Loaded Italian Antipasto Salad with Deli Meats
This loaded Italian antipasto salad with deli meats is piled high with spicy salami, prosciutto, coppa, Montreal smoked meat, seasoned turkey, crisp vegetables, hard-boiled eggs, mandarin oranges, crunchy croutons, and mixed greens. Ranch and French dressing are drizzled separately over the finished salad, giving every bite a creamy, tangy and slightly sweet flavour.It is a generous main-course salad that works well for a family dinner, weekend lunch, party platter or casual gathering. The rolled meats and colourful toppings make it look impressive, but it is very easy to assemble.
Equipment
- Large serving platter or wide salad bowl
- Large mixing bowl for the Boston lettuce and baby spinach
- Small saucepan for boiling the eggs
- Cutting board
- Sharp kitchen knife
- Vegetable peeler for the carrots
- Colander or fine-mesh strainer for draining the mandarin oranges
- Measuring cups
- Salad tongs or serving utensils
- Small bowls or squeeze bottles for the ranch and French dressing
Ingredients
Mixed Greens and Vegetables
- 1 Boston lettuce small head, washed, dried and torn into large pieces
- 4 cups baby spinach
- 2 carrots large, peeled and cut into thick sticks
- 3 celery stalks cut into thick sticks
- 1 can mandarin orange segments about 284 mL, drained very well
- 3 eggs large hard-boiled, peeled and sliced lengthwise
Antipasto Meats
- 75 g hot Genoa salami thinly sliced
- 75 g Milano salami thinly sliced
- 75 g salami with prosciutto thinly sliced
- 75 g coppa thinly sliced
- 75 g prosciutto gently folded or rolled
- 100 g Montreal smoked meat folded or rolled
- 150 g turkey from the deli sliced or rolled - I used Panache sun-dried tomato and basil cooked seasoned
Crunchy Toppings
- 2 cups croutons seasoned
- ½ cup crispy fried onions
Dressing
- ½ cup ranch dressing or as needed
- ½ cup French dressing or as needed
- Freshly ground black pepper optional
Instructions
Prepare the Eggs
- Place the eggs in a saucepan and cover them with cold water.
- Bring the water to a boil, cover the saucepan and remove it from the heat.
- Let the eggs stand for 10 to 12 minutes.
- Transfer them to ice water. Once cooled, peel and slice each egg lengthwise.
Assemble the Antipasto Salad
- Spread the Boston lettuce and baby spinach over a large serving platter.
- Arrange the carrot and celery sticks around the outside and through the centre of the greens.
- Roll or loosely fold the Genoa salami, Milano salami, prosciutto salami, coppa, prosciutto, Montreal smoked meat and seasoned turkey.
- Arrange the rolled deli meats generously over the greens, leaving some of the vegetables visible.
- Add the sliced hard-boiled eggs and well-drained mandarin oranges.
- Scatter the seasoned croutons and crispy fried onions over the entire salad.
- Drizzle the ranch dressing and French dressing separately over the salad, creating ribbons of white and orange dressing.
- Add freshly ground black pepper when desired and serve immediately.
For the best loaded Italian antipasto salad with deli meats, add the croutons, crispy fried onions, ranch dressing and French dressing just before serving. This keeps the greens fresh and the crunchy toppings crisp instead of letting them soften on the platter.
Notes
- Use a large shallow platter for this loaded Italian antipasto salad with deli meats. It keeps the rolled meats, sliced eggs, vegetables, mandarin oranges and croutons visible instead of burying everything in a deep bowl.
- Dry the Boston lettuce and baby spinach very well before assembling the salad. Wet greens can make the ranch and French dressing watery and soften the croutons quickly.
- The amounts of Italian deli meat do not need to be exact. Hot Genoa salami, Milano salami, salami with prosciutto, coppa and prosciutto can be adjusted depending on what is fresh and available at the deli counter.
- Roll or gently fold the sliced deli meats before placing them over the greens. This makes the Italian antipasto salad platter look fuller and helps keep the different meats easy to identify.
- Drain the mandarin oranges thoroughly. I like to leave them in a strainer while preparing the other ingredients because they hold more juice than expected.
- Cut the carrots and celery into thicker sticks so they stay crisp and stand out among the meats and mixed greens.
- Add the seasoned croutons and crispy fried onions right before serving. They lose their crunch fairly quickly once the salad dressing is added.
- Drizzle the ranch dressing and French dressing separately over the finished salad. This gives the antipasto meat salad a colourful finish and lets both the creamy and tangy flavours come through.
- Taste the salad before adding salt. The cured meats, Montreal smoked meat, croutons and dressings already contain plenty of seasoning.
- This hearty summer antipasto salad is filling enough to serve as a main course, especially during warm weather when you want an easy dinner without turning on the oven.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving
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