Summer Arugula Salad with Basil Vinaigrette
Updated May 20, 2019
Summer Arugula Salad with Israeli couscous, avocado, corn, tomatoes, cheese, pepitas, and a simple basil vinaigrette. This fresh and easy salad goes great with any summer meal or can be your meal!
Are you ready for the long weekend? Let’s get this party started, right? But first, we have to talk about this Summer Arugula Salad with Basil Vinaigrette because you NEED to make it this weekend. It is the PERFECT summer salad.
This salad is summer in a giant bowl and perfect for summer barbecues, potlucks, and picnics. It is also perfect for every day summer meals. This salad goes great with any meal or it can be your entire meal. It is filling and loaded with summery goodness!
So what’s in this easy, fresh, and delicious summer salad?
- arugula
- Israeli couscous
- tomatoes
- avocado
- corn
- white cheddar cheese
- pepitas
Oh, and we can’t forget the most amazing part? The basil vinaigrette! My basil vinaigrette recipe is my all-time favorite salad dressing and is SO good on this salad. So good you will wan to lick the bottom of your bowl or plate. It makes the salad!
I love this salad because it is hearty and full of flavor. All of the ingredients work together. You might be thinking, white cheddar, really? Yep, really. It works SO well in this salad. I shred it so it blends right in and you get a little bit of cheesiness in every single bite.
A few salad notes:
- I love using arugula for the base of this salad because I love the spicy, peppery flavor. If you don’t have arugula, any greens will work.
- You can make the Israeli couscous in advance so it is ready to add to the salad. If you need the salad to be gluten-free you can use quinoa instead of the Israeli couscous, it is made of wheat. You can also leave the couscous out, the salad will still be tasty.
- If you are taking the salad to a potluck or party, wait to dress the salad until you are ready to serve it.
- I am sure this salad would be tasty with other salad dressing, but I HIGHLY recommend my basil vinaigrette. Again, it really makes this salad!
- You can make the basil vinaigrette in advance. It will keep in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. I ALWAYS have a jar in the fridge during the summer. It is a staple at our house.
We hope you all have a wonderful holiday weekend! Enjoy the sunshine, time with loved ones, and this Summer Arugula Salad with Basil Vinaigrette. It is the perfect salad to kick-off summer! Enjoy!
If you like this Summer Arugula Salad with Basil Vinaigrette, you might also like:
- Arugula Pasta Salad
- Melon Arugula Salad with Honey Lime Dressing
- Grilled Peach, Blueberry, and Goat Cheese Arugula Salad
- Mango, Strawberry, and Avocado Arugula Salad
Summer Arugula Salad with Basil Vinaigrette
Ingredients
- 5 ounces arugula
- 1 cup cooked Israeli couscous
- 1 cup halved grape tomatoes
- 1 large avocado chopped
- 1 ear of sweet corn kernels removed
- 1/3 cup shredded white cheddar cheese
- 1/4 cup pepitas
- Basil vinaigrette for dressing the salad
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine arugula, cooked Israeli couscous, tomatoes, avocado, corn, white cheddar cheese, and pepitas. Drizzle the salad with basil vinaigrette and toss until combined. Serve immediately.
Have you tried this recipe?
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How much corn do you normally add? You mention it but it’s not in ingredient list. I imagine you use fresh?
Oops! Sorry about that, just updated the recipe. I use one ear of sweet corn. Remove the kernels with a sharp knife and add them to the salad. I don’t cook the corn, raw is just fine!
hey girl- this looks so tasty! Ya’ll have a great weekend!
What a nice summer salad!
Thanks so much! Made it tonight without the corn, it was still delicious! Next time I’ll for sure add it and I can’t wait to try the basil vinaigrette on a pasta salad. ☺️
Yay! Glad you liked it. The basil vinaigrette is the BEST and good to have around!
This summer salad looks wonderful! But, I have to say that the basil vinaigrette is what’s sealing the deal for me right now!
We just planted a huge herb garden and I cannot wait to put the basil to use and give it a try!
Thanks!
You are going to LOVE the basil vinaigrette. It is good on just about everything.
What’s a good substitute for the Israeli couscous
You can use quinoa, farro, or a small pasta. You could also leave it out. The salad will still be good!
Looks great! I plan on using Sardinian couscous and fresh mozzarella possibly marinated in the basil dressing.
Super gorgeous summer salad!
Wonderful creative way to welcome Summer with this super salad. Love your posts. Your boys are getting so big and are adorable.
Some another great recipe I have found here! Thanks a lot for providing those tasty stuff to me and all other readers, you’re doing terrific job!
This salad is amazing! My whole family (kids and all) loved it. We marinaded shrimp in some of the dressing and grilled it and added it to the salad…soooo good!
So glad you liked the salad!
Could you please tell me what are the pepitas?!
I will be making this salad fot a partu tonight. Cant wait to try it!!
Pepitas are pumpkin seeds, the green ones. You can find them in the bulk bin section of the grocery store or by the nuts. If you can’t find them slivered almonds would be good too!
Could you please tell me ehatvate pepitas?!
This salad was delicious. I will definitely make this again. Oh and the basil Vinaigrette dressing, a definite keeper. The only thing I added was some grilled marinated chicken that I chopped and added on the side.
Glad you liked it!
Looks beautiful and tastes great. Easy to make. Used farro. This recipe is a keeper!
I thought you were selling the vinaigrette a little too hard, but I was wrong. The salad is delicious (I subbed feta because I had some) and the vinaigrette took it over the top. Thanks for this great recipe.
Ha! It is the best:)
Made this salad and the basil vinaigrette dressing for a dinner party last night and it was super easy and super yummy. The vinaigrette especially upped the salad game and made the entire kitchen smell amazing. We also dipped baguette bread into the dressing. Will def make this again.
I’m excited to try this recipe. It sounds delicious. I was just wondering how much of the dried couscous makes a cup of cooked? Do you usually just make extra and keep it for another recipe?
This salad was incredible. We have made it all summer long and no one has gotten tired of it. Actually my family asks for it once a week. Absolutely love the freshness of the dressing.
Great Salad! I didn’t have an avocado on hand, so made it without. Still tasted great!
I make this often and love it
I just noticed that it doesn’t say anything about cooking the corn but we always have
Are we supposed to?
My new favorite salad! I eat this salad weekly…adjusting to whatever I have on hand. I have added in roasted corn, pine nuts, pecans, slivered almonds as well. I think you could put pretty much anything in this salad as the dressing is so special it would be hard to mess it up!
It’s so good!