Marinated Artichoke Hearts Pasta Salad is a quick and delicious recipe you can make in under 30 minutes. It's perfect as a side dish, a main meal, or to bring to potlucks. And this recipe is naturally vegan and can be made gluten-free.
It's so easy!
I've been making this pasta salad for years.
The recipe was inspired by one in a Sunset cookbook I owned years ago.
Do you remember those cookbooks that were published in the 1970s and 1980s?
I had a whole collection of them in the early 1990s.
I owe a big part of my love of cooking to them.
While I don't have the books anymore and couldn't tell you which one contained a recipe like this one, this pasta salad has stuck in my mind for 25 years!
Marinated Artichoke Hearts Pasta Salad is easy to customize.
The two key components are the marinated artichoke hearts with the liquid from the jar and pasta.
Instead of making a separate dressing, I use the marinade from the artichoke hearts.
So for this recipe be sure to choose the marinated variety rather than artichoke hearts packed in water, which typically come in a can.
Everything else, including the shape of the pasta, is up to your imagination.
I personally love this recipe with gluten-free penne pasta, peas, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, and black olives.
But you can make it with bow tie noodles, red or green bell peppers, carrots, cucumbers, and green onions.
The possibilities are endless!
More about marinated artichoke hearts
The magic of this recipe is the liquid from the marinated artichoke hearts.
You don't need to use anything else for the dressing.
All you do is pour the contents of the entire jar over the pasta and vegetables.
Easy, right?
The marinade in the jar is a mixture of oil, vinegar, and spices, which is how a vinaigrette is made.
In fact, you can use a recipe from Amanda Freitag of Food Network to make your own marinated artichokes at home.
Perfect for summer
Everyone loves a good pasta salad at summer barbecues and potlucks.
And this recipe is a great change of pace from the typical mayonnaise based salads.
I like to serve it along side other summer salads or grilled dishes.
Some of my favorites include Mediterranean Cucumber Salad, Grilled Eggplant Salad with Chickpeas and Tomatoes, and Cauliflower Ceviche.
Marinated Artichoke Hearts Pasta Salad Recipe
To summarize, this pasta salad recipe is incredibly easy to make.
- Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water to cool the noodles.
- Transfer the cooled pasta to a large bowl. Add the vegetables, marinated artichoke hearts, and the liquid from the jar.
- Toss well to combine. Refrigerate the salad until you're ready to serve.
If you love this recipe, please give it 5 stars!
Marinated Artichoke Hearts Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 8 ounces penne pasta, (or your favorite short pasta) gluten-free, if necessary
- 1 cup frozen peas, defrosted
- 1 cup white mushrooms, quartered
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered
- 1 cup black olives
- 12 ounces marinated artichoke hearts, (1 jar) liquid reserved
Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Drain and rinse the cooked pasta with cold water until cool.
- Place the cooked pasta in a large bowl. Add in the peas, mushrooms, tomatoes, olives, and the marinated artichoke hearts with the liquid from the jar. Toss well to combine.
- Refrigerate until ready to serve.
jeanette l brownlie
Just made this pasta salad, and the marinate from the artichokes is just right. I added red onion and mozzarella balls, sliced, topped it off with shredded parm cheese!! What a great salad, it's a meal in it's self!!
Amy
Yay! I'm glad you enjoyed it, Jeanette!
Karen Rozell
What do you do with liquid from artichokes?
Amy
The liquid from the marinated artichoke hearts is the dressing for the pasta salad.