Strawberry Spinach Salad

This simple Strawberry Spinach Salad with walnuts is dressed in a balsamic vinaigrette for a light and healthy dish. Perfect for summer entertaining, this tasty salad can be served as a starter or side dish!

I love cooking with seasonal ingredients and the easiest way to incorporate fresh seasonal produce is to include it in a salad since they're perfect for providing a canvas to showcase the very best of each season.

So, when it comes to lightening and freshening up a summer salad, nothing compares to the vibrant flavors of fresh fruit. This time, I'm using fresh strawberries to make an easy and flavourful spinach strawberry walnut salad.

How to Make a Salad with Strawberries

All you need are a few simple ingredients to make this summery spinach and strawberry salad.

This salad tastes best when made with tender baby spinach and sweet juicy strawberries.

I like to top this spinach salad with crunchy toasted walnuts (almonds are also delicious), tangy and creamy goat cheese and a few slivers of red onion.

Dressed with a tasty homemade maple balsamic vinaigrette, this salad is simple yet special enough to make for company and special occasions.

Ingredients Overview:

• Fresh baby spinach: You can also use regular spinach as well or your favorite salad greens.
• Fresh Strawberries: You can also try this salad with fresh blueberries, blackberries or even pears.
• Red onion.
• Walnuts: Pecans or almonds are also good choices.
• Goat cheese: Feta cheese or blue cheese will work as well.

As is the case with most salads, there is enough flexibility in the ingredients to allow for variations based on your taste preferences or what you have available in your pantry and refrigerator. For instance, cucumber and avocado would also be delicious in this salad.

As you'll notice in the recipe card below, I add a touch of oil, maple syrup and a sprinkling of cayenne (for a little heat) to the walnuts before toasting them. This step isn't necessary but adds extra flavour to the nuts and makes the salad even tastier.

Tip: You could also use this recipe for Maple Spiced Walnuts to jazz up your nuts. You'll end up with extra nuts that you can serve as an appetizer or snack on while making the salad!

Strawberry Salad Balsamic Dressing

I love a good sweet and savoury salad dressing. To dress this spinach strawberry salad, I used a few simple ingredients.

Ingredients Overview:

• Extra-virgin olive oil: You could also use walnut oil or a combination of walnut and olive oil.
• Maple syrup: If you don't have any maple syrup for the dressing, honey is a good substitute.
• Good quality Balsamic vinegar.
• Salt and pepper.

You can make the dressing ahead of time and store it in a sealed jar in the refrigerator. Just make sure to take the dressing out of the refrigerator and allow it to come to room temperature before dressing the salad.

Serving Suggestions

This recipe will serve about 6 people as a side dish and has approximately 242 calories a serving.

You can turn this salad into a meal by adding a grilled chicken breast to it, like I did in this Greek Salad with Grilled Chicken, it's so delicious!

I really hope you have a chance to try this strawberry salad. I'm sure it will be on rotation along with this Watermelon and Feta Salad in my home this summer.

And if you like this salad, and want to elevate your salad game, be sure to check out this Blueberry Spinach Salad, not only does the salad include blueberries, the dressing is made with blueberries as well.

Enjoy!

More Summer Salads

• Lebanese Cucumber Yogurt Salad (Khyar Bi Laban)
• Fattoush Salad
• Mediterranean Pasta Salad
• Lebanese Tabbouleh
• White Bean and Tuna Salad
• Mediterranean Kale Salad

This post was originally published in June of 2018. It has been updated. Recipe remains unchanged.