This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Table of Contents
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. The toppings are my favorite, yet I constantly get emails about the lemon vinaigrette I created for it, too.
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.
Special 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.
Strawberry Arugula Salad Tips
- 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 :-).
Helpful 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 Arugula Salad
Ingredients
- 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 tbsp raw cashews soaked
- 2 tbsp Meyer lemon juiced
- 1 tsp raw honey
- ⅛ tsp sea salt
- ⅛ ground black pepper
- 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp 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
- If you have time, soak cashews in water for 2+ hours to get creamiest result. You can also “flash soak” by putting cashews in a bowl with boiling water. Cover with a plate for 10 minutes, then rinse and drain.
- 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.
Nutrition
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.
I love that this salad has a recipe for salad dressing
I can make it from scratch and the poppy seeds give it a pop and I can use it as a sauce for meat
I know have so many options for salads
It’s not just lettuce with tomatoes
Thank you
This is an amazing salad and so, so easy to make — no chopping!! The combination of flavors is incredibly unique. Serve this at a dinner party and your friends will think you are a culinary genius. A definite keeper!!!
So good! I loved the combination of the arugula and fennel with the berries and orange. So fresh and different! The dressing complimented everything perfectly. So much better than the store bought poppyseed dressing
Absolutely delicious! This is the best one yet! Can you tell I like sweets? I used Romaine instead of Arugula (because my refrigerator isn’t working & I wanted to use up what I had), blackberries instead of raspberries because of oxalate, left out the fennel because expensive and the almonds because of oxalate, used lemon juice/maple syrup dressing and used hemp seeds instead of poppy seeds.
Strawberry Arugula salad
This is my very favorite salad! I love arugula’s bitterness and all the berries and orange make it so fresh and colorful. The fennel is wonderful too!
I used whole walnuts and almonds and my neighbor has Meyer lemons which made it so good.
Love the dressing but I don’t use oil
Good, colorful with fresh ingredients. My dressing was not very creamy and didn’t seem to have a lot of flavor. I also didn’t have poppy seeds so not sure if that’s what gives the dressing more flavor or not. Otherwise, I enjoyed the sweetness of the fresh fruit, tartness of the lemons and crunch of the almonds.
So tangy and fresh! Loved! I made adjustments again for ingredients I had on hand. I used iceberg lettuce, fennel, carrot tops, lemon, blueberries and raspberries. I forgot sliced almonds, skipped the oil and honey, and didn’t have poppy seeds so didn’t make the cashew dressing, just drizzled with lemon juice and sprinkled with salt and pepper. Always amazing flavour combinations from SGS! 🙂
Wow! What a great way to wrap up two weeks of delicious salads. The Strawberry Arugula Salad is a beautiful combination of sweet and tangy. I loved it and will make it again and again.
I’m not a fan of arugula, so I swapped organic baby spinach. Very tasty. Thanks for having the salad challenge! I enjoyed both the smoothie challenge and the salad challenge.
This is a gorgeous salad! Spring strawberries are at the store and they will only get better in the summer, so I plan to keep making this salad. The dressing was creamy and I loved the poppy seeds.
Very good. I love the peppery flavor from the arugula mixed with the fruit!
I love this dressing! So full of flavor. I made this one twice!
Love arugula and fennel in a salad. The dressing is fantastic. I used less fruit and added some cucumber for more veggies. Thank you for putting together the salad challenge.
Tasty and colorful salad! Loved the fruit with the poppyseed dressing.
What can I say! Summer is coming! This very special occasion salad hits all the points – it is fresh, bright, beautiful and the flavors are divine. The poppy seeds in the creamy dressing finish the salad perfectly!
I like the taste of fennel as I am being newly introduced to it through these challenges. I think it goes well with the arugula as well as the fruit. The fennel almost seems as if it has a light citrusy flavor. Nice and light lunch salad!