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Last week, I feel like Barclay and I took a very important step forward together in our relationship.
I introduced him to my family…
…’s favorite salad. ;)
Knowing his obsession already with big green salads (the guy amazingly chooses them more often than I do) and artichokes (hands-down one of his all-time favorite foods), I figured this one wouldn’t be a stretch. But still. This salad is a verrrrry important part of our family, showing up at nearly every extended family gathering, always being made in a huge batch so that everyone can return for seconds, and near and dear to every single family member’s heart. So I needed to know they would get along great.
Sure enough, it was a salad match made in heaven. ♥
My original photo for this recipe, circa 2012, after our family made it for Christmas. :)
Of course, I knew it would be. ;)
Everyone loves this salad.
I think that my aunt is actually the one who came up with it years and years ago, and our entire family instantly fell in love with it. Either she or my mom would make it — and still make it to this day — for every just about every single holiday and occasion that the extended family gathers together. And anyone else who happens to be around almost always falls in love with it as well. I remember when my old band was on road trips together back in college, our bass player would request that we swing through Wichita at mealtime just so that he could have mom make this salad for us.
Again, everyone loves this salad.
And really, why wouldn’t they? The ingredients are pretty much a guaranteed slam-dunk. (And they’re also naturally gluten-free too!)
The classic family version calls for one head of red-leaf lettuce and one head of Romaine (or a few Romaine hearts)…
…artichoke hearts (one can, or two if you really want more), chopped roasted red peppers (or my mom used to use pimientos), toasted pine nuts (such a treat!), sliced red onions…
…and this heavenly Parmesan red wine vinaigrette.
Mom and Aunt Donna used to make this with that classic “Zesty Italian Dressing Mix” from Good Seasons, which we all used to love. But over the years, I’ve nixed the processed seasoning packet in favor of the copycat recipe I’ve included below, which includes 100% pronounceable ingredients and lots of fresh Parmesan. Mmmm.
Toss it all together…
…and give it a good mix…
…and within minutes, this big bowl of happiness will be yours to share.
I made this recipe with romaine and arugula and substituted lemon juice for the vinegar . Totally delicious! Will definitely make it again. Great recipe for entertaining. Thanks for sharing!
I grew up with, and still make a very similar salad. It is also served at every family gathering! But you have really stepped it up with artichoke hearts and roasted red peppers! I’ve never left the produce aisle when searching for different ingredients for my salad. Thank you so much for the inspiration!!
I made this salad for the first time last night. We had friends over and I was serving homemade lasagna. Everyone loved the salad and I will definitely make It again! It’s delicious. Thank you for sharing it with us.
Oh my my my…so very delicious, I may be forced to eat it all myself though not many salad lovers in my family!! I don’t think I’ll mind it too bad, lol. Thank you for a delicious recipe.
Absolutely loved this! I made it twice this week already. Once for Easter dinner and again to take to work throughout the week! I’m a health coach and will be sharing this recipe with my clients which I’ll be sure to tag you and give all the credits!! Thanks so much for posting, I’m officially addicted. I added kalamata olives!
Delicious. The pine nuts give it a nice richness. I forgot the roasted peppers so I used grape tomatoes. This salad reminds me of a salad my MIL used to make that was always really good.
There is a restaurant in St. Louis with a nearly identical salad, and it is super popular too! It’s my favorite thing on their menu! I love how your family adds pine nuts. Upgrade! I will try that in my next at-home version of Rich & Charlie’s salad. Yummy idea-thanks.
I made this salad last night and it. Was. AMAZING. I’m super picky when it comes to salads, with tendencies toward the basic iceberg lettuce, carrots, and cucumber shtick, but decided to be adventurous and give this a try. It is so flavorful, light, and well balanced. This is definitely going to be my new go-to for salads.
It was so hot here in California this weekend that salads were the only thing we craved. I did salads with mandarin oranges and almonds, caesar salad, taco salad and chicken salad but ran out of ideas until…I found this treasure. Oh my goodness. We will be enjoying this very frequently as the Summer continues. The flavors in the dressing and all those wonderful artichokes. Makes my mouth water to think of it and we just finished eating it! Lovely with warm french bread and Irish butter! Thanks so much for sharing this wonderful recipe. It is being saved in my “Heirloom Recipe” folder for sure!
I took this salad to a Block Party last night and it was a big hit. I am not personally a big fan of artichoke heart or roasted red peppers, however, I loved this salad. It’s one of my favorites from now on!!
