Antipasto Quinoa Salad is packed with all the best flavors of Italy! Salami, pepperoncini, and artichokes build the quinoa bowl before being topped with a white wine vinaigrette.

Antipasto Quinoa Salad is plated and topped with white wine vinaigrette.

Table of Contents

Build your own Antipasto Quinoa Bowl

In my culture, eating is what we do best. It’s no surprise Italians invited a meal to happen BEFORE the meal! Antipasto comes from the Latin words ante- and pāstus which translates to food before the meal.

Traditionally, antipasto is the first course to be served in a formal dinner. Common ingredients include cured meats, artichoke hearts, olives, pepperoncini, olives, and cheeses.

Antipasto is a similar idea to a charcuterie board. It’s all of your favorite Italian bites in one course. Hard salami, fresh grape tomatoes, artichoke hearts, two kinds of olives and mozzarella pearls combined with a white wine vinaigrette over quinoa is my new favorite obsession.

fresh peppers, artichoke hearts, salami slices, and olives in cups on a table

Antipasto bowl ingredients

Quinoa- For this recipe, it’s made into a whole delicious meal by adding protein-packed quinoa.
Hard salami- This ingredient is really easy to find in basically any grocery store, but if you have access to a well-stocked/ specialty store, go ahead and indulge in some cured meats. Capocollo, soppressata, mortadella, coppa, or cacciatore are all great additions to your antipasto bowl.
Olives- Kalamata olives and Spanish olives (Manzanilla) are salty, flavorful and affordable.
Artichoke hearts- Canned quartered artichoke hearts are easy to add since all you need to do is drain them and toss them in!
Tomatoes- Cherry or grape tomatoes are an easy way to throw in a serving of vegetables!
Mozarella pearls- Parmesan, romano, provolone, and mozzarella are delicious cheeses that would be a great addition.
White wine vinaigrette- Make this dish phenomenal by adding a vinegar-based dressing like my white wine vinaigrette.

Antipasto Quinoa Salad is broken into 6 steps to build the quinoa bowl.

How to build an antipasto quinoa salad

Cook the quinoa. This is the longest portion of the instructions, but the good news is that quinoa on average takes 15 minutes to cook.
Slice the cured meat. Dice it, slice it, I don’t care. I just cut it up big enough to be shoved in my mouth!
Add the olives. If you’re like me, there will be lots and lots of olives on your quinoa bowl…I also said that in my best British accent, in case you were wondering.
Drain the canned artichoke hearts. Once they are drained, add as many as you want to the bowl!
Halve the tomatoes. The amount is negotiable, depending on how much you like tomatoes. Pro tip: don’t like tomatoes? Add a dash of salt and see if that changes your opinion.
Top with your favorite cheese. Add all the cheeses you want, is there every a reasonable limit of cheese?
BONUS: Add a homemade white wine vinaigrette!

Antipasto Quinoa Salad is plated in a white bowl to show all the layers of the dish.

What Goes With Antipasto?

Five Minute Roasted Asparagus is not only fast to make, but easy and delicious!
Pan Roasted Broccoli with Garlic is so good, it’s hard to keep your hand out of the pan!
White Wine and Lemon Roasted Artichokes are absolutely divine!
Want to seriously step your game up? Toss some roasted garlic in your quinoa bowl and watch your tastebuds explode!

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