This strawberry spinach salad is a refreshing and easy recipe that you can put together in mere minutes. It is one of our favorite strawberry salad recipes as it goes well with all kinds of meals.
If you are craving something fresh, this salad is full of crunchy texture and bright flavors. It may just be the recipe you've been looking for!
This dish is super healthy while still being filling - leaving you satisfied with your meal. It's full of protein and flavorful healthy fats that play wonderfully off each other.
Fresh and Healthy Strawberry Spinach Salad
In a rush and need a healthy option that will leave you feeling satisfied? Look no further! Our recipe for spinach and strawberry salad is easy to create in a hurry.
Not only is this strawberry spinach salad a great side to any dish, but it can stand on its own as well. It has plenty of filling ingredients such as nuts, oil, quinoa, and avocado.
What Is In Strawberry Spinach Salad
This recipe for this baby spinach salad is very simple. It only requires a handful of ingredients, all of which are healthy, fresh, and bursting with flavor! These include:
- Baby Spinach: Small, tender and perfect for fresh salads. Baby spinach has a nice flavor that's mild and pairs well with other ingredients. It also is full of vital nutrients such as iron. If you aren't a spinach fan or want a different flavor, you can sub this out for your favorite leafy green.
- Strawberries: Fresh strawberries are the star ingredient of this salad, giving it a pop of color and sweet flavor. Try to pick the best berries available to you - this dish is even better when they are in season.
- Quinoa: This healthy grain is a great ingredient to add to any salad to make it heartier and more filling.
- Olive Oil: Just a little bit adds richness and fat to this salad, making it more satisfying. Use the highest quality oil you can afford—it makes a difference!
- Pecans: Candied or roasted, they add an amazing nutty flavor and more texture to this recipe. Keep in mind that candied pecans will make the salad sweeter.
- Avocado: This is the perfect addition if you want something rich and creamy in your salad. Avocado also adds fat to this dish which helps it to be more filling.
- Balsamic Dressing: Balsamic is what we use for the spinach salad dressing. The addition of tart balsamic dressing helps to brighten up this salad with flavorful acidity.
How to Make This Easy Spinach Salad
Putting together the best spinach salad is as easy as 1, 2, 3!
- Add your baby spinach to a large bowl.
- Top it with cooked quinoa (more on this below!).
- Add the other ingredients and dressing, then toss and enjoy.
How to Cook Quinoa
A big part of this quinoa spinach salad is making sure the quinoa is cooked properly. You'll need a saucepan with a tight-fitting lid. Add olive oil to it and heat over medium, then add your quinoa to the oil. Saute the quinoa for about 3-5 minutes (make sure to stir well and get it totally covered in the oil).
Next, add water and salt, then bring it to a boil. Cover it with the lid and reduce the heat to keep it at a simmer until all the water is absorbed. This will take about 20 minutes.
There's a fine line with quinoa. You want it to be tender, but not mushy. You definitely don't want it to be crunchy either!
Let the cooked quinoa cool for 15 minutes or so, then use a fork to fluff it before adding it to your spinach salad.
Now that you know how to cook quinoa, you can also try one of these 15 delicious quinoa recipes!
What To Serve With This Salad
While this dish is a complete meal on its own, this spinach avocado salad is also a great addition alongside so many other foods!
We particularly enjoy it with baked sweet potato fries or squash soup.
This salad also pairs well with a light pasta dish such as pea and artichoke pasta or this high protein spring vegetable pasta.
How to Store Spinach Salad
You can store this spinach and strawberry salad for later by putting it in the fridge. Simply place the salad in an airtight container, place it in the refrigerator, and it will keep fresh for 2-3 days.
To encourage the salad to stay fresh for longer, do not add the balsamic dressing or olive oil until you plan to eat it. Any type of dressing will make the spinach wilt much faster, making the salad not as pleasant to eat over time.
I also recommend you wait until right before serving to slice the avocado and add it to the salad for the best flavor.
More Delicious Salads To Try
- Mango Salad with Avocado and Fresh Herbs
- Fresh Corn Salad with Avocado
- Avocado Cucumber Salad
- Cucumber Feta and Watermelon Salad
DID YOU LIKE OUR SPINACH SALAD RECIPE?
If you enjoyed this recipe, it would help us tremendously if you left us a star rating in the comments below or on the recipe card. Do you have any questions about the recipe? Do you need a swap for any of the ingredients? We are here to help, just leave us a question in the comments below.
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Spinach Salad with Strawberries and Quinoa
- Total Time: 35 mins
- Yield: 4 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Enjoy this Strawberry and Spinach Salad with a healthy helping of multicolor quinoa and topped with creamy avocado slices and candied pecans.
Ingredients
- 12 ounces of baby spinach
- 12 strawberries, sliced
- 1 cup uncooked quinoa (or about 3 cups cooked)
- 2 tsp olive oil
- ¼-½ teaspoon salt to taste
- ¼ cup candied pecans or toasted pecan, chopped
- 1 Hass Avocado, sliced
- Creamy Balsamic Dressing
Instructions
How to Cook Quinoa
- Heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil in a medium saucepan for which you have a tight lid. Add the quinoa and sauté for 1-2 minutes, stirring often, so it's well coated with the oil. Add 1 ⅓ cups of water and the salt. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes or until all the water has been absorbed and quinoa is tender, but not mushy. Remove from heat and set aside to cool for 15 minutes, then fluff it up with a fork
- Place the spinach in a large bowl, top it with the cooked quinoa, strawberries, and avocado. Pour as much balsamic dressing as desired. Mix well and top with pecans.
Notes
- You can assemble the salad (except for the avocado) two hours before serving and keep it in the fridge until right before serving
- Make sure to cut and add the avocado right before serving
- Dress the salad right before eating it so the spinach doesn't wilt too much
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 25 mins
- Category: Salad
- Method: Raw
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: ¼ of the recipe without dressing
- Calories: 301
- Sugar: 3.9
- Sodium: 210.3
- Fat: 14
- Saturated Fat: 1.8
- Unsaturated Fat: 8.1
- Trans Fat: 0
- Carbohydrates: 37.8
- Fiber: 8.1
- Protein: 9.4
- Cholesterol: 0
This post was originally posted on May 12, 2015. We have updated the post with more detailed and useful information.
judee@ Gluten Free A-Z Blog says
Quinoa lends itself to so many interesting salad combinations. Love the strawberries and spinach with it just in time for these hot summer-ish days.
Vicky & Ruth says
Thank you Judee! It's really light and refreshing, perfect for summer 😉
Fareeha - faskitchen says
I am always on the look out for new quinoa recipes, this looks fabulous
Vicky & Ruth says
Thank you Fareesha! We absolutely love quinoa. So many fun things to do with it!! Glad you enjoyed the recipe 🙂
leah says
hi you say to use 1 cup quinoa and 1 cup water in your cheese, spinach and quinoa bites-is that enough water because most of the recipes call for 1 c quinoa to 2 c waqter-do you specifically want it more dry for this recipe and for the cheese spinach and quinoa bites thanks
Vicky & Ruth says
Hi Leah,
That is an excellent question. All quinoa packages instruct to cook 1 cup of quinoa in 2 cups of water. We personally like our quinoa fluffy, with a little bite and not mushy, that is why we use less water. It is our personal preference. We always cook quinoa the same way. The key is to let the quinoa rest for 15-20 minutes in the pot with the lid on and with the heat off. Then all you have to do is fluff it up with a fork. We hope that helps. Have a great weekend.