Strawberry Walnut Salad Recipe

Fresh salads are always in season, and we have a delicious twist on spinach! No Popeye here, but you'll absolutely love how this turns out. Californian food blogger Kit Hondrum from Kit's Kitchen, brought us a beautifully-garnished strawberry walnut salad. Deeee-lish. It's gorgeous, good for you, and won't take long to prepare. If you have about 15 minutes and some fresh fruit, we've got you covered!

Best Health Magazine raves about the benefits of fresh strawberries. They're great for immunity, vision, and easing inflammation. At the same time, spinach is full of iron, helps to manage blood pressure, and reduces cancer risk, according to the experts at Health. We love combining great food with good nutrition. Our recipe developer told us, "I'm pretty sure this would be an American-style salad, like something you'd get at a steakhouse or grill." This garden-fresh delight is Paleo-friendly and low in calories. Not to mention, the recipe yields enough for 2 servings, so it's perfect for a date night.

Stop by the produce section on your way home, would ya? Be sure to grab 12 ounces of strawberries, apple cider vinegar, olive oil, honey, and fine sea salt or Himalayan salt. You'll also want to add freshly ground black pepper, baby spinach, walnut pieces, and goat cheese crumbles to your cart.

You can be flexible with your cheese type. Feta works, although Hondrum told us, "You can absolutely use bleu cheese! I like it with goat cheese because it's a soft, delicate flavor."

To make the strawberry vinaigrette, wash and chop 4 ounces of strawberries. Toss them into a glass jar along with 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar, and an equal amount of olive oil. Drop in ½ tablespoon of honey. Pinch in ¼ teaspoon of salt, and ⅛ teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper. Blend them all together with an immersion blender. If you're new to this cooking life, Hondrum informed us, "An immersion blender is also called a stick blender. [I]t's used to blend right in the container you're using. I use it for soups often! It saves you from washing a lot of dishes." If don't have this tool on hand, keep it simple. A regular blender or food processor can be used as well.

After your vinaigrette is blended, you'll want to toast the walnuts. Place a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat and toss in 1½ ounces of walnuts. Allow them to brown for 2-3 minutes or until fragrant. Stir and toss them often to avoid burning. Remove the walnuts from the heat and allow them to cool. Again, be flexible here. We're just bringing you the basics. Our developer says, "You can use another kind of toasted nut if you want, like pecans. You could also use raspberries for a raspberry vinaigrette and raspberries on top of the salad. Or even blueberries!"

Here you can be as creative as you please! In fact, we encourage it. Go ahead and assemble your salad by adding 5 cups of fresh baby spinach to a serving dish. Slice the remaining 8 ounces of strawberries and place them on top of the bed of spinach. Garnish the salad with your roasted walnuts and goat cheese. Hondrum told Mashed that the cheese adds a unique quality to the salad. She said, "The goat cheese [complements] the strawberries with [its] tangy, creamy quality. The strawberry vinaigrette adds a sweet and salty quality, and provides the perfect amount of acidity for this salad."

Drizzle with strawberry vinaigrette on the salad just before serving. We know this dazzling array of fresh greens and fruits will make your mouth water. What would bae like this paired with? The options are endless. Our developer says, "I love this with steaks and roasted root veggies." 

Pour yourself a glass of fine wine and take in this moment. "This would be good with a sauvignon blanc or a pinot noir," Hondrum told us. Just in case you have a bit of the salad left, "Store [it] in a sealed container, separate from the dressing, and drizzle [the] dressing over [it] just before serving," she suggests.