Chopped Antipasto Salad

This Antipasto Salad is an easy chopped Italian salad that’s a favorite side dish I make for dinner guests, and this salad is always a hit! And I think this flavor-loaded salad is perfect any time of year; you can vary the ingredients based on what’s in the fridge!

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This favorite Chopped Antipasto Salad is the kind of salad you might order in an Italian restaurant! And it’s loaded with tasty ingredients like olives, hearts of palm, pepperoni, Peperoncini, Mozzarella, and capers. Recently I decided this recipe needed a photo makeover, and I hope the new photos will entice you to try it.

Some people might look at this Italian Antipasto Salad and worry about chopping up all those ingredients. But truthfully, interesting salads like this can be easy once you master some tricks for satisfying salads. See my tips in this post for creating this restaurant-quality salad at home! And if you like these ingredients I hope you try the Antipasto Salad soon!

What ingredients do you need?

(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe with ingredient amounts. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe with ingredient amounts.)

• chopped romaine lettuce
• black olives
• pepperoni
• Hearts of Palm (affiliate link)
• Sliced Peperoncini Peppers (affiliate link)
• string cheese
• Capers (affiliate link)
• Newman’s Own Classic Oil and Vinegar Dressing (affiliate link) or use your favorite garlicky Italian dressing, and see below for the dressing I love if you don’t mind spending a bit more.

What does Antipasto mean?

The word Antipasto refers to the first course of an Italian meal. It includes things like “cured meats, olives, Peperoncini, mushrooms, anchovies, artichoke hearts, cheeses, and pickled meats or vegetables.”

Do you need all these Antipasto ingredients to make a good salad?

This is one of those recipes with endless variations. I think any combination of the ingredients I used will make a tasty salad. For sure you don’t have to use every ingredient I listed. I’m also sharing some ideas for other flavorful add-ins if you have those on hand. Please adapt this recipe to your own taste and what’s in the fridge.

How low in carbs is this Italian Antipasto Salad?

If you follow the basic recipe given here, this salad has about 10 net carbs and 15 grams of protein in each large salad.

What else could you add to the Chopped Antipasto Salad?

Below are some other antipasto ingredients you can add to this salad. What else can you think of?

• marinated mushrooms (affiliate link)
• artichoke hearts (affiliate link)
• chopped salami or prosciutto
• Roasted Red Peppers in a jar (affiliate link)
• cherry tomatoes
• red or green onion
• pickled asparagus (affiliate link)
• pickled green beans (affiliate link)
• fresh Mozzarella balls
• green olives (affiliate link)

Tips for Making Satisfying Salads at Home:

• Prepare lettuce that’s chopped or torn, washed, and ready to eat and keep in the fridge. You can even seal prepped lettuce in jars with a FoodSaver Vacuum Sealer (affiliate link) but I just keep it in a plastic container with a snap-tight lid.
• Whenever I’m prepping lettuce for any reason, I try to do enough for several salads so that I’ll always have prepared lettuce in the fridge.
• For a satisfying salad it’s important to have a dressing that’s really flavorful, and tasty dressings with healthy oils like olive oil and not much sugar are abundant if you check the label.
• For my antipasto salads, I sometimes buy Columbia Restaurant 1905 Dressing (affiliate link) that’s used on one of my all-time favorite restaurant salads. But that dressing is definitely a budget splurge and Newman’s Own Olive Oil and Vinegar Dressing (affiliate link) is the low-sugar dressing I use most.
• Another tip for making satisfying salads is to prep generous amounts of all the special ingredients, so it’s easy to just pull prepared ingredients out of the fridge and throw together a salad. All the things I use in this salad will last in the fridge for more than a week. And I can eat this type of salad over and over without getting tired of it.
• Even if you only use a few of the things I did, a salad with any type of antipasto ingredients will always be tasty!

