Strawberry Arugula Feta Salad

This Strawberry Arugula Feta Salad is tossed in a zesty cilantro lime salad dressing. You’ll find a mix of cheesiness, peppery greens, and juicy strawberries in each bite! It’s a refreshing summer salad you can enjoy all season long.

The search is over! This Strawberry Arugula Feta Salad is the best and most refreshing summer salad. Full of protein, flavor, and freshness, it’s always welcome at summer barbecues, potlucks, and pool parties.

While every bite of this arugula salad with strawberries features a beautiful balance of cheesy, savory, salty, and sweet flavors, it’s easy to make with simple ingredients and in less than 20 minutes. The 4-ingredient cilantro lime dressing ties it all together, making this simple summer side dish completely irresistible.

Do you have more leftover strawberries to use up? Make it a strawberry-themed meal by serving Strawberry Chia Lemonade with the salad and these Strawberry Yogurt Popsicles for dessert.

Ingredient notes

• Arugula - It’s light, fresh, and peppery. In a pinch, frisée, baby spinach, or kale would work as a substitute.

• Strawberries - Use fresh, seasonal strawberries if you can. They add a burst of sweet, juicy flavors and a gorgeous pop of red.

• Vegetables - Cucumbers and red onion give this salad a cool and refreshing crunch and more pops of color. If you don’t like red onion, try swapping it for some fresh chives or shallots.

• Feta cheese - This crumbly cheese is a key part of this salad because its creamy and salty flavors bring balance to the tart onion and peppery greens.

• Hard boiled eggs - Use an Instant Pot or pressure cooker for a foolproof way of cooking perfect hard boiled eggs every time. They’re a creamy and mild addition to this summer salad and pack each bite with protein. Keep scrolling for more protein options!

• Cilantro lime dressing - This homemade salad dressing is easy to make using olive oil, lime juice, fresh cilantro, salt, and pepper. Use any extras to dress shrimp tacos, meal prep bowls with rice, or a farro and kale salad.

How to make arugula strawberry salad

This easy 20-minute salad is perfect as an appetizer or light lunch. Mix it together in just 4 simple steps:

Step 1: Toss the arugula, strawberries, cucumbers, and red onions together in a large bowl.

Step 2: Make the salad dressing by pouring the olive oil, lime juice, cilantro, salt, and pepper into a jar. Seal with the lid and shake to combine.

Step 3: Top the arugula salad mixture with some crumbled feta cheese, sliced hard boiled eggs, and the cilantro lime dressing. 

Step 4: Toss everything together, then serve and enjoy!

Play with the flavors and toppings

The sky’s the limit when it comes to customizing this fresh and fruity salad. Any of the following ingredients would add fun and complementary flavors to every bite:

• Different fruits - Swap out the strawberries for blackberries, peaches, blueberries, mango, cantaloupe, watermelon, or cherries.
• Nuts - Add a buttery and savory crunch to this salad by topping it with walnuts, cashews, pistachios, almonds, or pecans.
• Add extra protein - Not a fan of hard boiled eggs? Feel free to use edamame, herb roasted chicken, roasted chickpeas, marinated tofu, roasted turkey breast, diced ham, shrimp, or leftover strip steak instead.
• Different cheeses - Swap the feta for parmesan, blue cheese, white cheddar, swiss cheese, or gorgonzola.

Make ahead and storing

To make ahead: Prep the hard boiled eggs, fruits, veggies, and dressing and store them in separate airtight containers in the fridge. When you’re ready to serve, simply toss the salad base together and top it with the dressing, feta, and eggs.

To store: Any leftover arugula strawberry salad will stay fresh in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Looking for more tasty summer salads?

• Strawberry Avocado Spinach Salad with Shrimp
• Watermelon Feta Salad
• Cantaloupe Peach Salad with Fresh Mozzarella
• Crunchy Cauliflower Rice Salad
• Mediterranean Hummus Salad