House Salad Vs Italian Salad At Carrabba’s: What Is The Difference?

We all love Carrabba’s Italian Grill.

You can’t go wrong with their hearty pasta, fresh grilled-to-order meat, and all the bread.

But did you know that every order also comes with a choice of house salad or Italian salad?

Below, we break down the two options so that you can make your next order as deliciousness-optimized as possible.

What is Carrabba’s house salad?

The Carrabba’s house salad is a chopped salad with large romaine lettuce and mixed greens, topped with tomatoes, red onions, kalamata olives, cucumbers, peppers, and mozzarella cheese.

The dressing options are ranch or balsamic vinaigrette, but the first one is more popular.

The salad usually comes with croutons on top.

It’s also served with breadsticks for dipping in the dressing or for mopping up whatever’s left over from your bowl after you’ve finished eating your meal.

If you order something more expensive like chicken parmesan or shrimp scampi then you’ll still get your salad on the side, which makes this restaurant a favorite choice of many people from around the world.

Otherwise, you can order the house salad with chicken or shrimp added to it for a heartier salad.

What is Carrabba’s Italian salad?

Carrabba’s serves an Italian salad that is made with Romaine lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions, and shaved Parmesan cheese.

It comes topped with a drizzle of Italian dressing and served on the side with garlic breadsticks and lemon wedges.

This isn’t just any old salad though; it’s one of Carrabba’s signature dishes!

The restaurant chain has been serving this popular dish for decades, but it remains a favorite dish among many customers.

What are the differences between Carrabba’s house salad and Italian salad?

Carrabba’s house salad and Italian salad are really similar in most ways.

However, we find the only difference between these two famous salads that can partially help you distinguish between them:

Carrabba’s house salad often uses a ranch dressing whereas Italian salad uses a vinaigrette-based dressing

In general, both can call for a ranch dressing or a balsamic vinaigrette one.

But in fact, the house salad often uses the ranch dressing which results in a creamier texture and flavor.

On the other hand, Italian dressing (a vinaigrette-based dressing) that is lighter, sourer, and more refreshing is commonly used for Italian salads.

What are the similarities between Carrabba’s house salad and Italian salad?

At first glance, the Carrabba’s house salad and Italian salad appear to be very similar.

Actually, they do share several things in common, as listed below:

Both are made with almost the same ingredients

You will find romaine lettuce, iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions, and black olives in almost all plates of Carrabba’s house salad or Italian salad.

The combination of different ingredients results in a vibrant looking that makes these salads so appealing at first sight.

They are packed with nutrients

Also thanks to the use of different ingredients (mostly greens), these salads are both packed with a variety of essential nutrients.

They are a rich source of vitamin A, B, C, E, K, and minerals like folate, iron, magnesium, or many other ones that benefit our health in different ways.

Btoh salads can be served as an appetizer for side dish at home or at restaurants

The last thing in common between Carrabba’s house salad and Italain salad is that they make a great appetizer or side dish salad.

They are perfect on the side of a heavy meat-based dish because the vegetables will keep everything balanced and make the overall meal more palatable.

Either recipe can be easily made at home from scratch or ordered at any Italian-American restaurant across the country, not only at Carrabba’s.

Conclusion

As you can see, both Carrabba’s house salad and Italian salad are great for people who are trying to eat healthily.

They have a lot of vegetables and low calories.

For this reason, we recommend that you try both salads if you visit Carrabba’s, so you can decide which one is best for your specific needs.

After that, you can make one or both at home from recipes found on the Internet to enjoy the friendly-budget versions of Carrabba’s house salad and/or Italian salad.