This delicious Italian Radicchio Salad recipe features a creamy lemon-vinaigrette, buttery calvestrano olives, tasty breadcrumbs and nutty parmesan cheese. Plus, a special tip ensures that your radicchio won’t be overly bitter!
Table of Contents
I have a thing for bitter. Almost any day of the week, I’ll take a Campari Spritz over its sweeter cousin, the Aperol Spritz. And I’m utterly obsessed with radicchio, a variety of chicory that resembles a small red cabbage, but has a delightful bitter note.
I’ve been making this delicious salad at least once a week lately. I especially love it right now since radicchio keeps for an extremely long time in the fridge. It’s one of my favorite healthy recipes for meal prep.
And while I’m all for classic salad recipes like this Caesar Salad, Wedge Salad or Arugula Salad, sometimes I feel like the dinner table just needs a little extra excitement. And this colorful salad is where it’s at!
Ingredients Notes
- Radicchio – See my tips below for how to make your radicchio less bitter.
- Bread – I love using crusty sourdough in this recipe. But any rustic, hearty bread will work.
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Castelvetrano Olives – Look for these in the olive bar section of your grocery store, or find them in jars. You can also swap in any green olives that you may have on hand.
- Parmesan Cheese – Or, swap in manchego cheese, goat cheese or blue cheese.
- Fresh Lemon Juice
- Garlic
- Mayonnaise
- Sugar, Kosher Salt, Black Pepper
How to Make It
- Core and chop the radicchio heads into bite-size pieces. Add to a large bowl and soak in ice water.
- Make the breadcrumbs – bake bread cubes in oven until golden then process to coarse crumbs.
- Make the dressing – combine ingredients in a small mason jar and shake well to combine.
- Drain radicchio and toss with dressing, olives, parmesan and breadcrumbs.
- Enjoy!
PS – This is my favorite salad spinner. I love that it collapses to store flat in my cupboard.
Recipe Variations
- Swap out the lemon juice for orange juice, sherry vinegar or balsamic vinegar to add a different flavor profile.
- Swap out the toasted breadcrumbs for some homemade croutons.
- Swap out the radicchio for any favorite bitter greens – belgian endive and arugula are great options! You could even try swapping in some shredded brussels sprouts, similar to my Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad.
- For added crunch, add in some toasted pine nuts, pumpkin seeds, sliced sweet apple, or pomegranate seeds.
- Try adding in some orange segments or blood oranges for added color and tang.
- In place of the parmesan, try adding in some manchego cheese, goat cheese or blue cheese.
How to Make Ahead and Store
- I’ve found that this salad holds up well for a couple days in the fridge, though the breadcrumbs will become soggy. To ensure the best tasting salad when making this ahead of time, I would keep the dressing and toppings separate until ready to serve. Then just toss everything together.
Recipe FAQs
Radicchio is a leafy vegetable and is a member of the chicory family. In appearance, it resembles a small head of red cabbage, but its leaves are much more delicate and have a bitter flavor.
Yes! It can be served raw in salads like this, or cooked, as in this Prosciutto Wrapped Radicchio recipe, which brings out more of its sweetness. You could even make this radicchio salad recipe with grilled radicchio.
To make radicchio less bitter when eating it raw, the trick is to soak it in ice cold water! I simply place it in the basket of my salad spinner and soak it in ice water while I’m preparing the other ingredients. After about 10 minutes, I drain it and spin in dry in the salad spinner to prepare it for tossing with my other ingredients. No more bitter radicchio!
What To Eat With It
- I love serving this chicory salad with rich & hearty dishes that can benefit from the palate cleansing bitterness of the radicchio. Roasted Chicken, Osso Bucco, Prosciutto Wrapped Pork Tenderloin and Shrimp Risotto are all great main dishes to serve with Radicchio Salad.
Erin’s wine pairings
- Grenache Blanc
More Salad Recipes
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Full Recipe
Italian Radicchio Salad
Ingredients
Breadcrumbs:
- 2 thick slices crusty sourdough bread (cut into large cubes (2 heaping cups))
- 3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- Kosher salt and black pepper
Salad:
- 2 medium heads radicchio (about 1 pound)
- ⅓ cup Castelvetrano olives (chopped )
- 1 ounce parmesan (finely grated)
Dressing:
- 1 lemon (zested and juiced)
- 1 large clove garlic (grated or minced)
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper (coarsely ground )
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- 3 Tablespoons mayonnaise
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Discard any browned outer leaves of the radicchio. Quarter the heads, and cut into them at a diagonal to remove the core. Cut into bite-sized pieces. Add radicchio to a salad spinner or a large bowl. Fill bowl with ice water and set aside.
- Meanwhile, make the breadcrumbs. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Arrange bread cubes on a baking sheet and toss with the olive oil, season with salt and pepper. Toss until evenly coated. Bake for 20 minutes, or until the bread is brown and crisp. When cool enough to handle, roughly chop the cubes on a cutting board or process in a food processor to make coarse crumbs.
- Make the dressing by adding all ingredients to a small mason jar or small container. Shake to combine, or whisk. Taste, and adjust seasonings with additional salt and pepper, or sugar.
- Drain the radicchio and spin it dry or pat dry with a large dish towel. Transfer to a large bowl and toss with the dressing. Add olives, parmesan cheese and breadcrumbs and toss to combine. Season with additional salt and pepper, to taste. Enjoy!
Notes
-
I’ve found that this salad holds up well for a couple days in the fridge, though the breadcrumbs will become soggy. To ensure the best tasting salad when making this ahead of time, I would keep the dressing and toppings separate until ready to serve. Then just toss everything together.
-
Swap out the lemon juice for orange juice, sherry vinegar or balsamic vinegar to add a different flavor profile.
-
Swap out the toasted breadcrumbs for some homemade croutons.
-
Swap out the radicchio for any favorite bitter greens – belgian endive and arugula are great options! You could even try swapping in some shredded brussels sprouts, similar to my Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad.
-
For added crunch, add in some toasted pine nuts, pumpkin seeds, sliced sweet apple, or pomegranate seeds.
-
Try adding in some orange segments or blood oranges for added color and tang.
-
In place of the parmesan, try adding in some manchego cheese, goat cheese or blue cheese.
Nutrition
This post was originally published in 2020. It was updated in 2023 to add new content. The raddichio salad recipe remains the same. Enjoy!
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