Arugula Fennel Salad with Orange

This arugula fennel salad recipe is made with simple ingredients like fresh orange, fennel, and feta. It’s easy to make and feels fresh and bright.

Every time I make this salad, I fall in love with it again. The combination of shaved fennel, peppery arugula, and a simple orange vinaigrette is so good. It works as a weeknight side and is just as lovely for a special dinner.

The fennel sits in the vinaigrette for about 20 minutes, which softens it slightly and mellows the flavor. Then you toss in plenty of baby arugula and a handful of feta. It’s delightful. For more see this shaved fennel salad with lemon.

Key Ingredients

• Fennel: Choose fennel bulbs that are mostly white with pale green tops. They should feel firm and heavy for their size, without browning or soft spots. For this recipe, we use the bulb (the bottom part) and some of the wispy green fennel fronds at the tops of the stalks. You can save the stalks for homemade broth if you’d like.
• Arugula: Use baby arugula for this salad. Its peppery flavor works so well with the fennel and sweet orange. Substitute other delicate baby lettuces.
• Feta: This is optional, but I love the briny kick from crumbled feta cheese. Goat cheese would be lovely, too.
• Orange Vinaigrette: We keep this really simple and combine the juice and zest of one orange with a bit of apple cider vinegar, salt, pepper, and olive oil. For a lemon version, see this lemon vinaigrette.

Find the full recipe with measurements below.

How to Make Our Fennel Salad

Tip 1: Make the orange vinaigrette. Fennel and orange are incredibly delicious together, so it was a no-brainer to make an orange dressing for this salad. It’s easy!

Whisk orange juice, orange zest, a bit of apple cider vinegar, salt, pepper, and olive oil together in a large salad bowl.

Tip 2: Marinate the shaved fennel. Add thinly sliced fennel to the bowl with the orange vinaigrette, then leave it to marinate for about 20 minutes. As it sits in the dressing, the fennel softens and becomes really delicious.

Tip 3: Add the arugula and feta last. Once your fennel is ready, gently fold in baby arugula and a generous amount of crumbled feta. Adding the arugula last makes sure it stays crisp for serving. If you saved any fennel fronds (the green wispy tops), you can add some to the salad, just as you would fresh dill.

Tip 4: How to make this salad ahead of time. Arugula is delicate, so it’s best to serve the salads made with arugula the day you make them. That said, you can make the marinated fennel (in the orange vinaigrette) up to 3 days in advance. Then, add the arugula and feta just before serving.

More Arugula Recipes

• Arugula Couscous Salad with Feta
• White Bean Salad with Prosciutto
• Our Favorite Farro Salad
• Creamy Goat Cheese Pasta

More Fennel Recipes

• Easy Braised Fennel
• Fennel Apple Salad
• Oven Roasted Vegetables