I have quite a number of blogger friends who are expecting babies right now. Last week I brought Peanut Butter Bonbons the Size of Texas to a virtual baby shower. And this week I’m evening out those delicious sweet calories with jars of Italian Chopped Salad with Creamy Caesar Dressing, a salad I concocted just for my sweet friend and expectant momma, Aggie.
I’ve been “virtual” friends with Aggie for awhile now, but we didn’t actually meet until last fall when we were guests of Harry and David in Oregon. Spending a few days with her, finding each other at the lovely Magnolia Inn’s coffee pot early each morning, my collected feelings about Aggie were quickly affirmed. She’s a peach. And I’m so blessed to call her friend.
Aggie’s Kitchen is a great resource for simple family meals, and one that I specifically visit for tasty salads and beans recipes. I also adore how Aggie always finds ways to honor her family and Italian roots.
I embraced her beautiful Italian heritage and created a fresh colorful salad with a creamy homemade Caesar dressing. And I layered it all up in a jar, just for the fun of it!
The salad has all kinds of good things going on. There are garbanzo beans on the bottom layer, mingling with the Caesar dressing. Then shredded carrots, fresh-from-the-garden sweet cherry tomatoes, and chopped kalamata olives, romaine, and Italian parsley. The jar is topped off with peppery arugula, fresh shaved Parmesan, and a sprinkling of toasted pine nuts and freshly cracked black pepper. I like to serve the salad with slices of fresh lemon for squeezing over the top. It adds just the perfect finishing touch.
If you like Caesar dressing, I beg you to give this super flavorful one a try. It’s creamy, but in a light way, using a combination of Greek yogurt, mayonnaise, olive oil, and white wine vinegar…plus it gets added yumminess from Worcestershire, whole grain Dijon, and Frank’s RedHot sauce. The mayonnaise not only added some creaminess, it also dodged the raw egg issue that is typical of homemade Caesar dressing, without sacrificing that beautiful eggy flavor. My husband, a harsh critic of Caesar salads, took only one bite before saying, “Wow, you can make this again.” Yes, it’s that good.
Italian Chopped Salad in a Jar {with Creamy Caesar Dressing}
Ingredients
- for the creamy Caesar dressing:
- ⅓ c. Greek yogurt
- ⅓ c. mayonnaise
- 6 anchovy fillets minced
- 4 large garlic cloves minced
- ⅓ c. grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 T. white wine vinegar
- 1 T. extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp. Dijon whole grain mustard
- 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp. Frank’s RedHot sauce
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- for the Italian chopped salad:
- 1 15- oz. can garbanzo beans chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 2 c. shredded carrots
- 2 c. halved cherry tomatoes
- ½ c. rough chopped kalamata olives
- 6 c. chopped romaine lettuce
- ⅓ c. rough chopped Italian parsley
- 1 c. packed baby arugula
- ¼ c. toasted pine nuts
- shaved Parmesan cheese and freshly ground black pepper for topping the salad
- ½ lemon cut into 6 wedges, for sprinkling over the salad
Instructions
for the creamy Caesar dressing:
- Combine all ingredients in a blender and blitz until smooth and creamy. Or place ingredients in a small bowl and use an immersion blender to combine.
- Refrigerate until ready to use.
for the Italian chopped salad:
- Wash and dry 6 pint size jars. Divide garbanzo beans evenly between the jars. To each jar, spoon 2 tablespoons prepared creamy Caesar dressing over the beans. It’s important to make this your first layer, so the dressing doesn’t make the lettuces soggy.
- Next divide the shredded carrots evenly between the jars, followed by the cherry tomatoes, and then the kalamata olives. Divide the lettuce and parsley evenly between the jars, compacting the layer enough to leave 1” of headspace in the jars. Top with baby arugula, followed by pine nuts, shaved Parmesan, and freshly ground black pepper. Serve immediately, or cover individual jars with lids and refrigerate until ready to eat.
- To serve, provide a dinner plate for each jar, to pour the jar of salad out onto. This will allow for everything to mingle together and distribute, for a variety of flavors and textures in each bite. Serve each salad with a fresh slice of lemon, to squeeze over the top right before eating. This salad can be made several hours before serving.
These are such cute shower ideas! Aggie would love it, too, Brenda! So happy we could all do this for her – wish we could all be together IRL though.
Looks awesome and happy baby shower to Aggie!
A great back to school lunch idea too!
Oh how yummy and I love salad in jars!! Love the addition of Frank’s too.
Um, there needs to be more salads in a jar!! Love this idea!
Such a cute idea for individual salads in a jar for a baby shower! I would love that and I can bet Angie will appreciate your offerings too! So cute!
Mmmm…drool-worthy salad recipe, Brenda!! :)
Love Casear dressings and this one looks scrumptious with the 1/3 cup of parmesan in it. Love that you did this salad in the jars!
Italian Chopped Salad in a Jar. How fun! You know what else is fun? Being a part of this event with you!
This is such a lovely surprise for Aggie!! And I’m a huge fan of mason jar salads! This is gorgeous!
I adore this to pieces! I know Aggie would LOVE this!! So pretty too, Brenda! Thank you for joining in! :-)
Oh my goodness — these are too cute, Brenda! Love the salad-in-jars twist! :)
Oh this sound awesome! I’ve never attempted to make my own caesar dressing before. Must give this a whirl… and what a perfect recipe for our sweet dear friend Aggie!
this looks amazing & so refreshing!
You won me over with the toasted pine nuts! These would be so perfect for a baby shower! And so pretty!
These are SO cute and perfect for a baby shower! Hand held salads? That is awesome!
I’m really enjoying hopping around these blogs and learning a bit more about Aggie. I agree that she is definitely a peach! Love this salad dressing without eggs and the addition of Greek yogurt must make it so creamy yet light at the same time. Great idea!
Yum! I can’t resist these!
Love the arugula and pine nuts in this dish!! Thank you so much for participating my friend!!
So pretty! perfect for a baby shower!! xoxo Sheila