Can this dressing be refrigerated for a while? I’d love to make this but I can’t eat that much salad and prefer to put dressing on instead of tossing it.
This salad is fantastic! I added strips of grilled steak and made it a full meal. I will be printing a copy and adding it to my recipe box, just in case I lose the link!
Any salad with artichoke hearts in it is a winner! I will definitely try this one. Have you tried slicing Hearts of Palm? Another favorite salad ingredient of mine!
Left out the pine nuts at $25 a lb (work potluck- don’t like my coworkers that much!)and the Parmesan in the dressing (dairy and gluten free for coworker) and added fresh red peppers. Yummy, everyone loved it – no leftovers. I will make it again!
This salad is amazing!! I thought it sounded delicious and made it when we had out of town guests for dinner. I used fresh bell pepper rather than roasted. I brought the salad to the table before I dressed and tossed it, and the 14 year old boy who was at the dinner actually pressed his hands to his cheeks and said “Wow! That’s beautiful!”. It was a big hit and will be part of our regular repertoire from now on. Thanks for sharing!
I have made this salad numerous times for company and it always receives rave reviews. It is so simple and yet the flavors meld perfectly. The only change I make is not to add the cheese to the dressing and instead sprinkle it on the salad instead. I use this dressing as my “go to” salad dressing for all my salads.
This salad was delicious. I took it to a dinner with friends and everyone loved it.
However, if you can prepare this salad in 15 minutes, you either bought all the ingredients cut up or you have a sous chef! It took me several hours to wash and cut everything up.
I’m making this salad for a special dinner with friends but I’d like to know if you can substitute anything else for the pine nuts. They are sooo expensive!
I love to try new salads, but this is still one of my all time favorites! It is a GO-TO because it pairs well with everything. As someone else mentioned, it was first introduced to me as Rich and Charlie’s salad but I love the addition of the pine nuts.
I had high hopes for this salad and was looking forward to making and eating it. I liked all of the ingredients, but when combined with the dressing (which didn’t taste great to me) equaled a good, but not great salad. I would maybe make it again but use a different dressing.
Made this for company last weekend and it was a hit! Definitely a keeper and now a favorite salad recipe!
Yummmmm! Will definitely be trying this one
i loved this salad. I could eat the whole bowl.
I made this for dinner; roasted my own peppers and added grilled chicken thighs and this was a big hit! The dressing and salad are delish!
I made this recipe with romaine and arugula and substituted lemon juice for the vinegar . Totally delicious! Will definitely make it again. Great recipe for entertaining. Thanks for sharing!
Hi! This looks delicious! With all the problems with romaine lettuce these days can you recommend another lettuce?
Thank you!
Sure thing — butter lettuce, red leaf lettuce, baby kale, spinach or arugula would all be great!
We make this too but we add a can of hearts of palm and sliced red onion. Great for winter salad. Thanks
I grew up with, and still make a very similar salad. It is also served at every family gathering! But you have really stepped it up with artichoke hearts and roasted red peppers! I’ve never left the produce aisle when searching for different ingredients for my salad. Thank you so much for the inspiration!!
This looks absolutely delicious. Do you know the calorie count?
So delicious! Easy to make . I can see why it’s your family favorite !
I made this salad for the first time last night. We had friends over and I was serving homemade lasagna. Everyone loved the salad and I will definitely make It again! It’s delicious. Thank you for sharing it with us.
Oh my my my…so very delicious, I may be forced to eat it all myself though not many salad lovers in my family!! I don’t think I’ll mind it too bad, lol. Thank you for a delicious recipe.
This looks amazing! How many people will this salad feed?
I’m unable to eat pinenuts. Can you suggest an alternative?
Sure, pepitas, almond seeds, pecans or sunflower seeds would all be great too!
Delicious!!
Absolutely loved this! I made it twice this week already. Once for Easter dinner and again to take to work throughout the week! I’m a health coach and will be sharing this recipe with my clients which I’ll be sure to tag you and give all the credits!! Thanks so much for posting, I’m officially addicted. I added kalamata olives!
Yum! This is so delicious, I made it twice last week! (Once for Easter and once just for our immediate family.) So good!
Delicious. The pine nuts give it a nice richness. I forgot the roasted peppers so I used grape tomatoes. This salad reminds me of a salad my MIL used to make that was always really good.
There is a restaurant in St. Louis with a nearly identical salad, and it is super popular too! It’s my favorite thing on their menu! I love how your family adds pine nuts. Upgrade! I will try that in my next at-home version of Rich & Charlie’s salad. Yummy idea-thanks.
