Strawberry Arugula Salad

This strawberry arugula salad is an easy summer salad recipe that tastes delicious when fresh strawberries are in season. It’s made with peppery arugula, red onion, crunchy cucumbers, toasted pecans, creamy goat cheese, and a tangy basil-balsamic vinaigrette dressing.

I tried my first strawberry salad at a popular pizza restaurant in Chicago. It was love at first bite you could say. Since then, I’ve been having fun playing around with different combinations to find the perfect strawberry salad.

My husband can be pretty picky about salad, but this recipe is the one where he could’ve finished the entire bowl by himself. He said it was THAT good.

We love making this salad because it’s easy to customize based on what we have in our fridge.

Don’t have strawberries? Use fresh blueberries. Don’t have red onions? Use green onions (scallions). Don’t have cucumbers? Use radish. Don’t have goat cheese? Use feta. Don’t have pecans? Use walnuts.

This is a refreshing salad recipe that can be served as a light dinner with the addition of protein, such as grilled chicken, fish, or tofu.

Strawberry arugula salad ingredients

Strawberries: Choose the freshest strawberries you can find. They should be bright red in color and have fresh-looking green leaves.

Arugula: Arugula has a strong, peppery taste. It provides a nice contrast in flavor with the sweet strawberries.

TIP: Arugula is a delicate green that can go bad quickly. It’s important to buy it only a few days before you plan to use it.

Red onion: I use ½ of a red onion for this salad. You can substitute with ¼ cup green onions (scallions) thinly sliced if you prefer.

TIP: To tone down the taste of the red onion, you can soak the slices in cold water for 15 minutes before assembling the salad. Drain the onions thoroughly before adding them to the salad.

Cucumber: I use 1 or 2 Persian cucumbers (mini cucumbers) for this salad. You’ll need 1 cup of sliced cucumbers.

Goat cheese: Soft goat cheese has a tangy and tart taste. It’s creamy and rich, which adds a nice flavor contrast to the peppery arugula.

If you don’t like goat cheese, you can use crumbled feta, shaved parmesan, or mini bocconcini.

Pecans: These add a nice crunch and taste slightly sweet. Toasting the pecans helps to enhance its rich and buttery flavors.

If you want to add more sweetness to this salad, I highly recommend using candied pecans.

Basil balsamic vinaigrette dressing: Fresh basil adds a delicious flavor bomb to this salad. Balsamic vinegar and strawberries are also a classic and tasty food pairing.

My homemade dressing is tangy, slightly sweet, and has the perfect balance of acidity and oil. It’s made with balsamic vinegar, Dijon mustard, maple syrup (or honey), garlic, fresh basil and extra virgin olive oil.

How to make strawberry arugula salad

Toast the pecans. In a medium skillet over medium heat, add the pecans and gently cook until they are nicely toasted (brown and fragrant), stirring occasionally.

This takes about 2 to 5 minutes. Remove the toasted pecans from the skillet and transfer to a cutting board to let cool.

Make the basil balsamic dressing. In a jar with a fitted lid, add the balsamic vinegar, Dijon mustard, maple syrup (or honey), minced garlic, fresh basil, extra virgin olive oil, and a sprinkle of salt and black pepper.

Seal the jar and give it a good shake until the dressing emulsifies and everything is well combined. Don’t have a jar? Add all the ingredients to a small bowl and whisk until thoroughly combined.

Assemble the salad. In a large salad bowl, add the arugula, strawberries, red onion, cucumbers, goat cheese and toasted pecans.

Toss everything together and serve. Drizzle the dressing on right before serving. Toss gently, serve and enjoy!

Salad additions and variations

Leafy green options. If you don’t like arugula you can substitute with baby spinach, baby kale, or mixed greens.

Fruit options. If you don’t have strawberries, you can use fresh blueberries, raspberries, sliced peaches, or sliced apples.

Veggie options. If you don’t have red onions or Persian cucumbers (mini cucumbers), you can substitute with green onions, radish, English cucumber, celery, or shaved Brussel sprouts.

Cheese options. If you don’t like goat cheese, you can substitute with feta, shaved parmesan, blue cheese, or mini bocconcini.

Make it vegan by leaving out the cheese or using diced avocado for a creamy texture.

Nut options. If you don’t like pecans, you can use walnuts, pine nuts, silvered almonds, sunflower seeds, or pepitas (green pumpkin seeds).

Fresh herb options. If you don’t like basil, you can use fresh mint leaves, rosemary, or parsley.

What to serve with strawberry arugula salad

Add a protein. Chicken, fish, tofu, or tempeh.

Serve it with soup or stew. Ribollita soup, minestrone soup, vegetable soup, chicken noodle soup, or vegetarian chili.

Serve it with pasta. Such as my cherry tomato pasta.

Storage and make ahead suggestions

This strawberry arugula salad tastes best when fresh. It will get soggy, and the arugula will start to wilt after a few hours of adding the dressing.

Leftovers? If you think they will be leftover salad, keep the dressing separate. It will keep up to 24 hours ahead of time in the fridge.

Make ahead of time: You can make the dressing and salad up to 1 day before you plan to serve it.

Combine the dressing ingredients in a jar with the fitted lid. Add the salad ingredients to a large bowl – except the vinaigrette – and keep everything covered in the fridge. Toss with the dressing just before serving.

More easy side salad recipes to try

• Simple green lettuce salad
• Garden salad
• Moroccan-inspired quinoa salad
• Kale salad with apples & walnuts
• Curried chickpea salad

Please let me know how you like this strawberry arugula salad recipe in the comments below! Your feedback and review encourage me to keep creating new and yummy recipes. I hope you love this salad as much as I do.

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