Summer Strawberry Spinach Salad

Super sweet seasonal strawberries make a great addition to this spinach salad. This stunning Strawberry Spinach Salad is then dressed with a bright strawberry balsamic vinaigrette. It’s summer in a bowl!

Hooray For the Summer Solstice!

Summer Solstice, June 21, is the day that Spring officially ends and our short but anticipated Summer begins. If you want to get really particular Summer arrived at 3:54 this afternoon (MST) because this is the exact time the sun is the farthest North of the celestial equator. This also means that because the sun is at it’s highest so late in the day, daylight hours are extended. Today is THE best day for bloggers because we have the most day light hours to photograph delicious food! 

A Strawberry Spinach Salad for Dad’s Day

There was a salad I regularly made a few years ago featuring mandarins and spinach. The recipe made so much that I could really only make it for large gatherings, as it used an entire can of mandarins. I didn’t want to waste the mandarins by just making a half portion of the salad so the recipe eventually got ‘benched’.  So, when I was asked to bring a salad to our son’s barbecue I immediately thought of this salad. Since there was a half a flat of strawberries that needed using in the fridge, I went for it. Why not add strawberries instead of mandarins?

Strawberry Spinach Salad is SO Simple

The salad itself, is pretty simple. However, the strawberry balsamic vinaigrette really brings out the flavour of the strawberries and compliments the spinach. As always, I’m a sucker for pine nuts but you could use any nuts in the salad. Don’t have fresh strawberries? This salad would be stunning with any seasonal fruit. Think raspberries, blueberries, or even apricots. They are all at their prime right now. Don’t be afraid to experiment, you’ve got this my friend! 

The Strawberry Mint Vinaigrette

Yeah, it sounds fancy but it really isn’t. This Strawberry Mint Vinaigrette is super easy to throw together if you have a blender or food processor. The base is a standard one part acid (balsamic vinegar) to four parts oil. You can use this ratio to make a vinaigrette at any time. It’s what you put into the base that makes the vinaigrette. In this case there’s salt, garlic, fresh mint, pepper, and fresh strawberries. 

Throwing the Strawberry Spinach Salad Together

Don’t waste your time getting fresh spinach and washing it. Spinach is just a complete pain to prepare. I know I sound lazy but opening up a bag of pre-washed spinach is so darn easy. Just go for it. The red onion is a different story. To get rid of really strong onion flavour, slice them ahead of time and soak in cold water for at least an hour. Drain before using. To prepare strawberries, wash them briefly (don’t soak) and slice the large ones in half. Leave the small strawberries whole for a varied effect. Lastly, lightly toasted pine nuts really bring an intriguing aroma, flavour, and texture to this salad. 

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Yield: 8 servings

Strawberry Spinach Salad

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Super sweet seasonal strawberries make a great addition to spinach salad. This stunning salad is dressed up with a bright strawberry balsamic vinaigrette.

Prep Time 25 minutes

Total Time 25 minutes

Ingredients

For the Salad

• 1 pkg prewashed baby spinach
• 1/4 large red onion; cut into slivers
• 1/4 cup pine nuts
• 20 ripe strawberries
• Strawberry Balsamic Vinaigrette

Strawberry Balsamic Vinaigrette

• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1 clove garlic; minced
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 6 ripe strawberries
• handful of fresh mint leaves
• pepper to taste

Instructions

Spinach Strawberry Salad

1. Place pine nuts in a frying pan and toast them until they turn light brown. Let cool.

2. Wash and dry strawberries. Cut large strawberries in half and leave smaller ones whole.

3. Place spinach, strawberries, onions and pine nuts in a large salad serving bowl.

Strawberry Spinach Vinaigrette

1. Place all ingredients in a blender or food processor. Process until smooth.

Dress the salad and serve immediately or leave the dressing separate and allow guests to dress their own salad.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

8

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 189Total Fat: 17gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 14gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 189mgCarbohydrates: 8gFiber: 2gSugar: 5gProtein: 2g

Nutritional calculation was provided by Nutritionix and is an estimation only. For special diets or medical issues please use your preferred calculator.

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