Italian Antipasto Salad

For a delicious salad you can take to a party or eat a meal, try this tasty Italian antipasto salad. It’s full of pasta, veggies, meats and cheese all dressed in a light vinaigrette. If you are looking for a quick and easy dinner this summer try this tasty large salad.

You might also like this kale pasta salad.

Sometimes I have cravings and today it was for this Italian antipasto salad. I have all of my favorite antipasto ingredients on hand along with ripe tomatoes from our garden so it was the perfect way to use them. And then I mixed together our go to Italian dressing and dinner was done!

This is the perfect cooling meal on a hot summer day. It’s like a charcuterie board in salad form. It has everything but the kitchen sink it in – pasta, chickpeas, provolone, salami, artichoke hearts, olives, lettuce and veggies. However you can add them all, just a few or try some of my other suggestions.

I love all the textures, colors and combination of flavors in this Mediterranean salad. You have the sweet tomatoes, chewy pasta, salty salami and olives and crunchy veggies. Every bite is guaranteed to be satisfying!

Recipe ingredients I used and substitutions.

Get ready because there are a lot of salad ingredients in this recipe but you can use whatever appeals to you. The base was romaine lettuce, red onion, cucumbers and fresh cherry tomatoes.

The toppings were thin sliced salami, provolone cheese, green and Kalamata olives, artichoke hearts, chick peas, roasted red peppers and small shell pasta.

Meats and Cheeses
You really can eat any kind of meats you want. If you want to go with the Italian meats try salami, pepperoni, prosciutto, capricola ham, etc. For the cheeses I went with provolone but you can try fresh parmesan, asiago, romano or even aged cheddar.

You could even use fresh mozzarella cheese. They make these in little balls now that would work well. Again use your favorite cheese if you want. 

Olives and Roasted Peppers.
I used kalamata and green olives because that’s what I had on hand. However I would like to have got some different varieties from the deli. You can use black olives or any kind at all if you want or If you don’t like olives don’t use them. As for the roasted peppers I had a few left so I used them but if you don’t have any you can add some fresh sweet bell peppers or just eliminate them.

Artichoke Hearts and Chickpeas
I love artichoke hearts and they go perfectly in this dish as does the chick peas. But you can use cannellini beans, white kidney beans, broad beans or whatever you want. And if you don’t have artichoke hearts or don’t like them don’t use them.

Small Shell Pasta
I bought these awhile ago because when I was in college there was a place that made the best salad with small shell pasta. I thought because it was small it would go great in this dish but it’s definitely not needed. It does make it more of a complete meal though. You can try other small shapes like orzo or ditalini.

For the Italian vinaigrette dressing I used extra virgin olive oil, red white vinegar, fresh garlic, dijon mustard, salt and black pepper. You can try different vinegars like white wine or balsamic vinegar. Or just use a bottle of your favorite Italian dressing.

If you wanted to use fresh herbs in this dish, try some fresh basil leaves, parsley, oregano, thyme etc.

How to make this easy Italian antipasto salad.

Step 1: First make the simple dressing. Add the olive oil, vinegar, fresh garlic, dijon mustard, salt and black pepper to a small bowl or pyrex glass. Whisk together and set aside.

Step 2: Get out a large bowl. Chop the lettuce, cucumber, thin sliced red onion, and tomatoes and place in the mixing bowl.

Step 3: Next add the olives, chick peas, cooked pasta, roasted red peppers and artichoke hearts. Mix with the lettuce mixture.

Step 4: Toss the salad with the dressing making sure to coat everything well. Then add the sliced pieces of meats and cheeses and serve. Store leftovers in an airtight container.

Serve right away. If you have to make this dish ahead of time don’t dress it until your are ready to eat as the lettuce will get soggy. Please scroll down to view the printable recipe card.

Since this Italian salad has it all – meat, pasta, veggies, etc . – you really don’t need to serve anything else with it. However you could serve it with a good crusty bread and it would be delicious.

Other foods to try in this antipasto salad.

I used what I had on hand and what I like but there are so many things you can use in this antipasto salad.

• Meats – Italian cold cuts, shrimp, crab, chicken, turkey, bacon, ham etc.
• Cheeses – can also try cheddar, blue cheese, goat cheese, feta cheese or other sharp cheeses
• Jarred Veggies – pepperoncini peppers, hearts of palm, other olive varieties, sun dried tomatoes, giardiniera, banana pepper rings, etc.
• Pasta – try any small size pasta, small tortellini, white rice or even good croutons
• Nuts – walnuts, almond slices, pine nuts, pecans, etc add crunch
• Seeds – sunflower seeds or pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
• Beans – as mentioned above you can also use lupine, butter beans, cannellini, etc.
• Lettuces – other than romaine you can use iceberg, butter lettuce, kale, spinach, leaf lettuce, arugula, etc.

More big salad recipes for your next meal.

In the summer or sometimes on busy weeknights I like to make a big filling salad for dinner. Here are a few of my favorite salad recipes that are more of a meal than a side salad.

• keto cheesesteak salad with creamy parmesan dressing
• keto taco salad or low carb Italian sub salad
• low carb Big Mac salad with special sauce dressing
• low carb chef salad with red roquefort dressing

Well this Italian antipasto salad really satisfied my cravings and it was the perfect dinner for this hot summer day. Even though this made enough for a party, my husband and I ate it for 2 days. I hope you like it as much as we did. Enjoy!