Spinach Salad with Strawberries is vibrant and scrumptious, enhanced by toasted pecans, creamy feta, and a tremendous do-it-yourself blush wine French dressing!
For extra berry-loaded salads and dressings, you will additionally love Raspberry French dressing, bursting-with-blueberries Mind-Wholesome Salad, or Strawberry Goat Cheese Salad with Lemon French dressing!
Ten years in the past as we speak, I hit *publish* on my first ever put up at FiveHeartHome.com. And would you imagine that it was this Spinach Salad with Strawberries recipe? With one measly photograph and an anecdote about my then-3-year-old, I launched a weblog that I by no means imagined would turn into my ardour and my livelihood over the subsequent decade.
In order I revamp and republish this 10-year-old put up as we speak, thanks to these of you who’ve joined me on this journey, whether or not you are a long-time reader otherwise you’ve hopped over for the primary time simply now through a recipe search. Meals bloggers do not open up our ol’ weblog put up intros with private tales anymore nowadays — so forgive my transgression this one time — however one factor that hasn’t modified prior to now ten years is that YOU are those who make this job attainable for a work-at-home mother who made up a job on the web in order that she may have a versatile schedule to lift her youngsters. 🙂
So thanks once more…really. My gratitude is infinite.
I do not learn about you, however my palate adjustments with the seasons. Summertime has me gravitating in the direction of recipes which can be on the lighter facet, fast and simple to organize, and raring to reap the benefits of in-season produce. So together with homegrown tomatoes and dinners from the grill and corn on the cob and freshly churned peach ice cream, nothing screams summer season like salads…and particularly, Spinach Salad with Strawberries!
In actual fact, this Spinach Salad with Strawberries, with its diversified flavors and textures, might be my very favourite salad, whether or not I am consuming it in January or June. The juicy strawberries are a pleasant counterbalance to the crisp spinach, the feta cheese provides a creamy richness, and the toasted pecans provide the right quantity of crunch. And do not even get me began on the fabulous dressing!
Elements
For a primary Spinach Salad with Strawberries, you will want simply 4 easy components…and I wager you may already guess two of them! 😉
- Spinach. This recipe is fabulous with contemporary child spinach, however it will after all work with different tender salad greens, akin to child romaine, butter lettuce, or spring combine.
- Strawberries. Recent, completely ripe, and sliced. That being stated, raspberries, blackberries, and/or blueberries would all be yummy on this salad.
- Pecans. I like them chopped, however you may use pecan halves in the event you favor. Both manner, I extremely advocate toasting them for deeper taste and further crunch. You might additionally substitute different nuts, akin to walnuts, slivered almonds, or pistachios, and even candied nuts in the event you do not thoughts your salad leaning on the sweeter facet.
- Feta. You should buy it already crumbled or crumble a log of feta your self. Goat cheese could be an incredible various, or in the event you do not thoughts a stronger, extra pungent taste, a light blue cheese would work as nicely.
Non-compulsory Further Elements
As a lot as I get pleasure from my Spinach Salad with Strawberries to be plain and easy, it’s possible you’ll end up eager to department out. So if that is the case, listed below are just a few concepts for including additional components:
- Thinly sliced crimson onions.
- Cubes of creamy avocado.
- Segments of clementines or mandarin oranges.
What else would you add???
The way to Make Spinach Salad with Strawberries
(The under pictures are meant to be useful, however please seek advice from the recipe card on the backside of this put up for FULL DIRECTIONS.)
It is fairly darn sophisticated. Are y’all prepared?
- Toast your pecans by spreading them out on a rimmed sheet pan and baking for a couple of minutes till calmly toasted. Enable to chill utterly.
- Place the child spinach in a bowl.
- Layer the sliced strawberries on prime.
- Layer the toasted and cooled pecans on prime of the strawberries.
- Sprinkle the crumbled feta on prime of the pecans.
- Simply earlier than serving, drizzle with salad dressing and toss to coat!
Strawberry Spinach Salad Dressing
The buddy who first shared this recipe with me instructed me to decorate the salad with the ever-popular Brianna’s Blush Wine French dressing. And that I did, for years and years. So that could be a nice, ready-made alternative for a salad dressing once you make this recipe.
Nevertheless, sooner or later, as I used to be throwing this Spinach Salad with Strawberries collectively for a celebration, I noticed that I solely had a bit little bit of Brianna’s left within the fridge and no new bottle within the pantry like I had assumed. There wasn’t time to run to the shop, so I perused the ingredient record on the again of my almost-empty bottle and got here up with my very own model of Blush Wine French dressing.
And let me inform you, I believe it is higher! I used to be capable of in the reduction of on the sugar (which Brianna’s lists as its first ingredient) whereas nonetheless sustaining a pleasantly (however not cloyingly) candy finish outcome, and including a splash of lemon juice appeared to brighten up the general taste.
Or — if Blush Wine French dressing is not your factor — different strawberry spinach salad dressing choices may embody a candy and creamy Poppy Seed Dressing or a basic Balsamic French dressing!
Events to Take pleasure in Spinach Salad with Strawberries
Spinach Salad with Strawberries is delicious, stunning, and versatile sufficient to get pleasure from on a wide range of events.
Serve it to firm at a luncheon, a cocktail party, or a BBQ.
Contribute it to a potluck.
Add some sliced rooster breasts on prime and revel in it for a weekday lunch or as a light-weight supper.
This salad is pleasant through the spring and summer season, when berries are at their freshest and juiciest, however it’s fabulous year-round in the event you’re fortunate sufficient to have entry to strawberries.
Certainly, this Spinach Salad with Strawberries recipe could also be be celebrating its tenth weblog birthday as we speak…however its deliciousness is timeless. 🙂
Extra Summer season Salads
Stop your display from going darkish
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Preheat oven to 350°. Unfold pecans on sheet pan and bake for 7 to 10 minutes or till calmly toasted, watching rigorously to stop burning. Enable to chill and coarsely chop.
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In a big salad bowl, layer the spinach, strawberries, pecans, and feta cheese. Simply earlier than serving, costume with Blush Wine French dressing and toss till salad components are evenly coated.
- Toasting the pecans takes just a few additional minutes, however it actually is value it because it brings out rather more taste and crunch.
- Be happy to make substitutions to this base recipe as you see match:
- Different child greens for the spinach, akin to child romaine, butter lettuce, or arugula.
- Different berries for the strawberries, akin to raspberries, blueberries, or blackberries.
- Different nuts for the pecans, akin to slivered almonds, pistachios, or chopped walnuts.
- Different comfortable crumbled cheese for the feta, akin to goat cheese or Gorgonzola.
- Additions akin to thinly-sliced crimson onions, cubed avocado chunks, or mandarin orange segments.
- You could make your individual Blush Wine French dressing (extremely advisable!) or use the store-bought Brianna’s model of it. Different dressings choices may very well be poppy seed dressing or balsamic French dressing.
- Solely use as a lot French dressing as wanted to decorate the salad. You’ll have some leftover.
Energy: 254kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 5g | Fats: 22g | Saturated Fats: 4g | Ldl cholesterol: 13mg | Sodium: 339mg | Potassium: 384mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 4061IU | Vitamin C: 46mg | Calcium: 130mg | Iron: 2mg
Initially printed on June 1, 2013, and up to date on January 21, 2021, and June 1, 2023. And since I am sentimental, authentic 10-year-old photograph under from the primary recipe put up ever printed to this weblog… :)
