Italian Antipasto Salad Recipe

InItalian Antipasto Salad Platter is the perfect salad for a crowd. All your favorite antipasto ingredients but in a salad -  kale, olives, artichokes, marinated vegetables, cucumber, tomato, salami, and cheeses, tossed with a tangy antipasto dressing. Antipasto salad is loaded with all the Italian flavors you love! It's also a low carb, sugar free, and keto salad (only 4 g net carbs). What's not to love?

Italian Antipasto Salad Recipe

 

The best Antipasto salad! All your favorite antipasto ingredients - but in a yummy salad! Made with both fresh and marinated vegetables, salami, cheese over a bed of kale tossed with a tangy antipasto salad dressing - YUM. A perfect salad for a crowd or a main dish meal. Antipasto platter salad is a low carb keto salad. It is a healthy salad recipe that everyone can enjoy. #italian #antipasto #antipastosalad #lowcarb #keto #ketosalad #antipastoplatter #salad #easyrecipe #healthyrecipe #kale

The Best Antipasto Salad Platter!

| So much flavor!

Antipasto salad platter is loaded with flavor. It reminds me of all the good parts of an Italian sub sandwich, minus the bread. 🙂 Like a chopped Italian salad! So delicious.

| It's A Beautiful Salad.

This is a gorgeous salad and makes a great presentation when laid out on a platter. Take this to a party and people will ooh and aah! 🙂 

| Easy To Make!

Antipasto salad is an easy salad to put together. Really it's just some chopping involved and you can add a little more or less of certain ingredients, or you can sub out for things you don't like for ingredients you do!

Bonus! I used kale to make this recipe and because it's a little "tougher" it keeps really well and doesn't wilt like regular lettuce. This can be eaten over a few meals! If you aren't concerned about this, I would use romaine lettuce or other "stiffer" lettuce that can stand up to the weight of the ingredients. 

| Low Carb and Keto Antipasto Salad (The Anti-Pasta Antipasto Salad)

Why not call it the anti-pasta antipasto salad!? 🙂 It fits, right? No pasta is used in this version and with 19 grams of fat and only 4 grams of net carbs - you've got the perfect salad for a meal! 

Keto followers make sure to use a sugar substitute such as a granulated monk fruit sweetener!

 19 g fat | 4 g net carbs | 16.4 g protein

What You Will Need to Make Italian Antipasto Salad

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Tools

• Large serving platter
• Chef knife
• Cutting board
• Measuring cups
• Salad tongs
• Measuring spoons

Ingredients

Salad

• Kale, thinly sliced (or romaine)
• Roasted Red Pepper, drained
• Artichoke hearts, drained and cut into bite size pieces
• Cucumber, peeled and cut into bite size pieces
• Tomatoes (diced or cherry)
• Red onion, halved and then thinly sliced
• Olives, pitted
• Pepperoncini, drained and sliced
• Genoa Salami (1/4 to 1/2" cubes)
• Mozzarella pearls
• Parmesan cheese, grated
• Basil, fresh (torn or chiffonade)

Dressing

• Olive oil
• Red wine vinegar
• Garlic, minced
• Italian Seasoning
• Sweetener (Sugar or a 1:1 sugar substitute such as granulated monk fruit sweetener)
• Kosher Salt 
• Pepper

How To Make Antipasto Salad Platter

In a small bowl add olive oil, red wine vinegar, minced garlic, Italian seasoning, sweetener, salt, and pepper. Whisk together and set aside,

Layer kale, roasted bell pepper, artichoke hearts, cucumber, tomatoes, red onion, olives, pepperoncini, salami, mozzarella, parmesan, and fresh basil in a large bowl. 

Pour dressing over the salad and toss ingredients until coated.

Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate for a few hours to blend flavors.

What To Serve With Italian Antipasto Salad

Italian antipasto salad is really a meal unto itself but if halved, or serving a crowd there are some really delicious things to serve it with!

Starter

• Zucchini Carpacchio
• Shrimp Dip

Main Dish

• Dry Rub Grilled Chicken
• Juicy Grilled Ribeye Steak or Herbed Butter Steak

Sides

• Breadsticks, bread loaf, or rolls
• Grilled vegetables such as zucchini, squash, or corn on the cob. 

Dessert 

These are all low carb, sugar-free recipes, but you can easily use regular sugar if you want!

• Mini Lemon Meringue Pies
• Chocolate Torte
• Almond Butter Cake
• Dark Chocolate Brownies

Helpful Tips For Making This Salad

• Use a sturdy lettuce, not one prone to wilting. Romaine is a great option. Even though it's not lettuce, I used kale in this salad. If you are serving right away use romaine. If you want to make this salad ahead of time use kale. Kale lasts longer and can easily handle the dressing without wilting. 
• If you use kale, I found that tossing the salad with dressing and refrigerating for a bit allows the flavors to blend together perfectly! Kale is "stiffer" it can hold up to the heavy ingredients and the dressing without wilting! Perfect make-ahead salad!
• Feel free to substitute any marinated vegetables, olives, cheeses, salami, fresh vegetables that you like. Make sure to balance marinated vegetables with fresh vegetables so the marinated tasted does not overpower the salad. 
• Because there is so much variation in seasoning and taste with marinated vegetables you may need to adjust your sweetener up or down. If the salad is too tangy, add sweetener to offset the tanginess. In addition, adjust a little at a time as it is always easy to add, but not so easy to take out! Is the Salad is too vinegary for your liking? Add a little sweetener or add more fresh vegetables. 
• If you're not following a low carb or keto diet, feel free to add 2 to 3 cups of pre-cooked (and cooled) tortellini.

Common Questions 

Here are the most common questions we get about our Italian Antipasto Salad Recipe!

| Can I make this with pasta and make it an antipasto pasta recipe? 

Yes! For sure. I recommend that you add about 2 to 3 cups of al dente cook spiral pasta, tortellini, or other favorite pasta. Make sure to cool before adding. Also, you make need to make extra dressing or adjust your seasonings. Add enough dressing to coat, even if you don't use all the dressing (you can save some for a green salad later)

| What does antipasto salad mean?

Antipasto is a traditional first course meal in Italy, which usually includes marinated vegetables, salami, cheese, olives, etc. This salad version is made using similar ingredients to the platter but the ingredients are chopped, mixed with lettuce, and tossed with dressing. 

| How can I lower the fat in this recipe?

You can substitute more of the marinated vegetables and reduce the amount of cheese and salami in this recipe. In addition, using leaner meat instead of salami, will lower the fat in this recipe too. 

| Can I use fresh herbs instead of dried Italian seasoning?

Yes! For every teaspoon of dried herbs the rule of thumb is 1 tablespoon of fresh herbs. While the recipe calls for 3 teaspoons of dried, so use approximately 3 tablespoons of fresh. Italian seasoning typically consists of rosemary, thyme, oregano, sage, basil, marjoram, and savory. To make it easy I just use 1 tablespoon each of  3 of those herbs (usually basil, thyme, oregano, or rosemary - cause I grow them in my garden).

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