Spinach Strawberry Salad with Feta Cheese
A delicious and healthy Strawberry Spinach Salad is made with toasted pecans, feta cheese, blueberries, red onions and finished with flavorful homemade balsamic dressing. It is super quick and easy to make, perfect for lunch, lazy summer dinner or a potluck party.
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 360kcal
Ingredients
Salad:
- 10 oz baby spinach
- 5 oz strawberries hulled and sliced
- 3 oz blueberries about ½ cup
- 2 oz pecans halved or chopped
- 1 ½ oz sliced red onion about ¼ medium onion
- ½ cup feta cheese crumbled or diced small
Balsamic dressing:
- 5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
- 2 teaspoons honey
- ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard optional
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Pour some cold water into a small bowl or a cup and soak the red onion slices while you’re preparing the salad. That step will help get rid of the harsh oniony taste (you can skip this step if you don’t mind raw onion flavor).
- Toast the pecans in a dry skillet on medium low heat for a couple minutes, shaking often. They should brown on the edges but make sure not to toast them too long or they will get bitter.
- Prepare the dressing. Whisk all dressing ingredients in a small bowl or add to a mason jar, close the lid and shake vigorously. Set aside.
- Assemble the salad. In a large bowl add baby spinach, strawberries, blueberries, toasted pecans, feta cheese and red onions (drained on a sieve). Give the dressing another whisk (or shake) and add ⅔ of the dressing and toss to coat. Depending on how much dressing you like on your salad, add more, if needed.
- Serve and enjoy.
Notes
I usually only use baby spinach for this salad but you can also try baby arugula or arugula-spinach mix.
if you want your salad to look picture-perfect, don’t add all the berries, feta cheese and pecans right away. Save some aside, dress the salad to coat well and sprinkle them on top.
If you are not a fan of mustard in dressings, you can skip it.
Use crumbled goat cheese instead of feta, if you prefer.
The honey in the dressing should be the runny kind. You can also swap it for maple syrup, if you prefer.
Use pecan halves or chopped pecans. I like to use the halves, toast them, cool slightly and then chop.
Nutrition
Calories: 360kcal | Carbohydrates: 15g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 32g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 19g | Cholesterol: 17mg | Sodium: 279mg | Potassium: 557mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 6749IU | Vitamin C: 44mg | Calcium: 183mg | Iron: 3mg