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This lemon arugula salad is what happens when a salad stops being a side and starts being the whole point. Peppery arugula, shaved fennel, chewy barley, and toasty walnuts come together in 20 minutes — then the lemon tarragon dressing melds it all into something you’ll crave at addictive levels. It tastes like a fancy restaurant salad, but I can get every ingredient from a Oklahoma grocery store— and that’s saying a lot!
Once you’re on team fun-salad, keep it going. My avocado caprese salad is creamy and summery, my strawberry mixed greens salad bring the sweet-meets-peppery magic, and my sweet & crunchy chickpea salad is the make-ahead lunch that holds up all week.
Arugula Salad Recipe Highlights
I first made this one on a Sunday after a farmers market run, mostly because I’d bought a fennel bulb with big intentions and no plan. It’s been on repeat ever since. My teenagers even eat it — mostly for the “addictive” dressing, but I’ll take the win. Here’s why it earns a spot in your lunch rotation:
- It’s actually filling — no meat required. This is 100% plant-powered, and it still eats like a meal. Barley brings hearty, chewy texture and fiber, walnuts add crunch and healthy fats, and honey (or maple syrup) rounds it out with a touch of natural sweetness. Plants, grains, and good fats covering your macros without you having to think about it — that’s how I’ve fed my family for over a decade.
- Every bite is a little different. Crisp fennel with its subtle licorice whisper, sweet snap peas, peppery arugula, nutty barley — the textures and flavors keep your fork going back in. This is the “fun salad” your lunch routine has been missing.
- The dressing is the glue. Bright lemon, fresh tarragon, a whisper of Dijon, and a touch of honey shake together into a dressing that pulls every ingredient into one addictive bite. Fair warning: you’ll want to put it on everything this week. I’ve been known to dip snap peas straight into the jar.
- 20 minutes, start to finish. Cook the barley, shave the fennel, shake the jar, toss. That’s dinner-party impressive on a Tuesday-lunch timeline — with time left over to actually sit down and eat it.
Recipe Tips
- Make it your own. Swap barley for cooked quinoa, use maple syrup instead of honey to make it vegan, or trade snap peas for cucumber if that’s what’s in the crisper.
- Shave the fennel thin. The thinner the fennel, the more delicate and sweet it tastes — thick slices read as licorice-forward, paper-thin slices read as crisp and fresh. A sharp knife works; a mandoline makes it effortless.
- Cook the barley ahead. Batch-cook it on Sunday and refrigerate. Then this salad becomes a 5-minute assembly job all week.
- Toast the walnuts. Two minutes in a dry skillet deepens their flavor and makes the crunch even better. Watch them closely — they turn fast.
- Dress it right before serving. Arugula wilts quickly once dressed. If you’re meal-prepping, keep the dressing in its jar and drizzle at lunchtime.
Lemon Arugula Salad with Barley + Fennel
Jen HansardIngredients
- ¼ cup barley uncooked
- ½ fennel bulb thinly sliced
- 4 cups arugula
- ½ cup sugar snap peas
- ¼ cup raw walnuts chopped
- 2 tablespoons green onion thinly sliced
Lemon Tarragon Dressing
- 2 tablespoons lemon juiced
- 1 teaspoon raw honey
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons tarragon fresh
- ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
- dash sea salt, unrefined
- dash black pepper, ground
- 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.
Recipe 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.
Nutrition
Yes, with one rule: keep the dressing separate. The barley can be cooked up to 4 days ahead, the vegetables can be prepped the night before, and the dressing keeps in the fridge for up to a week. Toss everything together right before eating so the arugula stays perky.
Milder than you’d think! Raw, thinly shaved fennel is crisp like celery with a light, sweet licorice note — it brightens the salad rather than dominating it. If you’re fennel-hesitant, this is the recipe to win you over.
For a light lunch, yes — the barley, walnuts, and olive oil give it real staying power. Want to stretch it into a heartier dinner? Toss in white beans or chickpeas (they love this dressing), add a scoop of extra barley, or serve it alongside a cozy cup of soup. All plants, all satisfying.
I was skeptical of this one as I don’t like arugula and never had fennel or tarragon but it wasn’t bad! The fennel and tarragon smell like licorice which made me very nervous it would taste like it, but surprisingly it didn’t when mixed together with the other ingredients. I’ve never had barely, especially not in a salad but really like the texture and heartiness it brought to this salad. I would like to try this with spinach or spring mix as I still don’t like arugula but the dressing was super tasty and refreshing with the lemon!
DELICIOUS!!
Not my favourite, however it did grow on me, I’ll give it an other shot tomorrow for lunch. It is a fresh light salad and easy to prep.. and for that reason I’ll make it again . Oh and my husband loved it !! He is just full of surprises this week.
I never thought barley could make such a good salad ingredient. The mix of flavours is intriguing and the end result was delicious.
I loved this mix of spicy arugula, chewy barley, crunchy fennel and snap peas, all dressed in tarragon – dijon – lemon mix.
Will do it again.
Love arugula and sugar snap peas and was excited to put them together in a salad.
I used honey roasted macadamia nuts instead of walnuts and mixed in some lettuce from my garden. I liked the dressing, although, I didn’t use tarragon in it.