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This sun-dried tomato salad requires only a few key ingredients and is coated in sun-dried tomato oil for optimal flavor and minimal prep time. It's loaded with chickpeas, feta cheese and sun-dried tomatoes, making it a healthy, delicious, plant-based salad recipe.
A salad a day keeps you feeling young! Is that how the saying goes? I’m not sure, but I do know that this sun-dried tomato salad couldn’t be easier to whip up.
See the thing is, as much as I like fancy salads, there’s a good chance that I’m not going to make a salad at home if it involves a TON of ingredients. Salads are supposed to be simple, plus when I’m eating lunch at home I’m usually pretty lazy and don’t feel like taking time to prepare something extravagant. I have a feeling other people feel this same way, hence why so many people opt to order salads from restaurants or take out.
But, making homemade salad is usually cheaper and this salad recipe takes no more than five minutes to prep!
Why you'll love this salad
- It's meatless, so you know you're getting a fair share of vegetables
- Even though there's no meat, it uses chickpeas, so you're still getting a hefty dose of protein
- The "dressing" is made with sun-dried tomato oil, and it's SO good
Ingredient notes:
Arugula - I like how arugula pairs with the other ingredients in this salad, but of course you can use ANY greens (spinach, kale, mixed greens, etc.).
Sun-dried tomatoes - Make sure to buy sun-dried tomatoes in oil, because the "dressing" for this salad is the sun-dried tomato oil. You should be able to find a jar in the Italian food aisle at the grocery store, or of course, you can order some online.
Walnuts - can sub raw almonds
Feta cheese - can sub goat cheese or omit altogether
Step-by-step instructions
This salad is so easy I can hardly stand it. I think my favorite part about this tomato salad is that you don’t need dressing. Yes, really. The “dressing” for this salad recipe is the oil from the sun-dried tomato jar. As much as I want to be the person who whips up homemade salad dressing in my spare time, I’m not that person. I want easy, minimal ingredients, and using oil for dressing is just that.
Step 1: Massage the arugula. Start by coating the arugula with the sun-dried tomato oil. You can use your hands or kitchen tongs for this.
Step 2: Add the remaining ingredients. Pour the chickpeas, sun-dried tomatoes, walnuts, and feta cheese. Then if you want, you can add some burrata cheese and drizzle the entire salad with a bit of lemon juice.
FAQs and Tips
What are sun-dried tomatoes?
Sun-dried tomatoes are exactly what they sound like: tomatoes that have been dried out in the sun. Because of this, they lose most of their water content and appear to be wilted. But, this allows them to be sold in a jar with oil, which adds to the flavor of them.
- You may need to add more lemon juice depending on your personal preference.
- If you can't find sun-dried tomatoes in oil, simply use a high quality olive oil instead.
Other healthy salad recipes:
If you made this recipe, be sure to leave a star rating and comment below. Thanks!
Sun-Dried Tomato Salad
Ingredients
- 6 cups arugula
- 2-3 tbsp sun-dried tomato oil from jar
- 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes
- 1/2 cup chickpeas rinsed
- 1/3 cup feta cheese
- 2 tbsp walnuts
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 ball burrata cheese optional
- black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Place arugula in a large bowl, then drizzle the oil over top and use your hands or tongs to combine them.
- Next, add the remaining ingredients and stir to combine.
- Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
UPDATE NOTE: This post was originally published in February 2019. It was updated with new text and photos in July 2020.
