Nothing rings in Springtime like strawberries, fennel and arugula. I originally created this strawberry arugula salad for my cookbook, Simple Green Meals, and it is definitely a favorite.
While this salad recipe may contain a few plants you aren't familiar with, give it a try! These were new to me at one time too, and I got to discover just how incredible they are. Trust me.
Strawberry Arugula Salad Recipe
For an extra creamy dressing, combine all dressing ingredients (except for the poppy seeds!) in a blender or food processor. Blend until creamy. You may need to add a bit of water to help it blend well. Hand mix in the poppy seeds, then store in the fridge until ready to serve.
Slice the fennel bulb, Meyer lemon, strawberries, almonds and orange, then toss with the arugula and berries. Once you're ready to eat, shake up that homemade vinaigrette and pour over the salad.
I won't judge if you lick the bowl on this one. It's ridiculously good. I love Meyer lemons so much I started growing them in my yard and eating them like apples. If this is your first time trying one then I dare you not to immediately fall in love :-).
Easy Ingredient Swaps
While Meyer lemons are definitely preferred (they have the best flavor) in this strawberry arugula salad, you *can* swap them out for regular lemons. Just know they will be tarter and smaller. You can swap fennel for white onion as well as the berries for any berries you have on hand.
If you need this salad to be nut-free, then swap the almonds with hemp hearts or sunflower seeds, and swap the cashews in the lemon vinaigrette with the same.
Strawberry Salad FAQs
Arugula typically has a stronger, peppery flavor. I like to pair it with lighter, sweeter ingredients like berries as well as tangy fruit like oranges.
My Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette is the perfect pairing for this salad. It's sweet, tangy and creamy.
If you mix up this salad without the dressing it can keep up to 48 hours in the fridge. For the best results though, I recommend eating it right away.
The Best Salad Ingredients
This strawberry arugula salad will leave you feeling great inside and out. The rawkstar ingredient list includes antioxidant-rich fruits, peppery leafy greens and a beautifully creamy salad dressing.
Arugula- This leafy green is in the same family as kale, broccoli and brussels sprouts, with the same powerful health benefits.
Fennel- A super-fiber bulb that is lightly licorice-flavored and crunchy.
Orange- A vitamin C powerhouse.
Berries- All the berries in this arugula salad are bursting with antioxidants that fight cancer, aid in cell repair and taste heavenly.
Meyer lemon- Lemons can help lower blood sugar through their pectin.
Leafy Salad Recipes
Salad lovers unite over these decadent recipes. If you're looking for new salad inspiration then I've got you covered. I like a beautiful plate, and that's exactly what you'll find in these recipes:
- Healthy Taco Salad
- Strawberry Mixed Greens Salad
- Pear Salad
- Sweet & Crunchy Chickpea Salad
- Mason Jar Salad
- Candied Pecan Salad
- Greek Salad
- Lemon Arugula Salad
Don't forget to let me know how you like my strawberry arugula salad below! It's got many of my favorite fruits and veggies, so I hope you love it too.
Strawberry Arugula Salad
Rate this Recipe Print RecipeIngredients
- 4 cups arugula
- ½ fennel bulb (very thinly sliced)
- 1 orange (peeled and segmented)
- ½ cup strawberries (sliced)
- ½ cup blueberries
- ½ cup raspberries
- ½ Meyer lemon (seeded and very thinly sliced)
- ¼ cup sliced almonds
Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette
- 2 tablespoon cashews (soaked for 1 to 4 hours)
- 2 tablespoon Meyer lemon (juiced)
- 1.5 teaspoon honey
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- dash ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1.5 teaspoon poppy seeds
Instructions
- Combine the cashews, lemon juice, honey, salt and pepper in a blender or food processor and puree until smooth. Add a teaspoon of water if needed. Mix in poppy seeds and set aside.
- In a separate bowl, combine the arugula, fennel, oranges, berries, lemon and almonds.
- When ready to serve, drizzle dressing on top.
Notes
- Store dressing in a jar with a tight-fitting lid and keep in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
- Swap in whatever berries you have on hand.
- Hemp hearts or sunflower seeds can be swapped in for almonds in the salad and for the cashews in the dressing.
- Meyer lemons are less tart and much sweeter (and larger) than regular lemons. You can swap in regular lemons if you can't find Meyer lemons, yet it will change the flavor of the salad and vinaigrette.
Tanjala G
Another tasty one even without the dressing!
Regina Tatum
Love this one. So fresh and that dressing with the poppy seeds is dynamite! I have enjoyed this challenge so much. These salads have taught me new and healthier ways to have a delicious salad. I know I will continue to make many of these Especially the dressings. Thank you green smoothies for this opportunity.
Simple Green Smoothies
Aww! That's wonderful and that was def our goal! I always get so complacent with my "normal salad blend" so this was helpful for all of us! 🙂
Barbara
All I can say about this is NUMMY!
Simple Green Smoothies
I love this salad, num num num!
