Italian calamari salad is a cold appetizer that is chock full of flavor and textures. Calamari rings and tentacles are quickly cooked and added to a delightful salad of crunchy celery, green olives, red onion, and roasted red peppers. Tossed all together in a simple lemon and olive oil vinaigrette, this dish is best once it’s had a few hours in the fridge making it the most perfect make-ahead appetizer, especially as one of Christmas Eve’s Seven Fishes!
Italian Calamari Salad is one of my favorite appetizers to make because it’s easy to make and hard to mess up, provided you’ve got good quality ingredients.
Calamari salad is great to make ahead of time since it tastes better once it’s had a few hours in the refrigerator; 12-24 hours is the sweet spot.
This is especially helpful when you’re rushing around trying to prepare a bunch of other dishes like Baccala alla Napoletana, Shrimp Scampi, or Linguine alle Vongole for Christmas Eve and the Feast of the Seven Fishes!
How to make it
Each number corresponds to the numbered written steps below.
- Begin by cleaning the calamari. Make sure to remove the cuttlebone and guts if the calamari has not been cleaned at the store. Most calamari sold in America will come pre-cleaned or you can ask your fishmonger to do it for you. After cleaning, cut the tubes into 1/2″ wide rings. The tentacles can be left whole if you’re using smallish calamari. Note: Small squid will be about 20-30 tubes to a pound and be about 4-6″ long. Try to avoid buying very large (only 5 or so to a pound) squid.
- Place the cleaned calamari into a bowl of water with 1 teaspoon of baking soda and 1 teaspoon of kosher salt. Mix well and set aside for 15 minutes before cooking.
- Meanwhile, chop a 1/2 cup of red roasted peppers, dice a 1/4 cup of red onion, and slice a 1/4 cup of Sicilian olives (or any high-quality olives that you like). Also, thinly slice on a bias 2 ribs or about 1 cup of celery. Also, mince a 1/4 cup of parsley and grate 1 clove of garlic. Note: All of these ingredient amounts can be increased, decreased, or omitted to suit your taste.
- Combine all of those ingredients into a large bowl and add a 1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil, 4 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice, and a 1/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes. Mix well and set aside.
- Bring a large pot of water to boil and add the drained calamari. Cook the calamari for about 2 minutes. For small calamari such as the ones used in these photos, you will only need to cook them for 2 minutes or even just 90 seconds. Larger ones might need 3 minutes of cooking.
- Immediately after they finish cooking add to a bowl of ice water to shock them and stop any residual cooking.
- Drain the calamari well and add to the bowl with the other ingredients. Mix well to thoroughly combine.
- Taste test, then season with salt to your liking. Refrigerate the calamari salad for at least 2 hours before serving but overnight is even better. Before serving taste test again and add any more salt, lemon juice, or olive oil that’s needed. Note: The salad should be taken out of the fridge about 30 minutes prior to consumption to allow the possibly congealed olive oil to come back to a fluid consistency.
Top tips
- Buy smaller squid. Ideally, your fishmonger will have squid whose tubes are roughly 6 inches long. This will amount to roughly 20-30 tubes per pound. Try to avoid buying large squid as it will have that tougher, chewier consistency for which calamari gets a bad rap.
- Don’t skip the baking soda. The first step in my recipe, after cleaning the squid, is to let it sit in a baking soda bath for 15 minutes. This is important as baking soda helps to tenderize the squid.
- Use the ice bath! This is one of the most critical steps to follow as it’s important to stop the cooking process to prevent tough calamari. The squid should only need about 90 seconds of boiling and should then be placed immediately into the ice bath to prevent further cooking. How do you know if it’s cooked long enough? Taste one. Pretty simple right?
- Top-quality ingredients. As I mentioned above, feel free to take liberties with your ingredients, but try to use the best possible ingredients that your budget will allow. For example, opt for green Sicilian olives, Kalamata, or Gaeta over anything you’d buy in a can. If you’re able to find celery with the leaves on it, feel free to use the leaves in the salad as well. Use fresh parsley, fresh lemon juice, and high-quality extra virgin olive oil.
Feast of the Seven Fishes menu options
Calamari salad is one of my family’s Feast of the Seven Fishes favorites but we’ve got a few more we think you’ll love:
If you’ve enjoyed this Italian Calamari Salad Recipe or any recipe on this site, give it a 5-star rating and tell us about it in the comments below.
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Italian Calamari Salad
Ingredients
Mix together in bowl
- 1 pound (454g) calamari cleaned, tubes cut into 1/2" circles and tentacles left whole
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- water enough to cover calamari in bowl
For the salad
- 1 cup chopped celery thinly sliced on a bias
- 1/2 cup chopped red roasted peppers
- 1/2 cup Sicilian green olives pitted and sliced
- 1/4 cup diced red onion
- 1 clove garlic grated
- 1/4 cup minced flat-leaf Italian parsley
- 4 tablespoons (60g) lemon juice plus more to taste
- 1/2 cup (120g) extra virgin olive oil plus more to taste
- salt to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed hot red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Rinse and clean calamari then cut into rings and cut any large tentacles in half. Mix calamari with salt, baking soda, and enough water to cover and set aside for 15 minutes.
- Place celery, red roasted peppers, olives, onion, garlic, parsley, crushed red pepper, lemon juice, and olive oil into a large bowl and mix together.
