Arugula Salad With Pepitas, Parmesan In A Lemon Vinaigrette

Arugula Salad is a very easy-to-make salad using fresh, peppery arugula, nuts, and shaved Parmesan cheese and drizzled with a puckery lemon vinaigrette. This is our go-to salad.

If you come for dinner, I’ll probably serve arugula salad with lemon salad dressing. We love it! I make it for weeknight meals, and it is company-worthy. It’s also very budget-friendly and versatile. And it’s so good and good for you too! So this recipe is a big, yummy culinary win.

Let’s make Arugula Salad With Roasted Pepitas, Shaved Parmesan, and a lemon vinaigrette. This is the name of the recipe when I first ate it at my sister Lisa’s home, probably 20 years ago. And when Lisa makes something, you know it’s going to be fabulous!

I’m so excited to share this beautiful and delicious salad with you!

Why Make This Recipe

Arugula salad is a simple salad that is easy to make. It’s full of peppery, tangy, and fresh flavors that wake up your tastebuds! Arugula salad makes a perfect starter or side dish for a meal or a healthy lunch.

When I make Arugula salad for a gathering, I always get asked for the recipe.

Ingredient Notes

Arugula: Arugula is a mild salad green with peppery, nutty, and spicy notes. Delicious when paired with lemon.

Nuts: Nuts add texture, crunch, and density to a salad. My favorite nuts to use in this recipe are pine nuts and pepitas.

Lemon: Fresh lemon juice is the tangy base that makes up the fresh-tasting vinaigrette for this salad. The acid in the lemons balances the peppery flavor in the arugula.

What Is Arugula

I am a huge fan of Arugula. I love the taste and the crunch of this peppery member of the cabbage and mustard green family.

Arugula is also known as “rocket.”

Arugula is found in grocery stores all year round, but you can grow arugula in the spring and fall. It’s like most greens who like cooler ground temps. We grew it for years and enjoyed its distinctive flavor in many salads and sandwiches.

Look for baby arugula for the best taste. Also, the stems can be eaten if the plant is young.

It has many of the same health benefits as the cruciferous family of vegetables. So it is very good for you!

How I Came To Use Pepitas

I LOVE pine nuts. And I ate this salad with roasted pine nuts for years.

That was before roasted pine nuts became a “thing.” They were cheap! Now they are very expensive.

Not long ago, when I was preparing the Arugula salad for dinner, I went to the freezer (where I keep nuts), and there were no pine nuts! But I did have pumpkin seeds or pepitas. So I substituted them.

And they worked wonderfully. And were delicious.

I toast them to bring out their amazing flavors. The heat releases the oils in nuts, which is flavor. I

put the nuts in a small dry cast iron pan and heat them over a medium-low flame tossing often. They are ready when I can they are shiny (from their released oil), and I can smell them. And if you are using pine nuts, they will be just golden brown.

Be careful, I have burned many nuts because I have turned my back and not paid attention to them. The moral of this tale is it’s nuts not to keep your eyes on your nuts!

Using roasted pine nuts is the classic way to make this salad, but pepitas are so much more economical!

Why Make Your Own Salad Dressing

The answer is simple. Homemade dressing just tastes so much better and is probably better for you too! Fresh ingredients are always best.

The lemon vinaigrette that pairs so beautifully with this salad is so so easy to make. It takes just a few minutes to assemble and can be stored in the refrigerator for several days.

The acidic lemon is such a nice counterpoint to the peppery arugula.

Lemon vinaigrette is so versatile. Use it on other salads. Drizzle it on ROASTED ASPARAGUS, and finish other vegetables with it too. It also works as a great marinade for chicken and fish. And lemon vinaigrette can be tossed into pasta. YUM!

I usually make a good bit of this salad dressing at once and store it in the frig to use in other creative ways.

I make most of my salad dressing and marinades in a Mason Jar. I put all the ingredients into the jar and shake! So easy. And I can store the Mason jar in the refrigerator.

About Parmesan Cheese

I use Parmesan Reggiano cheese in this salad. This cheese is a bit pricey! For us, this cheese is just so delicious and works so well with this salad we splurge a little.

Why put cheese in this salad? Cheese is salty, and it mixes with the peppery taste of the arugula and the acidic bite of the lemon vinaigrette to make a perfectly balanced mouthful of salad goodness!

You can also use just Parmesan cheese or any other hard semi-funky cheese in the salad too.

Shave the cheese onto the salad with a vegetable peeler. The long slices and cheese crumbles look so sophisticated and offer a bold, cheesy bite! So delicious!

Tips For Making The Best Salad

Here are a few tips to help you make and serve the best Arugula Salad With Lemon Dressing!

• Use all fresh ingredients.
• Put the arugula in a big, big mixing bowl so tossing is easy.
• Drizzle a little dressing at a time and toss the arugula. Pour more if needed. Every leaf should be coated but not dripping in vinaigrette.

• You can make the salad dressing ahead and refrigerate it. Just take it out of the refrigerator about 30 minutes before you use it so the oil will liquefy.
• After the dressing is tossed into the salad, then add the pepitas and toss them in.
• Serve the salad immediately. Letting the arugula sit in the dressing can make it limp.

• Keep all the ingredients on hand to make this delicious salad any time.
• To keep nuts fresh, put them in the freezer. The oils in nuts can make them rancid if not frozen.
• Lemon, cheese, and anchovies are a perfect trio. So if you love anchovies, like I do, chop them finely and add them to the top of the salad. Or serve them on the side so those who love anchovies can add their own.

Arugula Salad With Lemon Vinaigrette

This salad is simple enough to make for a weeknight meal and elegant enough to serve for company!

Arugula salad is not rocket science (pun intended). Make a little, make a lot. Add cubed or shredded chicken to it or top it with fish to make a meal. Pile it on your favorite flatbread or pizza. Put it into a fish taco or a sandwich. Have it for lunch or dinner. This salad hits many of the umami notes we love in the food.

Frequently Asked Questions