Americans often believe antipasto means a dish served before a pasta course. ... Literally, the word “antipasto” is derived from the Latin root “anti” meaning “before” and “pastus,” which means “meal.” Thus, the antipasto course simply refers to the dish that precedes all the others to come. I decided, however, to make this Keto Prosciutto Antipasto Salad jam-packed with nutrients and flavour so that this salad could also be eaten as a main meal.
I was looking at my blog and realized that I had yet to post a salad recipe. I have been blogging for over 6 months and do not have a single salad recipe on my blog!
In my defence, I started this blog at the beginning of November.
I don't think anyone is thinking about salads on those cold, dreary winter days.
Casseroles and baked comfort foods are what we all crave during the winter and fall seasons.
Since we have been hitting the 90s this week in Florida, the thought of turning on my oven is not overly appealing. Seriously, having to turn down the air conditioning just to make a meal doesn't really seem to make sense.
Hence the salad concept.
When I started to think about what type of salad I wanted to create, I tried to remember the last time I had actually clicked on or "pinned" a salad recipe.
The answer: NEVER
I mean, lettuce, vegetables and a dressing is not something I feel the need to follow a recipe.
Standing in my pantry to try and become inspired, I noticed a couple of canned goods...olives, artichoke hearts, banana peppers and roasted red peppers.
I always stock up on these items when the weather finally starts to cool in Florida because that is when our brick pizza oven gets a ton of use.
Since the weather is too hot for sitting outside by the brick oven, I decided that these canned/jarred goods needed to go.
I literally lined them all up on the counter and it hit me! Antipasto salad!
How to make this Easy Keto Prosciutto Antipasto Salad:
- First, look in your pantry and gather all the ingredients. You can follow my recipe or swap out ingredients to suit your tastes.
- Next, drain all the liquid from the canned goods into a large measuring cup. It will end up being WAY more liquid than you will need so don't worry if you don't get it all. Set the liquid aside.
- Place all your ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
- I added some cucumber and shredded cabbage to give my salad a little extra crunch as well to lightened it just a bit.
- Since I have plenty of fresh herbs in my vegetable garden, I added those in as well.
How to make Keto antipasto dressing:
To make the dressing for the antipasto salad, I decided to use some of the liquids from each of the ingredients.
The water from the canned goods was naturally infused with the taste of the ingredients which was a definite bonus. Adding a couple of spices and a little olive was all that was needed to create the most delicious salad dressing.
Tips for making Keto Prosciutto Antipasto salad:
- Since the recipe calls for using the liquid from the cans, make sure that you are using organic products without any additives.
- This recipe made a very large salad so feel free to cut the ingredients in half
- To make this recipe vegan, just eliminate the prosciutto
- If you don't have prosciutto, you can replace it with any leftover, cooked protein such as chicken or bacon.
- I sometimes add crumbled blue cheese or Parmesan cheese for Mr. Grumbles.
- If you plan on making this salad ahead of time, combine all the ingredients EXCEPT for the salad dressing and store the bowl in the fridge. Add the salad dressing 30 minutes before serving to allow the flavours to blend.
You can also serve this Keto Prosciutto Antipasto Salad with the following:
- Simply Delicious Chicken (Whole30, Gluten Free, Low Carb, Egg Free, Dairy Free)
- Chicken Souvlaki (Whole30, Low Carb, Gluten Free, Dairy Free)
- Baked BBQ Ribs (Whole30, Keto)
- Pancetta Burger Bowls (Whole30, Keto)
- Easy Spicy Bay Scallops (Whole30, Keto)
- Chorizo Shrimp Skewers
Prosciutto Antipasto Salad
By simply looking in your pantry and combining olives, artichokes, tomatoes and cucumber, this salad is created in a flash. Great as a side dish or as a main meal, this Prosciutto Antipasto Salad is perfect for the summer.
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 12 servings 1x
Ingredients
For the Salad:
- 2 cups shredded cabbage (can omit)
- 3 medium cucumbers, diced
- 4 oz prosciutto
- 14 oz canned artichokes, quartered
- 6.5 oz sliced green olives
- 6.5 oz sliced black olives
- ¼ cup diced pimentos
- 4 oz mild banana peppers
- ¼ cup fresh chives, chopped (or 2 tablespoon dried chives)
- ¼ cup fresh basil, chopped (or 2 tablespoon dried basil)
- 2 tbsp sundried tomatoes
For the Salad Dressing:
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp Italian seasoning (or 1 tsp of each: dried oregano, dried parsley, dried onion powder)
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- ¼ cup liquid reserve from canned goods.
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Drain the canned ingredients, reserving some of the liquid. Set the liquid aside.
- Add all the drained salad ingredients, cucumber and shredded cabbage (if using) in a large mixing bowl.
- Make the salad dressing by placing all dressing ingredients in a mason jar and shaking vigorously. Taste the dressing and add additional salt and pepper.
- Pour dressing over salad and toss to evenly coat.
Notes
- Since the recipe calls for using the liquid from the cans, make sure that you are using organic products without any additives.
- This recipe made a very large salad so feel free to cut the ingredients in half
- To make this recipe vegan, just eliminate the prosciutto
- If you don't have prosciutto, you can replace it with any leftover, cooked protein such as chicken or bacon.
- I sometimes add crumbled blue cheese or Parmesan cheese for Mr. Grumbles.
- If you plan on making this salad ahead of time, combine all the ingredients EXCEPT for the salad dressing and store the bowl in the fridge. Add the salad dressing 30 minutes before serving to allow the flavours to blend.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Salad
- Cuisine: Whole30, Keto, Gluten Free, Dairy Free
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 12 large servings
- Calories: 137
- Sugar: 2 g
- Fat: 10 g
- Carbohydrates: 7.9 g
- Fiber: 1.3 g
- Protein: 1.3 g
Lucie Martin says
Made this last night as a side dish for the shrimp scampi (which is amazing BTW). It was good but a little salty and a bit oily (probably because most of the ingredients that I used were packed in oil) - next time, I think that I might try rinsing them before adding the vinaigrette.