- Set up a bowl of ice water and bring a large pot of water to boil.
- Drain calamari well then boil in water for two minutes or until cooked through. Using a slotted spoon, place cooked calamari in the ice water bath immediately.
- Once calamari is cold, drain and then add to the bowl of veggies and mix together. Taste test and season with salt to taste.
- Chill the calamari salad in the fridge for at least a couple of hours. Before serving, taste test and add more olive oil, lemon juice, or salt and pepper if required. Enjoy!
Notes
- It’s recommended to use squid that are about 6 inches long. If using very large squid, it’s best to cut thinner rings and to cut the tentacles in half or into quarters.
- Sodium levels reflect the addition of 1 teaspoon of kosher salt, but salt to taste.
- Make sure to taste test the calamari salad right before serving and add any extra olive oil, lemon juice, or salt and pepper as required.
- It’s best to chill the salad for at least a couple of hours, but it’s even better if left overnight so that the flavors come together.
- Leftovers can be saved for up to 3 days.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Making three lbs calamari do I use 14 tablespoons of lemon juice and 1 1/2 cups of extra Olive oil or is that two much and what should I use. Thank you
No, you shouldn’t need to triple the entire recipe if tripling the calamari. Start by doubling the dressing ingredients, taste test after chilling and if needed, add more.
Can you cut up celery onions olives roasted peppers the day before using them in the salad
Yes, you can.
Do you rinse calamari after putting in baking soda and water
No, the calamari are rinsed and cleaned before cutting into rings and placing into the water/baking soda/salt mixture. Then, the calamari are drained but not rinsed. See steps 1 and 4 in the recipe card for more information.
I made the calamari salad and it was delicious. Everyone enjoyed the dish. I was surprised that after soaking the calamari it cooked in two minutes and was very tender. I told everyone about you delicious recipies.
So happy to hear that, Marie!
My dad always made this. I do all the Christmas Eve cooking. All the fish, shrimp, clams, calamari sauce etc. I always make this, ur recipe is just a little bit different, gonna try it this year.
black olives and celery
To my favorite cook EVER 👍🏼
Your recipes are amazing from beginning to end.
Wishing you and your family a blessed Christmas season.
We so appreciate that, Christine! Wishing you and your family a wonderful Christmas!
This recipe is delicious as written. The vinaigrette is perfect!
We’re so happy you enjoyed!
Hi Jim,
I’ll be using frozen calamari. Any comments after defrosting?
Hi Nonni, that’s fine – in fact, most calamari that you buy at the grocery store is previously frozen. We’ve yet to find calamari that hasn’t been previously frozen.
Hi JIM . I tried your calamari salad the best. I tried others your tops them all. I’ve made this many times. But yours is the best. Looking forward to try more of your recipes. Oh I tried one of your eggplant recipes. Very good. Looking for a portable stove like yours if possible could I get that info thanks
Hi Mike, we’re so happy you’re loving the calamari salad. The burner Jim uses is an Iwatani butane and you can find it on Amazon.
I’m making this as part of my Christmas Eve dinner. All of your recipes are wonderful. Thank you so much for the idea
Making three lbs calameri salad do I triple the recipe thank you for your help
Yes, triple the recipe.
Can I add shrimp to this salad how to cook shrimp for salad. Thank you for your help
Yes, you can add shrimp. Boil the shrimp, similar to how Jim does it in the shrimp cocktail recipe, and add to the salad.
Excellent! Just made it I couldn’t stop eating it but I had to stop it’s for Xmas Eve!
Hi Bozena, haha so glad you enjoyed it so much! It will be even better tomorrow! Thanks for the comment and Merry Christmas.
Live all Yoyr recipes, question please. I found dry cod in my fridge must be over6 years old lololol, how long is it good for?? Again it is dried with all salt in a plastic bag… we kept moving n I guess pushed back.. In SC, don’t know where I can get some more.. Italian bread n other things are hard to find here… 🍕
Pat
Hi Pat, thanks for the comment and happy you’re enjoying the recipes. I’m not qualified to give advice on how long salt cod is good for but 6 years sounds a bit old. If there is a name of the company who packaged it you may want to ask them.
I have been making calamari salad for years. This is by far the best recipe ever! The baking soda makes a huge difference. Thank you!
Hi Terry, so happy you like this recipe and appreciate your comment!
I grew up eating this and love love love seafood salad! I’ll try your version which sounds similar to how my mom makes it. Just curious- what does the addition of baking soda to water do? Thanks Jim! 🙂
Hi Nancy, the baking soda will help to tenderize the squid. Let us know how it turns out when you make it!
Hi! I love your recipes. Just went looking for a refresher on my calamari salad for Christmas eve. I saw STUFFED CALAMARI flash on the screen! where can I find your recipe? I make it every year and I LOVE it but looking to change it up! Thank you for all the inspiration!
Hi Lorraine. Sorry, I lost the footage and never published that one. The stuffing is made up of breadcrumbs, raisins, pine nuts, parsley, olive oil, white wine, and salt and pepper. Stuff them and pin them close with toothpicks, then braise in a garlicky marinara until tender. Small tubes will take about 30-45 minutes while larger can be over 1 hour. Hope you enjoy it!
Can you add any other seafood to this cold dish?
Hi Chris. I often add cooked shrimp or scungilli to this recipe. Cooked Scallops and mussels are also great. Hope you enjoy it.