Antipasto Salad
Antipasto salad takes everything you love about an Italian antipasto platter — salty salami, creamy mozzarella, briny olives, tangy artichokes and pepperoncini — and tosses it over crisp romaine with a punchy red wine vinaigrette. The trick is marinating the meats, cheeses, and jarred vegetables in half the dressing first, so every hearty bite is seasoned through while the lettuce stays crunchy. It comes together in about half an hour with zero cooking, which makes it a reliable main-course salad or the first dish to disappear at a potluck.
Shake together a vinaigrette from 120 ml (1/2 cup) olive oil, 60 ml (1/4 cup) red wine vinegar, 1 tbsp pepperoncini brine, 1 tsp each Dijon, honey, and dried oregano, 1 grated garlic clove, salt, and pepper. Cut 115 g (4 oz) Genoa salami into ribbons, 85 g (3 oz) pepperoni into half-moons, and 115 g (4 oz) provolone into cubes, then combine them in a large bowl with 225 g (8 oz) mozzarella pearls, a drained 12 oz jar of marinated artichokes, 150 g (1 cup) sliced roasted red peppers, 130 g (3/4 cup) olives, 8 pepperoncini, and half a small red onion. Toss this mixture with half the vinaigrette and let it marinate 10 minutes while you chop and dry 2 large romaine hearts and halve 300 g (2 cups) cherry tomatoes. Add the romaine and tomatoes to the bowl, pour on the remaining dressing, toss well, and serve within the hour.
- Marinate the meats, cheeses, and jarred vegetables in half the dressing for 10 minutes before tossing — flavor soaks into the hearty pieces without wilting the lettuce.
- Add 1 tablespoon of pepperoncini brine to the vinaigrette; it ties the dressing to the salad's pickled ingredients and sharpens the whole bowl.
- Wash and dry the romaine thoroughly — water clinging to the leaves dilutes the dressing and makes it slide off instead of coating.
Equipment
- Large salad or mixing bowl
- Chef's knife
- Cutting board
- Jar with a tight lid (or small bowl and whisk)
- Salad spinner
- Colander
- Measuring cups and spoons
Malzemeler
Red wine vinaigrette
- 120 ml extra-virgin olive oil
- 60 ml red wine vinegar
- 15 ml pepperoncini brine, straight from the pepperoncini jar
- 5 g Dijon mustard
- 7 g honey
- garlic clove, finely grated
- 2 g dried oregano
- 3 g fine sea salt
- 1 g freshly ground black pepper
Salad
- romaine hearts, chopped into bite-size pieces, washed and dried well (about 8 cups)
- 115 g Genoa salami, sliced 5 mm (1/4 in) thick, cut into short ribbons
- 85 g pepperoni or soppressata, thinly sliced, larger slices halved
- 115 g provolone cheese, cut into 1 cm (1/2 in) cubes
- 225 g fresh mozzarella pearls (ciliegine), drained and patted dry
- 340 g marinated artichoke hearts, drained and quartered
- 150 g roasted red peppers, drained and cut into strips
- 130 g Castelvetrano or mixed Italian olives, pitted
- pepperoncini, stemmed; leave whole or slice into rings
- red onion, very thinly sliced
- 300 g cherry tomatoes, halved
Yapılışı
- ADIM01
Combine the olive oil, red wine vinegar, pepperoncini brine, Dijon, honey, grated garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper in a jar. Seal and shake hard for 20 to 30 seconds until the dressing looks creamy and unified. Taste on a lettuce leaf — it should be bright and assertively tangy, since the salty ingredients will mellow it. Set aside.
- ADIM02
Slice the salami about 5 mm (1/4 in) thick and cut it into short ribbons; halve any large pepperoni slices into half-moons. Cube the provolone into 1 cm (1/2 in) pieces and pat the mozzarella pearls dry so the dressing clings. Keeping everything roughly bite-size means each forkful gets a little of everything instead of one big slab of meat.
- ADIM03
Drain the artichoke hearts and quarter any whole ones. Drain the roasted red peppers and cut them into strips about the width of the salami ribbons. Drain the olives and pit them if needed. Stem the pepperoncini, leaving them whole for pops of heat or slicing into rings for even distribution. Thinly slice the red onion.
- ADIM04
In your largest bowl, combine the salami, pepperoni, provolone, mozzarella, artichokes, roasted peppers, olives, pepperoncini, and red onion. Shake the dressing again, pour half of it over the bowl, and toss. Let it sit for 10 minutes at room temperature — the vinegar seasons the cheeses and softens the onion's bite while you finish the lettuce.
