Lemon Arugula Pasta Salad

You have to try our Lemon Arugula Pasta Salad – the perfect lemon pasta salad for all your spring and summer gatherings. It’s loaded with farfalle pasta, fresh arugula, marinated artichokes, parmesan cheese, lemon zest, and tossed with a fresh lemon vinaigrette—the Italian way.

The Ideal Pasta Salad If You Love Zesty Lemon Flavor

We love using lemon in so many dishes, especially during the spring and summer months. This lemon pasta salad is perfect for that! Its tangy lemon flavor, combined with marinated artichokes, Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, and arugula’s peppery taste, creates a delightful medley that tastes amazing in every bite.

Lemon Arugula Pasta Salad is lemony-delicious and simple to make. You can prep ahead of time, chill the salad, and then toss the lemon juice and olive oil before you serve. Your family and friends will love this salad as much as we do. If you love easy pasta salads, try Easy Pasta Salad with Bocconcini and Best Orzo Salad with Spinach.

Tell Us About This Lemon Arugula Pasta Salad

This recipe is quick to make. Once you boil the pasta and drain it, everything else is added into one large salad bowl, and it is all tossed to combine and ready to serve. Perfect for an easy cleanup. Plus, the dressing consists of only 4 ingredients: extra virgin olive oil, fresh-squeezed lemon juice, salt, and crushed red pepper flakes. And, best of all -the flavors are delicious! What could be better?

Tips for Success:

Here are a few things you should know before you make any pasta salad. These are great tips to remember and especially for our Lemon Arugula Pasta Salad:

• Cooking the Pasta: When you cook the pasta, keep an eye on it and cook it at least one minute less than the directions on the package tell you. You want the pasta to be “al-dente” (tender to the bite) and not mushy.
• Drain Well: When you drain your pasta, shake the colander a few times to allow all the water to escape and drain well.
• Allow To Cool: It’s best to allow the pasta to cool before you toss it with the rest of the ingredients. If the pasta is too warm, it will make the arugula wilt and lose its bright green color.
• Extra Dressing: It’s best to make extra lemon dressing, which is just extra virgin olive oil and fresh lemon juice, and keep it in a small mason jar or container. Like most pasta salads, the pasta will absorb most of the dressing. So it’s best to have extra so you can toss additional dressing just before serving. You want enough lemony flavor throughout the bowl and give everyone the delicious zesty flavors in every bite.
• Garnish: Don’t forget to add a few slices of fresh lemon on the side, as a pretty garnish.

Main Ingredients You Will Need…

Overview: Ingredients for Our Lemon Arugula Pasta Salad

1. The Pasta: For this recipe, we decided to use farfalle pasta, and one pound (16 ounces). Farfalle pasta always makes a lovely presentation, and it happens to be my family’s favorite. But you can use any pasta you prefer. Be sure to add salt (at least 1 teaspoon) to the water when boiling your pasta.
2. Fresh Lemons: You will need at least 2 lemons, one to zest, and both for juicing. There’s no comparison to having fresh lemons for the dressing, instead of bottled lemon juice, which leaves a bitter aftertaste (due to the added preservatives). Plus, we prefer to squeeze the lemons directly into the salad bowl with a lemon squeezer. It’s so much easier.
3. Fresh Arugula: You will only need two handfuls of arugula for this salad. We prefer buying the organic and already pre-washed. This way, the arugula will stay crisp and fresh for this delicious pasta salad.
4. Marinated Artichokes Quartered: A jar of already marinated artichokes makes this salad even better and more flavorful. And, one full cup will suffice. But after you tossed everything, you can add more to your taste. But not too much – or it will overpower the flavor.
5. Grated Parmigiana-Reggiano: There’s nothing like the real stuff when it comes to grated Parmesan cheese. Its flavor only intensifies everything in this lemon pasta salad, so don’t leave it out.
6. Extra-Virgin Olive Oil: Always choose the best extra virgin olive oil for the best flavor – and especially in salads. But if you want a suggestion for the “best”? Then choose Partanna Robust Extra Virgin Olive Oil, it’s the best!
7. Crushed Red Pepper: For this salad, we decided to give it a touch of heat, but it totally enhances all the flavors combined, and you will only need 1/8 of a teaspoon. You can toss it directly over the pasta, or you can add it to your lemon and olive oil dressing.
8. Salt: You will need to add a little salt to this salad, to your preference. We prefer the Himalayan pink salt, but you can use any table salt you prefer.

How To Make Our Lemon Arugula Pasta Salad?

If this is your first time making a pasta salad, no worries, this recipe is super easy! First, gather all the ingredients you need before you start. Then, zest your lemon. Next, grab a large salad bowl, add the cooked farfalle, the marinated artichokes, crushed red pepper flakes, grated cheese, and two handfuls of fresh arugula. Toss in the lemon zest, and pour in the olive oil. Lastly, add the freshly squeezed lemon juice, and toss everything to combine. Taste and season with salt.

Don’t You Love Cooking with Fresh Lemons?

• Flounder Fillets in Lemon Sauce
• Angel Hair Pasta with Lemon Sauce
• Lemon Chicken Sheet Pan Dinner
• Lemon Pound Cake (Starbucks Lemon Loaf)
• Italian Lemon-Coconut Cake (dairy-free)

Don’t forget! If you make our Lemon Arugula Pasta Salad, let us know and leave a comment below! We’d love to hear from you! Have fun snapping a photo, and hashtag it on Instagram and Pinterest: and tag us. Thank you!

More Healthy Salads

• Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad
• Orange Endive Salad
• Tortellini and Broccoli Salad
• Quinoa Tabbouleh Salad

Have a Delicious Day! 🙂

Thanks for stopping by… xo anna and liz