Bowtie pasta salad is packed with briny olives, artichoke hearts, and roasted chickpeas. It’s tossed in an oil and vinegar dressing.
Great for picnics, potlucks, and lunches.
When you’re looking for a light lunch or easy side dish for a potluck, bowtie pasta salad is always welcome.
It’s simple and familiar, as well as flavorful.
(Bowtie pasta is also known as farfalle. Farfalle means butterflies in Italian.)
Olives, artichoke hearts, and balsamic vinegar add a punch of salty tang.
Basil gives it summery freshness.
Finally, roasted chickpeas add protein and staying power to make this a meal-worthy salad.
Bowtie pasta salad is a great dish for meal planning, because it keeps well in the refrigerator.
Pull out what you need for a quick snack, side, or even a full lunch on its own.
Ingredients
Here are the ingredients you will need to make this recipe.
Farfalle: Look for farfalle in the pasta section of the grocery store. It’s also known as bowtie pasta. It can be replaced with any small-shaped pasta.
Roasted chickpeas: Use seasoned chickpeas that have been roasted in the air fryer or oven.
If you’re short on time, just drain & use them straight out of the can without roasting.
Olives: Castelvetrano olives are my favorite, but any will work here. I recommend buying pitted olives for easy slicing.
Marinated artichoke hearts: Jarred marinated artichoke hearts bring a lot of flavor. The grilled variety are especially delicious.
They can be replaced with any canned and/or water-packed artichoke hearts.
Cherry tomatoes: They add sweetness, and they aren’t prone to wateriness like full-sized tomatoes. They can be replaced with grape tomatoes.
Garlic: One small clove of garlic adds bite. Use a Microplane zester to make it almost paste-like for easy & even spreading throughout.
It can be replaced with ⅛ teaspoon garlic powder, added with the oil.
Basil: Fresh basil is a must. Dried basil just won’t work here.
I recommend cutting it with kitchen shears, so that it doesn’t get overly wet or smashed in the chopping process.
Pantry staples: Extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper.
Step by step instructions
Here’s how to make this recipe at a glance. For complete ingredient amounts & instructions, keep scrolling to the recipe card below.
Boil pasta according to package directions.
Drain & rinse with cold water. Set aside.
While the pasta boils, make a batch of roasted chickpeas in the oven or air fryer.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the following:
- Cooked & drained pasta
- Roasted or air fried chickpeas
- Sliced olives
- Quartered artichoke hearts
- Sliced cherry or grape tomatoes
- Garlic, minced or zested
- Chopped fresh basil
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Balsamic vinegar
- Salt
- Pepper
Serve right away. Or refrigerate for later & serve cold.
If you’re serving it later, remember that the pasta will soak up some of the oil & vinegar.
Taste before serving and refresh with more oil, vinegar, salt, and/or pepper if necessary.
Can it be made gluten-free?
Yes!
The only ingredient with gluten in this dish is the pasta itself.
Replace it with a gluten-free noodle. And you’re good to go.
I’ve never seen gluten-free farfalle in stores. But any short gluten-free pasta like fusilli will work.
Make it your own
Make this pasta salad your own by varying the ingredients or amounts.
- Instead of farfalle, use any short pasta. Penne, rotini, fusilli, or shells work well here. Small pasta is ideal for easy scooping at a potluck, picnic, or camping trip.
- Instead of roasted or air fried chickpeas, just use drained chickpeas right out of the can to save time.
- Can’t find Castelvetrano olives? Any black or green olive will work here, including dry cured olives.
- Instead of artichoke hearts, use hearts of palm.
- In place of cherry tomatoes, use a smaller amount of drained & chopped sun-dried tomatoes or roasted red peppers.
- Instead of balsamic vinegar, use red wine vinegar.
- Add a handful of crumbled vegan feta cheese for extra oomph and flavor.
What to serve with it
Thanks to the addition of protein-packed chickpeas, this pasta salad can be a full meal all on its own.
