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Okay, this antipasto salad? It’s basically an Italian snack board in a bowl, and I’m obsessed! What makes this one a little different (and so good) is the easy lemony dressing.
Savory, Zesty, and Ready to Impress
- This Salad Doesn’t Play Around: It’s got crunch, creaminess, salt, and sweet—every bite is full of flavor. This salad isn’t just a side dish, it’s the main event!
- Even My Kids Are Obsessed: Cured meats, cheeses, veggies tossed together in one bowl? Total crowd-pleaser. If my boys are asking for seconds, you know it’s that good.
- Zero Fuss, All Wow: Toss it, dress it, done. It looks fancy, tastes amazing, and takes almost no effort. Add focaccia for the perfect Italian pairing.
Antipasto Salad Ingredients
- Use Your Favorite Ingredients: Add ingredients that you like and take out the ones you don’t. Some ideas include pickled red onions, mushrooms, prosciutto, kalamata olives, garbanzo beans, cucumbers, and bell peppers.
- Add Crunch: In the mood for a little crunch? Then, throw in some croutons, pine nuts, or roasted nuts to your antipasto salad.
- Make It Ahead: The dressing can be made in advance. It can be kept for a week in the fridge. Just shake or stir before using!
- Use a Good-Quality Olive Oil: Since the olive oil is the base of the dressing, opt for extra virgin olive oil for the best flavor.
How to Make Antipasto Salad
With just a few simple ingredients and not much effort, you’ll have a dish that everyone will love. Add this Focaccia bread for a side to this antipasto salad and make a complete meal.
- Combine Ingredients: In a large bowl, add the romaine lettuce, green olives, black olives, cherry tomatoes, pepperoni, roasted red peppers, salami, mozzarella cheese balls, artichoke hearts, and provolone cheese.
- Mix the Dressing: To make the dressing, add olive oil, lemon juice, and Italian seasoning in a small bowl, then whisk to combine.
- Toss Salad and Enjoy: When you are ready to eat, pour the dressing over the antipasto salad. Toss it to coat it and serve it immediately.
Storing & Make Ahead Tips
I love to meal prep this antipasto salad for lunch! When I know I have a busy day or even week, I just quickly add the ingredients together and leave the dressing off until I’m ready to eat.
- In the Refrigerator: Store leftovers for up to 2 days in an airtight container in the fridge.
- Make Ahead: If you plan to prepare this in advance, leave the dressing and lettuce on the side and wait to toss it until just before serving.
More Delicious Salad Recipes
If you’re like me, you love a hearty salad like this one that has tons of flavor and great texture! Be sure to check out all my salad recipes. Here are a few favs we make all the time!
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Italian Antipasto Salad
Ingredients
- 3 cups chopped romaine
- ½ cup halved green olives
- ½ cup medium black olives
- ½ cup halved cherry tomatoes
- ½ cup mini pepperoni
- ¼ cup chopped jarred roasted red peppers
- 8 ounces Genoa salami cut into bite-sized pieces
- ½ cup mozzarella cheese pearls
- 1 (13-ounce) can quartered artichoke hearts
- 8 ounces diced provolone cheese cut into bite-sized pieces
Lemon Dressing
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
Instructions
- In a large bowl add 3 cups chopped romaine, ½ cup halved green olives, ½ cup medium black olives, ½ cup halved cherry tomatoes, ½ cup mini pepperoni, ¼ cup chopped jarred roasted red peppers, 8 ounces Genoa salami, ½ cup mozzarella cheese pearls, 1 (13-ounce) can quartered artichoke hearts, and 8 ounces diced provolone cheese.
- To make the dressing, whisk ¼ cup olive oil, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, and 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning in a small bowl.
- Pour the dressing over the salad, toss to coat, and serve immediately.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Gentle suggestions: Put all the veggies/cheeses at the bottom of the salad bowl topped w/the torn romaine & let them marinate w/the dressing. At the time you are ready to serve your antipasto salad THEN mix, otherwise everything will get soggy prematurely. Once mixed, its best to consume right way. Usually not very good the next day (soggy).
A friend brought this salad to a luncheon featuring Italian dishes and it was a big hit. So pretty and colorful, we all wanted the recipe. I have made this at least 4-5 times since July.
You cannot make a mistake with this salad. You can add other veggies, omit what you /family do not like and it will still be very good. You can add everything BUT the lettuce and make it in advance, at the last minute, mix in chopped romaine. I took a big bowl of it to my grandson’s birthday party a few years ago and people gobbled it down!
I made this salad and it was delicious! The only complaint from people was that it was wilted and a little soggy by the time they were ready to eat it! Any suggestions?
Toss the dress when you’re ready to eat.
I’m making this for an Italian themed dinner party, but one or two of the guests are vegetarian. I will have a meat tray on the side for the pepperoni, salami, suprasata,etc. and for protein in the salad itself, I will add red kidney beans and garbanzo’s. It sounds delicious. Thank you!
how much lemon juice? your recipe say 1/2 but nothing more. would like to try, it looks so good.
It’s 2 tablespoons of lemon juice!
Easy prep, tasty & pretty. Only needed fresh breadsticks to complete this seemingly, healthy meal ?
This a delicious salad! It’s very forgiving to tweak as much or as little of your choice of ingredients. I stayed with same ingredients but added more of what we liked & made additional portions of that delicious dressing! I got several appreciate, “Oh man!” and “Holy cow!” when my bunch tried this salad.
I just made this salad and added a little white wine vinegar, simply because I love vinegar in all salads. It was perfect and everyone at the table asked for the recipe. Thanks for sharing!
This was incredibly easy to make and so delicious, perfect for a summer night. I added cucumbers only because my toddler pretty much only eats cucumbers right now but it would have been perfect without it too. I’ll definitely make it again.
I made this for friends that we had seen in years. It was so simple and so simple and refreshing! Our friends loved it! I did prep prior to making the salad which I always do. I cut up all the ingredients and put them in containers in the fridge until I was ready to mix it…
Thanks for antipasto salad.
Sounds delicious. For the dressing, is it 1/2 cup lemon juice or juice from 1/2 lemon?
Juice from a lemon.
Could you be more specific in terms of amount of juice needed—lemon can range greatly in size.
I used a medium-sized lemon and squeezed about 4 to 5 Tablespoons.