What Is Antipasto?

In Italy, antipasto refers to the first course of a meal. The word “antipasto” literally translates to “before pasta.” Antipasto is the singular form of the word. Antipasti is the plural. A great antipasto or antipasto spread sets the stage for the meal to come and stimulates the appetite. Think of antipasto as an appetizer, or the French hors d’oevres. Without an exact formula, antipasti can take many forms. It can be as simple as green olives and or as complex as a loaded charcuterie board of cured meats, specialty cheeses, marinated artichokes, roasted red peppers, etc. A popular Italian antipasto is bruschetta.

What Is Antipasto Salad?

An antipasto salad, sometimes called an Italian salad, is a classic garden salad with the addition of your favorite antipasto spread like cured meats, specialty cheeses, black and green olives, roasted red peppers, etc. It begins with fresh salad basics like lettuce, cherry tomatoes, red onion and bell peppers. There are many ways to dress a classic antipasto salad, but most often, you see it with an Italian dressing or vinaigrette featuring red wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar. Colorful and loaded with meats, cheeses and veggies, an antipasto salad serves as a meal in itself. It’s perfect for potlucks and easy summer meals.

Why You’ll Love This Antipasto Salad Recipe

There are so many reasons to love our Antipasto Salad. For one, this Italian salad packs a real punch in the presentation category. It’s super colorful and loaded with the big flavors of everyone’s favorite Mediterranean goodies like marinated artichokes, roasted red peppers and Castelvetrano green olives. Its beautiful presentation makes antipasto salads great for serving—especially in the summertime when fresh produce is readily available. Another reason to love antipasto salads is that they are filling enough to serve as a meal, as they include meats, cheeses and a ton of veggies. With no cooking required, antipasto salads are perfect for summertime. Antipasto salads are also easily adaptable. Make it meatless or dairy-free. Swap green olives for Kalamata olives. You can change up any of the ingredients or add more. Get creative and make the antipasto salad your own!

The Ingredients You Will Need To Make Antipasto Salad

Lettuce: We recommend a crisp lettuce like Romaine, but we also like to add in some arugula for a pleasantly peppery bitter bite. It’s almost lemony in its flavor and really adds to the Mediterranean flavors in this salad.

Cured Meats: Prosciutto is just the right amount of salty and savory to take on this recipe. We add Genoa salami to the mix for its zesty flavor and snappy texture.

Antipasti: We chose Castelvetrano green olives for the beautiful buttery, briny goodness. Marinated artichoke hearts are tender and earthy, making them a wonderful contrast of texture and flavor. The smoky-sweet goodness of roasted red peppers are an excellent complement to the crisp, fresh flavors and textures in this salad. You can pick your favorites for this one.

Tomatoes: The plump, juicy cherry tomato (or grape tomato) adds a sweet, slightly acidic presence and a pop of color to this antipasto salad. You can halve them or keep them whole.

Cheese: Crumbled feta is the perfect blend of zippy, briny and creamy. You can choose from many cheeses.

Dressing: A standard bottled Italian dressing or vinaigrette will do, but it really is so simple to create a flavorful, fresh dressing with extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic and a touch of Dijon mustard. You’ll want to use this dressing for everything.

Herbs: Fresh herbs add color and a bouquet of flavor to your salad. It’s the perfect summertime accent.

How To Make Antipasto Salad

Making Antipasto Salad is super simple, as it requires minimal prep work and no cooking. Begin with cleaned, dried or drained ingredients.

Create the dressing. In a mixing bowl, whisk together all of the dressing ingredients. We recommend adding the oil last in a slow, steady stream to emulsify.

Dress the lettuce. In a large serving bowl, add the lettuce and half of the dressing. Toss to coat.

Create the salad. Add the rest of the salad ingredients except for the feta and fresh herbs. Drizzle with the remaining dressing. Gently toss to coat. Sprinkle with feta and herbs. Serve!

Top Tips and Tricks

This salad is best just after making it, but you can store leftovers covered and refrigerated for up to 1 day.

If making in advance, prepare the ingredients and refrigerate them. Be sure to keep fresh ingredients separate from marinated ingredients. Make the dressing and store in a tightly sealed container. Refrigerate for up to 1 day.

Antipasto Salad Tips and Tricks

Keep it fresh! If you are making this ahead of time, be sure to keep fresh veggies separate from cured meats, marinated artichokes, etc. Keep the prepared Italian dressing in a jar. The lettuce is best when it is crisp. There is nothing worse than a soggy salad!

