This antipasto salad is loaded with Italian-inspired vegetables, beans, olives, herbs, and a zesty homemade dressing. A fresh, easy summer salad, perfect for making ahead! Vegetarian and Gluten Free.
Over the last few weeks, this Antipasto Salad has been on repeat around here! We've made vegan versions, vegetarian versions, and even a low-carb version with tuna. I love this salad because it's endlessly flexible, comes together ahead of time, and keeps beautifully in the fridge for quick, easy meals throughout the week.
This is the kind of salad where pantry staples and fresh seasonal ingredients come together in the best way. Artichoke hearts, olives, capers, roasted peppers, white beans (or tuna) are tossed with crisp green beans, red onion, bell pepper, cherry tomatoes, and plenty of fresh herbs-all brought together with a simple homemade Italian dressing.
It's the perfect summer salad for picnics, potlucks, BBQs, and meal prep-a colorful, flavorful dish that gets even better as it sits.
Why You'll Love This Antipasto Salad
- All the best Italian flavors in one bowl - This antipasto salad is packed with marinated vegetables, herbs, olives, beans, and a bright homemade dressing.
- No pasta needed - A fresh twist on classic pasta salads, this version is lighter, veggie-forward, and naturally gluten-free.
- Perfect for summer gatherings - It travels beautifully and makes an ideal picnic salad, BBQ side dish, or potluck recipe.
- Better the next day - The flavors deepen as it sits, making this a great make-ahead salad for busy weeks.
- Easy to customize - Add tuna, chickpeas, mozzarella, or your favorite antipasto ingredients to make it your own.
As the salad marinates, it gets better and better! Such a satisfying & adaptable salad, that I think you will love!
Antipasto Salad Variations
Whether you are vegan, vegetarian or low carb/high protein you can adapt this salad to meet your dietary needs.
- Make it vegetarian– add white beans and mozzarella, leaving out traditional cured meats.
- Make it low-carb & high protein– add canned tuna and leave out the beans.
- Make it vegan – leave out the cheese.
- Load it up: Feel free to add Italian-style cured meats, like in traditional antipasto.
Antipasto Salad Recipe Ingredients
- Green beans - Add fresh crunch and a beautiful pop of color. Blanching them keeps them tender-crisp and vibrant.
- White beans (or chickpeas/tuna) - Add protein and make this salad hearty enough to enjoy as a meal. Choose your favorite option depending on how you like to serve it.
- Artichoke hearts and olives - Bring the classic antipasto flavors with their briny, savory bite and Mediterranean feel.
- Roasted peppers, tomatoes, and bell peppers - Add sweetness, color, and fresh summer flavor.
- Celery, red onion, and capers - Create the perfect balance of crunch, sharpness, and salty brightness.
- Fresh herbs - Parsley and basil add freshness and make this salad taste vibrant and alive.
- Italian dressing - A simple homemade dressing with olive oil, red wine vinegar, garlic, herbs, and a touch of lemon ties everything together.
- Baby mozzarella (optional) - Adds creamy richness and makes this salad feel like a true Italian-inspired feast.
How to make Antipasto Salad
Step 1:
Comb through your pantry and gather up olives, artichoke hearts, roasted peppers, capers, white beans (or garbanzos) or canned tuna. Add some fresh ingredients- yellow wax beans, green beans, bell pepper, celery, tomatoes and fresh herbs.
Keep it vegan with white beans or add tuna for protein.
Step 2:
Blanch any veggies you like. Here I’m blanching green beans. Leave bell peppers raw, but perhaps blanch asparagus, yellow wax beans and snap peas (or leave them raw). Thinly sliced zucchini is nice here, left raw- it will marinate as sits in the marinade.
Step 3:
Place your ingredients in a bowl. Think about color!
Step 4:
Make the simple Italian Dressing.
Simply whisk dressing together in a bowl.
Step 5:
Toss the salad with the Italian dressing, then taste, adjust salt and vinegar, and refrigerate until ready to serve.
How to Store it
Store the Antipasto Salad in a glass container for up to 4 days in the fridge. As it marinates in the dressing, it will get even more flavorful!
Such a delicious way to use garden veggies and pantry ingredients.
Play around with different versions of the salad to create your own unique blend!
Use what you have on hand!
More recipes you may enjoy:
- Grilled Tuscan Bread Salad
- Tuscan White Bean & Tuna Salad with Arugula
- Greek Pasta Salad
- Mediterranean Farro Salad w/ Marinated Zucchini and Chickpeas
- Purple Cauliflower Salad (Sicilian Style!)
- Picante Tuna Salad
Hope you are having a beautiful week so far! Enjoy the salad and let us know what you think in the comments below!
xoxo
Print
Antipasto Salad
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 8
- Total Time: 23 minutes
- Yield: 8 cups 1x
- Category: salad, vegan, vegetarian
- Method: tossed
- Cuisine: Italian
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Veggie-loaded Antipasto Salad with white beans (or Tuna), artichoke hearts, olives, capers, fresh veggies, red onion, lots of herbs, tossed in a simple Italian dressing. Vegan and Low Carb adaptable!
Ingredients
- 2 cups green beans or yellow wax beans, blanched (see notes)
- 14 ounce can white beans (rinsed and drained), or 1 can albacore tuna, drained, or sub chickpeas or other beans.