Or it works beautifully as a side dish for a warm weather lunch or dinner.
Serve bowtie pasta salad with:
- Grilled tofu with lemon & rosemary
- Grilled vegetable skewers
- Grilled Portobello mushrooms
- Air fryer asparagus
How to store leftovers
Keep any leftovers in a covered container in the refrigerator.
It will last for 3 to 4 days.
If it seems dry, add another splash of oil and vinegar. Taste for salt & pepper, and add more if necessary.
I do not recommend freezing it.
📖 Recipe
Bowtie pasta salad with chickpeas & artichokes
Ingredients
- 4 ounces dry farfalle (a.k.a. bowtie pasta) about 1 ½ cups
- 1 cup roasted chickpeas in the air fryer or oven
- ¼ cup sliced olives Preferably Castelvetrano
- ½ cup chopped jarred marinated artichoke hearts
- ½ cup cherry tomatoes halved
- 1 small clove garlic zested with Microplane zester or minced
- 1 handful fresh basil roughly chopped (about ¼ cup)
- 1 ½ teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 ½ teaspoons balsamic vinegar
- Salt to taste
- Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cook farfalle (bowtie pasta) according to package directions. Drain & rinse with cool water. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the cooked farfalle pasta, roasted chickpeas, olives, artichoke hearts, cherry tomatoes, zested or minced garlic, fresh basil, extra virgin olive oil, and balsamic vinegar. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve immediately or refrigerate and serve cold. If you're serving the pasta salad cold, remember that the pasta will soak up some of the balsamic vinegar and oil. Taste before serving and refresh with more oil, vinegar, salt, and/or pepper, if needed.
Notes
Nutrition
Content, recipe, and photos updated May 22, 2021. Originally posted October 26, 2012.
This salad was originally a Doctor Who-themed recipe, based on Matt Smith’s penchant for bowties. If you’re a fellow Whovian, you may be interested in this Adipose tofu version.
Becky
I am going through all of your Dr. Who posts now and drooling over all of your awesome swag! Where did you get that giant Dalek and the TARDIS serving dish?? They are so awesome!
Cadry
Thanks, Becky! The giant Dalek was a gift given to my husband by his former bosses a few years ago. They got it at Comic-Con, but it’s available online too. It’s actually remote control! It talks and can do some things on command. It’s a hit with kids when they come over. I made the TARDIS dish. I’m glad you like it! 🙂
Kristy
I have so many friends, and now you, who are Dr. Who disciples. I feel like I’m missing out. Is it 12 year old appropriate?
Your pasta salad looks so great, but what I love most about it is the title: Bow Tie Pasta Salad is Cool. It’s probably the best name for a pasta salad ever. 🙂
Cadry
Oh, yes! Check it out, Kristy! It’s definitely 12-year-old appropriate. In England, it’s a popular show for the whole family.
The title of the dish comes from one of the Doctor’s catchphrases. His signature costume piece is his bow tie, and he often says, “Bow ties are cool.” 🙂
Lindsay
Brilliant!!!!! I love the idea of Bow-tie pasta to celebrate Dr Who!!
Cadry
Thanks, Lindsay!
Maggie Muggins
I keep hearing about Dr. Who but have never seen it on tv, so have never watched it. It seems I need to download some episodes. I’m totally on board with Buffy though, love Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I spent many days in my room during highschool “studying”, but actually watching episodes of Buffy 🙂
I love bowtie pasta. I know pasta is just pasta but it makes things seem fancier then your standard noodle. This recipe sounds delish, saving it for my next BBQ.
Bobbie {the vegan crew}
That’s so true about relationships introducing you to other things — that’s part of the beauty of it. I made it a point to never ask Erik to go veg. Instead I shared information (as I would about any interest I had), answered questions and let him experience it through me. It *really* bothers me when people assume, as they often do, that he’s vegan because I forced him into it…he is perfectly capable of making his own decisions and deserves more credit than that. 🙂
I’ve never seen Dr. Who, but I love this theme already! It’s super cute with the mug and bow ties! This pasta salad looks so tasty and filling. It never occurred to me to add chunks of tofu (or chickpeas) to a pasta salad before — I like!
