Use this Antipasto Salad Recipe to make an easy and delicious chopped Italian salad. Mix together salami, mozzarella, pepperocini, olives, artichoke hearts, tomatoes, and fresh basil in a simple Italian dressing.
Quick
Beginner-friendly
You’ll Learn: The perfect ratio of meats, cheese, and veggies
Worth It: It’s the bold, briny flavors of a classic antipasto platter in one easy bowl
Bonus: Super easy cleanup
Why you’ll love this recipe
- Dinner party hero – I love making an antipasto salad for a dinner party! It feels fancy, but it is SO easy to make
- Prep this salad ahead of time – When I am hosting, I love having dishes that can be done ahead of time. Chop all of your ingredients and make your dressing in advance. Then when it’s time to serve you just have to assemble!
- So many ways to serve it – This antipasto salad recipe is delicious as is, but you could also serve it on a bed of romaine lettuce, or you could even toss it with some cooked fusilli pasta for an antipasto pasta salad
What does antipasto mean?
The word antipasto comes from Latin words that mean before the meal. Italians serve antipasto platters or antipasti like an appetizer before a meal. Antipasto is an assortment of meats, cheese, and vegetables.
Some people serve antipasto on a platter and some serve it mixed together. An antipasto salad is a chopped Italian salad made with the meats, cheeses, and veggies. Then, many toss the antipasto salads in olive oil or a simple Italian vinaigrette.
Serving suggestions
This salad would be perfect as an appetizer or side dish at a party or small gathering along side some tomato focaccia. To complete the meal, you could make some balsamic grilled chicken or pork tenderloin. For a pasta entree, you could make a baked ziti or stuffed shells.
Alternatively, this salad could be prepared as a part of your weekly meal prep. Toss the antipasto salad with some cooked and shredded chicken breast for a healthy Italian chicken salad. Toast up some Italian bread and use the antipasto salad as a topping.
Ingredients
- Salami – you can use your favorite kind of salami and slice it thinly
- Mini mozzarella balls – I prefer the mini mozzarella balls for ease, but you can also tear or grate a large ball of fresh mozzarella cheese
- Cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes – use your favorite small tomatoes
- Marinated artichoke hearts – the artichoke hearts add a great flavor to your antipasto salad
- Pepperoncini peppers – the brininess of the pepperoncini is so tasty with this salad
- Olives – I used kalamata olives, but you can use black olives, green olives or leave the olives out completely
- Fresh basil – the basil is such a great aromatic to add to your salad
- Olive oil – I used extra virgin olive oil because it adds a little flavor to the dressing, but you can also use a neutral oil
- Red wine vinegar – the vinegar brightens up the dressing
- Dried oregano – the oregano gives the classic Italian flavor to your dressing
- Crushed red pepper – you can adjust the red pepper depending on your taste
ingredient substitutions
Customize this antipasto salad with your favorite Italian meats and cheeses! If you prefer prosciutto, use that instead of salami. I like to use a hard salami but you can use a genoa salami, pepperoni or any cured meats.
If you prefer provolone cheese, use that instead of the mozzarella balls. You could even use a pre-marinated mozzarella cheese.
I like to use the veggies listed above, but you can basically use any veggies you like. I sometimes add some thinly sliced red onions.
In addition, if you like roasted red peppers, toss those into this antipasto salad! To add a little umami flavor, toss in some marinated mushrooms or anchovies.
This antipasto salad is tossed in a simple homemade Italian dressing. You can customize the dressing even more to your taste with a little dijon mustard, a shake of garlic powder, or a bit of lemon juice. I don’t add salt because you get plenty from the sodium in the other salad ingredients, but you can always add it. If you would like to use a store bought Italian salad dressing instead, that will also work!
Feel free to garnish your salad with more fresh basil and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese.
How to make
Step 1: Chop ingredients and prepare Italian dressing
To begin, prepare all ingredients by chopping and slicing them into bite-size pieces.
Then, whisk together olive oil, red wine vinegar, dried oregano, and crushed red pepper in a small bowl.
Step 2: Mix it all up!
Next, add all ingredients to a mixing bowl. Then, pour the Italian dressing overtop.
Finally, mix the ingredients and dressing together thoroughly. Lastly, store the salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Serve this as a delicious appetizer OR as a side to an entree. However you serve it, this antipasto salad is filled with delicious ingredients and packed with flavor.
storage
I prefer to enjoy this antipasto salad immediately. If you prepare the salad ahead of time, place in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
If you want to eat this salad on lettuce, I recommend adding the lettuce as you eat each serving so that the lettuce does not get soggy.
Check out these other simple salad recipes
You can find the full recipe below. If you make this recipe, please rate and review it in the comments, or share it with me on Instagram!
You can find the full recipe below. If you make this recipe, please rate and review it in the comments, or share it with me on Instagram!
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Recipe
Antipasto Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup sliced salami
- 3/4 cup mini mozzarella balls or full size mozzarella cut into small pieces
- 1/2 cup halved olives
- 3/4 cup quartered cherry tomatoes
- 1/2 cup sliced pepperoncini peppers
- 1/2 cup chopped marinated artichoke hearts
- 1/4 cup fresh chopped basil
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
Instructions
- Prepare all ingredients by chopping and slicing them into bite size pieces
- Mix together olive oil, red wine vinegar, dried oregano, and crushed red pepper
- Add all ingredients to a mixing bowl
- Pour dressing overtop
- Mix together thoroughly
- Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days
Nutrition Information
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
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