A charcuterie salad is a gutsy main course salad loaded with everything from your favorite charcuterie board, plus a bright fresh crunch!
charcuterie salad is a meal and a half!
This is how you do charcuterie in the summer. You definitely won’t feel cheated having salad for dinner with this recipe, it’s got plenty of satisfying protein. In fact, this recipe brings the meat lovers and the salad lovers together over one gorgeous meal. It’s lighter than a true charcuterie platter, and gives salad a delicious new dimension. Serve this along with your favorite pizza delivery and you’ll have a fabulous feast.
inspired by my ‘jarcuterie‘
The idea for this salad came to me after I made my “jarcuterie” (the best appetizer ever.) I had lots of leftover charcuterie makings that I couldn’t bear to see go to waste so I whipped up this high protein charcuterie salad for our dinner.
Charcuterie is basically the French term for many different kinds of preserved meats, but the charcuterie board craze has grown to include a smorgasbord of meats, cheeses, pickles, olives, etc. This dinner salad includes them all, but of course you can adjust it according to what you like and don’t like. Just be sure to load it up!
charcuterie salad recipe ingredients
the greens:
Look for crisp, dense greens that can stand up to all the toppings.
- firm crisp lettuce that can be chopped. I use radicchio and gem lettuce. You might also think about romaine, or even iceberg, in a pinch.
the toppings
Have fun with these!
- sliced cured meats like salami, prosciutto, and coppa ham (look for prepackaged selections that combine different varieties.)
- hard dry sausages like pepperoni, etc.
- hard cheeses like cheddar, Swiss, Gruyere, etc.
- crumbled blue cheese
- red onion, slivered
- olives, stuffed or plain (make sure they’re pitted)
- pickled peppers
- tiny marinated mozzarella balls (I coat the plain ones in olive oil and Italian herb blend)
- marinated artichokes or marinated sun dried tomatoes
- small cherry or grape tomatoes
the dressing
This is a classic Italian restaurant style vinaigrette, nothing fancy, but it has just the right flavors for a charcuterie salad.
- olive oil
- red wine vinegar
- Italian herb blend
- salt
what goes with charcuterie salad?
Honestly I would serve this as a meal in itself, with a few slices of crusty bread or focaccia, and a glass of wine. It’s got everything you need!
But if you’re really hungry, I think it’s just perfect for pizza night, whether you’re making your own, or getting take in. Pair it up with grilled chicken, salmon skewers, burgers, steak, or anything else you’ve got going on the grill.
more salads that make a meal!
- Mexican Fajita Steak Salad
- Salmon Cobb Salad
- Thai Chicken Salad
- The Perfect Chopped Salad
- Blistered Corn and Asparagus Salad with Salmon
- Great Island Curried Chicken Salad Plate
Charcuterie Salad
Ingredients
- 1 small head radicchio, chopped
- 1 head gem lettuce or other dense crunchy lettuce, chopped
- 8 slices salami, pepperoni, prosciutto, and coppa ham
- 1/2 cup small hard sausage, sliced into disks
- 1 cup hard cheeses cut into small cubes, I like to mix orange and white cheeses, some veined or with inclusions like pepper jack for interest.
- 1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese
- 1/4 small red onion, slivered
- 1/2 cup olives, stuffed or plain (make sure they’re pitted) I like a mix of shiny black oil cured olives, kalamata olives, and green olives for variety.
- 1/4 cup pickled peppers, check out your supermarket olive bar for a selection.
- 1/2 cup tiny marinated mozzarella balls (I coat the plain ones in olive oil and Italian herb blend)
- 1/3 cup marinated artichokes
- 1/2 cup small cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
dressing
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- pinch salt
Instructions
- Whisk together the dressing and taste it to adjust any of the ingredients.
- Layer the lettuces into a wide shallow salad bowl. If you are serving the salad right away, I like to lightly dress the greens at this point.
- Arrange the rest of the ingredients in groupings over the top of the lettuce. You can fold slices of meat, slice them, or roll them.
- You can dress and toss the salad at this point. Alternatively you can bring the salad to the table without tossing and serve the dressing on the side.
- You can make this up to a few hours in advance and refrigerate. In this case leave off the tomatoes and dressing until just before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
I love this recipe! I’ve been making it for over 10+ years. The original creator called it “my big fat Italian salad”.