Arugula Salad
Published 4/14/2023 • Updated 10/24/2023
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This is a simple and delicious arugula salad recipe. It is made with arugula, dried fruit, veggies, and fruit. It is the perfect side dish to any meal!
This arugula salad is a great way to get your daily dose of fruits and vegetables. It is also a good source of protein and healthy fats. The balsamic vinaigrette adds a touch of sweetness and acidity that balances out the bitterness of the arugula. This salad is perfect for a light lunch or dinner.
What is arugula?
Arugula is a peppery, leafy green that is often used in salads. It has a slightly bitter taste that can be balanced out with sweet fruits, salty nuts, and creamy cheese. This arugula salad recipe is a great way to enjoy the flavor of arugula without the bitterness.
Why cook with arugula?
- Arugula has the most amazing spicy flavor! Unlike other greens, you don’t need to add a ton of dressing or flavor to these greens because they offer so much flavor.
- Growing arugula in your own personal garden is so easy! It’s easy to grow and once you trim it, it just grows back over and over. So you have arugula all summer long!
- Arugula isn’t just great in salads, but you can make pesto, add it to omelets, and even toss it in pastas!
What You Need for this Arugula Salad Recipe
Fresh Arugula
This is an arugula salad, people. Use arugula! However, if you don’t have arugula and want to make a delicious salad, massaged kale, or spring greens with some micro-greens are all good options!
Nuts + Seeds
Crunch is so important in a salad! Nuts and seeds offer a little texture to any salad, making them more fun to eat! Not only do nuts and seeds add texture but they are nutrient-dense, adding more fiber, protein, omega-3s, and more!
We use pine nuts in this arugula salad, but feel free to add any of the nuts or seeds below as a substitute!
- Slivered almonds
- Sunflower seeds
- Sesame seeds
- Pistachios
- Walnuts
- Pecans
Cheese
When it comes to arugula salads, a little bit of cheese is a must! Cheese adds a creamy, tart, and even a nutty flavor to all salads! We used goat cheese in this salad, but feel free to use any of the cheese options below.
- Crumbled Feta
- Cotjia
- Shaved parmesan cheese
- Cheddar cheese cut into small cubes
Dried + Fresh Fruit
Dried fruit and fresh fruit are great additions to arugula salads! They give each bite a little sweetness to balance out the salty and earthy flavors that come with any salad!
We used fresh blueberries and dried cherries in this salad, but it is fun to switch up the fruit in this salad based on this season!
- Berries
- Apple
- Raisins
- Dried cherries
- Dried apricot
Veggies
Though the base of this salad is a vegetable (arugula) I think it’s key to add more veggies to every salad!
Especially vegetables that you can cut into bite-sized pieces. I honestly believe that making sure you get almost every ingredient in every bite makes a salad that much better!
We added minced red garlic and halved cherry tomatoes to this salad.
easy arugula salad dressing
The beautiful thing about making salads at home is YOU get to choose what you want to put in it! The dressing is a great way to make any salad your own!
We used our go-to balsamic vinaigrette for this arugula salad, but if it’s not your thing, any of our dressing recipes will do the trick! Below are three other dressings that we would use on this salad!
Top Tips for the Best Arugula Salad
- Use fresh arugula. Arugula is best when it is fresh. Look for arugula that is dark green and has a peppery aroma.
- Don’t overdress the salad. Arugula is a delicate green and can easily become wilted if it is overdressed. Use a light hand with the dressing and add more if needed.
- Add your favorite toppings. This arugula salad is a great blank canvas. Add your favorite fruits, nuts, and cheese to create a salad that is perfect for your taste.
FAQ
A classic arugula salad is made up of arugula, freshly shaved parmesan, a simple lemon vinaigrette, and (sometimes) toasted pine nuts! If you are feeling a simple salad, you can’t go wrong with a classic arugula salad.
Since arugula does have a bit of a spicier flavor, we recommend pairing arugula with sweeter ingredients like dried fruit and bright and light salad dressings!
Any grilled, baked, or sauteed protein goes really well with arugula salad. We recommend Greek lemon chicken or salmon patties.
What can you do with arugula besides salad?
There are so many things you can do with arugula! Here are some of our favorite ways to eat arugula if we don’t have it in a salad.
- Toss arugula in pasta: Arugula adds great flavor to any pasta! We like to make pasta and then we fold fresh arugula into the pasta right at the end. It’s amazing! Check out this creamy asparagus pasta or this yummy BLT pasta. Both recipes incorporate arugula!
- Add arugula to your breakfast: We add arugula to an egg scramble or an omelette all the time! You can also make this delicious arugula breakfast sandwich. It is a go-to breakfast on FFF!
- Make arugula pesto or tabouli: Some people only use arugula as they would any other fresh herb because of it’s peppery flavor. This makes it an ideal ingredient to add to pesto or tabouli! We made a delicious arugula pesto in this Mediterranean salmon recipe and added arugula to this quinoa tabouli!
The Best Arugula Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons balsamic vinaigrette*
- 1/4 cup pine nuts
- 2.5 ounces arugula
- 1/2 medium red onion, diced
- 1/2 cup fresh blueberries
- 12 oz. cherry tomatoes
- 1/3 cup dried cherries
- 1/3 cup goat cheese crumbles
Instructions
- Begin by preparing this balsamic vinaigrette and then set aside. Option to use whatever vinaigrette you have on hand, but we love our homemade balsamic.
- Next, in a small skillet, toast the pine nuts over medium heat for 4-5 minutes or until golden brown. Be careful, pine nuts can turn from brown to burnt very quickly, so keep an eye on them. Remove from heat and set aside until cool.
- Add arugula, red onion, blueberries, tomatoes, cherries, goat cheese crumbles, and pine nuts into a large bowl and toss all of the ingredients together.
- Finally, drizzle dressing onto the salad, one tablespoon at a time. Continue to add one tablespoon of dressing until salad is dressed as desired.**
Tips & Notes
- If you make our entire homemade balsamic vinaigrette, you will have leftover dressing! It will last up to 7 days in the refrigerator!
- If you are not serving right away, refrain from dressing your salad until serving.
Watch It
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I grow arugula in my garden and am always looking for new ways to eat it. This salad recipe is simple and delicious! One hack I’ve found is that you can actually toast nuts in the microwave. Just lay them in an even layer in a microwavable safe dish and microwave in 30 second intervals!
Wow! We’ve never tried this method to toast nuts — thanks so much for sharing!
Left out the tomatoes and used a spinach arugula mix and it turned out great, would definitely make again!