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30 Minutes or Less

5-Minute Antipasto Salad

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antipasto salad in a bowl with red wine on the side

This antipasto salad comes together in just 5 minutes! Quick, easy, and exploding with flavor. Loaded with healthy ingredients, and finished off with a 3-ingredient dressing. It’s also entirely gluten-free, with a dairy-free option!

close-up overhead image of antipasto salad on a plate with tomatoes on the side

What You’ll Need To Make Antipasto Salad

Romaine Lettuce – Fresh, crisp, and extra crunchy romaine is the perfect base to this Italian salad. Romaine is hearty, yet super mild, and won’t take away from all the other flavors we have going on in this dish. However, if you don’t have romaine, you can certainly use any other kind of lettuce you’d like. Some fresh arugula would also taste great!

Olives – Feel free to use a variety of your favorite olives in this antipasto salad! I used a combo of green and black olives, which were perfectly briny and delicious. I’ve also made this salad with marinated green olives and it was nothing short of exceptional! Also, if you don’t like olives (first of all, how?!), you can definitely leave them out of this salad altogether.

Salami – I added this Applegate Genoa Salami to my salad, but any brand/type of salami will work here. Smoked salami, spicy salami, thinly sliced salami, etc. will all taste amazing. You can even swap the salami for prosciutto, if that’s more your thing!

Red Wine Vinegar – Either red wine vinegar or white wine vinegar will blend perfectly into our 3-ingredient dressing. The tangy, sour vinegar brings out the abundance of savory flavors in this salad recipe. However, if you don’t have any vinegar on-hand, a tablespoon of lemon juice makes for a great substitution!

fork and spoon lifting antipasto salad out of a bowl

Tips and Tricks

  • This antipasto salad is basically a charcuterie board, served over lettuce. It’s got all the charcuterie things from cured meats to marinated veggies. Therefore, throw any and all of your favorite charcuterie fixings into this simple salad!
  • Make this an Italian-style pasta salad by replacing the lettuce with your favorite cooked pasta! And for a gluten-free pasta salad, use your favorite gluten-free pasta instead.
  • Because this salad holds up so well in the fridge, it’d make a great addition to your weekly meal prep! Simply portion out this salad into four servings, then store the dressing on the side. When ready to eat, remove your pre-portioned salad from the fridge and then dress- that’s it!
close-up image of antipasto salad

Adjust This Recipe To Your Dietary Needs

Make it Vegan: For a vegan meal, leave out the pepperoni, salami, and mini mozzarella balls. You can also replace these three ingredients with your favorite vegan protein, such as chickpeas, white beans, or even lentils.

Make it Dairy-Free: Easily make this antipasto salad dairy-free by leaving out the mini mozzarella balls. I personally took this option and my salad was still insanely flavorful and delicious!

5-Minute Antipasto Salad

5 from 1 vote
Recipe by Samantha Course: MainCuisine: ItalianDifficulty: Easy
Servings

4

servings
Prep time

5

minutes
Cooking time

0

minutes
Total time

5

minutes

Ingredients

  • 3 cups romaine lettuce, chopped

  • 12 ounces jarred artichoke hearts, quartered

  • 1 cup mixed olives, halved

  • 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved

  • 1/2 pound salami, thinly sliced

  • 1/2 cup pepperoncini, drained and sliced

  • 4 ounces sliced pepperoni

  • 1/4 cup jarred roasted red peppers, chopped

  • 1/4 red onion, thinly sliced

  • 8 ounces fresh mini mozzarella balls, optional

  • For the dressing:

  • 1/4 cup olive oil

  • 1 tablespoon red wine or white wine vinegar

  • 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

Directions

  • Add all salad ingredients to a large bowl or serving platter.
  • Make the dressing by whisking together all dressing ingredients in a small bowl, then pour over salad. Serve immediately.