- ADIM05
While the bowl marinates, chop the romaine into bite-size pieces, then wash and spin or pat it completely dry. Halve the cherry tomatoes. Dry leaves are non-negotiable here: any clinging water thins the vinaigrette and keeps it from coating the salad.
- ADIM06
Add the romaine and tomatoes to the marinated mixture. Pour on the remaining vinaigrette and toss thoroughly with tongs or clean hands, lifting from the bottom so the heavy pieces don't sink. Taste a full forkful and adjust with black pepper or a splash more vinegar — you likely won't need salt.
- ADIM07
Transfer to a serving bowl or platter, making sure some meat, cheese, and peppers land on top where they look best. Serve within an hour of dressing; the salad is at its crunchy peak in the first 30 minutes.
Make ahead
This salad is built for advance work. Shake the vinaigrette up to 5 days ahead and refrigerate (let it warm up and re-shake before using — the olive oil will solidify when cold). The meats, cheeses, and jarred vegetables can marinate in half the dressing up to 24 hours ahead; the flavor only improves. Chop the romaine the morning of and store it dry and chilled, then toss everything together just before serving.
Storage
Once dressed, the salad is best the day it's made; refrigerate leftovers airtight for up to 1 day, knowing the lettuce will soften. For longer storage, keep the components separate: the marinated meat-cheese-vegetable mixture holds 3 days refrigerated, the vinaigrette 5 days, and washed dry romaine 3 days wrapped in a towel in a bag. Do not freeze.
Variations
Vegetarian antipasto salad
Skip the salami and pepperoni and bulk the bowl up with 1 can (400 g / 15 oz) of drained chickpeas, 150 g (1 cup) marinated mushrooms, and a few extra artichoke hearts. Add 1/4 tsp smoked paprika to the vinaigrette to stand in for the cured-meat smokiness.
Antipasto pasta salad
Toss the marinated mixture and full batch of dressing with 340 g (12 oz) cooked, cooled rotini or fusilli instead of (or alongside half of) the romaine. Use gluten-free pasta if you need the salad to stay gluten-free. This version holds up much longer for picnics and cookouts.
Spicy Calabrian style
Swap the pepperoni for hot soppressata, stir 1 to 2 tsp of chopped Calabrian chiles in oil into the vinaigrette, and use hot pickled cherry peppers in place of the pepperoncini. A handful of torn basil at the end cools it back down.
Serve with
Nutrition per serving
Nutrition values are estimates based on the metric measurements. Adjust as needed.
Sık sorulanlar
Can I make antipasto salad ahead of time?
Yes — up to a point. The marinated base (meats, cheeses, olives, artichokes, peppers, and onion tossed with half the dressing) actually improves overnight in the fridge, and the vinaigrette keeps for 5 days. Just hold the romaine and tomatoes separately and toss everything together within an hour of serving, or the lettuce will wilt and weep into the dressing.
What meats and cheeses are best in an antipasto salad?
Aim for two contrasting cured meats and two contrasting cheeses. Genoa salami plus pepperoni or soppressata gives you one mild, garlicky meat and one spicier, snackier one. Provolone brings a sharp, firm bite while fresh mozzarella pearls add creaminess. Mortadella, capicola, sharp Asiago, or shaved Parmesan all work as swaps — just keep the total amounts about the same so the salad stays balanced.
Is antipasto salad gluten-free?
As written, yes — there's no bread, pasta, or croutons, and the vinaigrette contains no gluten ingredients. Two things to verify on labels: cured meats (a small number of brands use gluten-containing fillers or flavorings) and Dijon mustard. If you serve it with bread or turn it into a pasta salad, it's no longer gluten-free unless you choose gluten-free versions.
What dressing goes on antipasto salad — can I use store-bought Italian?
A red wine vinaigrette with oregano, garlic, and Dijon is the classic match because its acidity cuts through the rich meats and cheeses. Bottled Italian dressing works in a pinch, but this homemade version takes two minutes and includes a spoonful of pepperoncini brine, which echoes the pickled ingredients already in the bowl and makes the salad taste more cohesive.
Can I serve this without lettuce, like a traditional antipasto platter?
Absolutely. Skip the romaine, arrange the marinated meats, cheeses, and vegetables on a platter with the tomatoes, and drizzle with the remaining vinaigrette — you've essentially made a classic antipasto misto. The lettuce is the Italian-American addition that turns the platter into a tossed salad, so it's genuinely optional.
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