Spinach Artichoke Pasta Salad Recipe
Spinach artichoke pasta salad tossed in a light lemon dressing with shaved parmesan. Ready in about 15 minutes, it stays bright and fresh—never soggy. It has the flavors of spinach artichoke dip, but in a lighter, make-ahead-friendly pasta salad that actually holds up in the fridge.
I’ll give you variations and substitutions where I can, plus helpful tips and tricks for success. Read on for this info as well as the recipe. If you’d like to skip straight to the recipe, use the jump to recipe button at the top of the post.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
🍋 No Mayo – Dressed in a glossy, light lemony sauce instead of heavy mayo.
🍋 Versatile – Serve this pasta salad warm or cold.
🍋 Quick & Easy – Ready in about 15 minutes.
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Spinach Artichoke Pasta Salad
Spinach and artichoke pasta salad is a light, lemony pasta salad made for warm weather meals. Packed with fresh spinach, marinated artichokes, and shaved parmesan, it’s quick enough for weeknights and easy to bring along to cookouts, beach days, and backyard dinners.
Ingredients
- Lemon (juice + zest) – The combination keeps the dressing bright without being too sharp.
- Marinated artichokes and sun-dried tomatoes – Adds built-in flavor.
- Pasta water – Creates a light emulsified sauce.
- Shaved parmesan – Melts slightly and clings to the pasta, adds richness without cream or mayo.
- Spinach – Baby spinach is tender and perfect for this dish, as it wilts easily.
- Substitutions: Try steamed broccoli instead of spinach.
- Butter – Combined with the lemon juice and hot starchy pasta water, this pulls the sauce together, and makes it glossy.
How to make Spinach Artichoke Pasta Salad
Here’s a quick summary of how to make this lemony pasta salad. Please see the recipe card at the bottom of this post for the full recipe.
- Prep – For this light, lemon artichoke pasta salad, gather all of your ingredients (mise en place) and measure them out. Put the pasta on to boil. Before draining, reserve 1 cup of pasta water—this is what helps create a light, glossy sauce later.
- Toss the hot pasta with a bit of butter and the fresh spinach. The point is to wilt the spinach a bit from the heat of the pasta.
- While it’s still warm, toss the rest of the ingredients through and add the starchy pasta water little by little, as you are mixing, to emulsify the sauce.
- Using a vegetable peeler, shave curls of parmesan cheese on top and sprinkle with lemon zest.
Why this recipe works
This pasta salad works because it uses a simple emulsification technique and balanced flavors. The hot pasta is tossed with butter, lemon juice, and starchy pasta water, which creates a light, natural emulsion.
The sauce clings to every piece of pasta, keeping it glossy and evenly coated, while marinated artichokes and sun-dried tomatoes bring built-in flavor. Fresh spinach wilts slightly from the heat of the pasta, adding freshness without turning watery. The result is a pasta salad that stays light and flavorful—whether served warm or chilled.
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Tips for Best Results
- Reserve enough pasta water – I usually use about 1/3 to 1/2 cup, even though I save twice as much. You can always toss out what you don’t use, but you can’t get extra pasta water without cooking more pasta, so save more than you think you’ll need.
- Toss while pasta is hot for emulsification – In order to properly emulsify the sauce, you need heat. Tossing cold or room temperature pasta will not give you a glossy sauce.
- Add extra lemon at the end if needed – Add extra lemon zest to the pasta if you want more citrusy flavor. Zest will give you lemon flavor without the sharpness of lemon juice.
Spinach Artichoke Pasta Salad FAQ’s
Yes. You can make this pasta a day ahead of time if needed. Store in an airtight container in the fridge. If you aren’t serving it until the next day, add curls of parmesan and grated lemon zest just before serving.
As the pasta sits in the fridge, it will absorb liquid. Keeping some pasta water reserved, along with a squeeze of lemon juice will loosen the pasta salad. You can also drizzle it with a little olive oil and lemon juice if you don’t have pasta water.
Instead of a heavy mayo-based dressing, this version uses a light lemon dressing and pasta water to create a light dressing. It’s inspired by spinach artichoke dip but not so heavy, and better suited for warm-weather meals.
Storage / Make Ahead Information
To Store: Store in an airtight container for 2 – 3 days in the refrigerator.
To Make Ahead: Add a splash of pasta water and/or lemon juice before serving to loosen the pasta – it will absorb liquid as it sits in the fridge.
Variations and substitutions
- Protein – Add sliced, grilled chicken for some protein.
- Vegetarian – For added protein, while keeping it vegetarian, add in chickpeas.
- Cheese – For a sharper flavor, swap Parmesan for Pecorino Romano.
Helpful tools and equipment
- Using a vegetable peeler, shave curls of parmesan cheese on top and sprinkle with lemon zest.
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Spinach Artichoke Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb. short pasta
- 5 ounces baby spinach about 3 big handfuls
- ½ cup sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil Sliced into strips (julienne cut)
- ¾ cup marinated artichoke hearts in olive oil Cut into quarters
- 1 lemon – zest and juice
- 1 ounce Parmesan cheese grated + shaved for garnish
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 teaspoon salt + salt for pasta water
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ¾ cup pasta water reserved
Instructions
- Cook the pasta – Bring a pot of well-salted water to a boil. Cook pasta until al dente. Before draining, reserve 1 cup of pasta water. (The extra pasta water may be used for reheating later.)
- In a medium sized bowl, add butter to drained pasta along with the spinach. Toss to combine – the heat from the pasta will slightly wilt the spinach.
- Add artichokes, sun-dried tomatoes, grated Parmesan, lemon zest and juice. Toss immediately while the pasta is still hot.
- Add hot starchy pasta water, while stirring, to make a light, glossy sauce. Add as much or as little pasta water as you like to get the desired consistency.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Taste and adjust seasoning. Using a vegetable peeler, shave a few curls of Parmesan on top and garnish with a little extra lemon zest. Serve warm or chilled.
Chef’s Notes
- There are endless variations on this pasta dish. Try it with broccoli instead of spinach. Add a few handfuls of broccoli to the pasta during the final 3 minutes of cooking, drain with the pasta and continue on.
- Another addition that is delicious is ricotta cheese. Stir in a half cup of ricotta just before adding the pasta water.
- Finally, one of my favorite stir-ins is this lemon herb sauce.
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. Use your preferred nutritional calculator using the products and brands you are using for exact information.
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Originally published 6/3/12, most recent update 5/7/26.
Yumm! This is a perfect light lunch or dinner on a hot day. I really liked the freshness added by the lemon.
Thank you so much, Kristi!I’m so glad you liked it 🙂 It’s so simple, but I love that there isn’t a heavy dressing on it.
This is one of my favorites on the blog! So yummy and so easy. Thanks Cheryl!
Thank you, Nicole! I appreciate your kind words! 🙂