Strawberries, spinach, pecans, and blue cheese, all drizzled in an addictive balsamic dressing, this strawberry salad is as beautiful as it is delicious. Perfect for parties or meal prep. Psst–it’s a nutrient powerhouse too!
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What I Love About This Strawberry Salad
This salad is truly better than most. The key is the balsamic dressing, it’s our family’s dressing of choice (on basically every salad). We like to top it all off with chicken to create a delicious, well-rounded meal. Then there’s blue cheese… MWAH! And a little crunch from the pecan… OH, BABY!
- CRUNCH from the pecans
- SWEETNESS from the strawberries
- CREAMINESS from the blue cheese
- FRESHNESS from the spinach
Strawberry Spinach Salad Ingredient Notes (+ Options)
Here’s what you need to make this spinach strawberry salad, and some potential tweaks:
- The greens. Spinach is mild in flavor, soft, and slightly sweet. We also love mixed greens and/or arugula salad, odd I know, but it works. Skip Romaine and other grassy-tasting greens.
- The chicken is totally optional, but we love to make a strawberry salad with chicken for a more substantial meal.
- The nuts. Roasting the pecans will bring out their flavor and increase their crunch. Don’t skip!
- The cheese. Blue cheese is my fave here, but really, can you go wrong with cheese in a strawberry salad? Other options include goat cheese, feta, or manchego.
- The dressing. This strawberry salad dressing is a shallot balsamic vinegarette that we can’t live without–so make it as is, and adjust it to your liking after you’ve tried it.
Is This Strawberry Salad Healthy? Keto? Paleo?
This spinach and strawberry salad is as healthy as they come, from spinach to strawberries to pecans. It’s full of healthy fats and nutrients. Adding chicken makes it balanced as well.
- Keto/low carb: this is a great keto salad, with one modification: substitute allulose for honey.
- Paleo: skip the blue cheese and you’re good to go!
How to Make a Strawberry Salad
This strawberry salad recipe comes together so quickly and easily. It’s as simple as:
- Make the dressing, I like to do this in a salad shaker.
- Place salad ingredients together in a bowl.
- Drizzle dressing on top and toss to combine.
Storing Tips
This strawberry salad is perfect for meal prep if stored properly. To take full advantage of your leftovers, be sure to store the salad and dressing separately. I also like to stash the pecans on the side so they stay as crunchy as possible.
More Salad Recipes
- Greek Yogurt Chicken Salad
- Shaved Brussels Sprout Salad
- Cauliflower Potato Salad
- Green Bean Salad
- Pesto Chicken Salad
Strawberry Salad
Print Recipe Pin RecipeIngredients
Salad:
- 10 ounces Spinach
- 2 Cups Strawberries sliced into quarters
- 1/4 Cup Blue Cheese
- 1/4 Cup Pecans roasted + chopped (Note 1)
- 1 pound chicken breast cooked and sliced (Note 2)
Dressing:
- 1/4 cup Shallot minced (about 1 small)
- 2 Tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar
- 3 Tablespoons Sherry Vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- 1/4 Tablespoons Avocado Oil or another mild tasting oils
- 2 Tablespoons Honey or 3 tablespoons allulose (sugar free!) (Note 3)
- 1 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1/2 Teaspoon Black Pepper
Instructions
- Dressing. Add all dressing ingredients to a bottle with a lid. Secure the top and shake vigorously. (You can also whisk everything together in a small bowl) Set aside.
- Toss + Serve. Add salad ingredients to a bowl, then pour the dressing over the top. Toss, and serve immediately.
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Lindsey’s Tips
- To toast pecans, spread them on a baking sheet and bake in an oven preheated to 350 F for 6-9 minutes.
- Cooked chicken. This salad is delicious with rotisserie or leftover grilled/pan-seared chicken. If you’re cooking chicken specifically for this recipe, I suggest giving it a pan sear. To nail this, you’ll want to get a thinner piece of chicken. Sear in an oil-coated pan over medium-low for 9 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon of butter and lift the chicken so the butter gets between the breast and the pan — cook for an additional minute. Flip your chicken and be ready to watch carefully — we want the chicken to reach an internal temp of 155 F, which can take between 4-8 minutes, so check periodically. Pull the chicken from the pan, tent, and let it stand for 10 minutes. Check that the temp has raised to 165 F before slicing.
- Sweetener options: Use allulose instead of honey for a sugar free alternative. Erythritol will work, however, when cold, erythritol can have a gritty texture.
- Nutritional information was calculated using allulose as the sweetener (not honey). Allulose is a rare sugar, which typically is not counted in net carb counts:
