When it comess to a great salad, it’s hard to beat a classic Pasta House Salad Recipe! This is one of our all-time favorite salad recipes. This is our easy recipe updated version of the Pasta House Salad Recipe! If you have ever visited, or lived in St. Louis Missouri, you know what we are talking about! Local restaurants are a great place to find authentic and delicious food. It’s so easy to make this with the highest quality ingredients, in your own kitchen. The salad ingredients include a variety of lettuce, pimentos, artichokes & red onion slices. We like to toss in black olives, but you can use kalamata olives too. Parmigiano cheese mixed with oil and vinegar make a creamy Italian salad dressing. Add some garlic bread on the side, and you have an easy meal! This delicious salad is perfect for family functions.
Use a variety of lettuce
Any green salad starts with a base of crisp lettuce. We use romaine and head lettuce for added texture and flavor, but feel free to use any combination you like. You can use mixed greens, but we find that a firmer, crunchier lettuce works best for this salad.
Add in additional veggies
Now for the star ingredients: artichokes and black olives. Artichokes are a great source of fiber and contain antioxidants that are good for your heart. They have a slightly nutty and earthy flavor that pairs perfectly with the brininess of black olives. We recommend using canned or jarred artichokes for this salad, as they are already cooked and ready to use. Simply drain and slice them into wedges or quarters. As for the olives, we suggest using pitted black olives for ease of eating.
How can I make onions less powerful in this salad?
-
Soak in Cold Water: Slice the onions and soak them in cold water for 10-30 minutes. This reduces the sharpness while keeping the onions crisp.
-
Salt and Rinse: Sprinkle the onions with salt, let them sit for 10-15 minutes, and then rinse with cold water. The salt draws out some of the strong sulfur compounds that give onions their bite.
-
Vinegar or Lemon Juice Soak: Marinate the onions in vinegar or lemon juice for 10-15 minutes. This not only softens their flavor but also adds a zesty touch that complements many salads.
-
Blanching: Dip the sliced onions briefly into boiling water for about 10-15 seconds, then transfer them to ice water to stop cooking. This quickly softens their bite.
-
Lightly Sauté: For a subtler onion flavor, lightly sauté the onions in a bit of olive oil over medium heat for 3-4 minutes. This softens their texture and mellows the sharpness while keeping them from becoming too soft or caramelized.
Make a simple dressing in a Mason Jar
To dress the salad, we make a classic vinaigrette made with olive oil, red wine vinegar, pimentos, black pepper & parmesan cheese. Although we use freshly grated parm in so many of our recipes, for this, you want to use Kraft Grated Parmesan Cheese. It works better in this recipe to blend into the dressing. Simply add these ingredients to a mason jar, and give it a good shake.
Serve the salad with a protein
Serve the salad as is or with some grilled chicken or shrimp for a heartier meal. It’s a refreshing and satisfying dish that’s perfect for a summertime lunch or dinner. We hope you enjoy this Italian salad with artichokes and black olives as much as we do!
Why we love this salad:
First, we loved eating this salad when we were first married, and lived in St. Louis. The Pasta House Co. was always a friendly inviting restaraunt that featured affordable lunches and dinners. This is where I first tasted toasted ravioli and this famous salad. Founded in 1974, the Pasta House Company to this day is making a difference in families life. Whether it’s hosting a fundraiser or donating to their Caring & Sharing Program, their dedication to the family is rooted in all of their actions. Once we moved from St. Louis to Little Rock, we knew we had to start to make this salad, because we love it so much!
What goes into this Pasta House Salad recipe?
- Head lettuce. Be sure to use a freshly purchased crisp head, rinsing and chopping into bite size pieces.
- Romaine lettuce. Yep, the combination of both romaine and head lettuce gives a great texture.
- Artichoke hearts. We used the canned variety, and drain them.
- Black olives. Okay, olives are not part of the original Pasta House Salad Recipe, so feel free to leave out, or add in! Do not substitute green olives or greek olives. Just use the good old fashioned can of black olives, sliced in half!
- Diced pimentos. Sometimes these are hard to locate at the store. Depending on the grocer, they may be with the pickles, or with the Italian food.
- Red onion. If you want to take the bite out of the red onion slice, and soak in a bath of ice, water and white vinegar in advance, of slightly sweat them in a pan. You may also leave them out.
- Extra virgin olive oil. You don’t have to use extra virgin, but we like the velvety flavor it gives this salad.
- Red wine vinegar. This is something you do not want to exchange for any other kind of vinegar. The flavor is perfect.