Timea Farkas
I fell a day behind on the salad cleanse, so I only just had this salad today for dinner, but it was heavenly
The dressing was perfect and blended so well with the crunch and flavours or the fennel, nuts and fruits
I will definitely make this again, I have some dressing lest for another plate of salad tomorrow
Simple Green Smoothies
It's never too late for a delicious salad! Way to see it through, Timea! Glad you enjoyed this one!
Diane
Delicious. The dressing is really good!
Eunice
I didn't like this fruity salad as much as I loved the Bright Berry Salad.
Dukh Niwaran
Didn't have arugula so used romaine and spinach combo. We put greens at bottom of our bowls, then mixed everything else together and put on top. I added pecans and a banana, sliced. Quite tasty.
Rachelle Mendoza
Berry tasty medley of colourful superfoods
Makenzie I
Loved this salad!! One of my new favorites! Dressing is, again, amazing!!!
Stephanie C
This salad was really good. Especially the dressing
Dani
My boyfriend said he enjoyed this salad more than the crunchy carrot and berry bright salads.
Lynn
Wonderful list of ingredients but the number if items is a bit daunting. If I do this one in the future, I will probably pare down the list. Using mixed leafy greens with mild taste for all the salads has worked for me. The challenge has inspired me to try some of the other greens in the future since they are so good for us. For now, I have a refrigerator bursting with leftover salads and dressings to enjoy for the next several days.
Simple Green Smoothies
Whoo hoo, so glad it inspired you to try other greens in the future. Keep rawkin it!
Sara Hester
Yummy! This salad looked beautiful, smelled wonderful, and tasted great! I loved it!
Meagan
This dressing is so much better than any other poppyseed dressing. I’d rather eat my salad dry then have the sugar loaded stuff. This dressing though I could eat with a spoon and I even left out the honey. I love a Berry salad and this is no exception. I could eat for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Can I have it for snacks in between too?
Valerie Parker
Loved the mix of flavors. I don’t have a good blender so my cashew cream did not come out right. I ended up just adding whole cashews and mixed the remaining dressing ingredients. I added blackberries too it was vey colorful, filling, and had a great refreshing crunch ❤️
Jennifer Alexander
Love the lemon and fruit in this one! It makes for a very bright and refreshing salad that I will definitely make again.
Denise
I liked the contrast between the peppery arugula and the fruit. Cashew butter is a staple in our house so I used it in place of the soaked cashews. I loved the creaminess of the dressing. This is a good spring salad.
HK
I always love a good berry salad over greens. This is a delicious treat and pairs well with steak or fish!
Simple Green Smoothies
Great idea to pair it with chicken or fish.
Stephanie L
I had to switch the arugula for kale in this salad because I really don’t like the taste of arugula. The flavor combination of this salad was very good.
Simple Green Smoothies
Kale is perfect to sub in for arugula.
Linda
A pretty tasty salad. I wasn’t so sure about the fennel with the berries in the salad, but the more I ate the more the flavors blended together.
Simple Green Smoothies
I'm so glad you stuck with it and the flavors blended together.
Liz
Love the combo of berries with the greens and citrus. I used blue and blackberries since I'm allergic to the red berries. Substituted sunflower and pumpkin seeds instead of cashews and almonds. Good mix of textures and flavors.
Eurica
Delicious, another home run! A little tart and peppery.
Kathy
Enjoyed the salad. Very refreshing. One I will make again.
Stefanie
I really love the flavor of this salad. The mix of the fruits and veggies is a great blend with the dressing. This is great for lunch and very flavorful.
Lynn Gregerson
Yum! One of my favorite! The meyer lemon dressing was so good! The peppery arugula with the fennel and sweet and tart fruit was such a great combo! I did toast the almonds and always like a sprinkle of flaked sea salt and grated pepper on top.
Amanda
Honestly, didn’t love it but didn’t hate it. The fresh fruit was great and the dressing was tasty. Not a fan of arugula so trying mixed greens next time. It’s light and would be a good side in the summer!
Kari Thom
The Strawberry Arugula Salad is a delight! It is so flavorful - simply perfect! I'm definitely putting this in the regular rotation.
Supreet Jaiswal
Great lunch salad and loved the berry combo! Vinaigrette was lovely and went well with the ingredients❤️
J.R. Pollnow
Delicious again! Up there in my top 3 dressings from this challenge and the first poppyseed dressing I’ve ever enjoyed. My wife says this was her favorite out of all of them. Great blend of flavors. I’ve learned I can do a lot with cashew cream.
Joni lindsay
I and my family once again had another great salad experience!!!! I loved the arugula with the strawberries and the dressing and I love the crunch
This is a refreshing salad another one that will be a great summer favourite
The combinations in this salad encourages me to keep being creative
With my salads
Cindy
Fruit in a salad is always the best
Love this one
Maggie Golding
Love this - really enjoyed the extra richness from the cashews in the dressing. I had to skip the strawberries due to an allergy.
Marcia Ugalde
This is one of my favorites with blueberries and strawberries
So simple
I did add a few extra ingredients to enhance the color and taste even more.
Simple Green Smoothies
Love making my salads as colorful as possible!