRINDER ITALIAN SALAD ROCKS

• This dinner salad is a tasty salad full of protein and veggies for a cool and crisp dinner. The tang from the pepperoncini’s and Italian herbs make this anything but bland. Both the turkey and pepperoni help bolster the protein for a satisfying and protein filled dinner all with little carbs.
• Patterned after the viral grinder sandwich, this is a breadless way to enjoy all the flavors of Italy while still enjoying a green salad.
• Like the famous sandwich, everything is chopped so that it’s all bite-sized and ready to inhale. The mayo based dressing makes everything look and feel creamy. No dry salads to choke down here. Salads get a bad rap, but this will defy your expectations.

HOW IS THIS ITALIAN GRINDER SALAD GLUTEN FREE?

This salad is gluten free because none of the ingredients have wheat or gluten in them. The ingredients are vegetables, turkey and pepperoni. As always, be sure to read each and every ingredient label, just to ensure that the brands you use do not have any hidden gluten in them. 

I like to add herbed breadcrumbs on top for an extra crunch, and those are gluten-free.

*If you don’t need it to be gluten-free, and only dairy-free, then you can use regular breadcrumbs.

HOW IS THIS CHOPPED ITALIAN SALAD DAIRY FREE?

Often times, salads will have some type of cheese–whether that’s parmesan or mozzarella. Since my son has a milk allergy, we simply omit the cheese. 

You are welcome to use any store-bought dairy-free cheese if you’d like, but I think once you taste how full and robust the flavors are, you won’t miss the cheese at all. I’ve found that is the trick for making things dairy free. Store-bought vegan cheese to me doesn’t taste very good, it’s hard to find, it’s expensive and it just doesn’t add anything here, so why bother?

I do use nutritional yeast in the salad dressing, to give the homemade condiment a bit of that cheesy flavor. Nutritional yeast is a typical vegan substitution and I only use one tablespoon. You can find it online or at most grocers.

HOW DO I MAKE THIS RECIPE SOY FREE?

Most typical brands of mayo use soybean oil. I’ve found Primal Kitchen and Sir Kensington’s Mayonnaise Avocado Oil Mayo don’t have soy. 

CAN I MAKE THIS SALAD EGG FREE?

The mayo has eggs in it. If you can’t have eggs, I’ve made this with a vegan mayo and you can’t tell the difference. My favorite vegan mayo is Hellman’s–it is spot on.

CAN I MAKE THIS WITH DIFFERENT MEAT?

Yes, you can swap out the meat. You can do salami (though be careful, some have milk) or turkey pepperoni. I like Cajun spiced turkey, but you can do honey roasted, or other varieties. You do you!

WHAT INGREDIENTS ARE IN THIS CREAMY ITALIAN SALAD?

 You’ll need these ingredients:

For the dressing:

• Mayo
• Red Wine Vinegar
• Table salt
• Dried Oregano
• Dried Italian Seasoning
• Minced, jarred garlic
• Pepperoncini Peppers
• Nutritional yeast

For the salad:

• Romain lettuce
• Pepperoni, cut into fourths
• Cajun Turkey Breast thinly shaved, diced
• Roma tomatoes, diced 
• Black olives, halved

Optional topping:

Italian breadcrumbs or croutons

DOES IT MATTER WHAT TYPE OF LETTUCE OR TOMATOES I USE?

No, use what greens and tomatoes you have on hand or you prefer. You could do beefsteak tomatoes, or cherry tomatoes, as long as they’re diced for easy eating, as that is the trend with chopped salads.

Iceberg or even spinach would also be a good green base–just be sure to chop, chop, chop!

CAN I USE DIFFERENT AMOUNTS THAN WHAT THE RECIPE CALLS FOR?

Absolutely! Salads are great in that they’re versatile when it comes to measurements. I honestly hate putting measurements, because you gotta go by your own preferences. Only like olives a little? Put in half a can. Like them a lot? Put the whole thing. Want it more meat heavy? Use a 1/2 pound instead of 1/4 pound. Go crazy! The dressing makes a good amount, so it should be able to cover things if you go a little more or less than what is called for.

You can even add extra veggies. Cucumbers, red onion and red bell peppers would also be good in this recipe. It just depends on what you have on hand and what you’re feeling.

WHAT TOOLS DO YOU NEED?

For this dairy-free main course salad you will need:

• Large salad bowl
• Cutting board
• Chef’s knife
• Spatula
• Measuring cups and spoons
• Small mixing bowl
• Optional: baking sheet for making the croutons

WHAT WOULD GO GOOD WITH THIS GLUTEN FREE GRINDER SALAD?

