Hearty salads bring a whole lot of nutrition and fill me up so I'm not searching for a snack an hour after lunch. Just like with green smoothies, a good salad needs a balance of carbs, protein and healthy fat. My Lemon Arugula salad is definitely loaded with hearty plants and could arguably be the best arugula salad you'll make.
I'd rather drink my greens over chewing them, so if I make a salad it's got to be great. Trust me when I say this salad is #worthit.
Best Arugula Salad Recipe
This salad was created with both presentation and flavor in mind. I wanted a beautiful dish as well as something to fill me up.
Make sure the barley is cooked before adding it to this arugula salad. If you know you won't have time to cook it day-of, cook it beforehand!
My tarragon dressing can also be made ahead of time, just give the jar a good shake before pouring it over the finished salad.
If you want to add even more flavor to this dish then toast the walnuts before adding them.
What is Arugula?
Arugula is in the same leafy green family as kale, and is not a mild veggie. It is however loaded with health benefits since it's high in calcium, potassium, folate and vitamins C, A and K.
I love using arugula in salads, on top of pizza and even in pesto. If it's a bit too strong for you to use as the only base in this salad then don't toss it altogether! Pair it with mixed greens or spinach and enjoy its peppery addition to your lunch.
Tips for Tarragon Dressing
If you want a super simple dressing then this one is for you! Simply toss all the ingredients into a jar with a good lid then shake to mix. You can refrigerate until ready to use.
I recommend using fresh tarragon since dried tarragon has a completely different taste and flavor. I know it's easy to swap fresh for dried when using something like basil, however that's just not the case with this unique herb.
If you want to keep this dressing vegan, swap in maple syrup for the honey.
Arugula Salad FAQs
I chose crispy fennel and walnuts along with a lemon tarragon dressing for my arugula salad. The dressing especially helps tone down the bite from the arugula.
Pair it with flavors that help balance it out. I pair arugula with a zesty tarragon dressing and use fennel to help tone down the bitterness and boost the flavor.
Arugula is actually in the cruciferous family along with kale, broccoli and bok choy. It's got a strong flavor so you could try half arugula, half spinach (or lettuce) until you get used to the flavor and kick.
Delicious Salad Recipes
Ready for more incredible salads? Then try out another one of my creations below:
- Avocado Caprese Salad
- Healthy Taco Salad
- Oil-Based Potato Salad
- Cold Noodle Salad
- Strawberry Mixed Greens Salad
- Pear Pomegranate Salad
- Bright Berry Salad
- Candied Pecan Salad
- Sweet Potato Taco Salad
- Hearty Mason Jar Salad
- Greek Salad
- Strawberry Arugula Salad
- Grated Carrot Salad
- Sweet & Crunchy Chickpea Salad
Lemon Arugula Salad
Rate this Recipe Print RecipeIngredients
- ½ cup barley (uncooked)
- ½ fennel bulb (thinly sliced)
- 4 cups arugula
- ½ cup sugar snap peas
- ¼ cup walnuts (chopped)
- 2 tablespoon green onion (thinly sliced)
Lemon Tarragon Dressing
- 2 tablespoon lemon (juiced)
- 1 teaspoon honey
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoon tarragon (fresh)
- ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
- dash sea salt
- dash ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon chives (chopped)
Instructions
- Cook barley according to package. Allow to cool.
- Prepare fennel by cutting off the green stalks. Halve the white bulb and carefully remove the core. Place the cut side down on a cutting board and using a very sharp knife, thinly cut or shave the fennel.
- Place the fennel in a bowl with arugula, barley, pea pods, walnuts and green onions.
- For Dressing: place all ingredients in a small jar and shake well. Refrigerate until ready.
- Drizzle dressing over the salad, gently toss and serve immediately.
Notes
- Swap barley with cooked quinoa.
- To make the dressing vegan, swap in maple syrup for honey.
- The dressing will keep for up to 1 week in the fridge.
- Barley can be cooked ahead of time then refrigerated until ready to be used in salad.
Tanya
I am very behind on the salad challenge as I was overwhelmed by work and vven though the challenge is officially over, I still wanted to review the salad. I didn't have barley, so based on other participants' suggestion, I substituted farro. My opinion: Omg! Lemony goodness! I do like arugala and love, love, love anything with lemon. The dressing is divine! Two thumbs up! I would eat this again and again.
Simple Green Smoothies
Thank you so much for coming back to leave the review. It's def appreciated!
Regina
My favorite so far. I love the fresh ingredients and the dressing is one I will continue to made. I really enjoyed it. I've made it again since this day.
Simple Green Smoothies
I love knowing people's favorites! Glad you enjoyed this one!
Tina S
Hmmm. This salad was okay; a nice alternative. I do love arugula & snap peas. And I loved the dressing (any dressing lemon/dijon based). Will I make it again? Depends on my mood.
Amanda
I didn’t think I’d like this salad. I’m not a fan of fennel but it works so well in this recipe! I will plan on making it again!
Karla K
I'll start by saying I love arugula, so I was looking forward to trying this salad. I could not find fennel by me, so I subbed in apple and red onion. Can't say I was overly disappointed in no fennel, not a fan, but I do try to follow recipes the first time I make them, so maybe I'll try this summer. Another miss at the store was fresh tarragon, so I used dry in the dressing and made it a day early also adding a splash of tarragon vinegar that I already had. I was new to barley in a salad and I was very pleasantly surprised by the unique texture it adds. I forgot walnuts so I used pistachios, which I also liked visually for the monotone greens . All around this is a wonderful, bright, and hearty salad. Aside from cooking the barley it is pretty quick to make too. I will keep this salad in my rotation for sure!
Simple Green Smoothies
Great job making it work even with the challenges from missing ingredients!
Kim
I’ve decided I don’t like arugula. But I loved this dressing recipe, so will use it again but on mixed greens.
Anitra Hutcherson
I wasn't sure how this was going to turn out but it was surprisingly good. I've found that I really like making my own dressings and have different salads throughout the week. It took a couple of tries to get the dressing to taste right for me but I did not have to make too many adjustments.
Patricia
The dressing in this salad is a keeper and will be used often. I couldn’t find tarragon but basil was a good substitute. Again my husband didn’t like the salad but I thought it was really good.
Alice Johnson
To be quite honest, I was not too excited about this salad. I changed out the barley for brown rice and just into making it. I could not find fresh tarragon so I cut off some of the fennel greenery and minced it for the dressing. When it all came together I was amazed at how good it tasted!!
Natalie
This is a keeper recipient for me. Can’t wait until I can harvest fresh arugula from the garden. However it snowed again last night in #YEG so maybe May?
Allison Clarke
I liked this salad. Interesting food combinations brought what could easily have been a mundane salad into the realm of interesting and, for those that eat with their eyes, even tastily pretty. I especially loved the texture combination of barley and fennel. In retrospect, I would have left the dressing marinade longer to fill out its flavour. Fresh tarragon can be diffucult to find so I subbed in dry tarragon as well as spring mix with arugula. There was too much dressing for the salad, which was a tad heavy on the oil, and I used about two thirds. Paired it with roasted broccoli and bbq'ed chicken. Thumbs up!
Tanya
I was just telling my sister that I thought something like a blanched broccoli would go great with this salad.
Erin
Made this salad tonight and while I’m not a huge fan of fennel, I thought it was tasty.
Anne
This was very good, I love Arugula! Very bright taste.
Patty
I was hesitant to try this salad. However, I promised myself that I would try every recipe. I was pleasantly surprised. The flavors blended very well together. I wasn't able to post yesterday, but hope that this helps others who may not have liked the salad. I heated up the barley so it could dry out a little bit more. It kind of looked like oatmeal when I cooked it the night before. Then I cut up my salad and blended it fully in with the barley. Finally, I topped it with the dressing (which I was really excited about, YUM.) The salad was really good. I am learning so much from this experience. Thank you!
Simple Green Smoothies
Way to give it a shot! I'm so glad you enjoyed it!
Carole
Well when I tasted the dressing my thoughts was , not sure about it, but when I put it on the salad it really was good and different. Would make it again. My husband even liked it and he's not to keen on trying new things. Thanks for recipe
Simple Green Smoothies
So happy you both liked it!
Heather
This was my favorite salad so far in the challenge and I thought I didn't like arugula! The brightness of the lemon dressing, sweetness of the sugar snap peas, and the calm and cool barley element were a perfect match for the pepperiness of the arugula. I will be making this one again and again!
KS
Thus was surprisingly delicious!
KS
Thus was surprisingly delicious!
Martha Silbaugh
Light and refreshing with a little crunch from the walnuts. Complemented the salmon we ate with it. The dressing was delicious over the salmon as well.
Martha Silbaugh
This Lemon Arugula Salad was light and refreshing. Had it with broiled salmon. The walnuts added a little crunch and the leftover dressing we poured over the salmon. Delicious!
Missy Brandt
I love the dressing!
Betty
Subbed rice for barley d/t food sensitivities. Also added baby mustard greens.
Laura B
This was the best yet! Amazing flavours. My partner really enjoyed this as well.
Laura B
Forgot to say... being in NZ I couldn't get all the ingredients so I subbed a few things. But still really enjoyed. I see someone else did quinoa as did I!
Lorna Burrell
I loved this salad! I did sub quinoa for the barley but the crunchy walnuts and pop of arugula was so good with the dressing. This is a keeper!
Karyn
lovely combination of flavours.
Deb
Loved this one. The fresh tarragon in the dressing was so good with the fennel. Barley gave it a heartier feel.
Kathleen
Delicious!!! Went to several stores but could not find fresh tarragon. Used fresh thyme. Love all the components. Super tasty together!
Nora
I thought the greens were well blended. I substituted the barley for quinoa. The dressing tasted wonderful. However when all mixed together the dressing lost its pizazz. A dressing that has a more pungent flavor would make this more interesting for me.
Lisa
I loved this salad! Bright, well balanced flavors.
Jana
I liked the vegetable portion and the flavors of the dressing, but it was too oily for me. I'm not used to oily dressings. I would probably blend the walnuts with the lemon and seasonings to make an oil free dressing next time.
Emily
Good, but tasted very "healthy"
May try again, dressing was good.
Jody
Tasty!
Emily
Good, but not my favorite so far.
Sub'd hemp seeds for the barley.
Will try again with a different mix of greens.
Denise Orme
I was skeptical about the barley but loved the texture it added. If I make this again I will increase the amount of dressing.
Timea Farkas
This salad was delicious, with lots of crunch and a nice zing from the lemon dressing.
The barley and the walnuts added a nice texture but also made this a very satisfying meal on its own.
Alexandra
Nice salad, I will make it again! The flavor is mild but really good, and you can tell its really a healthy meal!
Kimber
Despite the strong smell of black licorice it was very subtle in taste. The salad was definitely different, but to be honest, I probably would not make this again. It was filling and the taste wasn't half bad.
Simple Green Smoothies
I'm so glad you tried it!
Meagan
This is so amazing! I will be making this often. It felt like spring in my mouth. Yum!
Rebekah Jones
A nice, light, tasty salad. Didn't know how everyone would do with the barley so only put a little in. However, they did like it, so will try more in it next time. We had a small head of fennel that had very little taste. Will try to get a tastier one next time. Also, the kiddo asked to put edemamae and cucumber in it next time. The dressing was very easy and refreshing. Will make again.
HB
Filling and fresh tasting. Unique flavor
Tracy Kleparski
Loved this salad! Made barley in veggie stock for some added flavor and it was perfect. A little goes a long way with this dressing.
janice
Didn't get this rated in time but wanted to say it was loaded with lots of interesting flavors! I am renovating a bathroom and really enjoyed the quick and tasty end of my day after lots of physical activity!
Simple Green Smoothies
What an awesome way to end your long day of physical activity!
Renata S
Fabulous blend of lemon and arugula! I'm not necessarily an arugula fan but the blend of the barley and peas with lemon really brought a new perspective taste and texture that was amazing!
Michelle Olson
I think this one was my favorite! I substituted brown rice and quinoa for the barley and couldn’t get enough.
Lynne L
This salad was good . We enjoyed it
Jeanmarie Funke
This salad was surprisingly tasty! I was hesitant to try it due to several of the flavors were not things I am a fan of(barley in a salad, a really lemony flavored dressing, fennel) but being combined together they were brilliant! I’ve never had fennel and not liking the taste of anise or black licorice I was worried it would throw off the whole salad for me but it didn’t. The fennel gave it some added crunch and the sugar snap peas were so delicious. The lemon tarragon dressing was great and it was the perfect topping! Enjoyed having the crunchiness in this salad with walnuts and snap peas.
Karen Wiedmeier
I love this recipe! I never had arugula before...and I'm not a fan of fennel, but these veggies, paired with the tarragon/lemon dressing, were SO delicious! I couldn't find any snowpeas, so used broccoli instead. I expected to NOT like this salad, but I'm so had I didn't blow it off. The dressing was delicious, I'll be making this again.
Dukh Niwaran
This salad was different but tasty. I followed as written except no tarragon this time of year in Northern California so used fresh oregano that is just sprouting in my garden. My husband and friend both ate it up enthusiastically. Another winner.
Patricia Broadway
Prerty good! Very filling.
Makenzie
Surprisingly delicious! Will definitely make again!! I LOVE THE FENNEL!! I’m loving these salads with ingredients I haven’t tried before, but I’m finding I’m loving them!