Prepping and assembling the Antipasto Salad:

(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

1. Start by tearing apart lettuce and crisping it in ice-cold water in the salad spinner (affiliate link).
2. Drain olives and cut olives in half. (I used regular black olives, but use the olives you prefer).)
3. Chop up a generous amount of pepperoni or salami. (Use turkey or regular pepperoni, your choice.)
4. I love Hearts of Palm (affiliate link) in my salad. Drain and cut in half if they’re extra big.
5. I always have jars of Sliced Peperoncini Peppers (affiliate link) in the fridge, and Peperoncini adds a lot of flavor.
6. I use string cheese sliced into little rounds for the cheese.
7. One ingredient I’d never skip in a salad like this is Capers (affiliate link).
8. This is the Columbia Restaurant 1905 Dressing (affiliate link) I love to use when I make this for dinner guests, but use any garlicky Italian dressing.
9. When you’re ready to assemble the salad, spin the lettuce until it’s very dry and put into a large bowl. (If you don’t have a salad spinner, crisp salad in ice-cold water, drain dry, and dry the lettuce with paper towels.)
10. Toss lettuce with salad dressing.
11. Then add the olives, pepperoni, hearts of palm, peperoncini peppers, Mozzarella cheese, and capers (or any other ingredients you’re using).
12. Toss again until all ingredients are well-coated with dressing.
13. I like to add a generous amount of freshly-ground black pepper to the Chopped Antipasto Salad, then serve right away

Weekend Food Prep:

This Antipasto Salad has been added to a category called Weekend Food Prep where you’ll find recipes you can prep or cook on the weekend and eat during the week!

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5.0 Stars (4 Reviews)

Yield: 6 large salads

Italian Antipasto Salad

Prep Time 25 minutes

Total Time 25 minutes

This Italian Antipasto Salad is a side-dish salad I love to make for dinner guests! And this type of salad with your favorite Antipasto ingredients is always going to be a hit with everyone who tries it!

Ingredients

• 3 heads romaine lettuce
• 6 oz. can black olives
• 3 oz. sliced pepperoni
• 14 oz. can hearts of palm
• 3 T chopped peperoncini peppers
• 6 string cheese, sliced
• 3 T capers
• 1/3 cup garlicky Italian salad dressing (see notes)

Instructions

1. Tear or chop romaine lettuce, then crisp in ice cold water in a salad spinner while you prep other ingredients. (Crisp lettuce in a bowl, drain, and dry with paper towels if you don't have a salad spinner.)
2. Drain black olives and cut in half.
3. Slice pepperoni in half.
4. Drain hearts of palm, slice, and cut larger slices in half.
5. Chop up sliced peperoncini peppers. (If you don't have sliced peppers, cut off ends of peppers, drain, remove seeds, and then chop.)
6. Sliced Mozzarella sticks into rounds.
7. Measure out capers.
8. Drain lettuce and spin until it's very dry. Put in large mixing bowl.
9. Add salad dressing and toss until the lettuce is well-coated with dressing.
10. Add other ingredients as desired and toss again.
11. Season the Italian Antipasto Salad with a generous amount of freshly-ground black pepper and serve in large salad bowl or on individual serving plates.

Notes

I love Columbia Restaurant 1905 Salad Dressing for this recipe, but if that's too much of a budget splurge, Newman's Own Classic Oil and Vinegar Dressing will also be very good!

Recipe created by Kalyn.

Nutrition Information

Yield

6

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 299Total Fat 20gSaturated Fat 7gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 11gCholesterol 36mgSodium 1195mgCarbohydrates 19gFiber 9.5gSugar 6gProtein 15g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.

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Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
This Antipasto Salad recipe is suitable for any low-carb or Keto diet, although a few ingredients might be a bit high in carbs for Keto. With the right choices on ingredients it could be adapted for any phase of the original South Beach Diet.

Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Salad Recipes to find more recipes like this one. Use the Diet Type Index to find recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.

Historical Notes for this Recipe:
This recipe for a chopped salad with Antipasto ingredients was first posted in 2012. It was updated with better photos in 2024 and was last updated with more information in 2026.