Recipe Video

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30 Minutes or Less

Avocado Pasta with Roasted Garlic and Tomatoes

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avocado pasta on a plate with a fork

Vibrantly green and irresistibly creamy avocado pasta, finished off with roasted garlic and tomatoes! Whip up this quick, easy, and healthy dinner recipe in under 20 minutes. Perfect when you’re short on time and/or craving something comforting and delicious.

close-up image of avocado pasta with roasted garlic and tomatoes on a plate

What You’ll Need To Make Avocado Pasta

Avocado – LOL, duh! Pick up two perfectly ripe avocados for this plant-based recipe. To know whether your avocados are ripe or not, give them a gentle squeeze. If the skin gives a tiny bit then they’re ready to eat! Though if your avocados feel hard as rocks, leave them out at room temperature for another day or two until ripe. I almost always buy a big bag of avocados while at the store, and use leftovers to make avocado toast in the morning – yum!

Fresh Herbs – Feel free to use any fresh herbs you’d like, or have on-hand! I used a combo of fresh basil and fresh parsley, which made for a perfectly fresh-tasting sauce. However, a bunch of fresh cilantro would taste equally as delicious.

Garlic – Plenty of garlic is necessary for this avocado pasta recipe! We pretty much use an entire garlic bulb between the roasted garlic and tomatoes, and the avocado sauce. When roasted, garlic releases intense flavor which is straight up heavenly. I could eat roasted garlic all by itself, it’s that good! Together with the tomatoes, olive oil, and a little bit of salt and pepper – the roasted garlic in this recipe is to-die-for.

overhead image of avocado pasta on two plate

Tips and Tricks

  • Use any pasta shape you’d like! I used bow-ties since they’re what I had, but shape truly makes no difference here. I can imagine this avocado pasta tastes just as delicious with spaghetti, penne, fusilli, elbows, etc.
  • Remember to reserve half a cup of pasta water! This pasta water will be added back into the pasta, after you’ve strained it, and added the avocado sauce in. The starches from the reserved water help your sauce latch onto the pasta.
  • Typically served hot, this pasta can also be served cold as an avocado pasta salad. For a cold pasta dish, cook up everything the same. Then, cover and leave to chill for about an hour before serving.

Adjust This Recipe To Your Dietary Needs

Make it Gluten-Free: This pasta is easily made gluten-free with the use of your favorite gluten-free pasta. Now my personal favorite gluten-free pasta is Jovial’s Brown Rice pasta, and is actually exactly what I used in the photos here!

Make it Paleo/Grain-Free: For a paleo pasta, simply use zucchini noodles or spaghetti squash in place of the pasta in this dinner recipe.

Avocado Pasta with Roasted Garlic and Tomatoes

0 from 0 votes
Recipe by Samantha Course: MainDifficulty: Easy
Servings

4

servings
Prep time

5

minutes
Cooking time

15

minutes
Total time

20

minutes

Vibrantly green and irresistibly creamy avocado pasta, finished off with roasted garlic and tomatoes! Whip up this quick, easy, and healthy dinner recipe in under 20 minutes. Perfect when you’re short on time and/or craving something comforting and delicious.

Ingredients

  • 1 pound pasta, uncooked

  • For the roasted garlic and tomatoes:

  • 1 pint grape tomatoes

  • 6-8 garlic cloves, sliced

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil

  • salt and black pepper, to taste

  • For the avocado sauce:

  • 2 ripe avocados, peeled and pits removed

  • 1/2 cup fresh basil, parsley, and/or cilantro

  • 1/4 cup olive oil

  • 2 garlic cloves

  • 1 lemon, juiced

  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Directions

  • Preheat oven to 400° Fahrenheit. Make the roasted garlic and tomatoes by placing tomatoes and sliced garlic on a baking sheet, then drizzling with olive oil and seasoning with salt and pepper. Roast for 15 minutes or until soft and very fragrant.
  • While garlic and tomatoes roast, cook pasta in a large pot of salted water until al dente and reserve ½ cup pasta water.
  • While pasta cooks, add all avocado sauce ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth.
  • Once pasta is cooked, strain then add back into pot along with avocado sauce and reserved pasta water. Toss pasta in sauce before adding in roasted garlic and tomatoes, serve immediately.

