Artichoke Rice Salad

This artichoke rice salad is the perfect picnic or potluck salad. It combines Rice a Roni, bacon, artichoke hearts, and green olives in a crunchy, flavorful summer salad. The vegetables can be chopped, the rice and bacon can be cooked, the whole salad can be prepared ahead of time and chilled, easily ready when you are!

We love this artichoke salad made with Rice a Roni because it’s refreshing and easy to make, but it also has substance to it so it makes a hearty side dish or a light main meal. We often add this to the menu when we have a large family gathering or holiday lunch. It goes perfectly with fried chicken, fluffy Watergate salad and a glass of strawberry sangria.

Artichoke Rice Salad Ingredients

• 1 pkg. Rice-a-Roni (chicken flavor), prepared
• 3 oz. jar stuffed green olives, sliced
• 6 oz. jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1 cup chopped green bell pepper
• 1/2 cup sliced green onions or chives
• 6 slices (about 1/2 pound) bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

Preparing the Rice Salad

This salad is simple to make. It’s a matter of prepping all the ingredients and simply stirring them together! The Rice-a-Roni should be prepared according to the instructions on the box. Be sure that it cools down completely before putting together the salad. Sometimes I like to cook the bacon, the rice, and chop the vegetables a day or even two before an even where I’m serving the salad so that it is quick to mix up the day of the party.

I like to slice the bacon into pieces prior to cooking it, but you can also crumble the bacon after cooking. If you freeze your bacon, thaw it just a tad and then chop it into pieces right off the whole frozen slab – super easy trick I learned from Food Network years ago.

Add all of the ingredients to the bowl and stir well. Then go ahead and cover it with plastic wrap and chill for an hour or so before serving. If there’s not extra time, the salad is delicious straight out of the mixing bowl; chilling it just gets it extra cold.

I love the crunch from the bell peppers and celery and the bold flavors of the green olives, artichoke hearts, and bacon. The seasoning in the rice flavors the whole salad and there is very little added spices, but this salad sure packs a punch.

The salad will keep I the refrigerator for up to a week. It’s just as delicious as leftovers and maintains all its crunch and bold flavor. Enjoy!

Artichoke Rice Salad Recipe