9 Restaurant Chains That Serve the Best Chopped Salads
Chopped salads are versatile, easily customized meals that are easy to eat and taste great. Diced chicken breast, julienned romaine, shredded carrots, diced cucumbers, crumbled feta, sliced olives—the options are endless when deciding what ingredients to include in this refreshing dish that frequently appears on restaurant and fast-casual eatery menus today.
Looking back, chopped salads have been around for decades. According to Bon Appetit, the buzzy Beverly Hills Italian restaurant La Scala created the famous dish. Its chef, Jean Leon, chopped up the restaurant's gourmet salad in 1956, purportedly after Hollywood actress Natalie Wood requested it. La Scala's chopped salad featured a finely chopped mix of iceberg lettuce, salami, mozzarella, and chickpeas—a combination that kept people coming back for more.
More than 60 years later, the chopped salad is still popular. For those moments when you're in the mood for a chopped salad but don't feel like doing all the chopping, dicing, and slicing yourself, check out these top-rated spots. From steakhouse chopped salads that feature next-level ingredients such as hearts of palm and hard-boiled eggs to fast-casual salad chain versions that are made with savory Italian deli meats and flavorful balsamic vinaigrette, here are nine restaurant chains that serve the best chopped salads.
The Cheesecake Factory Factory Chopped Salad
The Cheesecake Factory has been a cultural fixture since it opened its doors in the 1970s in Beverly Hills, Calif. It remains one of the most popular restaurant chains, with more than 200 locations and counting. Its menu is renowned for feel-good comfort food—juicy cheeseburgers, macaroni and cheese, and cheesecake, of course—but the chopped salad is also a great dish to order. Offered under appetizers, the chain's version of a chopped salad is prepared with julienne romaine lettuce, grilled chicken, avocado, tomato, corn, bacon, blue cheese, and apple dressed in the restaurant's special vinaigrette.
Buffalo Wild Wings Chopped Cobb Salad
A well-made Cobb salad always hits the spot. The next time you pick up fried chicken wings from Buffalo Wild Wings, be sure to add the chain's chopped Cobb salad to your order. Listed under greens on the restaurant's menu, this salad is whipped up with crispy romaine lettuce, sliced tomatoes, bacon, blue cheese crumbles, hard-boiled eggs, green onions, everything seasoning, Buffalo dry rub, pulled chicken, and a hearty drizzle of ranch dressing. Delicious.
Chopt Kale Caesar With Chicken
Chopt's name is just a variation of the word "chopped," so it's no surprise the salad chain makes some of the best chopped salads out there. Founded in 2001 in New York City, the fast-casual restaurant has a long list of salads. One of the tastiest may be the kale Caesar with chicken, which features aged parmesan, artisan croutons, kale, and romaine. "My first time and my kale Caesar salad from @Chopt is delicious! My goodness," one X user shared.
However, according to reports, Chopt is no longer chopping salads by default, so you'll have to ask for your salad to be chopped when you order.
First Watch Chicken Avocado Chop Salad
Treat your tastebuds to First Watch's chicken avocado chop salad, a protein-packed dish filled with flavor. Perfect for lunch or dinner, this salad is prepared using chopped romaine and arugula, all-natural chicken breast, avocado, tomatoes, corn, black beans, feta cheese, and crispy tortilla strips drizzled with a zingy citrus chipotle dressing. "Enjoyed a delicious chicken avocado chop salad," stated one Yelp reviewer. "Was on my lunch break and the service was speedy. Will definitely go back!"
Outback Steakhouse Blue Cheese Pecan Chopped Salad
You're missing out if you haven't tried the blue cheese pecan chopped salad from Outback Steakhouse. I've ordered this salad many, many times throughout the years, and each time, it is as delicious as the last. Offered as a side salad, this refreshing dish features chopped-style mixed greens, shredded carrots, red cabbage, green onions, cinnamon pecans, and Aussie crunch dressed in a blue cheese vinaigrette and sprinkled with blue cheese crumbles. There's nothing else like it.
"The Blue Cheese Pecan Chopped Salad is far and away my favorite salad at Outback Steakhouse," shared one X user. "I love it, but I love the dressing way more…that blue cheese vinaigrette dressing is off the chain."
Chart House Chopped Salad
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Don't sleep on Chart House's chopped salad. Although the high-end seafood restaurant may be most known for its tasty fish dishes and impeccable waterfront views, its chopped salad—listed under Bowls and Greens—is something else. It's made with a zesty combination of diced cucumbers, sliced tomatoes, red onion, radish, hearts of palm, and pepperoncini, all tossed in a balsamic vinaigrette. "The Chart House Chopped Salad is my favorite salad in the world," posted one Yelp reviewer. "It's simply delicious and very filling."
Ruth's Chris Steak House Ruth's Chopped Salad
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Founded by a divorced mother of two, Ruth Fertel, in New Orleans more than 50 years ago, Ruth's Chris Steakhouse ticks off all boxes—great food, great atmosphere, and great service. It may be famous for its steaks and sides (try the creamed spinach), but Ruth's chopped salad is an excellent choice for something lighter. It features julienne iceberg lettuce, baby spinach, radicchio, bacon, croutons, blue cheese, green olives, red onions, and a combination of more unexpected ingredients, including eggs and hearts of palm. Even cooler? The dish is shaped like a small tower, drizzled in a lemon basil dressing, and topped with crispy onions.
"Love this restaurant," one Yelp reviewer shared. "The food and service are consistently top-notch. We sat at the bar and split the chopped salad, ribeye and lobster mac and cheese. Everything was scrumptious, and the definition of indulgence."
Morton's the Steakhouse Chopped Salad
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Founded in 1978 in Chicago, Morton's is considered one of the country's top steakhouses, and for good reasons—it serves high-quality USDA prime-aged steaks, boasts a stacked wine list, and offers delicious seafood dishes if red meat isn't your thing.
If you need a great side or starter for your next meal at Morton's, consider the restaurant's chopped salad, made with a mixture of iceberg and romaine lettuces, diced cucumber, crispy bacon, creamy blue cheese, chopped egg, purple onion, sliced tomato, and avocado, drizzled with a zesty Dijon vinaigrette. "Chopped salad – 5 stars," stated one Yelp reviewer. "First time trying this on the menu. Fresh ingredients and the dressing was not too light and not overpowering."
Sweetgreen Italian Chopped
Sweetgreen, the uber-popular, fast-casual restaurant chain specializing in salads has a tasty Italian chopped salad that's a must-try. The perfect combination of taste and texture, this pick comes with salami, spicy banana peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, chickpeas, red onions, shaved Parmesan, chopped romaine, shredded kale, and a bright red wine vinaigrette. "The Sweetgreen chopped Italian salad is the MOMENT," one X used posted, while another exclaimed, "The Italian chopped salad @ Sweetgreen is the bomb."
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