Antipasto Chopped Salad with Air Fryer Pepperoni Chips

Antipasto Chopped Salad is a flavor explosion with fresh and roasted vegetables, salami, cheese, olives, and more. This Italian chopped salad gets an extra special addition with Air Fryer Pepperoni Chips that add savory crunch to every bite. A dinner-worthy salad is a treat for busy nights with a quick prep and plenty of toppings to please all palates.

Who doesn’t love a platter of salami, marinated mozzarella, olives, roasted red peppers, artichokes, and more to snack on before a meal? Count me in! With this recipe, you get to take all of your favorite antipasto ingredients and turn them into a satisfying meal. Antipasto chopped salad can be made just the way you like it with your favorite ingredients, but follow the recipe below to get the salad of your dreams started.  Serve this up with a slice of Caprese Focaccia for a special meal.

A big dinner salad is great all year round for a quick meal that’s got everything you love in one bowl.  Try this Crispy Halloumi Lentil Salad next with its hearty base of lentils and roasted cauliflower.

Antipasto Chopped Salad Ingredients

I include ingredient notes here when I think they’ll be helpful, including ways to source, any preparation tips, or why I've chosen a particular ingredient. Be sure to check out the recipe card below for the full list of ingredients and their quantities!

• Pepperoni - Any pepperoni will do, regular or turkey pepperoni have both crisped up perfectly in the air fryer.  I find pepperoni in both the refrigerated section near other cured meats as well as shelf-stable versions near pizza shells.
• Salami - Choose your favorite salami for this recipe.  We prefer to slice salami on our own rather than use pre-sliced salami so that we can cut ½-inch cubes for added texture.
• Marinated Mozzarella, Artichoke Hearts, and Roasted Red Peppers - These shortcut processed ingredients bring big flavor to your chopped salad with easy prep.  Marinated fresh mozzarella is found in the refrigerated section while you’ll find jars or cans of artichoke hearts and roasted red peppers in the canned food section of the supermarket.
• Olives - Choose your favorite pitted olives for the salad, we opt for canned sliced black olives for the easiest prep.  Just drain them and add them to the salad!
• Tomatoes - Remove the seeds from your tomatoes for the best texture.  You can use a plum or Roma tomato as well as regular slicing tomatoes here.
• Lettuce - Choose a crisp lettuce for this salad that can hold up to all of the ingredients.  Romaine or iceberg lettuce work well.
• Canned Chickpeas - Canned chickpeas are a favorite for easy addition to salads, soups, and sautes.  Drain and rinse them well.
• Basil -  Fresh basil leaves are a terrific addition to the chopped salad, but tear or slice them right before adding them to avoid browned leaves.

Simple Salad Dressing Ingredients

• Olive Oil - Use a good quality olive oil that you enjoy the flavor of right from the bottle for this easy salad dressing.
• Red Wine Vinegar - Red wine vinegar balances the olive oil with a subtle acidity.  You can substitute balsamic vinegar or white wine vinegar.
• Dried Oregano - Just a bit of dried oregano will flavor the dressing.  You can also use fresh oregano if that’s available.  You’ll need closer to 1 tablespoon of fresh finely chopped oregano to season the dressing.
• Salt and Pepper - Use the amounts in the recipe card below as a guide and taste the dressing before adjusting the amounts as needed.

Air Fryer Pepperoni Chip Preparation

Air fryer pepperoni is a treat all on its own, but if you want the speediest, no-cook dinner feel free to skip the pepperoni chips.  You can dice up the pepperoni and add it to the salad right from the package!

Place the sliced pepperoni on the air fryer basket in a single layer.  Air fry at 425°F for 7 minutes.

When the pepperoni is done it gets smaller, darker, and the surface is bubbly with rendered oil.  Transfer it to a paper towel, paper bag, or a clean kitchen towel to drain.  It will get crisper as it cools.

Oven Pepperoni Chip Preparation

No air fryer? No problem!  You can also prepare crisp pepperoni chips in an oven preheated to 350°F.

Line a baking sheet with foil and place the pepperoni on it in a single layer. Bake the pepperoni for 10 minutes.  Take the pan out of the oven and flip the pepperoni.  Bake for an additional 3-4 minutes.

The baked pepperoni shrinks a bit and the oil has rendered out.  Remove the slices from the pan and drain them on paper towels, a paper bag, or a clean kitchen towel.  They will get crisper as they cool.

