Pizza Crouton Salad with Hot Honey Dressing

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We got a salad with hot honey dressing and pizza croutons, now that’s a good time. I love making this when we order a pie. And if that doesn’t happen, the next day this is a go-to with the leftover slices. 

Let’s talk about the two stars of the show. First, the pizza croutons. I highly recommend going with a pepperoni slice. But any slice, definitely the classic cheese slice, will work. The savory cheese mixed together with the hot honey dressing is really quite the pairing. These pizza croutons are crunchy and crispy but still cheesy.

Our second star is the Hot Honey Salad Dressing that we will be making for the recipe. I personally get so excited when I see anything with hot honey on a menu. I’ll bring it up, I need to know who else is eyeing the hot honey dish because I want to order it for the table.

When I want to make this salad into a full meal, I add chicken cutlet slices. If I’m letting my hair down and want to take it to the next level, I also add shredded cured meat. I’m telling you the charcuterie meat with the hot honey dressing, it’s insane.

But as I normally would do, I do try to add in some healthy elements to a meal (without compromising the taste, that’s my oath to you guys). So we have lettuce, carrots, cucumbers, red onions, tomatoes, olives, artichokes…it's still quite a veggie packed dish.  

Okay so let's get into it. This recipe is done in like 15 minutes, GLORIOUS. 

If you’re adding chicken, make sure to prepare that first accordingly. You do you, if you want a simple grilled chicken, do it. My favorite is adding chicken cutlet.  

Next let's do the veggie chopping, that seems to take the longest, so I recommend chopping everything first, then baking your pizza croutons. While the pizza croutons are baking, we’ll  make the hot honey salad dressing. Once the croutons are done, it’s a quick toss and you’re done.

Now for these simple pizza croutons. I take a clean pair of scissors and just cut the pizza into 1-1.5-inch squares (it is so easy and weirdly satisfying). I do not use the crust. Remember, you want to make sure that the pieces are relatively similar in size to ensure that they will all crisp up the same way. Place the soon-to-be pizza croutons either directly on a wire rack or parchment paper (try to avoid tinfoil; that will make them soggy). The next super important thing to keep in mind is allowing there to be enough space between each crouton so the pieces don't melt and combine together (similarly to how you would space cookies on the sheet pan prior to baking). Lastly, CHEESE SIDE UP when placing the croutons onto the rack or parchment paper.

Now for the recipe.

Ingredients: 

This recipe is for 4 servings

Salad

• 4 cups of shredded iceberg lettuce 

• 1 cup of grilled jarred artichokes 

• 1 cup of pitted olives 

• 1 cup of diced red onion

• 2 cups of diced cucumber (this will be about 4 mini cucumbers) 

• 2 cups of sliced tomatoes (I used cherry, but any variation works) 

• If adding protein: four grilled chicken breasts or four chicken cutlets (prepare as you wish to serve the protein)

  • If making chicken cutlets (so you can check before going to the grocery store): 

    • 1 egg 

    • Breadcrumbs 

    • Thin-sliced chicken breast

    • Flour 

    • A dash of salt and pepper 

• 1 cup of shredded cured meat (like like pepperoni, spicy chorizo, whatever your heart desires) 

• ½ cup of chopped fresh basil 

• 1 cup of shredded GOOD QUALITY mozzarella cheese. (It will taste a lot fresher if you buy a mozzarella ball and shred pieces yourself. A bag of pre-shredded mozzarella cheese has a lot of preservatives that make the flavor fall flat.)

• 1 cup of shredded carrot 

• 1 slice of pizza, such as a pepperoni slice 

Dressing: 

• ½ cup of red wine vinegar 

• 2 tbsp of olive oil 

• ¼ tsp of Italian spice 

• ⅛ tsp of onion powder 

• 1 tbsp of olive brine (right from the olive jar) 

• ⅛ tsp of garlic powder 

• ½ tsp of salt 

• ¼ tsp red pepper flakes 

• ⅓ cup of hot honey 

Directions: 

• If adding chicken/proteins, prepare the protein accordingly.

• Chop everything and place into a large salad bowl. There are a lot of flavors in this dish, so if you chop small, then you'll get more flavor bursts in each bite. Chopping includes: lettuce, artichokes, red onion, cucumbers, tomatoes, basil, carrot, and shredded mozzarella cheese. I just add the olives -- they don’t need to be chopped. If using (and highly recommend you do), add the shredded charcuterie meat.

• Next let's make the pizza croutons. Using a clean pair of scissors, cut the pizza into 1-1.5-inch squares. I typically don't include the crust since I like all pizza croutons to have the cheesy top. Use a wire rack set over a sheet pan OR parchment paper on a wire rack (avoid using tinfoil -- it will not allow your pieces to crisp up the way we want). Make sure the pizza squares have space between each other so the cheeses will not melt and combine with its neighbors. CHEESE SIDE IS UP before placing the pizza croutons into the oven or air fryer. Now let’s go over two methods to make the croutons: 

  • Air fry: set your air fryer at 375°F and air fry for 10 minutes 

  • Using the oven: preheat to 450°F and then bake for 7–9 minutes.

    • Allow the croutons to rest for a few minutes before adding to the salad so the cheese has time to reset and will not fall off the crouton.

• While the pizza croutons are in the oven, make the hot honey salad dressing.

  • I whisk all the ingredients (listed above) in a small bowl.

• Add the dressing and sliced chicken cutlet directly into the salad bowl if you think you’ll be eating the full dish in one sitting. If not, then add the chicken and dressing directly onto the individual plates or personal bowls. This way, the salad will stay a 10/10 and you won't be forcing down something soggy for future meal. 

  
  

Let me know if you guys make it -- I hope you enjoy!