I make this with pasta instead of lettuce and add chunks of Genoa salami. I also use pickled red onions. We end up eating all week but it’s yummie!
This salad is amazing as a main dish with some grilled chicken breast or grilled salmon as well.
I made this salad last night and it. Was. AMAZING. I’m super picky when it comes to salads, with tendencies toward the basic iceberg lettuce, carrots, and cucumber shtick, but decided to be adventurous and give this a try. It is so flavorful, light, and well balanced. This is definitely going to be my new go-to for salads.
I made this tonight and it was wonderful!
It was so hot here in California this weekend that salads were the only thing we craved. I did salads with mandarin oranges and almonds, caesar salad, taco salad and chicken salad but ran out of ideas until…I found this treasure. Oh my goodness. We will be enjoying this very frequently as the Summer continues. The flavors in the dressing and all those wonderful artichokes. Makes my mouth water to think of it and we just finished eating it! Lovely with warm french bread and Irish butter! Thanks so much for sharing this wonderful recipe. It is being saved in my “Heirloom Recipe” folder for sure!
I took this salad to a Block Party last night and it was a big hit. I am not personally a big fan of artichoke heart or roasted red peppers, however, I loved this salad. It’s one of my favorites from now on!!
This salad is delicious.A meal in itself.I complimented it with small versions of spanakopita.Very refreshing and tasty.
Can this dressing be refrigerated for a while? I’d love to make this but I can’t eat that much salad and prefer to put dressing on instead of tossing it.
What brand of roasted red peppers do you like to use? I don’t think I’ve bought any before.. where are these in the grocery store?
I’ve bought several brands, most recently Merzetta, all were good. They are somewhere in the vicinity of pasta and jarred pasta sauces.
This salad is fantastic! I added strips of grilled steak and made it a full meal. I will be printing a copy and adding it to my recipe box, just in case I lose the link!
Looks delish..‼️Will make it soon.. tks for sharing it
My family calls this salad “Rich and Charlie’s….from an Italian place we frequented in St. Louis in the mid 70s. Delish
Any salad with artichoke hearts in it is a winner! I will definitely try this one. Have you tried slicing Hearts of Palm? Another favorite salad ingredient of mine!
This salad is AMAZING- Ten times better than Olive Garden
THIS is my new favorite salad!
Left out the pine nuts at $25 a lb (work potluck- don’t like my coworkers that much!)and the Parmesan in the dressing (dairy and gluten free for coworker) and added fresh red peppers. Yummy, everyone loved it – no leftovers. I will make it again!
One question…….fresh parmesan or the kind in the can? I am making this for a party…..if I don’t eat it all before the party!
This salad is amazing!! I thought it sounded delicious and made it when we had out of town guests for dinner. I used fresh bell pepper rather than roasted. I brought the salad to the table before I dressed and tossed it, and the 14 year old boy who was at the dinner actually pressed his hands to his cheeks and said “Wow! That’s beautiful!”. It was a big hit and will be part of our regular repertoire from now on. Thanks for sharing!
Yum! Added black olives for the fun of it, but excellent either way! Thanks
Amazing totally loved it
I have made this salad numerous times for company and it always receives rave reviews. It is so simple and yet the flavors meld perfectly. The only change I make is not to add the cheese to the dressing and instead sprinkle it on the salad instead. I use this dressing as my “go to” salad dressing for all my salads.
This salad is the most asking one for family and friends. Every time I make it they all love it!!
These are all “a few of my favorite things”, thank you and Merry Christmas!
This salad was delicious. I took it to a dinner with friends and everyone loved it.
However, if you can prepare this salad in 15 minutes, you either bought all the ingredients cut up or you have a sous chef! It took me several hours to wash and cut everything up.
I’m making this salad for a special dinner with friends but I’d like to know if you can substitute anything else for the pine nuts. They are sooo expensive!
Marinated artichokes hearts or ones packed in water?
Can roasted tomatoes instead of roasted peppers
Are the artichokes marinated or plain!
I used plain, but you can use either. :)
I love to try new salads, but this is still one of my all time favorites! It is a GO-TO because it pairs well with everything. As someone else mentioned, it was first introduced to me as Rich and Charlie’s salad but I love the addition of the pine nuts.
Really good. Thanks for sharing!
I had high hopes for this salad and was looking forward to making and eating it. I liked all of the ingredients, but when combined with the dressing (which didn’t taste great to me) equaled a good, but not great salad. I would maybe make it again but use a different dressing.
Been making this for a year now and it’s a hit every time. Best dressing. Thanks!