This easy Lemon Arugula Salad recipe is a quick toss of baby arugula, baby spinach leaves, Parmesan shavings and an addictive creamy lemon dressing. 

A white oval platter filled with Parmesan Salad. Golden salad serves sit next to the platter - for a simple arugula salad recipe.

Salads don’t come much easier than this one! It’s a simple salad to toss together to serve with chicken, fish, pasta, soup or sandwiches.

Clear glass mixing bowls filled with mixed greens and a dressing.

I’ve made this salad so many times over the years. I especially like to make it during the warm summer months when we spend a lot of time grilling chicken or fish outdoors. It’s so simple, so delicious and so quick to make. To make it just whisk together the ingredients for the creamy lemon salad dressing, then toss the whole thing in your favorite salad bowl and serve.  

Lemon Arugula Salad Recipe

  • Arugula. We use baby arugula for this salad.
  • Spinach. We also use baby spinach for this salad. The combo of these two greens makes a really delicious salad.
  • Cheese. We toss this salad with Parmesan shavings.
  • Creamy Lemon Dressing. We use our Creamy Lemon Dressing to toss this salad with. It’s completely addictive and it’s one of my favorites!
  • Seasoning. Just a little salt and pepper to season things with.

Find printable recipe with the measurements below.

Variations

A white oval platter filled with a simple Arugula Salad.

How To Make Lemon Dressing

To make this salad dressing, just add the measured ingredients to a medium size bowl and whisk it all together using a wire whisk. You can also toss everything in a blender and blend for 30 seconds until its nice a creamy. Transfer the dressing to a mason jar (or another airtight container), seal the lid tightly and store in the refrigerator for up to an hour before serving giving the flavors time to blend together before serving. If properly stored, the dressing will last up to 1 week in the refrigerator.

  • Lemon Juice. Fresh is best for this recipe. It adds freshness and flavor. Don’t use the bottled stuff. 
  • Olive Oil. We use light olive oil for this dressing, but you can use extra-virgin or avocado oil if you prefer.
  • Garlic. Garlic always adds flavor to dressings.
  • Mayonnaise. Adding a little mayonnaise to this dressing gives it a nice creamy consistency.
  • Water. I sometimes like to add a tablespoon or two of water to mellow lemon tang in a dressing (if needed).
  • Cheese. We add Parmesan cheese to this dressing which adds a delicious taste to the mix.
  • Seasoning. We season this dressing with salt and freshly cracked black pepper.

A white oval platter filled with mixed greens. Golden colored spoons rest in the platter.

Tips For Making This Salad

  • Be sure to gently toss the salad so all of the ingredients are coated evenly. 
  • Store the salad and dressing separately in air tight containers in the refrigerator until you’re ready to serve. 
  • If properly stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator, this salad can last up to 5 days if it has not been tossed with the dressing and just 1 day if it has been tossed with the dressing. 

Serving Suggestions

This Arugula Parmesan Salad makes a great side salad to serve with your favorite chicken or fish meals, pasta, sandwiches or a big pot of soup.  I like to serve it with this One Pan Italian ChickenLemon Chicken PiccataChicken ShawarmaHearty Lentil StewTuscan White Bean Soup and Italian Lentil Soup. You can also toss in a can of tuna (drained) or salmon (also drained) or shaved turkey lunch meat for a quick, easy and low-cal lunch salad.

A close up photo of mixed greens with lemon slices.

Looking For More Easy Salad Recipes?

A white oval platter filled with Lemon Arugula Salad tossed with Parmesan Shavings.
Yield: 8 servings

Lemon Arugula Salad

Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes

This easy Lemon Arugula Salad recipe is a quick toss of baby arugula, baby spinach leaves, Parmesan shavings and an addictive creamy lemon dressing. 

Ingredients

  • 4 cups baby arugula
  • 4 cups baby spinach
  • 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese shavings
  • 3/4 cup Creamy Lemon Salad Dressing

For the Creamy Lemon Salad Dressing

  • 1/2 cup lemon juice
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, finely grated
  • 1/4 cup water, optional
  • 6 tablespoons mayonnaise
  • 2 garlic cloves, finely grated
  • Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. Toss the salad ingredients together in a large bowl and drizzle with vinaigrette and gently toss again. 
  2. Shave the Parmesan cheese with a Microplane shaver or a vegetable peeler. You can also just grate the cheese if you like.
  3. Season with salt and cracked pepper to taste.

For the Creamy Lemon Dressing

  1. Using a wire whisk, whisk the ingredients together in a medium size bowl. You can also toss everything in a blender and blend for 30 seconds until its nice a creamy.
  2. Pour dressing  into a mason jar, seal the lid tightly and store in the refrigerator for up to an hour before serving giving the flavors time to blend together before serving.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

8

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 265Total Fat: 26gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 20gCholesterol: 14mgSodium: 306mgCarbohydrates: 6gFiber: 1gSugar: 1gProtein: 4g

theharvestkitchen.com attempts to provide accurate information, however, this nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. The nutritional information provided comes from online sources and calculations. See full disclaimer on About page.