Blueberry Arugula Salad with Seared Lemon Dressing

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A while back, I did a review of Sun Basket. The most awesome thing about that dinner service, though, was this one salad side dish: Blueberry Arugula Salad with Seared Lemon Dressing It’s seriously simple and just so good, I had to make it again.

Now, when I say that this Blueberry Arugula salad is super simple, I mean it. I mean, this is your shopping list:

• Arugula
• A pint of fresh blueberries
• A cup of raw walnuts (Sun Basket has you make it with hazelnuts if you can find them)
• 2 large lemons
• Olive Oil
• Salt and pepper

That is it. Seriously, it’s that easy. So, then what is the point of me sharing this recipe with you? Sure it’s simple but is it good? Why is it worth blogging about at all?

Blueberry Arugula Salad is an Experience

The number one reason I love this salad is the clean variety of flavors. With each bite, you’ll work through sour, sweet, peppery, salty, and earthy. They’ll vary and evolve, and when you’re practicing mindful eating, this is a blessing.

Seared Lemon Dressing is Life Altering

The salad dressing is the star, though. You can mix lemon juice and olive oil for a simple dressing any day of the week, right? But try this: cut your lemon in half and sear the cut side.

The lemon flesh will be close to charred when it’s ready. Squeeze the juice into a small bowl, add the zest, and drizzle in an equal amount of olive oil. Simply add salt and pepper to add more flavor.

The juice is no longer just sour. It’s fragrant from the oils in the warmed zest, and the bitter edge of lemon is softened with sweeter notes. Plus, you get this note of char that makes it, well, life altering. You’ll be searing lemons for dressing every night of the week.

Always Toast Your Walnuts

I use the same pan that I seared the lemon in to toast the walnuts. There’s a little crust of burnt lemon on the bottom, but that’s okay! I scrape it up a little and toss in the nuts. Let that fond flavor the nuts as they toast.

You want the oils to warm and the skin to bronze. You’ll know they’re ready when they smell glorious. Let them cool on your cutting board for about 5 minutes before giving them a little chop.

You can skip the chop if you want big chunks of walnut, but I like the pieces to be roughly the same size as my blueberries. It’s just easier to get everything in one bite that way.

Raw walnuts are delicious and packed with great healthy fats. You don’t want to overcook your nuts and lose the nutritional benefits of a raw nut, but you do want to let them develop some flavor.

Heat, again, softens the bitter aftertaste that raw walnuts have, and amplifies the earthy, fragrant, nutty flavor with a toastiness you’ll love next to the blueberries.

Use Fresh Blueberries

I had high hopes that we’d be picking blueberries off our bushes for this salad, but we got 5 berries off our three bushes and my two year old ate them all. So, Hubs picked up a pint at Aldi.

Remember that blueberries can be found all year, but they are best in the summer when they’re in season. See if you can find some fresh from the farmers’ market because they’re likely to be sweeter and plumper than when you get them in October from the grocery store.

Wash them gently by filling your sink with 3 parts water and 1 part white vinegar. Just dump them in and agitate the water a little to loosen up debris. The vinegar will sanitize the fruit. Then gather the berries in a strainer and allow them to dry.

This is one of the only times I’ll tell you not to use frozen blueberries. It’s not going to give you the same pop of fresh, sweet juice in every bite. Trust me, it’s worth it to get fresh ones.

Arugula is the Best Green for This Salad

While I usually love spring mix or 50/50 with spinach, this time I rely on arugula. This salad needs just a little bit of that peppery, right-on-the-edge-of-spicy flavor to round out the full flavor experience. In fact, I recommend you sprinkle a little bit of cracked black pepper in your dressing because it brings out that oh-so-mild heat.

It is a softer leaf but not in the velvety way that spinach is soft. Arugula is a fair, fine leaf that delicately embraces the berries and nuts so you have a light bite. This makes all the big flavors that much more of a surprise.

What to Serve with Your Blueberry Arugula Salad

You can eat this salad all on its own for a lovely light meal, but for a more filling meal, I’d add a simply flavored lean protein.

Lemon Pepper Chicken

My favorite is lemon pepper chicken. Marinate the chicken in the same mix for the salad dressing: seared lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Grill it until the interior is 165ºF. Then let it rest for 5 minutes before slicing it up.

Herb Crusted Salmon

Rub your salmon down with dried parsley, crushed red pepper, garlic, salt, and pepper. Bake it or air fry until the interior is 145ºF.

Greek Spiced Turkey Meatballs or Kofta

When we got this recipe with Sun Basket, it was paired with ground beef souvlakakia. That was delicious, but we normally don’t like to buy red meat. So, instead, I’d mix a pound of lean ground turkey with 2 tablespoons of Greek spice blend. Form your turkey into meatballs or longer sausage shapes. Bake at 400ºF for 30 minutes.

Add Carbs to Your Blueberry Arugula Salad

If you want to add a roll or biscuit to your dinner, I’ve got 3 recipes you’ll love!

• Small Batch Garlic Cheddar Biscuits
• Flaky Southern Biscuits
• 3 Ingredient Beer Bread Muffins

Let’s Get to the Recipe

Clean eating can be delicious when you’re talking about blueberry arugula salad with seared lemon dressing. Every bite is a fresh new experience. You’ll want to put this on weekly rotation if not more often. It’s so easy and so good.

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Comment below if you have questions, concerns, or opinions. And tag me @ellejayathome on Instagram or Twitter if you share pictures from any of my recipes. I love to hear from you!

Blueberry Arugula Salad with Seared Lemon Dressing

Clean eating can be delicious when you're talking about blueberry arugula salad with seared lemon dressing. Every bite is a fresh new experience!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 5 minutes mins

Course Salad

Cuisine American

Servings 4 servings

Equipment

• Small sauté pan
• Small mixing bowl

Ingredients

  

• 5 oz arugula
• 1 pint fresh blueberries
• 1 cup walnut halves
• 2 large lemons
• ½ cup olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

 

• Slice your lemons in half and place them cut side down in a hot pan until they are warm through and thoroughly browned.
• Remove the lemons, and put the walnuts into the same pan to toast until fragrant.
• As the walnuts toast, squeeze the lemon juice into your small mixing bowl. Add the olive oil, salt, and pepper. Whisk until well combined.
• Remove the walnuts from the pan and cool for a little bit before chopping them into more manageable bite-sized pieces.
• Rinse and dry the arugula and blueberries, and split between 4 bowls. Add in the walnuts and dressing.

Keyword Arugula, Blueberry, Lemon, Salad, Walnut

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