- 14-ounce can artichoke hearts in water, drained
- 6-ounce can black olives, 1-1 1/2 cups ( or 1 cup kalamata olives)
- 1 cup celery, chopped (optional)
- 1/2 cup roasted peppers
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 bell pepper, diced
- 1/4 cup red onion, thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoon capers
- 1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped
- 1/4-1/2 cup basil, chopped
- optional: baby mozzarella balls
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar, more to taste
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 finely minced garlic clove
- 1 tablespoon shallot, finely minced
- 1/2 teaspoon maple or honey (optional- see notes)
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning (or dried oregano)
- 1/4 tsp salt, more to taste
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- pinch chili flakes
Instructions
Gather your ingredients for the salad.
Blanch the green beans: Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil, add green beans and simmer until vibrant and just tender, 3-4 minutes. Drain, rinse in cold water.
In a large bowl, add the drained beans (or drained tuna), drained artichoke hearts, drained olives, chopped celery, roasted peppers, cherry tomatoes, bell pepper, red onions, capers and fresh herbs. Add baby mozzarella balls if using.
Whisk dressing ingredients together in a small bowl.
Gently fold in the dressing into the salad, until combined. Taste, and add more salt or vinegar as needed-flavor will vary here based on what specific canned goods you are using.
Chill until serving time.
Salad will keep 4 days in the fridge.
Notes
Feel free to substitute other veggies: snap peas, asparagus, mushrooms, zucchini, cauliflower, broccoli, etc. Blanch any veggies you wouldn’t want to eat raw.
If making this with Tuna, add 2 teaspoons whole-grain mustard.
Herb variations: dill or cilantro work well here too.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 131
- Sugar: 2.9 g
- Sodium: 310.6 mg
- Fat: 8 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 9 g
- Fiber: 3.6 g
- Protein: 6.9 g
- Cholesterol: 9 mg
Thank you for yet another delicious hearty salad recipe. Can’t wait to try this – I’m sure it’ll be amazing!
Thanks Heather. Let us know how it turns out!
How much is a serving size?
Hi Megan! I adjusted the nutritional card- it makes 8 cups and a serving size is one cup. 🙂
Yum! We had with planked salmon and your Kale Ceasar salad – with sourdough croutons rather than millet croutons – great combo!
Left-overs fabulous for lunch the next day(s)!!
P.S. Everything I make with millet turns out bitter – is there a secret? Cheers!
Rinsing the millet before cooking will help with the bitterness. It can get bitter when the millet is old as well.
Glad you enjoyed the salad! Thanks so much for reviewing for us.
Tonia, Thank you for the response – my millet is old 😉 I have never tried rinsing so will try that before feeding it to the birds.
You are welcome 🙂
This salad is a HUGE hit with all my friends and family. So easy, so beautiful, and so delicious!
Great to hear!
Made this today as well as roast carrots on tahini -it was a hot day so I roasted a little free range chicken and took it with salad , carrots and roast potatoes to have with the family-stand out success! Salad elected an absolute keeper and not a carrot left on the plate. Thanks!
Love it Barbara! Happy all enjoyed.
thanks for the recipe.
I loved this recipe so much. I used asparagus in place of green beans. I was able to freeze left overs, and it was still delicious 😋. This recipe is a keeper for us👍
Wow, interesting Judene, I would have never thought to freeze this!
Tomatoes and green beans are abundant and beautiful right … used them in this recipe and oh wow!!! Dressing was fabulous will make again!!
Thanks so much- glad you liked it!
Made this along with the Coconut Lime Bundt cake for a potluck and there was not a bit left. I added a little bit of mozzarella chunks, as I forgot to buy the balls, and also added just a bit of parmesan. Dressing is delish, too. I love the green beans in this, and they had just put out some of the most beautiful fresh green beans at the store.
Awesome Lisa! Great to hear!
Delicious!
I made it once and OMG this is soooo good. I don’t really like salads….but this one it’s just incredible, all the different taste that burst in your mouth. Finally I found my favourite salad.
I’m so glad you enjoyed this Claudette!
It is a delicious recipe! And so easy to give It another twist ; luxuary with tasteful ham or to clean the fridge with some leftover veggies. When I am late and don’t have time to cook it’s a brilliant recipe! Thanks for all your recipes. Your website is a great inspiration for me👍
Thanks Maayke! Glad you liked this one!
Delicious! I served this salad with a hunk of crusty french bread and burrata on top (rather than the baby mozzarella balls) and it was a hit. I actually made a little too much and may have eaten the leftovers for breakfast the next day… 😉
A wonderful way to combine fresh vegetables & herbs from the garden and jarred veggies from the pantry. A wonderful late summer dish! I can’t wait to make it for our next family gathering.
Glad you enjoyed this one Megan!
I can’t stop making this yummy salad. It’s perfect for the summer here in Asheville. Last night, I didn’t have mozzarella, so I added feta, and it was wonderful too.
I have sent the recipe to several friends; spreading the good word!
Thanks so much Hilary- very appreciated!
Just made this to have for dinner in a few hours and I can’t stop eating it. Hoping there will be some left for my husband…
Haha! Glad you enjoyed it! Did you use tuna, or vegetarian?