Hearty Lemon Arugula Salad with Barley

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, and it’s a fresh salad to bring to a summer cookout. 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.

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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.

4.42 (292)

Hearty Lemon Arugula Salad with Barley

Jen Hansard

Chewy barley, crisp shaved fennel, snap peas and toasty walnuts make this arugula salad hearty enough for dinner. A lemon tarragon dressing with Dijon ties every bite together, and it’s ready in 20 minutes.

Review Save Print Pin

Serves: 2

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes minutes

Ingredients 

• ▢ 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 the barley according to the package directions and let cool.
• Cut the green stalks off the fennel. Halve the bulb and carefully remove the core. Place the halves cut side down and use a very sharp knife to thinly slice or shave the fennel.
• Combine the fennel, arugula, barley, snap peas, walnuts and green onion in a bowl.
• Make the dressing: Place the lemon juice, honey, olive oil, tarragon, mustard, salt, pepper and chives in a small jar and shake well. Refrigerate until ready to use.
• Drizzle the dressing over the salad, gently toss and serve immediately.

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Recipe Notes

• Make Ahead: Cook the barley up to 3 days ahead and refrigerate until you’re ready to assemble the salad.
• Gluten-Free: Barley contains gluten, so use cooked quinoa in its place for a gluten-free salad.
• Vegan Swap: Use maple syrup instead of honey to make the dressing vegan.
• Storing: The dressing keeps in a jar in the fridge for up to 1 week. Shake well before using.

Nutrition

Serving: 2 cups | Calories: 493 kcal | Carbohydrates: 35 g | Protein: 10 g | Fat: 38 g | Saturated Fat: 5 g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 11 g | Monounsaturated Fat: 21 g | Sodium: 65 mg | Potassium: 864 mg | Fiber: 9 g | Sugar: 8 g | Vitamin A: 1725 IU | Vitamin C: 41 mg | Calcium: 216 mg | Iron: 5 mg

Equipment

2-in-1 citrus squeezer

Japanese-style knife set

Le Creuset measuring cups

Le Creuset spoons

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