Antipasto Salad

Simply The Best Antipasto Salad Recipe, Ever. 

You may be familiar with the Italian antipasto platter, a snacky first course that’s usually served at the start of a formal, multi-course Italian dinner. What appears on an antipasto platter can vary a lot, but a classic antipasto platter usually includes olives, marinated veggies, cured meats, and cheese. This salad recipe turns the ingredients of a classic antipasto platter into a super hearty main dish salad, dressed with a creamy homemade dressing. I especially love to serve it in the summertime when I don’t want to turn on the oven! 

Crisp, crunchy chopped romaine lettuce is the base of my antipasto salad recipe, but the rest of the ingredients will come from the grocery store olive bar! There, I load up on marinated artichoke hearts, olives of all kinds, pepperoncini (those are those little pickled peppers with a kick), fresh mozzarella balls, and so on. That’s just about all it takes to make this fabulous and flexible salad! If it’s a lighter Italian salad you crave, try this Simple Italian Salad, or Panzanella. 

All The Best Antipasto Salad Ingredients

Find the full printable recipe and exact measurements on the recipe card at the bottom of this post.  

• Romaine lettuce: I love the fresh crunch of Romaine because it really stands up to all the other hearty ingredients, but you could use iceberg lettuce, butter lettuce, or even a spring mix if you prefer. 
• Artichoke hearts: You can find these in jars or cans, and you can use marinated or not depending on your preferences. My personal favorite kind are the marinated jarred ones that have been packed with oil and herbs. 
• Fresh mozzarella cheese: You can use the cute little bocconcini (small mozzarella balls), or you can cube up a bigger ball of fresh mozza. You can even use regular mozzarella cut into cubes. Whatever you have on hand and fits into your budget will work fine. 
• Roasted red peppers: Find these jarred where you find pickles and canned olives, or they are often available in the olive bar area, too. 
• Cured meat: Any good cured meat like salami or pepperoni will work here. I usually buy it already sliced into thin rounds and then I cut it into thin strips, but some people prefer to buy a whole salami and cut it into cubes. That works, too! 
• Olives: I like to use a mix of different types of olives to make the salad even more colorful and flavorful. I always use pitted olives for easy eating. 
• Pepperoncini: Pickled and tangy, these little peppers are not usually spicy at all! They just add a nice tangy crunch. 
• Red onion: A lot of folks use pickled red onions, and if you have them I think that’s a fantastic idea. If you don’t, thinly-sliced raw red onions work fine. 
• Fresh basil: Fragrant fresh basil balances out all the rich ingredients and I usually having it growing in my garden in the summer. If you can’t get it, though, it is OK to skip it. 

How to Make Antipasto Salad

So really, this antipasto salad could also be called a chopped salad, as it definitely does require a fair amount of chopping. But that’s all you have to do! So it is a hot weather dream! No oven, no flames, no heat required. Here’s how to make this beautiful Italian antipasto salad: 

1. Whip up the lemon-Parmesan dressing. Simply whisk all the ingredients together! Do this up to 3 days ahead of time, if you’d like.  
2. Chop chop chop! Chop up everything that needs it. You can do this prep up to a day ahead of time. Just store everything in the fridge until you’re ready to toss the salad. 
3. Toss! Toss the chopped stuff with the dressing. 

You’ve Got the Chops!

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