Portillo's Chopped Salad (Chicago's Iconic Recipe Made at Home)

I've never been to Chicago, but I've eaten at Portillo's — at least, the version I built in my own kitchen after my husband came back from a work trip raving about a chopped salad. A chopped salad. He's not a salad person. He will eat biryani at midnight and ask for seconds. So when he described this thing in detail — the little pasta pieces, the creamy Italian dressing, the crispy bacon — I paid attention.

What makes this salad work is the ditalini pasta mixed right into the greens. It sounds weird if you've never had it, but it adds this soft, chewy element that makes the whole bowl feel like an actual meal instead of a side dish you eat out of obligation. Paired with crunchy iceberg, romaine, smoky crumbled bacon, pepperoncini peppers, and a generous amount of Italian dressing — it comes together faster than anything I'd call dinner-worthy usually does.

I make a double batch every time now because it disappears. My husband takes it for lunch the next day, and honestly the second-day version might be even better — the dressing soaks into the pasta a bit and everything gets a little more cohesive. If you're looking for something equally fast but warm, my Philly Cheesesteak Pasta is another crowd-approved weeknight option in our house.

One thing I'll tell you upfront: cook and fully cool the pasta before mixing. Hot pasta wilts the lettuce immediately and the whole texture goes wrong. Ask me how I know. Give yourself 20 minutes for the pasta to cool on a tray, or cook it ahead and refrigerate it — that's what I do now.

Why You'll Love This Recipe

• It actually fills you up: Most salads leave me hungry an hour later. This one doesn't. The pasta, bacon, and cheese make it substantial enough to eat as a full meal. My husband finishes a bowl and doesn't go looking for something else afterward, which says a lot.

• It's genuinely fast to put together: If you've got the pasta cooked and cooled, the actual assembly takes about 10 minutes. I've made this on weeknights when I had nothing planned and it came together while the kids were washing up for dinner. No stove time required once the pasta is done.

• It gets better as it sits: I made this for a Friday dinner and had leftovers Saturday — the second-day bowl was noticeably better. The dressing had worked into everything, the flavors had settled. If you're feeding guests, make it a few hours early and refrigerate it. Just hold the dressing until 30 minutes before serving.

• The texture combination is genuinely interesting: Crunchy iceberg, soft pasta, chewy bacon bits, creamy dressing, the slight kick from pepperoncini — every forkful has a few different things going on. It doesn't get boring halfway through the bowl the way a plain green salad can.

• You can customize it without wrecking it: I've made this with grilled chicken added in, without the pepperoncini when I couldn't find them, with all romaine when I ran out of iceberg. The base is forgiving. The dressing does the heavy lifting, and as long as you don't skip that, the salad works.

Ingredients

• 6 cups chopped iceberg and romaine lettuce (a mix of both gives the best texture)
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered
• 1 cup cucumber, diced
• ½ cup red onion, finely chopped
• ½ cup cooked bacon, crumbled (about 5-6 slices)
• 1 cup shredded cheddar and mozzarella cheese mix
• ¼ cup pepperoncini peppers, sliced (find these in the pickle aisle at most grocery stores)
• 1½ cups cooked ditalini pasta, cooled completely (elbow or small shells work too)
• ½ cup creamy Italian dressing, store-bought or homemade (Wish-Bone or Ken's are both fine)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

• Step 1: Cook and cool the pasta — Boil the ditalini in well-salted water according to the package directions, then drain and rinse with cold water. Spread it on a sheet pan or plate and let it cool completely before it touches the lettuce. If you mix it in warm, the greens go limp and the cheese gets a little gummy — I made that mistake the first time I put this together.
• Step 2: Prep the vegetables — Chop the iceberg and romaine finely — smaller pieces work better here than big leaves. Quarter the cherry tomatoes, dice the cucumber, and finely chop the red onion. Slice the pepperoncini into rounds.
• Step 3: Cook the bacon — Fry the bacon in a skillet over medium heat until it's properly crispy, then drain on paper towels and crumble into small bits. You want crunch here, not chewy — so go a little further than you think you need to.
• Step 4: Combine everything — In a large mixing bowl, combine the lettuce, cooled pasta, tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, pepperoncini, bacon, and cheese. Toss everything together with a large spoon or your clean hands.
• Step 5: Dress and chill — Pour the Italian dressing over the salad and toss well until everything is evenly coated. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving — this resting time is what makes the flavors come together properly.

Tips for Success

• Cool the pasta on a sheet pan, not in a colander: When you dump hot pasta into a colander and walk away, it sits in its own steam and stays warm for a long time. Spreading it out on a flat pan lets it cool in half the time. I usually do this while I'm chopping everything else, and by the time I'm done, the pasta is ready to go.

• Chop the lettuce finer than you think you need to: This is a chopped salad — the finer cut is part of what makes it different from a regular garden salad. Smaller pieces coat better with the dressing and are easier to get a bit of everything in one forkful. I run my knife through the pile a few extra times just to make sure.

• If you're making this ahead, keep the dressing separate: I've made this the night before for a dinner party and kept everything mixed together in a covered bowl with the dressing in a small jar on the side. Thirty minutes before serving, I poured the dressing over and tossed it. The lettuce stayed crisp and nothing got soggy. This is the move if you're planning ahead.

• Don't skimp on the bacon: I tried making this once with just 3 slices because that's all I had left. The salad was fine but it felt like something was missing. The smoky, salty bits throughout the bowl are important. Cook the full amount — 5 to 6 slices — and crumble it small so every bite has a little.

