The first time we tasted crispy shallots in a salad, we knew we’d hit the jackpot. These crunchy, salty bits of deliciousness have become one of our favorite ways to impress dinner guests (even the salad non-believers).
Crispy shallots first debuted in our Roasted Squash Salad recipe and made their second appearance in our recipe for Roasted Stuffed Butternut Squash.
And now they’re back in this simple 30-minute, 8-ingredient salad recipe. Let’s do this!
Sliced shallots are coated in brown rice flour, salt, and pepper, and then sautéed in a little oil until lightly browned and perfectly crispy.
They are paired with a slightly sweet, lemony dressing that comes together in just 5 minutes.
A sprinkle of cashew parmesan cheese adds a nice cheesy flavor and depth to this recipe.
Roasted garlic, crispy shallots, cashew-based parmesan cheese, and lemon vinaigrette complement each other and balance out the bite of the arugula. And for an extra special touch, add macadamia nut cheese (optional, but delicious!).
We hope you’ll love this salad as much as we do! It’s:
Crunchy
Savory
Fresh
Flavorful
Impressive
Super delicious
& Excellent for entertaining!
If you’re into salads, be sure to check out our Roasted Squash Salad With Crispy Shallot and Balsamic Reduction, Abundance Kale Salad With Savory Dressing, Roasted Vegetable Salad With Chimichurri, Curry Roasted Fennel Salad with Rosemary Tahini Dressing, and Curried Cauliflower, Grape, and Lentil Salad.
If you try this recipe, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag a photo #minimalistbaker on Instagram. Cheers, friends!
Lemony Arugula Salad with Crispy Shallot
Ingredients
GARLIC
- 6 cloves garlic (or sub half the amount fresh/raw, minced)
- Olive oil
SHALLOT
- 2 medium shallots (thinly sliced)
- 3 Tbsp brown rice flour
- 1/8 tsp each sea salt and black pepper
- ~2 Tbsp olive oil or avocado oil (for cooking — if avoiding oil, omit and use a non-stick pan)
SALAD
- 1/4 cup Macadamia Nut Cheese (or sub store-bought soft vegan cheese)
- 6 cups arugula (or other green of choice)
- 3 Tbsp Cashew Parmesan Cheese (optional)
DRESSING
Instructions
- To roast the garlic, peel apart garlic cloves but leave the skin on. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 C). Add garlic cloves to a baking sheet. Drizzle garlic with a bit of olive oil. Bake for about 20 minutes or until the garlic is fragrant and slightly browned. Remove from oven and set aside.
- In the meantime, add sliced shallots to a small bowl with brown rice flour, salt, and pepper, and toss to coat. Heat a medium (preferably cast iron) skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add oil and floured shallots and sauté, stirring occasionally, until lightly golden brown and crispy — approximately 5 minutes. Set aside in pan.
- In the meantime, if not using store-bought soft vegan "cheese," make your own. Add macadamia nuts to a food processor or a high-speed blender along with lemon juice, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, sea salt, and lesser amount of water (1/4 cup or 60 ml as original recipe is written // adjust if altering batch size). Mix/blend, scraping down sides as needed. Then add more water 1 Tbsp (15 ml) at a time until a thick paste forms. I find I get the best texture results with a food processor, but in a pinch, a blender can work too. It just generally requires more scraping and more liquid.
- Next, prepare dressing by adding all ingredients to a mixing bowl (or small blender) and whisking (or blending) to combine. Taste and adjust flavor as needed, adding more maple syrup for sweetness, lemon for acidity, or salt or pepper to taste. Set aside.
- Assemble salad by adding greens to a serving bowl or platter and topping with roasted garlic cloves (skins removed), crispy shallots, macadamia nut cheese, and cashew parmesan cheese (optional).
- Add dressing to the salad and toss to coat, or serve on the side. Best when fresh. Store salad separate from dressing if keeping for later use. Will keep in the refrigerator up to 2-3 days. Store dressing in the refrigerator 3-4 days. The oil can harden when cold, so let dressing set out for a few minutes to warm and shake well to reincorporate before serving leftovers.
Sylvos says
I love this salad so much, it always has everyone talking. But the only critique I will give it is it’s enough for only one person. This is one serving. I made it for my family of four on the side and we were all still hungry after we ate everything. There is not enough substantial protein in it and usually when we eat salads we eat 4-6 cups each 😂 so I will double or quadruple it when I make it again
We’re so glad you enjoy it. Thanks so much for sharing, Sylvos!
