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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 absolutely loved this salad. The dressing reminded me of orange and poppy seed muffins I had to make a couple changes because I couldn’t get any meyer lemons, so added half a mandarin to the salad, and used some juice from an orange with lemon juice in the dressing. Will definitely be making this again.
Amazing Spring Salad!! This one is going on my menu for Easter, but it will be on a regular menu rotation, definitely! I lightly roasted the fennel with some lemon zest and it was so delicious! Loved the cashew cream dressing!
This is a delicious and filling salad. It makes great use of spring and summer berries. I don’t normally love fruit in my salads, but this hit the spot. The dressing is really nice, even using regular lemons. The almonds and fennel add a crunch factor that is very satisfying. You won’t be sorry you made this.
Love the bursting fruit flavors!
Tasty!!
Ok tasting, slightly sweet with fruit , slightly tangy with salad and dressing
I love this salad. It has sweet, tart, crunchy and the peppery taste of the arugula brings it all together. I couldn’t find the Meyer lemons near me so had to use regular and I grabbed what I thought was poppy seed from my pantry but it turned out to be chia seed (oops). Otherwise this is a nice fresh tasting salad. One that I will definitely make again.
I bet chia seeds did just fine on this one! 😉
Great salad for ending the challenge! Loved the fruit aspect! Wanted to use up my greens so used the rest of my spinach. Liked this salad so much that I ate it twice. Once for lunch and then again for dinner.
Love, love, love this salad. Tasty. Beautiful. Relatively easy to put together. You should definitely give it a try.
Tasty and filling. A winner!
This salad would be great for entertaining guests. Beautiful colours and lots of fabulous flavours!
Great salad. The flavors all mingled really well together the tartness of the lemon mixed with the sweetness of the honey and the creaminess of the cashews and all of the yummy fruit and the peppery arugula make a wonderful salad
I really liked this salad. I am a fan of arugula so it’s something I typically already have around my kitchen. This was my first time working with fennel although I’ve had it in food at restaurants. I enjoyed this salad and it demystified fennel for me so now I’m thinking of other ways to use it since I have a bunch left. It did take me 3 trips to find Meyer lemons so if I make this again I will likely just use a regular lemon. I thought all these ingredients worked well together and my son ate it too, which is a huge win for our family.
Oh my goodness – 3 trips! Way to follow through and get all the ingredients! You RAWK!
I never think of putting fruit in salads. This was amazing.
Don’t care for arugula; substituting baby spinach leaves seemed a good option. I don’t “cook” much, so dressing is a bit complicated.
Well done! We finish this 10 Day Salad Challenge with a perfectly beautiful salad. The ingredients totally complement each other (arugula, fennel, fruit—amazing). I have overcome my fear of many of the salad ingredients and how to make a Rawkstar dressing too! Loving my Meyer lemons too!