This straightforward spinach salad is topped with dried cranberries, goat cheese, toasted walnuts and avocado all tossed in a creamy balsamic dressing. It’s good as a aspect salad or topped with protein for a full meal.
As I’m certain you all know I really like my meal-sized salads, however generally I simply need a easy and scrumptious aspect salad to serve at dinner like this kale salad, arugula salad or this straightforward spinach salad! It’s such an awesome salad recipe to have in your again pocket because it pairs with nearly any foremost dish!
My grandma’s staple salad recipe is one thing similar to this one. I switched up her recipe and used toasted walnuts rather than her candied pecans (to scale back the sugar content material!) and used dried cranberries as an alternative of recent strawberries, as a result of dried cranberries are at all times in season and one among my favourite salad toppers.
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Why You’ll Love This Salad
- Straightforward – It’s straightforward to make. Simply whisk the dressing collectively, chop the veggies and toss to mix.
- Nutritious – With recent spinach, avocado, and a wide range of different healthful elements, this salad is a dietary goldmine, offering nutritional vitamins, minerals, and wholesome fat.
- Versatile – Excellent as a lightweight lunch, aspect dish, or a starter for dinner. It pairs splendidly with a wide range of foremost programs, from grilled hen to turkey burgers.
Components Wanted
Right here’s what you want for this straightforward spinach salad:
- child spinach – I like utilizing pre-washed child spinach for this salad. The leaves are smaller, extra tender and extra flavorful. Plus, utilizing pre-washed spinach saves time on having to clean and clear the spinach.
- mini cucumbers – a standard cucumber will work right here too, however I really like the mini cucumbers as a result of they’re seedless and so flavorful.
- goat cheese – I really like the creaminess that goat cheese provides to this salad.
- purple onion – the proper means so as to add a little bit of taste and crunch. You should utilize yellow onion if wanted.
- dried cranberries – dried cranberries add a pleasant pop of sweetness and a little bit of chewy texture.
- avocado – this provides some wholesome fats and creaminess to the salad.
- walnuts – the toasted walnuts add a beautiful crunch and nutty taste.
- creamy balsamic dressing – a brilliant easy dressing product of balsamic vinegar, olive oil, Greek yogurt, dijon mustard, honey, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
Recipe Substitutions
- Veggies: Don’t have cucumber or onion readily available? Be at liberty to make use of different veggies as an alternative. Tomatoes, bell peppers or mushrooms are all nice choices.
- Goat cheese: I really like the creaminess goat cheese provides, however if you happen to’re not a fan you possibly can substitute it with feta, blue cheese, or your favourite number of cheese.
- Dried cranberries: Use dried cherries, raisins, dates or chopped dried apricots.
- Walnuts: Don’t have walnuts readily available? Swap it with toasted pecans or almonds. For a sweeter possibility use candied walnuts or candied pecans as an alternative.
- Dressing: You may completely substitute this with a traditional balsamic French dressing, easy lemon French dressing or white balsamic French dressing. Try extra of my salad dressings for extra concepts.
- Make it dairy-free: Skip the cheese or use a vegan cheese as an alternative.
- Make it nut-free: Skip the walnuts or use sunflower seeds or pepitas as an alternative.
The right way to Make Spinach Salad
That salad is a breeze to whip up. Listed here are the 4 easy steps!
Step 1: Add the walnuts to a small skillet over medium warmth to toast. Let cook dinner, tossing steadily for 3-5 minutes till aromatic and beginning to brown. Keep watch over these in order that they don’t burn! Take away from pan and let cool.
Step 2: Make the creamy balsamic dressing by whisking collectively all elements in a small bowl till absolutely mixed and creamy. You too can mix all the things collectively in a blender or with an immersion blender.
Step 3: Put together salad by including spinach to a big bowl, high with cucumbers, goat cheese, onions, cranberries, toasted walnuts and sliced avocado.
Step 4: Drizzle dressing over salad, toss and serve.
Brittany’s Tip!
As soon as tossed within the dressing the salad doesn’t look as fairly so an alternative choice is to plate the salad and serve with dressing so everybody can add their very own dressing.
What to Serve with Spinach Salad
This spinach salad is the proper aspect salad to pair with nearly any foremost dish! I like it for informal weeknight dinners, but it surely’s additionally fancy sufficient for holidays and particular celebrations. Listed here are some pairing concepts:
The right way to Make Forward And Retailer
- To make forward: You may prep the totally different parts of this salad forward of time after which assemble proper earlier than serving. You may toast the walnuts, make the dressing and chop the cucumbers and onions prematurely. Simply retailer the perishable gadgets within the fridge with the dressing in a separate container. When it’s time to serve, merely toss the salad elements along with the dressing and revel in!
- To retailer: To retailer leftovers of the dressed salad, retailer in an hermetic container within the fridge for 1-2 days. The spinach will wilt and unfastened its crispness because it sits, but it surely’ll nonetheless style scrumptious.
Regularly Requested Questions
Sure! Spinach is a powerhouse of a inexperienced and is loaded with a ton of well being advantages. It’s low in carbs, excessive in fiber, nutritional vitamins and minerals and is filled with vitamin C, Okay, folic acid, iron and calcium!
You recognize I’m all about having a very good supply of protein so if I had been serving this as a meal, I’d add some grilled hen breast, grilled shrimp and even chickpeas.
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