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. This gorgeous strawberry arugula salad is as delicious as it is beautiful. Topped with a unique lemon vinaigrette, this rockstar salad is for you.
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.
Table of Contents
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.
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.
More 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 with a rating + review! It’s got many of my favorite fruits and veggies, so I hope you love it too.
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 for 1 to 4 hours
- 2 tbsp Meyer lemon juiced
- 1.5 tsp honey
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- dash ground black pepper
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1.5 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
- Store dressing in a jar with a tight-fitting lid and keep in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.Â
- 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.Â
Where does all the fat come from in this recipe
Hi Ginger! Most of the fat in this recipe comes from the cashews and the olive oil
Another tasty one even without the dressing!
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.
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! 🙂
All I can say about this is NUMMY!
I love this salad, num num num!
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
It’s never too late for a delicious salad! Way to see it through, Timea! Glad you enjoyed this one!
Delicious. The dressing is really good!
I didn’t like this fruity salad as much as I loved the Bright Berry Salad.
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.
Berry tasty medley of colourful superfoods
Loved this salad!! One of my new favorites! Dressing is, again, amazing!!!
This salad was really good. Especially the dressing
My boyfriend said he enjoyed this salad more than the crunchy carrot and berry bright salads.
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.
Whoo hoo, so glad it inspired you to try other greens in the future. Keep rawkin it!