Pasta Salad with Sun-Dried Tomatoes, Artichokes, and Olives

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Easy Pasta Salad with Sun-Dried Tomatoes, Artichokes, Olives, Arugula, and Parmesan Cheese. This delicious pasta salad can be served as a side dish or main dish. 

Pasta Salad with Sun-Dried Tomatoes, Artichokes, and Olives-this easy pasta salad is a weeknight dinner favorite!

Is anyone else confused by the current situation of summer and back to school? Outside tells me it is still summer, but Target and my calendar tells me it is time to for school to start. I really don’t want summer to end, but the boys are excited to start school. Caleb is starting kindergarten and Maxwell is starting preschool. I know, how did that happen? That is really why I don’t want summer to end, my babies are getting TOO big.

Because life is kind of crazy right now with summer ending and school starting, we are all about quick and easy meals. This Pasta Salad with Sun-Dried Tomatoes, Artichokes, and Olives is the perfect easy dinner recipe. It is also a great side dish to take to a potluck, for those of us that are ignoring that summer is ending and having as many BBQ’s and pool parties as possible.

Easy Pasta Salad recipe that is made with mostly pantry ingredients! An easy dish for potlucks or weeknight dinners!

I love this pasta recipe because it is made with mostly pantry ingredients. I love walking into my pantry and finding almost everything I need to make an amazing dinner. For this pasta salad, you need the following ingredients:

  • pasta
  • sun-dried tomatoes
  • artichoke hearts
  • kalamata olives
  • arugula
  • Parmesan cheese

Four out of the six ingredients are pantry staples in our house. I almost always have arugula and Parmesan cheese in the fridge too, so I know I can make this salad anytime without having to run to the store.

Easy cold pasta salad recipe is great for potlucks or quick and easy dinners.

The pasta has a ton of flavor without any dressing, but I like to whisk up a simple dressing so the pasta isn’t dry and to give it a little extra boost of flavor. The dressing is made with super basic ingredients that you should already have in your kitchen.

  • olive oil
  • lemon juice
  • golden balsamic vinegar
  • garlic
  • a little honey
  • salt and black pepper

I am telling you, this salad is SO easy and a great recipe to have in your back pocket for busy weeknights, lazy weekends, easy entertaining, or when you need to take a side dish to a party to share.

Tips for making this easy pasta salad:

  • We use whole wheat pasta for this recipe. DeLallo is our favorite brand. Gemelli, Penne, Farfalle, Fusilli, or Orechiette are all good noodles for this salad. You can use gluten-free pasta.
  • If you want to add protein to the salad, you can throw in some chickpeas, white beans, or shredded chicken.
  • If you don’t like olives, you can leave them out, but they are really good in this salad.
  • Feta cheese and goat cheese also work well in the salad, if you don’t have any Parmesan cheese on hand.
  • The pasta salad is good cold and holds up well so it can be made in advance. Leftovers are always tasty too!

This simple pasta salad recipe is good any day of the week and anytime of the year! We hope you like it as much as we do!

If you like this easy pasta salad, you might also like:

Pasta Salad with Sun-Dried Tomatoes, Artichokes, and Olives-this easy pasta salad is great for potlucks, picnics, or easy meals.

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Pasta Salad with Sun-Dried Tomatoes, Artichokes, and Olives

This easy pasta salad is made with mostly pantry ingredients and is great served as a side dish or main dish.
4.79 from 14 votes

Ingredients
  

For the pasta salad:

  • 1 lb pasta we use whole wheat Gemelli
  • 1 6.7 oz jar sun-dried tomatoes, drained and roughly chopped
  • 1 15 oz jar quartered artichoke hearts, drained
  • 1 cup pitted kalamata olives drained and cut in half
  • 4 cups arugula
  • 1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

For the dressing:

Instructions
 

  • Cook pasta according to package directions. When the pasta is done cooking, drain and run cold water over the pasta. Drain completely and pour pasta into a large bowl.
  • Add the sun dried tomatoes, artichokes, olives, arugula, and Parmesan cheese. Stir.
  • In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, honey, garlic, salt, and pepper.
  • Drizzle dressing over the pasta salad and toss until salad is well coated. Serve.

Have you tried this recipe?

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Maria

I'm Maria and my husband is Josh. We share a love of cooking, baking, and entertaining. We enjoy creating recipes that are simple, fresh, and family friendly. We love sitting around the table with good food, good conversation, and good friends and family! Our kitchen is always open!
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  1. This is awesome! I started laughing because I made a salad sans pasta almost exactly like this two days ago and boy are those flavors good together!

  2. 5 stars
    Made this salad to tonight without the olives. It is great, easy to prepare and everyone loved it. Definitely a great addition to my pasta salad recipes.

  3. 5 stars
    Made this for supper for my husband and me–absolutely loved it!! I did add chickpeas, and I had black olives on hand instead of the kalamata. What a wonderful supper on a hot summer day!

  4. OMG so many good words here. I would sacrifice my breath any day for endless olives, artichokes, and sun-dried tomatoes. And that pasta shape though! Perfection.

    – MAK

  5. 5 stars
    I’ve made this recipe twice in the last month and I’m about to make it again tonight. Since my picky family doesn’t eat it, it’s all for me! My mouth is salivating just thinking of it. I always add some spinach to the arugula just to get some extra greens in there. I adore this recipe.

  6. 5 stars
    Excellent salad!!
    My new go to side dish!!
    Instead of 2 cups of arugula I just bought a bag of 50/50 spring mix and spinach. I’m sure there was arugula in there somewhere!

  7. 5 stars
    Made this exactly as shown last weekend for 20 people and it was a hit! In fact, it will be a go to for our buffets. Don’t change a single thing! ❤️❤️

  8. 5 stars
    This has become a new favorite for us, especially during these hot summer months! When I made it for dinner tonight, I added in some leftover grilled balsamic chicken breasts I had left from another dinner earlier in the week. It was fantastic with the addition of the chicken! I also put the black olives on the side so my husband can add to his individual plate! Great recipe and definitely in our rotation!

  9. 5 stars
    This salad is amazing! My 18 year old son (who is a picky eater) can’t get enough of it. Bc my son and husband can’t seem to have a meal wo meat, I bought a rotisserie chicken and added it. I also use grilled artichoke hearts. They absolutely love it! Perfect for a summer dinner and makes plenty!