Prep properly. Be sure to ready all ingredients to eat right from the bowl. Cut and clean fresh veggies. Be sure to pit the green olives. Trim any unsavory bits. Drain the roasted red peppers so you don’t get soggy lettuce.

Presentation perfection. For a more elegant and thoughtful presentation, arrange toppings in sections on top.

Substitutions And Additions

There are many ways to make this Antipasto Salad recipe you own. Here are some of our favorite variations.

Make it meatless. Skip the salami. If you’re missing the meat, try an antipasto salad with cannellini beans, chickpeas or marinated mushrooms.

Get cheesy. Switch out the feta for a creamy fresh mozzarella cheese or provolone cheese. There are so many cheeses you can use in an antipasto salad: Fontina, aged Asiago, BellaVitano… to name a few.

More meats! If you loved cured meats as much as we do, there are so many options to choose from. Capicola, soppressata, Genoa salami, pepperoni and mortadella are some of our favorites.

Fire up the grill. Fancy things up with some grilled veggies like eggplant, zucchini, asparagus or peppers. The smoky-sweet flavor is a tasty addition to the classic antipasto salad.

What To Serve With Antipasto Salad

Antipasto salad is a well-rounded meal in itself, but we have a few ideas for tasty complements to up your serving game. We love serving bread with all salads, as a way to balance the bright, fresh flavors and acidity of things like tomatoes and vinegar. Focaccia bread, breadsticks and garlic knots are some of our favorite starches to serve with antipasto salad. For summertime serving, fire up the grill for some grilled garden veggies like zucchini squash, thick portobello mushrooms or asparagus. While it’s a hearty meat-and-cheese loaded salad, you still may want to serve it up with a simple vegetarian pasta dish like gnocchi or orzo dressed lightly in a garlicky extra virgin olive oil.

Antipasto Salad: FAQ

Why Do Italians Eat Antipasto?

In Italy, antipasto is meant to whet the appetite and ready eaters for the meal to come. Traditional Italian meals are often made up of several courses. Antipasti, whether simple or more elaborate, are served as the first course.

What Is The Difference Between Antipasto And Antipasti?

The difference between antipasto and antipasti is the quantity. Antipasto is just the singular form of the word. Antipasti is the plural form of the word, sort of like appetizer (one) versus appetizers (more than one).

What Is The Difference Between Antipasto And Charcuterie?

Antipasto is Italian, while charcuterie is a French term referring to a similar but different eating occasion. In general, antipasto refers to a platter of cured meats, cheeses, pickled vegetables, olive and other savory finger foods. Charcuterie is focused mostly on cured meats and items that complement them like spreads, gourmet crackers and sometimes cheeses.

Can I Make This Dish Ahead Of Time?

This Antipasto Salad recipe can be made in advance, but it is best made fresh. Chop ingredients and refrigerate them separately for up to one day. The Italian dressing can be made up to a day in advance too. Simply whisk the ingredients together and refrigerate until you are ready to prepare the salad. Give it 15 minutes or more to warm up before using.

The Best Quick Antipasto Salad

Salad:

• 2 hearts romaine lettuce, chopped into bite-sized pieces (about 7 cups)

• 4 ounces baby arugula leaves (about 4 cups)

• 4 ounces DeLallo Mini Genoa Salami, quartered lenthwise, then cut into bite-size pieces

• 4 ounces DeLallo Sliced Prosciutto, sliced into bite-size pieces

• 6 ounces DeLallo Quartered Marinated Artichokes, drained and patted dry

• 1 jar DeLallo Castelvetrano Olives, drained

• 12 ounces DeLallo Roasted Red Peppers, drained, coarsley chopped, and patted dry

• 1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved

• 1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese

• Chopped fresh parsley, basil, chives, or a combination

Dressing:

• 1/4 cup DeLallo Extra Virgin Olive Oil

• 2 tablespoons DeLallo Balsamic Vinegar

• 1 teaspoon DeLallo Dijon Mustard

• 1 teaspoon minced fresh garlic

• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Directions

1. In an extra-large bowl, place the romaine and arugula. In a small bowl or measuring cup, whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, mustard, garlic, salt and pepper until smoothly combined (or put all of the dressing ingredients in a mason jar, seal and shake to combine). Pour half of the dressing over the salad and toss to coat. The leaves should be lightly moistened.
2. Arrange the salami, prosciutto, artichokes, olives, red peppers and tomatoes on top of the greens. Drizzle with a bit more dressing to moisten. Sprinkle with feta and parsley. Enjoy immediately or refrigerate for 1 hour prior to serving.

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