Artichoke Salad

You'll love this artichoke salad because you can make it with minimal effort, with jarred artichokes and a few other fresh ingredients. The result? It's beautiful and delicious!

You can expect a perfect balance of sweet (tomatoes), bitter (arugula), tangy (onion), acidic (artichokes), salty/umami (olives), and herby (dressing).

Of course, you should take our recipe as a guideline and customize it with seasonal local vegetables.

And to turn this artichoke salad into a complete and fulfilling meal, you can add white beans, chickpeas, shaved parmesan, or your favorite short pasta. Let's see how to do it.

TIP: Are you curious about artichokes? Here's our ultimate guide on how to cook with artichokes with 10+ easy artichoke recipes.

Arugula

We use arugula because we like how it pairs with the artichoke. Its pleasantly bitter taste and crisp texture fit perfectly with the sweet, tangy, and herby Italian dressing and other ingredients.

You can substitute spinach, watercress, radicchio, or mixed salad leaves for the arugula.

Artichoke

We use marinated quartered jarred artichoke hearts to keep this dish quick and simple. They are tender and tasty as they sit in the marinate.

If you want to use fresh artichokes, you can certainly do so. However, we recommend following our guide on cleaning and cooking artichokes and pan-frying them or boiling them before adding them to the salad.

You can also use fresh roasted artichokes cooked on a sheet pan in the oven with olive oil and salt.

Frozen artichokes also work well; you would need to boil them as instructed on the package before making artichoke salad.

Cherry tomatoes

We recommend small sweet tomatoes, like cherry tomatoes, plum tomatoes, or date tomatoes.

You can substitute vine tomatoes, grape tomatoes, or Roma tomatoes for cherry tomatoes, but in this case, we recommend cutting them in half, then in wedges.

Red onion

Red onion adds a pleasant tang to this dish.

Substitute shallot or scallions for the red onion.

Olives

We use pitted black olives if we are on a budget, or Gaeta olives or Kalamata olives when we feel splurging.

You can add them whole or cut them in half.

Substitute chopped sun-dried tomatoes or capers for olives.

Italian dressing

Our Italian dressing is herby, tangy, and a little sweet. We think it's perfect with this artichoke salad.

To make it, you'll need the following:

• Extra virgin olive oil: try not to substitute; the next best is regular olive oil;
• Vinegar: white wine, red wine, or apple cider vinegar. Sub with 1 tablespoon dijon mustard;
• Lemon juice: best if freshly squeezed;
• Maple syrup: sub honey or agave syrup;
• Dried oregano: sub Italian seasoning or chopped fresh parsley;
• Dried basil: sub Italian seasoning or chopped fresh basil;
• Garlic powder: sub grated or finely minced garlic;
• Salt: we use sea salt;
• Black pepper.

You can substitute our honey mustard dressing for Italian dressing.

Add-ins

You can add white beans, chickpeas, pasta, shaved parmesan cheese, crumbled feta cheese or dairy-free feta cheese, diced red pepper, asparagus, capers, fresh herbs like mint or dill,

Arrange the arugula on a large serving platter or salad bowl.

Drain the quartered artichoke hearts and scatter them on top of the arugula.

Note: if your artichokes aren't quartered, you can cut them with a small paring knife.

Top with halved cherry tomatoes, pitted olives, and thinly sliced red onion.

In a small jar, add the ingredients for the Italian dressing: extra virgin olive oil, vinegar, freshly squeezed lemon juice, dried oregano, dried basil, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper. Close the jar and shake well.

Alternatively, mix the ingredients in a small bowl until well combined.

Drizzle half of the dressing onto the salad and serve the other half in a bowl next to it for people to help themselves.

We like to serve the salad without tossing it because it looks beautiful. However, if you want, you can give it a quick toss.

Artichoke salad with shaved parmesan

Artichokes and parmesan cheese are a great flavor match. We recommend using a piece of Parmigiano Reggiano or Grana Padano. You can shave it with a vegetable peeler.

Dietary note: Parmigiano Reggiano or Grana Padano is not suitable for vegan or vegetarian diets, but it is suitable for gluten-free and most lactose-intolerant people.

Artichoke salad with white beans

White beans are phenomenal in salads because they have a mild flavor that adapts well with fresh veggies, adds plenty of nutrition, and has a delightfully creamy texture.

So add a small can of cannellini beans, well-drained and rinsed under running water, if you want to turn this salad into a quick and healthy lunch.

Artichoke pasta salad

Excellent for putlocks, packed lunches, and no-fuss dinners. Artichoke pasta salad is simply delicious, and it's a total crowd-pleaser.

To make it extra nutritious, we recommend adding white beans too. Add 8 to 12 ounces of short pasta (we love farfalle, rotini, or fusilli here) cooked al dente in plenty of salted boiling water.

Serve as an appetizer with your choice of bread:

• Toasted garlic bruschetta (fett'unta as they call it in Tuscany).
• No knead focaccia: a straightforward recipe; you can totally make it!
• Italian crostini bread: crunchy and delicious, best if topped with olive tapenade.
• Homemade croutons: great for soups and salads like this one.

Serve it as a main meal next to soup:

• Zucchini soup: a light, summery soup perfect when zucchini are in season.
• Eggplant soup: creamy, light, and original, with roasted eggplant and tomato.
• Potato and leek soup: creamy, cozy, and perfect for winter. No butter and no cream, but loads of flavor!
• Carrot soup: sweet, tangy, and zesty, thanks to the roasted carrots and fresh ginger.
• Broccoli soup is incredibly delicious, fulfilling, and easy to make at home.
• Cauliflower soup: velvety smooth, and bright - one of the best soups you'll ever make.

Make it beautiful: for the best visual results, we recommend serving this salad without tossing it. This is because it looks so beautiful and has a wow effect when you bring it to the table.

Questions

Make Ahead: you can chop the ingredients beforehand and keep them in the refrigerator for about a day. Then, assemble the salad and drizzle with dressing shortly before serving.

Refrigerator: artichoke salad leftovers keep well for about 24 hours, in the fridge, in an airtight container. Take the salad out of the refrigerator 15 to 30 minutes before eating it, as it tastes better at room temperature.

Freezing: this recipe is not suitable for freezing.

More Salad Recipes

If you love seasonal and easy salads, take your pick from these vibrant and quick salad recipes:

• Chickpea salad: a reader's favorite because it's tasty, easy, and nutritious.
• Kale salad: a colorful mix of superfoods; this salad is your winter ally.
• Sweet potato salad: creamy, tasty, and fulfilling; everyone loves sweet potato salad.
• Black bean salad: one of our favorite ways of using black beans with a tangy cumin dressing.
• Avocado salad: with tomatoes and cucumber, this one's a spring and summer favorite.
• Pear salad: a balanced and fruity pear salad with fresh greens, ricotta, and orange wedges.

If you're curious about cooking with artichokes, get new ideas with these wholesome and easy artichoke recipes:

• Braised artichokes: Italian-style artichokes; braised and flavored the Roman way.
• Easy artichoke pesto: easy, creamy, and slightly tangy. Perfect with pasta and in sandwiches.
• Artichoke pasta: get ready for your next Sunday dinner with this 20-minute pasta dish!
• Steamed artichokes: one of the easiest ways to cook fresh artichokes on a stovetop.
• How to cook artichokes with tips and tricks to clean and eat this delicious veggie!

For many more salad ideas, check out our salads category page.