This antipasto salad with grilled chicken is packed with Italian flavors of fresh tomatoes, mozzarella, and pepperoncini. Everything is tossed in homemade basil pesto vinaigrette that doubles as a chicken marinade. It’s one of my favorite summer salad recipes, perfect as a starter or as a meal!
Italian Antipasto Salad With Grilled Chicken
This is a terrific starter or main meal salad bursting with flavor, color, and texture. It became one of my go-to summer salads when I realized that the herby basil pesto salad dressing doubles as a grilled chicken marinade!
However, you can easily make this antipasto salad with leftover grilled chicken, air fryer chicken breast, or chicken bites. It would also be delicious dressed with my homemade Italian salad dressing.
What Is Antipasti?
In Italian cuisine, antipasti (the plural of antipasto) means “starters” and refers to small bites like olives, pickled vegetables, cured meats, and cheeses. You might recognize it from my antipasto skewers and Italian pasta salad. Today, we’re mixing a few of my favorite antipasti, including tomatoes, mozzarella balls, and pepperoncini, into a satisfying grilled chicken salad.
Salad Ingredients
Here are the ingredients in this fresh antipasto salad recipe. Scroll to the recipe card for the printable recipe with the full amounts.
- Chicken: Boneless, skinless chicken breast is ideal for grilling and slicing. Chicken thighs or even leftover rotisserie chicken would work, as well. Just remove the chicken from the bones and chop or shred it.
- Greens: I chose Romaine, the same lettuce in a Caesar salad, since it’s sturdy and holds up well with the chunky antipasto ingredients. Use any greens you’d like. Good options are butter lettuce, iceberg, arugula, mixed greens, and spinach.
- Cherry Tomatoes: Or grape tomatoes, sliced in half. If you’re using larger tomatoes, like Romas, consider chopping them into quarters.
- Mozzarella Balls: I love fresh mozzarella pearls. They’re perfect in salads because you get a little bit of cheese in every bite! If you can’t find pearls, cut fresh mozzarella into cubes instead.
- Pepperoncini: Pickled pepperoncini are the secret ingredient in my Italian beef and Mississippi pot roast recipes, and I love the same tangy, spicy flavor they bring to this salad. If you’re worried about the peppers being too spicy, swap them for jarred sweet red peppers.
What Else Can I Add to an Antipasto Salad?
- Cured meats: Salami, pepperoni, sliced prosciutto, and deli meats like ham or turkey.
- Pickled veggies: Olives, roasted red peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, pickles, pickled pearl onions, marinated artichoke hearts or mushrooms, and more.
- Cheeses: Shaved Parmesan, Pecorino, or Provolone. You could even top this salad with a burrata, like my tomato burrata salad.
- Bread: Chop up stale bread and toast it, then toss it with the other ingredients as you would for a panzanella salad. Or, add chunky croutons.
Different Protein
Leave out the chicken or swap it with grilled eggplant to make this recipe vegetarian. Or, replace the grilled chicken with air fryer meatballs, or try grilled shrimp or grilled lobster tail for a coastal-inspired version.
Easy Basil Pesto Dressing (and Marinade!)
Lest we forget, a piece of juicy chicken begs for a flavorful marinade! Here, a combination of basil pesto, vinegar, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper infuses the chicken with so. Much. Flavor.
- Mix the dressing. To begin, whisk together all of the marinade/dressing ingredients. Put half of it in the fridge to use later as a dressing.
- Marinate. Pour the other half of the vinaigrette into a ziploc bag, and toss in the chicken breasts. Put aside the chicken to marinate for at least 30 minutes. Try not to go longer than 2 hours, however, as the acidity can make the chicken mushy.
I use store-bought basil pesto, but you could also try this dressing with homemade parsley pesto, spinach pesto, or even avocado pesto.
How to Grill Chicken for This Salad
I swear by my grilled chicken recipe. It produces the juiciest, perfectly seared chicken every time, with very little effort. The main takeaway is that chicken grills best when it’s undisturbed. Flip it once, and only once! Let the chicken rest afterward, so it’s nice and juicy when you slice into it.
- Cook the first side. Preheat the grill and oil the grates. When the grill reaches 400ºF, place the marinated chicken on the hot grill and do not touch! At least not for 5 minutes, until the first side shows grill marks.
- Flip, and cook the next side. Flip the chicken, and close the grill. Cook for another 7 minutes, or until the chicken is done.
Discard the Leftover Marinade
It might go without saying, but DO NOT reuse any of the chicken marinade as a salad dressing. Set aside half of the dressing at the start, untouched, to use for the salad. Discard any dressing/marinade that comes in contact with the raw chicken.
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For the Vinaigrette Dressing
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Make the dressing. In a bowl, combine pesto, olive oil, vinegar, and lemon juice; add salt and pepper to taste, and whisk until combined. Pour half of the dressing into a ziploc bag. Place the other half in the fridge.
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Marinate the chicken. Add the chicken breasts to the ziploc bag, seal it, and shake it all up until well combined. Place the chicken in the fridge for 30 minutes, or for up to 2 hours.
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Prepare to grill. When you’re ready to cook your chicken, preheat the grill to 400ºF. Brush grill grates with olive oil.
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Grill the chicken. Remove the chicken breasts from the marinade and place them on the hot grill. Cook without touching until the chicken breasts start getting some grill marks, about 5 minutes. Turn the chicken breasts over, cover the grill, and let them finish cooking, about 7 more minutes, depending on the thickness of the chicken. Chicken is done when a meat thermometer registers 165ºF.
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Rest. Remove the chicken from the grill. Cover and let it rest for 5 minutes before slicing.
Assemble the Salad
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Start with lettuce. In the meantime, prepare the salad and transfer the chopped lettuce to a large salad bowl.
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Add antipasto. Next, top the lettuce with tomatoes, cheese, and pepperoncini.
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Add the chicken. Cut the chicken breasts into strips and add them to the salad.
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Dress the salad. Pour the remaining basil pesto dressing over the salad; toss to combine. Serve.
Calories: 357kcal | Carbohydrates: 4g | Protein: 24g | Fat: 26g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 63mg | Sodium: 316mg | Potassium: 464mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 3360IU | Vitamin C: 25.9mg | Calcium: 188mg | Iron: 1mg
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
