This Strawberry Spinach Salad is the perfect side dish for family dinner, a backyard barbecue, or a healthy lunch option. With just a handful of ingredients this healthy and refreshing salad comes together in no time.
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Fresh ripe strawberries, rich baby spinach, and feta cheese topped with balsamic dressing. This light and refreshing salad is so easy to make, but it’s always a crowd pleaser.
What Goes In Strawberry Spinach Salad? (Besides The Obvious)
There are so many ways to make this salad, but I like to keep it simple with just four basic ingredients. Of course, you can customize it I’ll include some variations you might want to try at home.
- Strawberries – Fresh, juicy strawberries are what makes this such an amazing salad. If they’re not quite ripe the salad will still be good, but you really want strawberries that are ripe and bursting with flavor.
- Spinach – I prefer to use baby spinach because it has a more mild and slightly sweet taste.
- Red Onion - Any type onion will do but I find red onions work best here.
- Feta cheese
- Balsamic dressing – Homemade dressing is always an option, but we typically just use a bottle from the grocery store.
- Nuts - Optional, but I like to add some sliced almonds or candied walnuts to give the salad a little crunch.
What’s great about this salad (besides the fact that it’s delicious!) is that it’s so easy to put together. The only cutting involved is the strawberries. For everything else you’re just tossing it all in a bowl and mixing it up. Perfect for a healthy snack or busy weeknight side dish.
Serving Tips And Variations
You can prep everything and put it together a few hours in advance and leave it in the fridge, but don’t add the dressing until right before you serve it or it will get all soggy.
It’s better to dress only what you need and leave the rest undressed. You can transfer any leftovers into an airtight container and keep it in the fridge for up to 4 days.
By itself, this is one of the best salads you’ll ever taste. But if you’re feeling creative there are numerous variations to try.
Feta is my “go to” cheese for this salad because it pairs so perfectly with the other flavors. But if feta just isn’t your thing try either blue cheese or goat cheese instead.
The same goes for the dressing. If you’re not into balsamic, a light Italian, Greek, or poppy seed dressing will also work nicely. I’d also recommend a raspberry vinaigrette or a thicker balsamic glaze.
By itself, this strawberry and spinach salad is surprisingly filling. But try adding some grilled or breaded chicken cutlets sliced into strips.
Want a little extra crunchiness? Just toss in a handful of croutons, toasted almonds, pecans, or candied walnuts.
I often make this salad as a side with grilled chicken, but it’s so versatile you can pair it with just about anything from mac and cheese to chicken parmesan
And if you decide to serve it at a backyard barbecue, make plenty of extra because I promise everyone will love it!
Strawberry Spinach Salad
Ingredients
- 16 ounces strawberries
- 4 cups baby spinach
- 3 ounces feta
- ½ cup balsamic dressing
- ¼ cup red onion sliced thin
- ¼ cup sliced almonds or candied walnuts optional
Instructions
- Rinse the spinach and toss in a serving bowl.
- Trim the slice the strawberries into quarters and add to the bowl.
- Sprinkle feta cheese on top of the spinach and strawberries.
- Add the balsamic dressing and toss the salad.
Notes
- Add some crunch by tossing in some sliced almonds or candied walnuts.
- Try swapping out the dressing for a balsamic glaze to get a different texture.
- Add some strips of leftover chicken cutlets or grilled chicken to make this side dish into a full meal.
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