Cadry
Well said, Bobbie! One of the wonderful things about romantic relationships and friendships is discovering something through someone else. Like you, I never pressured David. When I’d learn things through reading and podcasts, we talked about it at dinner (like we talk about many things). David is a compassionate, thoughtful person. It completely tracks to me that those thoughts and feelings would lead him to veganism. He didn’t need any pressure from me to go there!
Caitlin
i grew up loving pasta salad. my mom made it and it was amazing! i much prefer your version nowadays, as hers contains pepperoni and cheese cubes :/
i know what you mean about people assuming that one person in the couple convinced the other to go vegan. i had been vegan for 5 years before dayv made the commitment. but it was truly his decision.
Cadry
Good for Dayv! It bugs me when people write-off one person’s transition, because they assume they were pressured. It minimizes that person’s experience and dedication. In the above example, just because David introduced me to Doctor Who or Buffy doesn’t mean that it’s any less mine. The same goes for him with veganism. I never pressured him to go vegetarian or vegan, and his dedication to the animals is very much his own.
cookeasyvegan
I wish GF pasta came in bow ties. I never could get into the old Dr. Who and then after so many years it seemed like it would be hopeless to try to catch up. Maybe it’s not too late to join the Dr. Who party since he changes so much with each regeneration. Or maybe I should just make the salad.
Cadry
I was saying to Somer that it’s surprisingly tricky (at least where I live) to get organic, vegan, whole wheat farfalle, and so I’m not surprised GF is a no go! For whatever reason, they were only available with refined flour, and I looked several places. The kind I bought, Montebello, is organic and just had one ingredient. So I appreciated that. I couldn’t believe how many brands had squid ink in them! Blech! Anyway, this salad would be great with any shape of pasta. I just used bow tie to fit the theme.
I can’t recommend Dr. Who highly enough! I’ve tried on a few occasions, both in my married life & earlier, to get into the old Dr. Who. It’s okay, but it’s not something I’d need to watch all the time. The new version is a whole new game, though. They have some references to the old series, but it’s completely watchable without having that history. I recommend starting with the beginning of the new series when Christopher Eccleston was the Doctor. It’s very cool to see how the relationships and story develops. I predict you’ll be hooked in no time! 🙂
cookeasyvegan
squid ink? Yuck. That’s a new one to me. I don’t think I ever was able to find whole wheat bow ties, either. I’m reluctant to get hooked into another series, but I’ll try out an episode of Dr. Who and see how it goes.
Somer
I love farfalle! I think it’s my favorite pasta because it’s so cute! Pair it with tofu, in a salad? Well now you know how to make my heart pitter patter. Cadry, I’m so glad MOFO is almost over, I can’t keep up!?! Although that chopped challenge is really interesting this round!
Cadry
I rarely eat farfalle, because it’s very hard to find whole wheat, organic, and vegan. For some odd reason in the colors they often use squid ink! Egads! Who wants that? But they are so cute and I like the extra chewiness because of the shape.
It’s definitely hard to keep up with MoFo – both in the writing, photographing, and posting, and in reading and commenting on other blogs! I have two cookbooks just waiting for me to break into them once the month is over! 🙂
I just checked out the challenge for this weekend, and those are intriguing ingredients indeed. If you make something, I look forward to seeing what you do!!
GiGi
PS bow tie and cup 🙂 🙂
GiGi
All the cool kids are watching Doctor Who. I am very curious about this show now.
yes, so true how we can venture into a world formerly unbeknownst to us through a partner. Also anyone who wears a fez and holds a gigantic farfalle is a new friend of mine. Artichokes, olives and chickpeas too? Righton !
kittee
Accordingly, I am not cool. I don’t think I’ve ever even seen one episode, and I’m a Sci Fi lover. Bow tie pasta, on the other had, we are fast friends.