- Grated parmesan cheese. Here, you can just use the pre-grated in a jar, as it mixes into the dressing so well, and coats everything in the salad. If you grate it fresh, be sure to grate it fine.
- Freshly cracked black pepper. No need for salt here, as the parmesan cheese has just the salt needed!
How to make this Pasta House Salad:
-
Toss head lettuce, romaine lettuce, artichoke hearts, black olives, pimentos and onion in a large bowl. At this point you can place bowl in the refrigerator until time to serve the salad.
-
Pour remaining ingredients into a mason jar and shake well. Right before serving the salad, pour dressing over lettuce mixture and toss until well combined.
Can I make this salad in advance?
Absolutely! The dressing can be made a day or more in advance. If resting the salad in the fridge for longer than an hour, be sure to keep the onions in a different container, an add right before serving. To be honest, the rinsing and cutting of the lettuce does not take too long, so if in a time crunch, make the dressing, cut the onions, and olives, and drain the artichokes, and store in baggies in the fridge.
What to serve with this salad:
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 4 cups chopped rinsed Iceburg lettuce
- 4 cups chopped rinsed romaine lettuce
- 1 can quartered artichoke hearts drained
- ¾ cup small black olives sliced in half
- ½ cup diced pimentos drained well
- ½ red onion sliced thin
- 2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
- 2/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 10 grinds black pepper
Instructions
Directions
- Toss head lettuce, romaine lettuce, artichoke hearts, black olives, pimentos and onion in a large bowl. At this point you can place bowl in the refrigerator until time to serve the salad.4 cups chopped rinsed Iceburg lettuce, 4 cups chopped rinsed romaine lettuce, 1 can quartered artichoke hearts drained, ¾ cup small black olives sliced in half, ½ cup diced pimentos, ½ red onion sliced thin
- Pour remaining ingredients into a mason jar and shake well. Right before serving the salad, pour dressing over lettuce mixture and toss until well combined.2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil, 1/3 cup red wine vinegar, 2/3 cup grated parmesan cheese, 10 grinds black pepper
Nutrition
Other salads to make:
- Mango Shrimp Salad
- Greek Shrimp Salad
- Panera Strawberry Poppyseed Salad with Grilled Chicken
- The Best California BLT Caesar Salad with Chicken
As a 30+ year employee of the pasta house co, we have never put black olives in our salad. It is not in the official recipe.
Tami,
Thank you for your comment. Black olives are something we added to ours. I will make a note in our recipe to ensure that everyone nows this is an update from the amazing salad that the Pasta House company has made for years. We so appreciate your attention for authenticity!
Dina and Bruce
I really loved this salad. Great ingredients! So full of flavor!
Growing up in the St. Louis area, my family and I ate at Pasta House quite often and their salad was always my favorite. So HAPPY to now be able to make it at home. This recipe is perfect! Thank you so much for posting and sharing!
Samantha,
We know how much you must have loved eating there with your family! So glad you can now MAKE THIS AT HOME! Enjoy!
Dina and Bruce
Growing up in the St. Louis area, my family and I ate at Pasta House quite often and their salad was always my favorite! SO happy that I can now make this salad at home! This recipe is perfect! Thank you so much for sharing!
This was amazing!! I will be making this salad weekly. Great salad for lunch or dinner!!
Loved this salad!! I will be making this weekly. Great salad for lunch or dinner!!
Kim,
Awe, thank you! This was always a choice when we visited The Pasta House when we lived in St. Louis! We miss living there!
Enjoy your week!
Dina and Bruce
I love all the extras in this salad! Especially the artichoke hearts and olive. Delish!
Cynthia,
The extras are a flavor explosion! Thank you for your kind comments!
Dina and Bruce
This salad is the best! It’s always a hit at my parties!
Holley,
Awe yeah! That makes us so happy! Something for everyone!
Dina and Bruce
This looks like the perfect summer side salad! Can’t wait to make it with our grilled meats!
Dana,
It pairs perfectly with grilled meats! Enjoy!
Dina and Bruce
I love fresh, delicious salads like this one all year long! I also loved learning how to make the onions a little less powerful – I’m going to use that tip going forward!
Beth,
Awe, yay! Once we started doing these 2 ways to mellow the onion, we have kept going. Glad to inspire! Enjoy!
Dina and Bruce
I love this simple and versatile Italian side salad. The artichokes really add a hearty element and the flavors all work really well together!
Shelby,
Awe, thank you! We so appreciate this comment!
