It’s that time of year!!! Berry season! As soon as May starts, I’m about ready to throw strawberries in anything and everything. From my morning breakfast parfait to my smoothies to my strawberry spinach salad with strawberry balsamic dressing!
This strawberry spinach salad with strawberry balsamic dressing is the epitome of summer! We’re talking fresh spinach, juicy strawberries, slivered almonds, creamy avocado, sliced red onion, and sweet dried blueberries.
This salad is delicious as is and makes a beautiful first course to your main meal. However, if you would like to serve this salad as your entree, I recommend adding some protein to fill you up! Grilled salmon or chicken would be a great addition, as would tofu for my vegan friends.
What Dressing to Use With Strawberry Spinach Salad
We’re using strawberries in two ways here, in the salad itself and in this tasty strawberry balsamic dressing. I won’t lie to you guys… the strawberry balsamic dressing kind of makes the salad.
However, other salad dressings that would go well with this spinach strawberry salad aren champagne vinaigrette, balsamic vinaigrette, poppyseed dressing, or even a green goddess dressing.
What Dried Fruits to Use on Strawberry Salad
In this strawberry spinach salad recipe, we’re using dried blueberries. Typically, dried cranberries are common in salads, but since it’s summer I wanted to use another type of dried berry in this salad.
The dried blueberry definitely drives this strawberry salad into summer mode! If you can’t find dried blueberries, feel free to use dried cranberries instead!
Toppings for Spinach Salad
Raw Onion
I never thought I’d be a raw onion in a salad kind of girl… but it’s totally perfect in this salad. The bite from the red onion just works so well with the sweetness from the strawberries.
If you’re not a raw onion in salad kind of person, I get it – but really give it a try! You might surprise yourself!
Avocado
A salad isn’t a salad without avocado if you ask me. Super creamy and delicious and takes the salad to the next level.
Especially since this is a dairy-free and vegan salad without creamy cheese, the avocado really brings that velvety texture that is missing without cheese.
You can dice it, cube, it, roll it into avocado roses. Whatever makes you feel fanciest, friends!
Nuts
I used slivered almonds in this recipe, but other nuts would be equally as delicious. I love the texture from the slivered almonds because they are so crunchy and light when slivered.
How to Make Strawberry Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing
Okay, okay. Let’s get into this strawberry balsamic salad dressing I can’t stop thinking about! It’s sweet, tart, savory, sour, bright, fresh.
All the good stuff! You would think with strawberries being the base of the salad dressing that it would just be cloyingly sweet, but oh no. The exact opposite.
The sweetness of the berries is balanced so well with the balsamic vinegar. And my secret ingredient for making a majority of my salad dressings just makes all the difference in the flavor department…. stone ground mustard!
I’m not talking about mustard powder, but instead the wet stuff. You can use dijon mustard if that’s what you have on hand, it will still provide a great flavor that compliments the strawberries and balsamic very nicely.
Strawberry Spinach Salad with Strawberry Balsamic Dressing
You’ll love how simple this strawberry spinach salad with strawberry balsamic dressing is to make. It’s ready in under 20 minutes and is full of flavor.
It’s gluten-free, dairy-free and has a vegan friendly option for the salad dressing, making it a great option for a potluck or summer gathering. Summer salads never tasted so good!
5 from 1 vote
Strawberry Spinach Salad with Strawberry Balsamic Dressing
This strawberry spinach salad with strawberry balsamic dressing is gluten-free, dairy-free and vegan and so perfect for summer entertaining! So easy to prepare and so full of flavor, you will be making this summer salad all season long!
**Use the toggle button above to turn the instruction photos on and off!
Instructions
Add strawberries, avocado oil, balsamic vinegar, honey (or maple syrup), mustard, salt and pepper to a food processor. Process for 1-2 minutes, until smooth. Set aside.
Add spinach, strawberries, avocado, onion, dried blueberries and slivered almonds to a bowl. Toss together. Either toss with salad dressing or serve the dressing on the side.
I'm Megan: a gluten-free food blogger from Chicago and lover of all things food, showing you gluten-free can be easy and delicious, too. Let's make gluten-free stress free together!
2 Comments
Definitely a yum! I brought the ingredients in separate containers for an office “picnic” meeting, and tossed it there, with dressing on the side. A half recipe was perfect for the three of us in our meeting. One little change I had to make worked just fine. I forgot the dried blueberries at Trader Joe’s, and so I substituted Harry and David dried mixed dried fruit, which I had chopped into currant-sized bites. I’d been wondering how I should use those! The slivered almonds gave it lots of crunch. Since I made a half recipe for lunch, my husband and I are sharing the second half tonight. I’ll be back to check out other recipes from Megan!
Definitely a yum! I brought the ingredients in separate containers for an office “picnic” meeting, and tossed it there, with dressing on the side. A half recipe was perfect for the three of us in our meeting. One little change I had to make worked just fine. I forgot the dried blueberries at Trader Joe’s, and so I substituted Harry and David dried mixed dried fruit, which I had chopped into currant-sized bites. I’d been wondering how I should use those! The slivered almonds gave it lots of crunch. Since I made a half recipe for lunch, my husband and I are sharing the second half tonight. I’ll be back to check out other recipes from Megan!
Thanks so much, Mary!!