Chopped Salad Preparation

Add the olive oil, vinegar, oregano, salt, and pepper to a small jar and shake the ingredients to combine.  Alternatively, whisk the ingredients together in a small bowl.

Drain both the marinated mozzarella (save that oil!) and the artichokes and chop them into ½-inch pieces.

Slice the salami into ½-inch rounds and dice those into cubes.  Chop the tomatoes into similarly sized pieces.  Slice the drained roasted red pepper into strips and then into squares.

Arrange all of the salad components on a platter alongside the dressing, pepperoni chips, and shredded or chopped lettuce and serve, allowing diners to mix their own salad.

Alternatively, mix all salad components together in a large bowl and plate individual servings.

Substitutions and Variations

The substitutions listed below have been tested in this recipe and work well. If you successfully make any other ingredient substitutions, let us know in the comments!

• Use Italian Seasoning - Swap Italian seasoning or any blend of dried basil, oregano, thyme, and rosemary in place of the oregano in the dressing.
• Change the Cheese - Use shredded mozzarella, grated parmesan, romano, or plain fresh mozzarella in place of the marinated mozzarella called for in the recipe. 
• Chopped Salad Additions - Add even more flavor with chopped giardiniera, pepperoncini, thinly sliced red onion, diced ham, radicchio, cucumber, and more.
• Use Roasted Chickpeas - Roast your drained and rinsed chickpeas with olive oil, Italian seasoning, garlic, and salt at 375°F for 20-25 minutes for crispy chickpeas to add flavor and crunch to your chopped salad.

Top Tip

Use the oil from your marinated ingredients in your vinaigrette and in other recipes.  The oil pictured below was from the marinated mozzarella and contains herbs, spices, and seasonings that will all add flavor to the vinaigrette.  You can also use it as a marinade for chicken, beef, or fish, or as a finishing oil for grilled or roasted vegetables.

Equipment

This recipe comes down to two tasks: lots of chopping and air frying (or baking!) to get that crisp pepperoni chip crunch.  Here are some notes:

• Chef’s Knife - An 8- or 10-inch chef’s knife is an essential tool in any kitchen.  I use it for chopping, of course, but also for crushing garlic cloves on the broad side of the blade, preparing fruit, finely chopping herbs, and more.  I have some pretty expensive knives in my collection, but the one I’m reaching for most often right now is a plastic handled one from Gordon Food Service that is lightweight and fits comfortably in my hand.  It sharpens easily, too, which keeps it in constant use.
• Air Fryer - This recipe was tested with a toaster oven style air fryer.  These have a wide mesh tray that accommodates all of the pepperoni at once.  Cooking times will vary from model-to-model, but if you have a smaller, basket style air fryer you’ll need to prepare the pepperoni in two batches to get truly crisp chips.

Serving Suggestions

You can toss all of the ingredients together and bring a big beautiful chopped salad to the table as a centerpiece or you can serve this antipasto chopped salad DIY style and let everyone build their own salad at the table.  Either way, round out the meal with some crusty bread or serve this salad as a side to grilled meats.

Make This Recipe Kid Friendly

This salad is a perfect example of a DIY dinner that will be perfect for the whole family, even your pickiest eaters.  Bring the platter with all of the ingredients to the table and allow everyone to build their own plate.  You can add a few safe foods to the platter like chopped apples, a familiar cheese, or small crackers to help keep things familiar.  Check out this post on Keeping Peace with Picky Eaters for more ideas!

Storage

Once the salad is tossed with dressing, there’s not much you can do to save it for later without everything getting soggy.  To save a portion of antipasto chopped salad for the next day’s lunch, add the ingredients to a large airtight storage container in a specific order.  Place the dressing on the very bottom of the container.  Layer over the dressing the chickpeas, olives, cheese, meats, tomatoes, and peppers.  Sprinkle the lettuce over the top and just before eating toss (or shake) all of the ingredients together.

Make Ahead Options

Once you've chopped up all of the different components to this salad, you can add them to a platter and cover it with plastic wrap.  Chill it for up to a day to save time on prep when you need it.  The salad dressing can be stored in an airtight jar.  The only part of the recipe that should be prepared right before eating is the chopped lettuce and torn basil leaves to avoid any browning.