You won’t be able to get enough of this Vegan Arugula Salad with Lime Maple Vinaigrette, grilled toppings, candied pecans, and more! So flavorful and perfect for those summer vibes!
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We’ll dispel every myth you think about salads with one bite of this vegan arugula salad with lime maple vinaigrette.
This salad is bursting with flavor that hits all the sweet, savory, umami notes that you can handle in every single bite. You will love the variation between soft and crunchiness.
Then to top everything off the lime maple vinaigrette ties it all together to make you absolutely sing with joy.
In summary, this is a must try recipe that won’t disappoint.
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Why You’ll Love This Dish
- Simple – Very simple to make and yield high results from your efforts
- Flavorful – While this is a salad, the flavor you get from the ingredients will shock you!
- Allergy Friendly – this is a great recipe for of friends with top 9 allergies. We can easily make one swap to be top 9 free!
🥘Recipe Ingredients
Gather your ingredients!
- Leafy greens – we are using a combo of arugula and spinach for this salad. The peppery flavor of the arugula is balanced nicely with the spinach for a variation
- Fruit and vegetables – We are using a combo of mango, corn, berries, avocado and cucumbers. This hits many flavor palettes but also textures. Grilling the mango and corn while leaving the others fresh, gives another element that’s missing in many recipes.
- Pecans – This nut is crunchy will still having a softness that other nuts don’t have. It pairs perfectly with these ingredients
- Lime Maple Vinaigrette – this recipe is simple and uses mostly household staples while having a huge boast of flavor when added to this salad
See my recipe card below for a complete list of the ingredients with measurements.
Substitutions and Variations:
- Leafy greens – Feel free to use a different combination of greens that you love. Maybe romaine hearts or spring mix.
- Fruit and vegetables – Peaches, strawberries, raspberries, carrots and more are all examples of other fruits and vegetables that would pair nicely with this.
- Pecans – If you need this to be nut free, try sunflower seeds instead. Otherwise, try walnuts if you need a pecan replacement.
- Lime Maple Vinaigrette – while we love what the maple and lime do to heighten this recipe, feel free to use your favorite dressing
- Stretch this meal – Want to make high protein? Add white beans, tofu, or chickpeas to this salad. Just looking for more? Try other vegetables, croutons or get creative!
Step by Step Instructions for vegan arugula salad with lime maple vinaigrette:
Step 1. In a small saucepan, add pecans, curry powder, salt, maple syrup. Saute for 3-4 minutes. Add vegan butter. Stir and cooking for another 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat.
Step 2. While that’s cooking, slice mango. Then grill, careful not to burn, at 325 degrees F. Mango flip after 30-45 seconds. Corn, grill for 1-2 minutes per side.
After you have these you can arrange the salad as desired.
Recipe FAQs:
You can sub the pecans for sunflower seeds. The taste will alter, but if you are used to sunflower seeds and want that crunch this is a great option.
This dish is best served immediately, however, it is still edible the next day. To preserve between one day, we’d recommend not adding the dressing or any of the toppings until you are ready to eat.
Yes, if you are looking for a larger salad option, you may double the recipe.
No, we don’t recommend freezing this dish.
Other Vegan Salad Recipes to Consider:
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Vegan Arugula Salad with Lime Maple Vinaigrette
Ingredients
For the Lime Maple Vinaigrette
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoon maple syrup
- 2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 1 lime, zested and juiced
- ¼ tsp salt, more or less to taste
For the Candied Curry Pecans
- ½ cup pecans
- 4 teaspoon maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon curry powder
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon vegan butter
For the Salad
- 3 ears corn, shucked
- 2 mangoes, peeled and sliced
- 3 cups baby arugula
- 2 cups baby spinach
- 3 mini cucumbers, sliced
- 1 ripe avocado, sliced
- ¾ cup fresh blackberries
- ¾ cup fresh blueberries
Optional
- lime wedges
- vegan feta
Instructions
- In a jar, add all the ingredients for the vinaigrette. Add lid and shake well. Place in fridge until ready to use.
- Heat grill to 325 degrees F. Add and grill corn for 1-2 minutes per side. Add mango slices and grill for 30-45 seconds, flip and repeat. Careful not to burn. Remove. When safe to touch, remove corn kernels from the cob.
- While grilling, to a small pot over medium heat, add pecans, maple syrup, curry powder, and salt. Stir together. Let cook for 3-4 minutes or until fragrant. Add butter and stir until melted. Let cook for 1-2 minutes.
- In a large bowl or platter dish, add arugula and spinach leaves and toss to combo. Top with remaining ingredients, grilled corn and mango, candied curry pecans, and dressing. Add optional toppings if desired. Serve.
Andrew and Larisha,
You two are adorable and this salad was amazing! Made it tonight as a test dish and can’t wait to share with my family!
Thank you!
thank you so much, glad you enjoyed!
Amazing salad! So many flavors that made my taste buds explode!
So happy you loved it!
For me, I love a healthy, busy salad and it has to be versatile. This salad . . . checked all my boxes. I prepared everything last night (4.16.25). Before heading out to the office this morning (4.17.25) I packed the sliced avocados, feta and dressing to add once I was ready to have lunch. I was blown away by how great the flavors married together from the fruit to the veggies to the caramelized pecans to the dressing. 10/10. The presentation is so beautiful that it will impress your guests. This salad will now be in my monthly rotation. I look forward to trying your other recipes.
I’m so happy that you loved everything together. You’d love this one too I think: https://makeitdairyfree.com/mediterranean-chickpea-salad/
You had me at Mango!! 😄 Made this tonight with the red leaf lettuce I had. IT. WAS. SO. GOOD. The pecan added a nice spice but next time I’ll make sure to have some arugala too. Thank you!
so happy you loved it!
Made this last night and called it the Last Burst of Summer Salad. Served it with grilled salmon seasoned with curry powder, salt and pepper. Love that it’s pretty, and full of interesting flavors and textures. We cleaned our plates!
Happy you enjoyed our salad recipe!
Best salad I’ve ever had, hands down–what does hands down mean anyway … huh.
Just an insane burst of flavor with every bite. And it was easy to make.
Couldn’t be happier that I found these two as I love their energy and the way Andrew explains and demonstrates each dish is perfect. They are masters at what they do
Can’t wait for pomegranate season to add some arils, although I’m hesitant as it is perfect as it is– I just love pomegranates. When I get home from a trip I’m making their spaghetti sauce … very excited. They make eating vegan easy so huge thank you to you both.
Thank you so much, we truly appreciate your kind words. As I put pomegranates would be amazing in this
Amazingly scrumptious salad! I‘ve been vegan for 8 years now and am always looking for new and delicious recipes, which are simple and not too time-consuming and tedious. Since finding this recipe I am now a faithful follower of „thenarddogcooks“ and this website. Thank you for sharing your culinary with the world! 🙂
So happy that you enjoyed it Peter!