Name: Lemon Arugula Salad
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 10 min
Ingredients: 2 chicken tenders (cooked); 2 cups arugula; 2 tbsp shaved parmesan; 1 tbsp pomegranate seeds; 1 tbsp lemon vinaigrette

Some of you have been asking for more lunch ideas—specifically salad ideas—so your wish is my command! This lemon arugula salad is the perfect lunch recipe if you’re looking for something light—yet filling—for your afternoon meal.

Lemon arugula salad with chicken and parmesan shavings

I feel like I’ve been on a salad kick lately. Anyone else ever have that? I’ll have moments where I eat the same type of lunches for a while—whether that be new salads or my typical lunchbox meals—and once I’m sick of it, I’ll move on to something new. I’m sure I’ll be craving warmer foods like chili or warm lunch bowls as the weather gets colder. But for now, I’m going to enjoy this light and airy lemon arugula salad.

This lemon arugula salad will fill you

It may not seem like much, but trust me on this. Between the shaved parmesan and the fatty olive oil, you will feel full really fast as you eat this up. Which is why I recommend using real olive oil for this. Not extra-virgin olive oil, but the real thing. The extra fat in it is the ticket to feeling full after having such a light salad for lunch.

Lemon vinaigrette dressing being poured onto an arugula salad

Make the lemon vinaigrette right at home

The dressing used for this recipe, and the reason it’s called a “lemon arugula salad,” is a lemon vinaigrette. Not the easiest salad dressing to find on the shelves, but it seemed like the perfect fit for a salad like this. Every single food item of this recipe was chosen specifically because they would all pair very well with the taste of lemon.

Prep a bottle of lemon vinaigrette right at home using my recipe!

Cook chicken in advance

This salad will be much easier to throw together each day if the chicken is already cooked! This recipe will have you cooking 10 chicken tenders at the beginning of the week so the chicken is ready to chop up and throw on the salad when it’s time for lunch.

I recommend getting a bag of frozen chicken tenderloins. While the price varies in being cheaper or similar in price to fresh chicken, having frozen chicken means not worrying about the chicken ever going back! You can control when to cook and eat the chicken with no worries of dealing with expired chicken in the fridge.

You can buy a bag of frozen chicken right here!

Print Recipe

Lemon Arugula Salad

This simple five-ingredient salad is great for your lunch meal prep.

Prep Time5 mins

Cook Time10 mins

Course: Salad

Keyword: lunch, salad

Servings: 1 serving

Ingredients

2 chicken tenders cooked
2 cups arugula
2 tbsp shaved parmesan
1 tbsp pomegranate seeds
1 tbsp lemon vinaigrette

Instructions

Prep the chicken

Grab 10 chicken tenders for the full week of salads (I like to defrost the frozen bags)
Season the defrosted chicken with salt, pepper, and any seasoning of your choice (I like to use All-Purpose Seasoning)
Heat up a skillet on medium heat with some olive oil. Cook the chicken tenders until it starts browning on the outside and no longer pink on the inside (about 5 minutes each side)
Store in an airtight container in the fridge.

Prep the salad

Loosely measure out 2 cups of arugula (about 1-2 large handfuls)
Cut up the chicken breast into bite-sized pieces
Throw all of the ingredients together on a plate and enjoy!
To store for lunches, make sure the ingredients are stored separately. Mix altogether only when you are ready to eat—everything stays (and tastes) fresh that way!

Notes

You can make your own homemade lemon vianigrette using my personal recipe! Which, yes, is another 5-ingredient recipe of mine. How’d you guess?