Do you have a go-to main dish pasta recipe for spring and summer? I do, and it’s this Chicken Artichoke Pasta Salad with sun-dried tomatoes. I bring it to potlucks, picnics, and outdoor concerts. Also at home, perfect for a summer patio meal or ladies’ luncheon. This recipe feeds a crowd! So easy to transport, and no grill needed.
Everyone seems to love this pasta salad. The artichokes and sun dried tomatoes dress it up a little. If you’re not a mayo fan, substitute Greek style yogurt. A little different flavor, but also excellent! Or substitute slivered roasted red peppers in place of sun dried tomatoes. If you’re pressed for time, buy a rotisserie chicken for the shredded chicken.
I’ve had bland pasta salads and scout’s honor, this Chicken Artichoke Pasta Salad is not one of those. (I wouldn’t do that to you. Ha.)
Here’s one of the secrets to the bold taste of this pasta salad: the cooked pasta and shredded chicken marinate in Italian salad dressing.
Add the remaining ingredients later along with the easy lemon pepper dressing. And that’s the other secret to the bold flavor of this pasta salad: lemon pepper dressing. This second dressing gives a real flavor pop, you’ll be handing out this recipe left and right. (Just send ’em here!)
Chicken Artichoke Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 6 cups cooked shredded chicken
- 16 ounces bowtie pasta cooked and cooled
- 16 ounces Italian salad dressing
- 2 - 14 ounce cans artichoke hearts drained and chopped
- 1 - 16 ounce can black pitted olives drained and sliced
- 8 ounce jar sun dried tomatoes drained and cut in strips
- 1 cup regular or light mayonnaise I use Hellman's Light
- 5 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons prepared yellow mustard
- 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Marinate cooked shredded chicken and pasta bowties for eight hours or overnight in Italian salad dressing.
- Gently stir in artichoke hearts, olives and sun dried tomatoes.
- Separately in small mixing bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, lemon juice, yellow mustard and fresh ground pepper.
- Gently incorporate lemon pepper dressing into the pasta salad.
- Refrigerate 'til serving or serve immediately.
Notes
Substitute roasted red peppers for sun dried tomatoes.
Chicken Artichoke Pasta Salad with Sun-dried Tomatoes
Tony says
Yum!! Gotta get Lori this one. Any seafood recipes?? I love seafood. I love garlic, I love garlic, I love capers, did I mention I love garlic?
Allie says
OK Tony, I will percolate on that. A seafood dish with garlic….stay tuned!:)
Christin@SpicySouthernKitchen says
I love a pasta salad! This one looks so creamy and delicious and I love sun-dried tomatoes!
Allie says
Thnx. Christin, I’m partial to sun-dried tomatoes too…especially with artichokes.
Aunt pinkie says
Looks soooo good! Thanks, Allie!
Aimee @ ShugarySweets says
The perfect summer salad recipe!!
Erin @ Miss Scrambled Egg says
Woah! This looks so yummy and hearty. I’d love some of this during a summer picnic or as a side dish for dinner.
Tracy says
This looks delicious! I will definitely try this one. It is great to find a recipe that is very tasty and easy to make ahead to bring to parties! Awesome! Thank you Allie!!!
Barbara Child says
Wonderful sounding! Did you bring that last Sunday? I tried it, and it was great!
Allie says
Yes Barbara, I brought it Sunday. So glad you liked it!
Candace says
This looks delicious, Allie! What a perfect mix of flavor. I love the idea of using rotisserie chicken to save time. I’m always looking for shortcuts :). This may be making an appearance at my next potluck, my friend. Pinned!
Kristi @ Inspiration Kitchen says
Allie, I love pasta salads, and this has some great ingredients! Love it!
cristina says
All kinds of goodness in this pasta salad and I like your suggestion to sub Greek yogurt for mayo averse eaters. A good salad to eat warm or cold and love all the ingredients.
GiGi Eats says
Mmmm chicken, artichokes, sun-dried tomatoes 🙂 🙂 🙂
Catherine says
Dear Allie, This looks so good! I love the creaminess…this would be a hit at any gathering. Have a wonderful day dear. xo, Catherine
Julie @ Julie's Eats & Treats says
This looks like an amazing pasta salad to go with my grilling this summer! DELICIOUS!
Melissa Falk says
Well, this is fortuitous because I misplaced a very similar recipe . This will do just fine 🙂 Thanks for the share!
Sheryl @Lady Behind the Curtain says
I’ve got to try this! Great recipe 🙂
Bethy says
Ok I FINALLY made this, but with some modifications because my pantry was short: I thought I had sun-dried tomatoes, but they were actually roasted red peppers. Also, no olives or italian dressing. It’s still quite tasty. I made a big batch for lunches this week. Definitely would’ve been better if I had the dressing to marinade the chicken and pasta, though. Thanks for the inspiration!
Allie says
Funny Bethy, I was torn between doing it with roasted red peppers and sun-dried tomatoes…went with the sun-dried tomatoes, so glad you liked and it worked well with the peppers too. Thanks for letting me know! Tasty lunches you have this week…kiss that baby for me!
Susan says
Can’t wait until we finish our diet so we can try this!
Arman @ thebigmansworld says
anything with pasta and I’m a guaranteed fan- This looks amazing!
Elsa says
Yum, yum we loved this recipe….would definitely make this one soon.
Allie says
So glad Elsa! 🙂 Hope you enjoy it. Thanks for dropping by!
Cathy says
what are we supposed to marinate the chicken and pasta in overnight? I seem to be missing something here.
Cathy says
nevermind I see you wrote that above…..just didn’t add it to your ingredient list
Allie says
Hi Cathy – many thanks for the question – I needed to clarify that the chicken and pasta marinate in the Italian dressing overnight. I went back into the recipe and did that. I really appreciate the feedback, helps me improve things here. Thank you. Hope you love the salad!