A delicious spinach and strawberry salad recipe using fresh, whole ingredients like baby spinach, fresh strawberries, walnuts, and purple onions!
Nothing beats a light lunch loaded with crunchy vegetables and topped with a tasty vinaigrette. Especially, when the sun is out and the temps are warm.
With Spring on the horizon it’s time to start bookmarking those fresh salad recipes. Well, here’s one that you should definitely bookmark for later.
Our strawberry salad recipe features baby spinach, sliced strawberries, Mandarin orange wedges, purple onion, and a honey vinaigrette.
Pair this salad with a slice of our homemade rosemary Parmesan bread for a delicious lunch or as a side for our roasted garlic and olive oil spaghetti! Spinach strawberry salad also pairs well with Italian Wedding Soup for a full meal!
Now, you really don’t need any special equipment for this recipe. If you have a salad spinner, it will make washing the spinach easier. But, it’s not needed.
How to make strawberry spinach salad?
First, start by prepping all your ingredients. Wash and dry the spinach, wash and slice the strawberries.
Go ahead and peel and segment the orange, slice the onion, and chop the walnuts. Click this link for our homemade lemon honey vinaigrette.
Next, once you have all the ingredients prepped, place everything except the dressing into a large mixing bowl.
Then, use tongs or two salad spoons to toss all the fresh ingredients together. Take a look at the photos above and below as references.
Last, once the strawberry spinach salad is mixed, drizzle it with dressing and serve.
That’s it, the recipe is done! Scroll down for some meal planning tips and other recipes like our Instant Pot brown rice!
Meal Prep Tips for Salads:
Okay, when working with raw vegetables it’s important to follow a few simple guidelines.
- Keep ingredients high in acid separate from delicate, leafy greens. Otherwise, the acid found in fruit like oranges, will quickly degrade the texture of softer vegetables (like spinach).
- Store the dressing separately until ready for use. Again, most vinaigrettes are made with an acid and a base. Storing them together with the salad will result in wilted, slimy lettuce. This can happen in hours.
- If you don’t have access to a fridge at work, then avoid using cream based dressings like Ranch or Creamy Cesar. Letting them come to room temperature can result in tummy aches or worse.
- Don’t store salads along side food that needs to be heated, unless you can separate the salad from the meat before reheating the protein.
- Get even more meal planning tips from Carrie at Clean Eating Kitchen. These are perfect for busy people.
Spinach Strawberry Salad Recipe
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Ingredients
- 2 cups baby spinach fresh, washed and dried
- 1 cup strawberries fresh, sliced
- 1 mandarin orange peeled and divided into wedges
- ¼ cup purple onion thinly sliced
- ¼ cup walnuts chopped
- ⅓ cup honey vinaigrette dressing
- ¼ cup parmesan cheese shaved
Instructions
- In a large bowl toss together the spinach, strawberries, orange wedges, onion, and walnuts.2 cups baby spinach1 cup strawberries1 mandarin orange¼ cup purple onion¼ cup walnuts
- Drizzle with honey vinaigrette dressing then lightly toss a second time to coat.⅓ cup honey vinaigrette dressing
- Serve the salad onto individual plates and garnish with freshly shaved Parmesan cheese.¼ cup parmesan cheese