Tania Ammannati says
Absolutely love the salad! I’ve made it several times. I’m not vegetarian so I use goat cheese in place of the macadamia nut cheese and also since I am on a keto diet I used a combination of almond flour and coconut flour. DELICIOUS!!
Thank you so much for sharing
Amazing! Thanks so much for the lovely review and for sharing your modifications, Tania!
liz says
such an amazing salad that is flavorful yet not too complicated – pairs well with many things / different types of recipes! the recipe says that it takes 20 minutes, but note that making the dressing and the vegan parm are separate recipes (labeled as 5 mins each). even with that extra time factored in, 30 minutes is an aggressive time estimate for the entire recipe… it took us more like 45. maybe if you’re an absolutely wizard in the kitchen it could take 30?
We’re so glad you enjoy it, Liz! Thank you for sharing your experience! xo
Danelle says
I made this for my partner and she said she would get me to make this salad for her chef friends. It was a hit!
I doubled the amount of flour I added to the shallots and made sure to cook them on a high heat and they did brown and turn out nicely. I used all purpose flour. I also added some roasted carrots to put on top of the salad.
I made the cashew cheese but not the macadamia cheese. It was delicious.
I changed up the dressing and made a lemon basil vinaigrette as follows:
3 tablespoons fresh basil, sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
4 tablespoons parmesan cheese, grated
1-1/2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Would definitely make again. It was so delicious. Minimalist Baker never fails!
Whoop! We’re so glad to hear it! Thanks so much for the lovely review! xo
Nicol says
The salad itself was good, but the shallots ruined it :/
They came out as an awfully mushy texture?!?
We wonder if the pan may not have been hot enough? Or did you use something besides brown rice flour?
Linsey says
SO GOOD. Made this with dinner last night to pair with mashed potatoes (your recipe) and roasted veggies. I was a bit worried the lemony dressing would be too much with the strong taste of arugula, but somehow they manage to calm each other down for the perfect balance of flavor.
I did not add the cashew parm (not a huge fan of nooch) and left off the macadamia cheese simply because I didn’t want to spend more money from this week’s grocery budget :D but next time I will for sure. Also, I didn’t add any shallots to the dressing because my sweet husband already chopped up all of the shallots for frying. This was another hit that will be added in frequently!
Whoop! Thanks for sharing, Linsey! We love this one, too!
Valeria says
Any vegetables that can be added to this salad that pair well?
I think roasted carrots, broccolini, sweet potato, or cabbage would be nice!
Nicol Paresi says
The salad was fine until I added the shallots. The shallots never crisped up and then became even more soggy when added to salad. My boyfriend asked me if I added grits to it.
Hi Nicol, sorry to hear this happened! It sounds like either you needed a larger pan for cooking the shallots or they needed additional flour. They should definitely get crispy!
Nicol says
I made the crispy shallots for the curried lentil and cauliflower rice dish. They came out amazing. I realized I misread the instructions and added the flour/shallots/s&p all in the cast iron instead of tossing in a bowl first, which definitely was the cause for clumping and mushy texture.
JM says
Such a simple and delicious salad. I could eat it everyday! I used regular white flour for the shallots because it’s what I had in the pantry. Worked out well. The lemon vinaigrette was perfect.
Linda Mikhail says
Hi Dana,
Would whole wheat flour work in place of brown rice flour. I am not gluten free.
Making this for a special birthday Family Dinner and I can’t wait to try it!
Thank You!
Hmm, I think that might taste off. Do you have any other flours? Perhaps chickpea flour or white rice flour? Even cornstarch, all purpose flour, or arrowroot might work better.
Daniel says
I see a few replies saying to use all purpose flour and breadcrumbs as a substitute for brown rice flour. How much of each of those ingredients should we add if we are making 4 servings? This recipe looks delicious and I can’t wait to try it!
Hi Daniel- 3 Tbsp of either- same as the brown rice flour. Hope that helps!
Madi says
Soooo good! I probably could have cooked the shallots further, and found they got soggy quickly in the salad as I was eating it. But they still providing fantastic flavour! I used goat cheese as a replacement for both cheeses (as I am not vegan) so that sped up the process for me. Very quick and easy!
Already left a 5-star review on the vinaigrette as well! Perfect compliment to this salad!
Thanks for sharing!!
Vivian Thom says
Delicious! I had a huge bag of very spicy arugula from my local farmers market and the rest of the ingredients in this salad were the perfect compliment. I cooked the shallots just before tossing. They didn’t get really crispy but tasted delicious.
Glad you enjoyed this one, Vivian!
Vivian Thom says
Making this recipe for a dinner tonight, the macadamia cheese is amazing. I was wondering if the shallots are best made closer to serving time to stay crispy. Will they go soggy if made in advance? Thanks!
They are best when made fresh! Glad you enjoyed the nut cheese. Next time would you mind leaving rating with your review? It’s super helpful for us and other readers. Thanks!
Mandy says
Love! Love! Loveeeeed this! I’m really not big on salads… I typically prefer cooked veggies but when I saw this recipe I had to try it and thank goodness I did! My new fav for sure! I didn’t have macadamia nut cheese but I definitely want to try it with that next time.
Thanks so much for the lovely review, Mandy. We are so glad you enjoyed it! Next time, would you mind leaving a rating with your review? It’s super helpful for us and other readers. Thanks so much! xo
Mandy says
Whoops! I thought I clicked on that, I’ll make sure it’s included in the future :)
Kami Lee says
Made this recipe for friends. Used goat cheese. Simple and delicious!
Lovely! Thanks for sharing!
michelle says
Would almond flour or coconut flour be ok to use?
We don’t think they would work as well since they are more heavy. Tapioca or arrowroot might be better options- though we haven’t tried them and can’t say for certain. But if you give it a try, we would love to hear how it goes!
Bree says
Such a great side for Easter dinner!
Thanks, Bree!
The Fine Cuisine says
This was a real success. Will do it again!
Whoop! Thanks for sharing!
Cassie Autumn Tran says
Ah, arugula is the best for salads! Crispy shallots are honestly to die for too, but watch me add spoonfuls of nutritional yeast on this salad because it’s the freaking best ;)
Laurie says
I made this last night (after looking forward to it for days!) It was so good and a perfect complement to the vegan lasagna (recipe from some days before.) I made up the batch of macadamia nut cheese and used it for both. Such a great dinner
– comfort food deluxe!
Lovely! Thanks for sharing, Laurie!
Andrea says
This looks delicious!
Thanks, Andrea!!
SL says
Just made this and it was so tasty, loved the flavor the shallots added to my salad. I’m not a vegan, just a vegetarian so I tossed in a little parm. Only thing I noticed was in the directions you say to mix the flour, salt pepper and oil together and toss the shallots in that. It then says to heat the oil. I was following the directions like a zombie and wasn’t thinking about it but as soon as I tossed the oil with the flour I basically got a dough. I redid it when I realized the oil was meant for the pan obviously lol, but the directions stated that part wrong ( calling for the oil twice). I’ve made probably 30+ or more of your recipes, they are my favorite. Thank you for another deliciousness one!
Thanks for letting us know! The instructions have been updated. Happy cooking!
Jodi says
SO excited to try this!
And I’m really looking forward to the new content coming forward. I am so proud to support you both, and am inspired by your commitment to authenticity, kindness, and respect, in the way you handle your business and relate to people. I’m still in college, and you continue to be a role model for me for the type of person and platform I’d like to be and create. Thank you so much for continuing to bring your authentic and good selves to the world every day! I really admire you. (first-time commenter, long-time blog + cookbook reader & recipe-tester) Much love :)
Thanks so much for your kind comment, Jodi! xo
Kathryn Fitzgerald says
The crispy shallots sound amazing but do you really put whole pieces of roasted garlic in salad?
Nope! Just a suggestion for more flavor.
Hayley Morrin says
Crispy shallots sound sooo intriguing! I’m not GF so I don’t keep alternative flours around. Would regular all-purpose flour or breadcrumbs be a good substitute for the brown rice flour?
I think a blend of all purpose and bread crumbs would be great!
Alison Harding-Shogilev says
Keen to try this recipe and wondering if I can substitute the brown rice flour with other kinds of flour?
Thanks
If not gluten-free, try a blend of all purpose flour and bread crumbs!
Sandy Halliday says
The lemony vinaigrette does not have the exact measurements in your recipe. Why indicate everything else except the dressing?
Hi Sandy, if you click the link for the Lemony Vinaigrette, you will find the exact measurements. Hope that helps!
Sarah | Well and Full says
I always buy those bags of crispy onion salad toppers at the grocery store, but I need to try making some crispy shallots at home! :)