Dina and Bruce
Going to make this over the weekend, it looks so fresh and delicious!
Interesting combination of flavors here. Thanks alot for sharing.
I made this salad with dinner last night and it was fantastic! I loved all the ingredients and so did my family!
This salad was the perfect side to our lasagna dinner last night!
This Pasta House Salad Recipe looks so amazing! It looks so fresh and flavorful! Perfect for summer dinner. Thanks for sharing
The artichokes really made this salad a meal. It was so delicious! I wish I’d made more so I had some for lunch the next day.
Chenee
Thank you. Bruce is a big artichoke fan and this is one of his favorite salads!
Dina and Bruce
WOW what a delicious looking salad! I’d love to be served that at a restaurant.
Casey,
Awe thank you! We were inspired by the Pasta House salad in St. Louis!
Dina and Bruce
This looks so tasty! I think I’m going to make it for my daughter and I this weekend. I love a great hearty salad for a meal on a warm day!
Kim,
We hope she enjoys it! A favorite of ours!
Dina and Bruce
Refreshing and delicious salad recipe. Thanks for sharing.
I made this to have with a barbecue yesterday and really enjoyed. It was the first time I’ve used artichokes in a salad and it was a great combination.
Amanda,
So excited for you to try the artichokes!
Dina and Bruce
Such a fantastic salad! It sounds amazing with that homemade vinaigrette. So many wonderful flavors and so easy too.
This is my kind of salad, fresh veggies, artichokes and black olives. I am looking forward to making this.
Kathleen,
The olives are not in the original recipe, but we love the added flavor!
Dina and Bruce
This salad turned out great. Thank you for the recipe!
Kristen,
Yay! We had it last night, and I saved un-dressed salad and mixed it up for lunch! Yum!
Dina and Bruce
Such a great side salad. So easy to adapt too.
This is such a great salad! I love all the flavours in there and the dressing is just perfect.
Michelle,
Thank you! A great one to count on for ease of prep!
Dina and Bruce
The vinaigrette for this salad is delicious! The red onion and pimentos are so tasty too. Perfect recipe for the summer.
So many of my favourite ingredients in a salad, how exciting! Bring it on!
This was so fresh and amazing! We served it with grilled chicken too and it was amazing!!
Our taste buds did a happy dance with the Pasta House salad – so fresh and delicious, we couldn’t get enough!
Love the black olives and pimientos in this salad, such a staple side dish, an incredibly tasty salad!
Ali,
It adds such flavor! Thank you!
Dina and Bruce
Oh, does this marvelous! I love all the added extras. They give this salad the flavor explosion that takes it over the top.
Nikki,
Thank you!
Dina and Bruce
I’d tried this salad yesterday, it was so delicious..
Amelia,
Yay! It is a regular go to for Sunday with roasted chicken!!
Dina and Bruce
Excited to have a “house” salad for my own house! This is so good!!!
Paula,
Nice! We love being at home and creating our own recipes! Enjoy!
Dina and Bruce
I appreciated the tips given to make this salad premium, such as cooking the onions to take the flavor down a notch or using a variety of lettuces. Thanks!
Ann,
Bruce comes up with some great tips in the kitchen. So glad you enjoyed!
Dina and Bruce
Oh yes, so this was better than going out and ordering a house salad. Was so delicious that I don’t think I will ever order one out again. Thank you for this awesome, easy recipe to follow!
Ned,
Awe thank you for the kind words. We so enjoy your cast iron recipes too!
Dina and Bruce
I love being able to change up the ingredients to suit what we have on hand. Perfect every time!
A great salad and I LOVE the artichokes here! I also love the tip to take the taste of the onions down a notch — my hubs isn’t a fan of them and this makes it easier for him to not have a “special order” of no onions!
Patricia,
So glad that tip helps out! Enjoy !!
Dina and Bruce
I made this salad with dinner last night and it was great! I loved the blend of veggies!
Taylor,
Oh yay! Enjoy your weekend!
Dina and Bruce
We loved it, especially the dressing!
I’m on a salad diet right now, and I love to have this recipe on my next meal! thanks for sharing!
I love this salad! So easy and absolutely delicious with the parmesan dressing!
I love the interplay of flavors in this salad, and the chunky texture is awesome. It’s a new favorite.
There was this amazing little mom and pop Italian restaurant where I grew up called Bella’s, and they served one of my favorite salads of all time. For years I’ve been trying to recreate it but have never come close….Until I tried this recipe. Hooray!! Thank you so much for sharing!
Ashley,
So happy!!!