• Use at least some iceberg lettuce: I know iceberg gets dismissed as flavorless, but the crunch it provides here is genuinely different from romaine's texture. All romaine makes the salad a little too soft. The combination is worth it — and you can find iceberg at any grocery store. Costco sells a two-pack for next to nothing if you're making a big batch.

Variations

• Add grilled chicken to make it a proper dinner: My oven-baked chicken drumsticks work great alongside this, or you can slice up leftover grilled chicken and toss it right in. About 1 cup of cooked, diced chicken turns this from a side into a filling main that holds up on its own. This is what I do when I need dinner on the table fast.

• Vegetarian version: Skip the bacon and add ½ cup of roasted chickpeas (the canned kind, patted dry and roasted at 400°F for 20 minutes) for that crispy, salty element. Add half an avocado sliced in too. It's genuinely good — I've made it this way for friends who don't eat meat and they've asked for the recipe.

• Low-carb swap: Leave out the pasta entirely or replace it with ½ cup of diced cucumber for extra crunch. It's not the same salad — the pasta is a key part of what makes it filling — but if you're cutting carbs, the rest of the ingredients are already low-carb and the dressing choice matters more.

• Try a different dressing: The classic is creamy Italian, but I've made this with a balsamic vinaigrette when that's what I had open, and it worked well — lighter, more tangy. Ranch also works if you have kids who refuse Italian dressing (Saad went through a phase). Just stay with something creamy or oil-based; a watery dressing won't coat the pasta properly.

• Make it a Mexican-inspired bowl: Swap the Italian dressing for a cilantro-lime vinaigrette, replace the pepperoncini with sliced jalapeño, and add some corn and black beans. It's a completely different salad at that point, but the base structure is the same. If you like that direction, my Mexican Cucumber Salad is worth a look too.

Serving and Storage

Serving

Serve this cold, straight from the fridge. It works as a main dish on its own or as a side next to something grilled. We've eaten it alongside garlic bread, with soup on a cold day, and at a barbecue next to burgers — it holds its own in all of those contexts. If you're serving it at a gathering, put it out on a large platter rather than a bowl so people can see all the layers. It looks more impressive that way and people are more likely to actually eat it. If you're pairing it with a heartier main, something like a Mediterranean Quinoa Salad with Grilled Chicken on the side makes a really complete spread.

Storage

If you've already tossed the dressing in, it keeps covered in the fridge for up to 2 days. After that the lettuce gets too soft. If you want to stretch it further, store the dressing separately and add it when you're ready to eat — that buys you another day. I don't recommend freezing this one. The lettuce and cucumber don't survive it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I make Portillo's Chopped Salad the night before?

Yes, and honestly it often tastes better the next day. I prep everything — lettuce, pasta, vegetables, bacon — and toss it all together without the dressing, then cover the bowl and refrigerate overnight. I add the dressing about 30 minutes before serving. If you mix the dressing in the night before, the salad is still good but the lettuce softens quite a bit.

What can I use instead of ditalini pasta?

Any small pasta works — elbow macaroni, small shells, orzo, or even acini di pepe if you can find it. The point is small pieces that mix into the salad evenly rather than big tubes that sit on top. I've used elbow macaroni many times because it's always in my pantry and it works perfectly fine.

Do I have to use both types of lettuce?

You don't have to, but the combination is worth it. Iceberg brings the crunch and romaine brings the slight bitterness and body. If I'm out of one, I use all of the other and it still works — but the texture is slightly different. All iceberg can get watery, all romaine can get a little soft once the dressing goes in.

Where do I find pepperoncini peppers?

Look in the pickle and olive aisle at any regular grocery store — Walmart, Kroger, Aldi, Sainsbury's if you're in the UK. They usually come in a jar. They're mild with a slight tang, not very spicy. If you can't find them, banana pepper rings are a good substitute, or you can just leave them out — the salad still works without them.

Can I make this salad gluten-free?

Yes, swap the ditalini for your favorite gluten-free small pasta — Barilla and Jovial both make good ones available at most larger grocery stores. Everything else in the recipe is naturally gluten-free. Just double-check the label on your Italian dressing to be sure, since some brands add thickeners that contain gluten.

This is one of those recipes I came back to again and again after the first attempt — not because I needed to fix anything, but because we kept wanting it. I make a double batch now without thinking about it. One bowl goes on the table, the second goes in the fridge for tomorrow, and somehow the tomorrow bowl always gets fought over.

What I like about it is how little it asks of you. No stove except to boil pasta and fry bacon. No special equipment. A large bowl, a knife, and a decent dressing. I'm not claiming this is identical to what Portillo's serves in their restaurants — I've never actually been there. But my husband says it's close, and he's the one who ate the original, so I'll take it.

If you're in a salad mood, my Mediterranean Quinoa Salad with Grilled Chicken is another one that eats like a full meal. And if you want something sweet after this, Zainab always requests my Strawberry Cream Cheese Crumble Cookies — they're soft, fruity, and easy enough to bake while the salad is chilling. 🥗✨

If you liked this recipe, here are a few more from forfoodiefriends.com you might want to try next:

• Mediterranean Quinoa Salad with Grilled Chicken (Fresh & Filling)
• Mexican Cucumber Salad Recipe
• Easy Oven Baked Chicken Drumsticks
• Philly Cheesesteak Pasta
• Strawberry Cream Cheese Crumble Cookies (Soft, Fruity & Buttery)