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30 Minutes or Less

Gluten-Free Pasta Salad (Dairy-Free)

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gluten-free pasta salad in a big bowl with a wooden spoon

This gluten-free pasta salad recipe will be on repeat all summer long! A quick and easy homemade Italian dressing is the cherry on top of this delicious dish. Make this simple gluten-free pasta salad for your next summer barbecue or party – everyone (including gluten-eaters) will love it!

gluten-free pasta salad in a big bowl with a wooden spoon

Pasta salad has always been my favorite part of every summer barbecue. Even as a child, I’d fill my paper plate to the brim with pasta salad and nothing else. There’s just something about a chilled pasta salad in the warm weather that is so light and fresh, yet satisfying. Most pasta salads contain both gluten and dairy, but making one without is surprisingly easy! I opted for brown rice pasta since it has the best taste and texture when chilled. And I simply left out the cheese while boosting the flavor of this dish in other ways to make up for it. This gluten AND dairy-free pasta salad won’t leave you feeling deprived, like at all. Enjoy this recipe as a side to virtually any meal, or if you’re like me – find the biggest plate you can, fill it up and eat it on its own!

What You Need To Make Gluten-Free Pasta Salad

Gluten-Free Pasta – Brown rice pasta reigns supreme in both taste and texture. While you can definitely use whatever kind of gluten-free pasta you’d like for this recipe, I highly recommend you give brown rice pasta a try. And not just any brown rice pasta, I specifically recommend the Tinkyada Brown Rice Spirals. I bought mine at Whole Foods, but have seen them at a variety of grocery stores. Now, if you’ve been reading my blog for a little while now, you know that I live and die by the Jovial Brown Rice pasta. However, when cold, Jovial brand pasta tends to get hard and chewy – which is not ideal for a pasta dish we plan on enjoying cold. Therefore, of all the gluten-free pasta brands I have experimented with for this gluten-free pasta salad recipe, I found Tinkyada to be the best!

Pepperoncini – We loooove pepperoncinis around here. I love having a jar in my fridge to add to any and all salads, while my boyfriend is obsessed with putting them on his sandwiches. If you’ve never had/heard of pepperoncinis (you’re missing out) they’re mildly spicy pickled peppers. Most commonly sold whole, you’ll want to slice them before adding them to your gluten-free pasta salad. If you’re sensitive to spice, I recommend slicing and using only the bottom half of the pepperoncinis. The closer to the stem you get, the hotter that part of the pepper will be.

Salami – Any kind of salami will work in this recipe! My only recommendation would be to avoid using thinly sliced salami. Try purchasing a whole salami and slicing into bite-sized pieces yourself. Feel free to go as big or as small with these pieces as you’d like.

Adjust This Recipe To Your Dietary Needs

Make it Vegan: Use chickpeas instead of salami, or just leave that part of the recipe out altogether!

Add Gluten: Feel free to use regular pasta instead of gluten-free pasta in this recipe.

Add Dairy: Throw a little mozzarella into this gluten-free pasta salad if you’d like.

Gluten-Free Pasta Salad (Dairy-Free)
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Gluten-Free Pasta Salad (Dairy-Free)

0 from 0 votes
Recipe by Samantha Russo Course: SidesCuisine: ItalianDifficulty: Easy
Servings

6

servings
Prep time

15

minutes
Cooking time

15

minutes
Total time

30

minutes

This gluten-free pasta salad recipe will be on repeat all summer long! A quick and easy homemade Italian dressing is the cherry on top of this delicious dish. Make this simple gluten-free pasta salad for your next summer barbecue or party – everyone (including gluten-eaters) will love it!

Ingredients

  • For the pasta salad:

  • 1 pound gluten-free pasta

  • 2 cups cherry tomatoes, sliced

  • 1/2 cup black olives, sliced

  • 1/2 cup pepperoncini, sliced

  • 1 cup basil, chopped

  • 1 – 2 cups salami, chopped

  • For the dressing:

  • 1/2 cup olive oil

  • 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar, see Notes

  • 1 tablespoon honey (or maple syrup)

  • 1 garlic clove, chopped

  • 1/2 tablespoon salt

  • 1/2 tablespoon Italian seasoning

Directions

  • Cook pasta according to package directions.
  • While pasta cooks, make the dressing by adding all ingredients to a jar, securing with a lid, and shaking to combine.
  • Let the pasta cool before adding all ingredients to a bowl and tossing together.

Recipe Video

Notes

  • Apple Cider Vinegar: You can use lemon juice or white wine vinegar instead of apple cider vinegar if you’d like.
  • Prep this gluten-free pasta salad ahead of time and let it chill in the fridge for a few hours before serving to give the flavors time to develop!

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