The greens in this easy arugula salad with Parmesan are lightly dressed in a beautiful lemon vinaigrette. It’s the kind of salad you can serve as a side dish with pretty much anything.
My grocery list always has a variety of greens, and they all have a different purpose. It might be for a specific main dish salad or maybe to sauté kale that I will end up stirring into pasta. But the go-to leafy green in our house for a basic (in a good way) salad is arugula.
Served with the perfect lemon vinaigrette, this simple arugula salad with Parmesan is a side dish that’s infinitely versatile. And the best part is that it’s just a starting point. You are more than welcome to add other elements to enhance it and transform it into something else.
The dressing is light and citrusy with a touch of sweetness to balance it out the peppery flavor of the arugula leaves. Make it a few times and commit it to memory. This is one reason why I buy at least one lemon every single time I go shopping.
Also known as rocket, arugula comes from the same family as cabbage and mustard greens. It’s often described as peppery and spicy. What I love about it is that it packs so much personality and flavor in those lovely leaves.
Yes, arugula is great in salads, but I also like it mixed into grains and even turned into pesto. You can pair it with fruits and vegetables, either raw or roasted. You often see arugula sprinkled on top of a pizza to finish it with something fresh.
This is what you need:
Toss the salad in the dressing right before you are planning to serve it. You can make the dressing in advance, so then all you have to do is put it together. Consider it a bonus to whip up a batch of homemade croutons.
You can add a protein like chicken to this classic arugula salad to turn it into a main dish and include other extras.
As mentioned, this arugula salad recipe is really just the beginning. Depending on the season, you can add other ingredients to it to make it more filling and more specific. Here are a few ideas:
This recipe makes about 3 ounces of vinaigrette, which is more than what you need for 5 ounces of arugula. A more delicate green like this does better when you start with it lightly dressed and add more as needed to satisfy everyone’s tastes.
The extra dressing can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge up to 4 days. It will probably become solid in the chill of the refrigerator. Let it sit out at room temperature to liquefy again or run the container under warm water over the sink and shake it around to do this faster.
Again, only toss the amount of arugula you are planning to eat at that specific meal in the dressing. You don’t want to end up with soggy salad leaves.
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The greens in this easy arugula salad with Parmesan are lightly dressed in a beautiful lemon vinaigrette. It’s the kind of you can serve as a side dish with pretty much anything.
Store leftover vinaigrette in an airtight container like a jar in the refrigerator up to 4 days.
Only toss the amount of salad in vinaigrette that you are planning to eat in that meal.
Keywords: arugula salad, lemon vinaigrette
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