These gluten-free vegan herbed breadsticks would be absolutely amazing with this salad. It’d be like having your own salad and breadsticks from Olive Garden–except allergy friendly!

WHEN WOULD BE A GOOD TIME TO SERVE THIS SALAD?

We eat this for dinner all of the time. But, spring through fall is an extra great time because it’s nice and refreshing since it’s a cool salad for the hotter months. This salad would also be great for potlucks and BBQs.

DO I HAVE OTHER GLUTEN-FREE DAIRY-FREE SALADS?

I love a good salad–whether that be a green salad, or a pasta salad. Try out these other favorites like my: Apple Bacon Spinach Salad, Avocado BLT Pasta Salad, Asian Spinach Pasta Salad, Allergy Friendly Thai Chopped Salad, Greek Salad with Vegan Tzatziki, and my Frito Taco Salad.

IS THERE A VIDEO SHOWING HOW TO MAKE THIS SALAD?

Yes, there is. I hope seeing this entree salad will help you feel confident to approach the recipe. The video should auto populate, but if it doesn’t, it’s embedded into the bottom of the recipe card. And, if that doesn’t work, you can always see it on my YouTube channel. (While you’re there, be sure to subscribe!)

Continue to Content

Dairy-free Italian Grinder Salad + VIDEO

Yield: 6 servings

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

A savory, delightful salad full of classic Italian flavors and toppings like: pepperoni, olives, pepperoncini's, oregano, basil and homemade gluten-free breadcrumbs. A thick, herby homemade dressing made with a base of mayonnaise really clings to eat piece to ensure every bite is coated with deliciousness. This salad is free of: gluten, wheat, dairy, fish, shellfish, peanut and tree nuts, making it free of 7 of the top 9 allergens, with options to make it egg free and soy free.

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Ingredients

FOR THE DRESSING:

• 1/2 cup Mayo (use vegan if you need egg free)
• 1/2 tbsp Red Wine Vinegar
• 1/2 tsp Table salt
• 1 tsp Dried Oregano
• 1 tsp Dried Italian seasoning
• 1 tsp jarred, minced garlic
• 1/3 cup Pepperoncini Peppers, diced
• 1 Tablespoon nutritional yeast

FOR THE SALAD:

• 2 hearts of Romain lettuce, washed and chopped
• 1/4 lb Pepperoni, cut into quarters
• 1/4 lb Cajun Turkey Breast, thinly shaved and diced
• 2 Roma tomatoes, diced 

OPTIONAL TOPPING:

• Herbed, gluten-free croutons or breadcrumbs

Instructions

1. Make your gluten-free croutons following the linked recipe and set aside, if using.
2. Chop your romain hearts, and add to a large salad serving bowl.
3. Add in your chopped tomatoes, pepperoni and turkey--making sure everything is bite sized.
4. Cut in half or pull in half (see video) the olives and place in the salad.
5. Set aside.
6. In a smaller bowl, combine all of your dressing ingredients and stir well.
7. Pour your dressing over your salad, starting with half and stirring to see how well coated you like it.
8. Top with the croutons, or, if you're like me, I like to blitz my croutons a bit, so that they're more like breadcrumbs to go along with the chopped look, instead of big pieces. You do you!
9. Serve immediately.

Notes

Salads are customizable! Feel free to swap in different veggies or play with the amounts to make it so YOU'LL like it.

*Our allergies, while severe and that get re-tested frequently, are such that we can go strictly by what's on the label. I do not call companies to see what things are derived from, or call manufacturers to see about potential cross contact. If your allergies require you to do so, please do your own homework. I cannot assure you of any ingredient's safety, only you can do that. I simply share what works for our family

**If you are going to feed this to someone with food allergies, and you yourself do not have food allergies, I HIGHLY recommend having them check every single brand and ingredient you are using, to ensure they're OK with each part of the recipe. And, to make sure you've talked to them about how to avoid cross contamination in your kitchen.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 297Total Fat: 24gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 17gCholesterol: 41mgSodium: 780mgCarbohydrates: 9gFiber: 2gSugar: 2gProtein: 12g

DON’T FORGET TO PIN IT, SO YOU DON’T LOSE IT. WHILE YOU’RE THERE, BE SURE TO CHECK OUT MY OTHER GLUTEN FREE AND DAIRY FREE PINS.

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