Strawberry Spinach Salad

Add this Strawberry Vinaigrette Spinach Salad to your regular dinner rotation! With a homemade salad dressing that is the perfect balance of sweet and tangy, this is the perfect light salad.

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Strawberry Spinach Salad Recipe

Salads are still a new thing for me. I grew up really not eating anything wholesome and when I finally did learn to like salads a little, I always chose a Caesar salad. Then as things evolved even more for me, I started to enjoy spinach salads.

To this day, when given the choice, I'll choose a fresh spinach base for any salad. I like the flavor and the texture - all of my favorite salads have spinach in them. This spinach salad with mandarin oranges is so good!

It's hard to choose what makes this strawberry salad recipe just so good. Maybe it's the combination of textures, or maybe it's the balance of juicy strawberries and savory walnuts and goat cheese. But it could also be the perfectly tart strawberry vinaigrette!

I've learned that making my own dressing is the cherry on top to the perfect salad. This one uses a strawberry vinaigrette, but I use homemade ranch dressing on many salads!

Homemade dressing is better than store-bought because you can know exactly what is in it and it's also much fresher!

Why You'll Love this Recipe

This spinach strawberry salad just checks all of the boxes to make the perfect fresh salad. It's a fabulous summer salad too! Add it to your cook-out menu when you grill the perfect burgers and grilled squash.

• This is a great salad to serve a dinner party if you want something that is a little lighter. It's simple enough for family dinner too.
• A homemade dressing gives the best flavor to salads! This recipe is so fresh and tasty.
• Add some grilled chicken and you have a great lunch that is a little lighter and perfect for warmer months.

Ingredients

Here's a list of everything you'll need to grab at the grocery store to make this strawberry spinach salad recipe:

Strawberry Spinach Salad

• fresh spinach
• diced apple
• sliced strawberries
• chopped walnuts
• crumbled feta cheese
• strawberry vinaigrette

Homemade Strawberry Vinaigrette

• strawberries
• honey
• apple cider vinegar
• olive oil
• salt and pepper

Substitutions and Variations

Fresh lemon juice is a suitable 1:1 replacement for apple cider vinegar if you don't have it on hand. You can also substitute the extra virgin olive oil for avocado oil.

The fresh spinach base is delicious, but you can also mix in other salad greens like romaine lettuce, arugula greens, or butter lettuce.

This strawberry salad recipe calls for chopped walnuts, but you could replace or add more nuts. Crunchy pecans, chopped cashews, sunflower seeds, and sliced almonds would taste great. You could also transform regular walnuts into candied walnuts to add more sweetness to this strawberry spinach salad.

Add fresh herbs like cilantro, Italian parsley or basil to this simple salad. You could even put some fresh mint into the mix!

Sweet berries like blueberries and raspberries would pair wonderfully with sugary ripe strawberries. Feel free to add simple vegetables like cherry tomatoes or sliced cucumber.

Swap out the feta cheese for creamy goat cheese or tangy blue cheese if you prefer. You can also use a simple shredded white cheddar.

How to Make Strawberry Spinach Salad

Get your salad bowls ready because you're about to make the best salad with simple ingredients and just a few easy steps!

1. Slice the sweet strawberries into thin slices and dice the crunchy apples into chunks.
2. Using a large bowl, or individual salad bowls, and toss all of the salad ingredients together. Add the spinach first, then fruit, chopped walnuts, and crumbled creamy feta cheese. Don't add the dressing just yet!
3. Carefully toss the salad with tongs to incorporate all ingredients. If you're making this for later, stop here and cover and refrigerate the salad.
4. Right before serving, pour the dressing over the bowls of strawberry crunch salad.

How to Make Homemade Strawberry Vinaigrette

Combine the strawberries, honey, apple cider vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, black pepper and salt in a food processor. Or place the ingredients into a medium bowl and use an immersion blender (affiliate).

Place the dressing into an airtight container and store until ready to use, or pour it into a container that will be easy to use to drizzle over the salad.

How to Store Leftover Strawberry Spinach Salad

Do not store any salad that has dressing on it. The lettuce will wilt and won't remain crunchy.

However, salads are great for meal-prepping lunches for the week. You could even give this salad as a meal train recipe.

You can store spinach salad base in an airtight container with damp paper towels. It will last for a few days. Place leftover salad dressing in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

How to serve Strawberry Spinach Salad

This Strawberry Vinaigrette Spinach Salad works well alongside a basic protein and some veggies.

We love having it with peach balsamic chicken or pan seared chicken thighs, but it goes great with meats other than chicken, too.

It would be delicious alongside pan-seared apple pork tenderloin and sous vide beef tenderloin as well!

For an appetizer, pear goat cheese crostini would be amazing.

Tips for Success

• Wash your spinach in cold water to keep it crunchy and crispy!
• Serve spinach in cold bowls to maintain the perfect temperature until the last bite.
• Chop up some extra toppings and set them to the side. That way, if people want more fixings in their salad, they can easily add them!

FAQ

More Salad Recipes

• Lemon Orzo Pasta Salad
• Corn and Tomato Salad
• Easy Pasta Salad
• Creamy Christmas Fruit Salad

This blog post was originally published as a guest post for my friend Erin at The Speckled Palate when she had her first daughter. Both of our blogs and styles have evolved and grown since then, so this recipe needed a refresh! I also reworked the salad dressing for this recipe and love it even more now!