Side salads don’t need to be boring, but they also don’t need to be overly fussy and complicated to make. This bright and crisp salad with both spinach and arugula (aka rocket outside of the USA) marries both of those things – it’s an impressive side that only takes a few minutes to throw together.
Yes, there’s an element of making a candied nut, but it is so simple and quick that you’ll likely take this technique and add it to all of your salads in the future. And segmenting an orange may seem a little bit fastidious, however, it only takes a couple of minutes and it adds a nice bright acidity to this lovely crunchy salad.
All tossed in a light vinaigrette (I recommend using my maple lemon vinaigrette, my grapefruit dressing or even my pomegranate molasses dressing), this salad is soon to become a quick favourite no matter what you serve it with.

How to Make Arugula & Spinach Salad
We’ll start first by making our candied nuts, which is likely more complicated than it sounds and it will only take about 3 minutes of active time for you.
These are less involved than my spiced pecan recipe and are more suited to being used in a salad rather than as an individual snack.

First, preheat your oven to a low 160°C/320°F and line a small baking tray with parchment. Then, add a touch of maple syrup, a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of cayenne pepper to a small saucepan. Set it over medium heat and bring the mixture to a boil.
Add some pecans and cook for about 90 seconds to 2 minutes, or until the mixture is thickened and easily coats the pecans.

Scrape the pecans onto the baking sheet and then move to the oven for about 10 minutes, just to allow the coating to set more and stick to the pecans better.
Let the pecans cool before roughly chopping them.

Now, it’s time to assemble the salad! Add equal parts arugula and spinach to a large salad bowl. Then, add in some thinly sliced shallot and a bit of parmesan cheese that you’ve shaved into ribbons with a vegetable peeler.
Then, segment an orange. I call for a simple navel orange in this recipe, but go ahead and use something like a blood orange if it’s in season – it will be lovely here. It will even be good with grapefruit segments, just not as sweet.
To segment the orange, use a sharp paring knife to slice off the top and bottom of the orange. Stand it on the cutting board and slice off the peel in panels.

Then, use your knife to remove the individual segments from the orange, cut them into bite-sized pieces and add them to the salad bowl.
Finally, add your candied pecans to the bowl and grind in a generous amount of black pepper. Drizzle over the vinaigrette of your choice and toss to combine. Then, go ahead and serve immediately – I particularly like it alongside my mushroom galette.


Arugula & Spinach Salad with Orange & Parmesan
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
- 50 g (½ cup) pecans
- 60 g (2 cups) baby spinach
- 60 g (2 cups) arugula/rocket
- 20 g (¼ cup) parmesan cheese shaved with a vegetable peeler
- 1 orange cut into 2cm (½in) segments
- 1 shallot sliced
- 60 ml (¼ cup) citrus vinaigrette such as maple lemon or grapefruit
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 160°C/320°F. Line a small baking sheet with parchment. Add the maple syrup, olive oil, cayenne pepper and a pinch of salt to a small skillet. Set over medium-high heat and bring to a simmer. Add the pecans and cook, stirring to coat the pecans in the syrup, until the mixture is thickened and easily coats the nuts – about 2 minutes.
- Spread the nuts onto the parchment-lined baking sheet. Move to the oven and bake for about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before roughly chopping.
- Add the spinach, arugula/rocket, parmesan cheese, orange segments, shallot and candied pecans to a large salad bowl. Pour over the dressing along with a generous grind of black pepper. Toss to combine and serve.
Nutrition
Disclaimer: Nutritional information is automatically generated and provided as guidance only. Accuracy is not guaranteed.
This simple side salad is so easy to make and super impressive – it feels restaurant-quality while coming together quite quickly.
Are you after a great salad with arugula and spinach? Have questions about this recipe? Let me know in the comments!
