Name: Strawberry Spinach Salad
Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 10 min
Yield: 6
Ingredients: 1 box/bag baby spinach (10-12 oz); 1/2 - 1 lb fresh strawberries, sliced; 1-2 avocados, cut into slices or cubes; 1/4 cup toasted almonds; 1 large shallot or half of a red onion, thinly sliced; 1 Tablespoon dijon mustard; 1 garlic clove, grated or minced; 1 1/2 Tablespoons honey; 2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar; 3 Tablespoons olive oil; 1 Tablespoon lemon juice; salt, pepper, to taste

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One of my favorite summer salads is this Strawberry Spinach salad with avocados, toasted almonds and a sweet and tart balsamic dressing. All the components go so well together.

Strawberry Spinach Salad with avocados, shallot and balsamic dressing.

In this strawberry spinach salad, the tender spinach leaves pair wonderfully with sweet strawberries, creamy avocado, thinly sliced shallot and crunchy, toasted almonds. There are so many different textures in this salad and they all comes together with a tangy and sweet dressing, made with balsamic vinegar, olive oil, honey, garlic, lemon juice and Dijon mustard.

It's one of those salads that you can pair with so many entrees, like grilled chicken, or even add some chicken to the salad and make it an entree. I also like serving this salad with Cheesy Chicken meatballs and a side of perfectly fluffy long grain white rice. This salad also pairs really well with seafood, like this Baked Steelhead Trout. It's a great salad to serve for company, because it's so easy to make but is so unique and interesting.

Ingredients For Strawberry Spinach Salad

baby spinach or regular spinach - I prefer baby spinach. It is more tender and the mild flavored spinach leaves are the perfect size for a mouthful of salad.
fresh strawberries - the juicy and sweet berries are wonderful in this salad. You can also try raspberries, blueberries or even mandarin or orange slices.
avocados - the creamy avocados are one of my favorites to add to salad. It is great here too.
almonds - toasted almonds are definitely the way to go. If you can find slivered almonds, it makes your job much easier, but any almonds will work. You can also use other types or nuts, such as walnuts, pecans, pine nuts, etc.
shallot or red onion - I always shallots or red onion in salads because they are sweeter and more mild
Balsamic Mustard Dressing:
dijon mustard - mustard helps to make the dressing creamy, this is one of the ingredients that you shouldn't omit
garlic
honey
lemon juice
balsamic vinegar - instead of balsamic vinegar you can use red wine vinegar, sherry vinegar or apple cider vinegar
olive oil - olive oil gives this dressing a distinct flavor and is one of the most important ingredients. You can use other oils instead, such as avocado oil.
salt, pepper

How to Make Strawberry Spinach Salad

Make the salad dressing. Grate the garlic clove on a microplane grater, add the
Toast the almonds. Cool the almonds before adding to the salad.
Slice the strawberries, avocado and shallot.
Place the spinach in a salad bowl, top with the strawberries, avocados, shallot and almonds.
Add the dressing. Drizzle the salad dressing over the salad right before serving and toss to combine.

Helpful Tips

How to Store Spinach So It Stays Fresh Longer

You can store spinach or other lettuce in the store packaging or transfer it to an airtight container or large ziplock bag. Place a paper towel or a small clean kitchen towel inside the bag or container. The paper towel will soak up condensation and the spinach will stay crisp and fresh much longer.

Can You Make the Salad in Advance?

You can make the different components ahead of time, but don't add the strawberries, avocados and the dressing to the salad until you are ready to serve it. You can make the salad dressing up to 3 days in advance and prep the lettuce in advance as well.

Other Variations to the Spinach Salad:

You can add other things to this salad to give it a different spin.

Feta cheese: I love the addition of feta or goat cheese, which gives it a creamy, briny texture and flavor.

Pickled Onions: Instead of using shallots or red onions, you can make pickled onions. They are sweet, have a delicious acidic flavor and can be made in advance.

Use other fruit or berries: Instead of strawberries, you can use raspberries, blueberries, peaches, plums or mandarin orange slices.

Add chicken to the salad to make it an entree. Slice up some grilled chicken or roasted chicken and add it to the salad.

More Fresh Salads: