This straightforward spinach salad is topped with dried cranberries, goat cheese, toasted walnuts and avocado all tossed in a creamy balsamic dressing. It’s excellent as a facet 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 desire a easy and scrumptious facet salad to serve at dinner like this kale salad, arugula salad or this straightforward spinach salad! It’s such a fantastic salad recipe to have in your again pocket because it pairs with nearly any essential 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 cut 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 in all 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 quite a lot of different healthful components, this salad is a dietary goldmine, offering nutritional vitamins, minerals, and wholesome fat.
- Versatile – Good as a light-weight lunch, facet dish, or a starter for dinner. It pairs splendidly with quite a lot of essential programs, from grilled rooster 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 scrub and clear the spinach.
- mini cucumbers – a traditional 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.
- crimson onion – the right manner so as to add a little bit of taste and crunch. You should use 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 stunning crunch and nutty taste.
- creamy balsamic dressing – a brilliant easy dressing fabricated from balsamic vinegar, olive oil, Greek yogurt, dijon mustard, honey, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
Recipe Substitutions
- Veggies: Don’t have cucumber or onion available? Be happy 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 may 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 available? Swap it with toasted pecans or almonds. For a sweeter choice use candied walnuts or candied pecans as an alternative.
- Dressing: You’ll be able to 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 way to Make Spinach Salad
That salad is a breeze to whip up. Listed below are the 4 easy steps!
Step 1: Add the walnuts to a small skillet over medium warmth to toast. Let prepare dinner, tossing regularly for 3-5 minutes till aromatic and beginning to brown. Regulate these so that they don’t burn! Take away from pan and let cool.
Step 2: Make the creamy balsamic dressing by whisking collectively all components in a small bowl till totally mixed and creamy. It’s also possible to mix every part 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 right facet salad to pair with nearly any essential dish! I adore it for informal weeknight dinners, nevertheless it’s additionally fancy sufficient for holidays and particular celebrations. Listed below are some pairing concepts:
The way to Make Forward And Retailer
- To make forward: You’ll be able to prep the totally different elements of this salad forward of time after which assemble proper earlier than serving. You’ll be able to toast the walnuts, make the dressing and chop the cucumbers and onions prematurely. Simply retailer the perishable objects within the fridge with the dressing in a separate container. When it’s time to serve, merely toss the salad components along with the dressing and luxuriate 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, nevertheless it’ll nonetheless style scrumptious.
Ceaselessly 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, Ok, folic acid, iron and calcium!
You recognize I’m all about having supply of protein so if I had been serving this as a meal, I’d add some grilled rooster breast, grilled shrimp and even chickpeas.
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