16 Awesome Arugula Salads To Make When You're Bored Of Spinach
Swap boring salad greens for peppery fresh arugula to keep your salad game STRONG.
Though it might seem like we’re only into salads if they’re of the pasta or potato variety 😈, we swear we get down on big leafy green ones too. Particularly ones made with greens more interesting than your average garden lettuce (sorry spinach). One of our favorites is arugula (otherwise known as rocket if you’re feeling fun)—a fresh and peppery member of the cabbage family that pairs well with everything from meat to fruit. Because it does have a stronger taste than most greens, you can easily swap it into your favorite recipes to make them exciting again. Check out our top arugula salad recipes for ideas, but truly, it goes well with anything.
Though arugula is officially a summertime green, it’s largely available at supermarkets year-round: We like to pair it with our favorite seasonal veggies to keep it feeling extra fresh. In the spring and summer, try pairing it with tomatoes, peaches, and strawberries, like in our sheet-pan panzanella salad, our salmon BLT salad, or our balsamic grilled steak salad with peaches. In colder weather months like in fall or winter, try pairing arugula with pears, beets, or oranges, like in our seared ahi tuna & arugula pear salad, our roasted beet goat cheese salad, or our halloumi salad.
You could even make a super simple arugula salad, and just serve it with a little lemon, olive oil, and shaved Parmesan. Or take inspiration from our anything goes salad—toss your favorite ingredients like crunchy veggies and beans over arugula, then toss with a simple honey-lemon dressing, and you’ll see: Arugula can go with anything.
You know what goes great with salad? Soup! Check out our favorite summer gazpachos, our top spring soups, and our easiest fall soups too.
Perfect Arugula Salad
Arugula is a great addition to lots of dishes, from steak sandwiches to farro salads, but here we’re honoring it by featuring it all by itself in a super simple salad.
Get the Perfect Arugula Salad recipe.
Anything Goes Grain Salad
We love a giant grain salad that is full of so many beautiful things! This farro, white bean, and arugula salad has roasted veggies, like springy carrots and leeks, along with crunchy veggies like bell peppers and radicchio, all tied together with a simple honey-lemon dressing.
Get the Anything Goes Grain Salad recipe.
Sheet-Pan Panzanella
Rather than toast the bread cubes on their own for this summery salad, you'll roast them alongside tomatoes, onion, and garlic. The tomatoes burst as they roast, mixing their juices with the bread and fresh arugula. The combination of roasted tomatoes, toasted bread coated with Parmesan, fragrant garlic, and mozzarella ends up tasting like pizza. Yum!
Get the Sheet-Pan Panzanella recipe.
Balsamic Grilled Steak Salad with Peaches
Peppery arugula is the perfect vessel for this savory-sweet combo, and you just can't beat ripe, juicy peaches come summertime. We love this with funky blue cheese crumbles, but you can use feta too if you prefer.
Get the Balsamic Grilled Steak Salad With Peaches recipe.
Fried Goat Cheese Salad
A quick pan-fry makes creamy goat cheese a fun, super-crunchy salad topper. It’s a creative take on croutons and can make any summer salad that much more exciting.
Get the Fried Goat Cheese Salad recipe.
Seared Ahi Tuna & Arugula Pear Salad
We love using a slightly spicy green to counter the fatty tuna here, like arugula! It has a deliciously peppery flavor that pairs well with the quality sushi-grade ahi tuna in this salad.
Farro Salad
With nuts, cheese, fruit, and leafy arugula, this salad really feels like a full meal—AKA a make-ahead dream. It's got all the elements you need: sweet, salty, soft, crunchy, fatty, fresh, but free to make it your own with your preferred mix-ins.
Get the Farro Salad recipe.
Roasted Beet Goat Cheese Salad
Beet lovers rejoice! This is the ideal fall salad: creamy goat cheese (sub feta if you prefer it), roasted beets, avocado, and arugula. The secret is that instead of buying precooked beets, you simply wrap them in foil and bake them like a baked potato. It takes about an hour but the resulting beets will be tender, earthy and slightly sweet in a way that no store-bought beet can.
Beet, Tangerine, and Steak Salad
Halloumi Salad
We think it's due time that halloumi, the brined Cypriot cheese, got its time in the spotlight. Besides the delightfully squeaky texture (where the cheese curd lovers at?), and the tangy, salty flavor, the high melting point is really what makes this cheese stand out—when heat is applied, it develops a delicious golden crust that is so delightful in this salad.
Get the Halloumi Salad recipe.
Gorgonzola Pear Chicken Salad
Salty, funky cheese, sweet pear, crispy chicken, and peppery arugula make this salad a serious winner.
Get the Gorgonzola Pear Chicken Salad recipe.
Roasted Salmon with Strawberry-Arugula Salad
This is everything we want in a summer dinner: fast and easy baked salmon, plus super fresh and seasonal strawberries and arugula.
Get the Roasted Salmon with Strawberry-Arugula Salad recipe.
Baked Chicken Thighs with Arugula Caesar Salad
Once you discover the magic of juicy thighs, you might not go back to breasts. Serve it with a kicked-up arugula Caesar for a light meal you'll love.
Get the Baked Chicken Thighs with Arugula Caesar Salad recipe.
Salmon BLT Salad
This is so flavorful and satisfying, you'll forget you're eating salad. The combination of salmon, bacon, and avocado is unbelievable, and the homemade Greek and mayo dressing completes the whole dish!
Get the Salmon BLT Salad recipe.
Grilled Skirt Steak Salad with Arugula, Balsamic-Glazed Onions, Tomatoes, and Feta
Steak on its own is great, but you can take it next level by serving it with this umami-packed salad. Tangy feta and balsamic onions really "take the steak" here.
Get the Grilled Skirt Steak Salad with Arugula, Balsamic-Glazed Onions, Tomatoes, and Feta recipe.
Red Pepper Pesto Ravioli Salad
Ravioli in pasta salad = true game changer. Add roasted red peppers, arugula, and salty olives, and you've got a dinner (or side dish!) you'll return to again and again.
Camille Lowder is the digital food producer at Delish, otherwise known as our resident queen of recipe galleries. Previously, she attended the Natural Gourmet Institute for culinary school and worked at/managed a number of New York restaurants. She loves anything vegan, foods masquerading as other foods (hello, cauliflower), and a well-used Oxford comma.
