Antipasto Skewers

With every manner of charcuterie board and appetizer skewers showing up in my social media feed, I went on a bit of a tear. I love a good easy finger food, so it was fun to do up some of my favorite appetizers to finally share with you!

In today’s post, I’m sharing my antipasto skewer recipe.

This delicious appetizer is the perfect addition to any party menu.

It’s elegant enough for dinner parties, and hearty enough for game night - or watching the big game.

This easy antipasto skewers are as suitable for baby showers, bridal showers, and weddings, as it is for backyard BBQs and pool parties. Serve them as a fancy, passed hors d’oeuvre, or as part of a buffet table.

The fresh ingredients and variety of different colors and textures make it pleasing to both the eyes AND the palate.

It’s low carb, and easy to make gluten free (just check the ingredients you use!) ... so it’s an inclusive menu option.

You know, all around - the perfect party food.

What is a Antipasto Platter?

Antipasto is a style of Italian appetizers - basically the Italian version of charcuterie. It’s generally served as the first course of a formal Italian dinner, and at special occasion.

Literally, the word antipasto means “before meal”.

Cured meats, cheeses, pickled vegetables, etc are common antipasto items, sometimes accompanied with a drizzle of balsamic glaze.

Today’s antipasto appetizer skewers recipe was actually inspired by a different type of antipasto recipe - my Gluten Free Antipasto Salad.

It’s a fun riff on pasta salad, always a big hit when I make it!

Don’t get me wrong, I am a HUGE fan of meat and cheese... but I am OBSESSED with the marinated mushrooms in this recipe.

I usually have to make twice what I need for the skewers, to account for all the marinated mushrooms that end up ... lost... in the process!

Anyway, let’s get to the antipasto skewers recipe!

Ingredients

This recipe uses fairly simple ingredients that should be easy to find in almost any grocery store.

This type of appetizer is SO customizable for personal taste, consider this more of a list of options, rather than an ingredient list that needs to be followed to the letter.

When making your own antipasto kabobs, feel free to use more of your favorite ingredients, skip the ingredients you’re not as into - it’s all good!

Savory Meats

I like to use 3-4 different meats, in a variety of colours, textures, and cuts. It’s a great way to add visual interest to your antipasto skewers.

In general, my favorite meats to use for this are:

Genoa Salami slices
Ham
Mortadella
Pepperoni sticks

... and you should be able to find these in the deli section of most larger grocery stores.

A Variety of Cheeses

I like to use bocconcini- or mini bocconcini (little fresh mozzarella balls), as well as one or two semi hard or hard cheeses.

You can toss them in with the mushrooms and artichokes to marinate, if you’re less into plain mozzarella balls.

Provolone and mozzarella are good choices - Hard enough to cut into cubes, soft enough that they won’t shatter when speared with a skewer.

That said, cheddar, pepper jack, and gouda also work. Whatever sliceable cheese you’d serve on a cheese board could potentially work on this.

Vegetables and Olives

I use a few different kinds of olives and canned / jarred vegetables to round out my antipasti skewers.

Generally speaking, I’ll use both Jumbo Green Olives (with pimento - built in Christmas colors!) and Pitted Black Olives.

Sometimes I’ll use kalamata olives, but I definitely prefer the black olives for this.

To bring some more reds to skewers, I use both Roasted Red Peppers from a jar, and fresh grape tomatoes (or cherry tomatoes).

Finally, I use both Whole Canned Mushrooms and Quartered Artichoke Hearts, which I marinate in a simple balsamic vinegar mixture:

Marinade Ingredients

I marinate the mushrooms and artichoke hearts in a mixture of:

Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
Fresh Garlic Cloves
Dried Basil
Dried Oregano
Salt and pepper.

You can also add the mini mozzarella balls to the marinade, if you like!

Note: You can use Italian Seasoning in place of the dried basil and oregano, if you prefer.

Optional Ingredients

If you’d like to incorporate fresh herbs, you can finely chop fresh basil leaves to add to the marinade, or spear a fresh leaf of basil on your skewers as you make them.

pepperoncini peppers can be a fun addition to your skewers, as well.

I recommend cutting a small hole or slit into them and draining any excess brine before spearing them, or you may end up with messy eating!

Wooden Skewers

Finally, you’ll need some skewers to thread all of those delicious ingredients onto!

I like to use bamboo skewers, rather than metal skewers for appetizer skewers. They look better and are more comfortable to eat with, IMHO.

For this particular recipe, I like to use 10-inch Bamboo Skewers, which are the perfect length for this amount of ingredients.

How to Make Antipasto Skewers

The full recipe is in the recipe card at the end of this post, here is the pictorial walk through.

Marinated Mushrooms and Artichoke Hearts

In a medium bowl, whisk together olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic, basil, and oregano. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Drain mushrooms and artichoke hearts. Add mushrooms and artichoke hearts to the bowl of marinade, toss to coat.

Cover bowl with plastic wrap - or transfer to an airtight container - and chill for at least one hour - or overnight.

Note: The olive oil may solidify overnight. If this happens, allow it to come up to room temperature before taking the remaining ingredients from the fridge for preparation and assembly.

Preparation:

Fold salami slices in quarters. Cut the ham and mortadella slices in half, fold and/or roll into bite sized parcels.

Slice pepperoni sticks into 1" pieces.

Drain olives and bocconcini, Cut provolone into 16 cubes.

Assembly:

Alternating meats, cheeses, and olives, thread 1 piece of each ingredient: mini bocconcini, provolone cubes, red pepper slices, mushrooms, tomatoes, artichoke hearts, black olives, green olives, and each of the 4 meats - onto a bamboo skewer.

I like to do all the skewers in the same order, but feel free to spear the ingredients all willy nilly if that’s more your speed!

Serve immediately - garnished with parsley or basil, if desired - or cover and chill until ready to serve. Best when used within 2 days of assembling.

More Skewer Recipes!

Looking for more excuses to serve food on a stick? Here are some fun ideas for you!

Berry Skewers with Keto Mojito Cheesecake Dip
Fajita Chicken Kebabs
Gluten Free Chicken Satay
Greek Chicken Souvlaki
Greek Salad Skewers
Hawaiian Pizza Skewers
Heart Fruit Skewers with Raspberry Cheesecake Dip
Hop Marinated Chicken Skewers
Jambalaya Skewers
Muffaletta Skewers
Rainbow Fruit Skewers with Mimosa Cheesecake Dip
Tropical Fruit Skewers with Pina Colada Dip

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