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Here’s the simplest salad you’ll ever make! This easy arugula salad comes together in minutes. You don’t even need to make a dressing!
There’s a place for more intensive kitchen endeavors like sourdough bread and a margherita pizza with homemade dough, but when it comes to sides, I want easy. This simple arugula salad is quite possibly the easiest salad you’ll make. You don’t even need to make a dressing!
In 5 to 10 minutes, you’ve got an elegant salad that goes with literally everything, and it all starts with high-quality arugula.
Key ingredients
The ingredients in this arugula salad are simple, too. You’ll just need to make sure they’re high quality. Here’s what you need for this easy salad:
- Baby arugula: Baby arugula has a feathery texture and a mild flavor. Avoid standard arugula, which is much too strong.
- Shallot: Shallot adds a nuanced onion flavor.
- Olive oil and lemon juice: These make a quick, makeshift dressing. You’ll need a real lemon, so skip the fake juice. Add the zest if you have time.
- Parmesan cheese shavings: For quick prep, buy Parmesan that’s cut into shavings.
Baby arugula is a must
For this arugula salad to work, you MUST use baby arugula. Here’s the difference:
- Baby arugula is tender, with a mild flavor and a fluffy texture. You see the lovely feathery greens in the photo? That’s baby arugula.
- Standard arugula is usually sold in bunches. It has a much stronger peppery flavor, and sometimes the stems are tougher. It’s not as good for a salad like this one.
You can find baby arugula in lots of mainstream groceries in the U.S. It’s also available at farmers’ markets. As a rule of thumb, if it’s sold as a bunch, stay away. Use the baby greens that are sold in packages or bags. If you end up with leftovers, you can make a batch of arugula pesto.
Lemon zesting tips
Growing up, real lemons weren’t ever in our house, but now that I run my own kitchen, they’re a mainstay on the counter! Real lemon juice can’t be replicated by lemon juice in a bottle.
If you have time, add the zest of one half lemon to the mix. The best way to zest a lemon is using a microplane grater, which makes quick work of it.
Shaving Parmesan cheese
To shorten the time to make this simplest arugula salad, buy Parmesan cheese that’s already cut into large shavings. I’ve found it packaged this way at the store, and it makes it easy breezy to throw a bunch in a salad.
If you can’t find it ready-to-go, use a vegetable peeler on a big block of Parmesan cheese. It’s the easiest way to get those lovely shavings.
Serving suggestions
This arugula salad is so classic and simple, it goes with almost every vibe of food. It’s especially perfect alongside Italian recipes, Mediterranean meals, or as a side for soup. Here are a few ways to serve it:
- Pizza: This one is perfect for a pizza party. Try it with healthy pizza, mushroom pizza, or cheese pizza.
- Salmon: It works really well with lemon-dill salmon or baked salmon.
- Pasta: Try it with vegan lasagna, cavatappi, or mushroom pasta.
- Shrimp: Arugula salad pairs well with shrimp fra diavola or shrimp paella.
- Soup: Pair with wild rice soup or lentil soup.
Dietary notes
This arugula salad is vegetarian and gluten-free. For vegan, plant-based, and dairy-free, use vegan Parmesan.
Easy Arugula Salad
Here’s the simplest salad you’ll ever make! This easy arugula salad is fool-proof: you don’t even need to make dressing. It comes together in minutes!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 6 to 8 1x
- Category: Salad
- Method: Raw
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- ¾ cup Parmesan cheese shavings (about 1.5 ounces)*
- 1 small shallot
- 8 cups (5 ounces) baby arugula (do not use standard arugula, usually sold in bunches)
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
- 1 ½ tablespoons lemon juice + zest of ½ lemon
Instructions
- If necessary, shave the Parmesan cheese with a vegetable peeler.
- Thinly slice shallot.
- In large bowl, place the baby arugula, olive oil, lemon zest (optional), lemon juice, and kosher salt.
- Use your hands to toss everything so it’s evenly coated.
- Add the Parmesan shavings and shallot and toss for a few seconds until combined.
- Taste and add additional salt if desired.
More with arugula
Are a fan of this nutritious green? Here are a few more recipes that use it:
I love your recipes! This salad is SO easy and delicious. I have taken it to so many potlucks and it gets gobbled up in no time. I make it often for myself.
Looking for a web site that has recipes for a couple (that is – 2 people). Would appreciate it if you could let me know if you have run across any. Thanks
We love Christina’s site here: https://www.dessertfortwo.com/category/dinners-for-two/
So delicious & easy!
Wow, I’ve never had arugula before so I made lasagna for company and was looking around for a light salad and I found this one, beautiful, so refreshing, was great and different
So glad you enjoyed!
Easy and delicious recipe! Thanks, once again – A Couple Cooks!
:)
As usual, this recipe is delicious and so easy. I added some goat cheese.
For the easy arugula salad, I’m confused about measurements for the arugula. My bag shows 7 oz bag is 5 cups. Your recipe shows 5 oz equals 8 cups. Help.
Go for 5 ounces or about 2/3 of your bag. It doesn’t need to be perfect! (We measured cups loosely packed).
Hi, so I tried this recipe it was good but can you give me the nutritional info I’m using this recipe for an assessment.
It’s listed at the bottom of the recipe card.
Had this with pizza and it was so light and refreshing! Would definitely not omit the lemon zest. Also added a few broken walnut pieces for added crunch.
Love this salad; goes great with pasta dinners.