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This Rocket Salad is an incredibly simple salad that is ready to enjoy in just 5 minutes! As a bonus, this throw together salad uses minimal ingredients and is very healthy.
Recipe Difficulty – Very Easy
Table of Contents
Why this recipe works
Salads are great all year long, but I especially love a light salad in the summer! It’s quick and easy – perfect for a healthy side dish to weeknight dinners.
This flavorful salad will impress any guest with it’s vibrancy, crunch from the apple and acidity from the quick balsamic dressing.
When it comes to green salads, it is easy to get into a rut. This side salad is a fun combination of toppings that make for a bright and delicious dish! This arugula salad recipe is also easy to customise, so it’s the perfect side dish to alter to match whatever you’re eating for dinner!
Ingredients to make Rocket Salad
- Fresh Rocket Leaves – can be known by different names including arugula (North America) and rucola.
- Apple – adds a fabulous burst of flavour, sweetness with a nice crunch. I personally prefer using a pink lady but literally any apple will work.
- Cherry Tomatoes – bring a pop of flavour as well.
- Shaved Parmesan Cheese – mixes perfectly with the other salad ingredients. I opted for a vegan version.
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil – helps to make the dressing for this arugula parmesan salad.
- Balsamic Vinegar – gives a nice bite to the dressing.
- Salt and Black Pepper – give just the right amount of seasoning to the balsamic dressing.
See recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Substitutions
- Rocket Leaves – You could use baby spinach, romaine, or another type of lettuce in place of arugula leaves.
- Parmesan Cheese – is my favourite cheese to go with this simple rocket salad, but you could also use other cheeses! Parmigiano reggiano will taste very similar, while blue cheese or goat cheese would give it a different flavour profile.
- Add-ins – I love the simplicity of apple and tomato, but feel free to add in or swap for another fruit or vegetable you enjoy. Some to consider are sun-dried tomatoes, red onions, white beans, or cucumber.
- Dressing Ingredients – If you’re not a fan of the balsamic glaze, try a simple lemon dressing or an apple cider vinegar dressing would work well or do check out my Peanut Salad Dressing or Maple Dijon Dressing for a spicier kick.
Variations
- Spicy – For a spicy dressing for this wild rocket salad, add some chili garlic sauce, cumin, or crushed red pepper flakes.
- Deluxe – There are a lot of fun toppings you could add to this rocket and parmesan salad. You could top it with some Pickled Beetroot, pine nuts, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, walnuts, for sesame seeds.
- Kid friendly – If your kids aren’t quite ready for arugula due to it’s peppery taste, you could try a basic salad leaf with this salad to start them out.
How to make Rocket Salad
Step 1: Firstly, rinse and drain the rocket leaves. Grate the apple, shave the parmesan, and slice the tomatoes in halves.
Step 2: In a small bowl, whisk together the extra virgin olive oil. balsamic vinegar, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Give it a stir.
Step 3: Add the rocket leaves, grated apple, tomatoes, and parmesan to a large bowl and drizzle over the dressing.
Step 4: Finally, toss salad until coated in the dressing and it’s ready to serve!!
Hint: If prepping to serve later, it is best to wait to drizzle the dressing on top until right before serving.
Leftovers
Rocket leaf salad can keep in the fridge for a couple of days without the dressing on it. If you’ve already put the dressing on, I wouldn’t recommend saving leftovers as it will go soggy.
Recipe FAQs
Rocket is the same thing as arugula, just a different name! Rocket salad uses rocket as a base and then has some toppings. It has a peppery flavour and makes for a great salad.
Absolutely! It counts toward your daily veg servings and also gives you folate, calcium, and vitamin c. As long as you keep the toppings healthy as well, the salad is a great choice!
I wouldn’t recommend freezing rocket salad, but if you have some rocket you need to preserve, you can do it! You’ll want to rinse it in cold water and remove any dying leaves. Blanch it in boiling water for a minute and then rinse it in an ice water bath and dry it off. Store in an airtight container.
More easy salads
- Tofu Salad
- Courgette Salad
- Aubergine Salad
- Prawn Salad
- Three Bean Salad
- Tuna Pasta Salad
- Vegan Potato Salad
- Beetroot Salad
- Cold Noodle Salad
- Chicken Satay Salad
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Rocket Salad
Ingredients
- 4 cups fresh rocket (arugula) leaves, 60g
- 1 apple, grated
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved, 150g
- ¼ cup shaved Parmesan cheese, 40g (I used dairy-free)
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Firstly, rinse and drain the rocket leaves. Grate the apple, shave the parmesan and slice the tomatoes in halves.
- In a small bowl, whisk together extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar and a pinch of salt and pepper.
- Add the rocket leaves, grated apple, tomatoes, parmesan to a large salad bowl and drizzle over the dressing.
- Finally, give the salad a good toss until coated in the dressing and it’s ready to serve!
Delicious, easy to make and so quick!
Thanks Austin!
So tasty and perfect BBQ side dish!
Thank you Abbie 🙂 pleased you enjoyed it!
This was super easy and very tasty!
Thank you Gina 🙂 glad you enjoyed it!