Strawberry Salad

This refreshing orange and Strawberry Salad is packed with good-for-you ingredients and dressed in a flavor-packed citrus vinaigrette. 

This is one of my go-to salads to serve as a quick dinner side dish. There isn’t too much prep required, it comes together exceptionally fast, and it’s so versatile. Swap out the fruits, nuts, and cheese to your preference or what you have on hand. Plus, you can prepare the dressing ahead of time and use it all week long!

Strawberry Salad

A few weeks ago, I had some family over for a casual dinner. We have some vegetarians in the crowd, so I’d planned a veggie-packed main course and these roasted vegetables as a side, but I had forgotten about a salad. So, I surveyed what I had in the fridge and ended up making this Strawberry Salad on a whim. 

Turns out this salad was the most popular dish of the night — everyone went crazy for it and so, of course, I had to re-create it to share here!

Ingredients In Strawberry Salad

• Greens: You can use mixed green or spinach in this salad. If using spinach, I like to remove big stems.
• Fruit: Use ripe strawberries and clementines for the best sweetness.
• Pistachios: Grab dry-roasted pistachios from the store — more flavor and less effort. While you’re at it, grab the shelled.
• Cranberries: I love sweetened cranberries, dried tart cherries are another favorite.
• Feta: If you aren’t a fan of feta, try goat cheese.
• Dressing: If you’ve got time, make it ahead of time because it gets more flavorful as it sits.

This salad whips together quickly and easily. I’ll break down the process below, outline a few tips, and then give you some variation ideas for this recipe!

How to make Strawberry Salad

• Start with the dressing: Prepare the dressing so it can chill while you assemble everything else. The dressing can be made up to five days in advance! Store in a Mason jar in the fridge and give it a quick shake before adding to the salad.
• Prepare the fruit: Remove the tops of the strawberries and thinly slice. Here’s a guide to cut strawberries without wasting any fruit.
• Combine: Add the prepared fruit on top of the mixed greens. Top with the rest of the ingredients: pistachios, goat cheese, and dried cranberries.

A few quick tips

• Only add dressing and cheese to the salad that will be consumed the same day. Strawberry Salad doesn’t sit well with the dressing. (It will get soggy and become inedible.)
• Use fresh citrus: Bottled citrus juice won’t cut it for this recipe! The dressing depends on the fresh zest and juice from the clementines and lemon.
• Keep ingredients chilled: The colder the fruit, dressing, and lettuce are, the better the salad tastes! Keep everything in the fridge right up until you’re ready to eat.

Salad variation ideas

• Nuts: Instead of pistachios, toasted pecans or almonds would be delicious. For a sweeter salad, use chopped candied pecans.
• Fruit: Pretty much any berry would work in this salad – raspberries, blueberries, or blackberries all pair well with citrus.
• Cheese: Feta or blue cheese would work well in this salad! 
• Add protein: Grill some chicken (use this chicken marinade), slice it up, and add it to the salad.
• Add healthy fats: A chopped or sliced avocado would be a great filling ingredient to add.
• Dressing: for a less sweet dressing, you can use the balsamic dressing in this cucumber salad recipe!
• Vegan: This salad is naturally vegetarian. Omit the cheese for a vegan meal.
• Whole 30: Omit the cheese and honey (in the dressing) and this salad will be Whole 30 compliant!

Serve this alongside

• Crock Pot Roast
• Shepherd’s Pie
• Vegetarian Chili (or a meat-filled Crockpot Chili)
• Shrimp Tacos
• Broccoli Cheddar Soup

SaveSaved Pin Print

5 from 7 votes

Strawberry Salad

By Chelsea Lords

This refreshing Strawberry Salad with oranges is loaded with healthy ingredients and drizzled with a zesty citrus vinaigrette—so light and flavorful!

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes minutes

Servings: 6 servings, as a side

Equipment

• Food Processor or blender

Ingredients 

USMetric

 

1x2x3x

Salad (see note 1)

• ▢ 10 ounces mixed green lettuce or fresh spinach
• ▢ 1 pound strawberries hulled and thinly sliced
• ▢ 4 clementine oranges peeled and separated into segments
• ▢ 3/4 cup dried cranberries
• ▢ 3/4 cup pistachios shelled and coarsely chopped
• ▢ 3/4 cup crumbled goat cheese or feta

Dressing

• ▢ 3 to 4 clementine oranges
• ▢ 1 large lemon
• ▢ 2-1/2 tablespoons honey
• ▢ 2 teaspoons Dijon-style mustard
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon salt
• ▢ 1/2 cup olive oil

Instructions 

• In a large bowl, toss together the lettuce, strawberries, clementines, and dried cranberries.
• For the dressing, zest and juice oranges and lemon to get 2 teaspoons orange zest, 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest, 4 tablespoons orange juice, and 2 tablespoons lemon juice. Combine zests and juices with all dressing ingredients except the oil in a food processor or blender. Blend until all ingredients are well incorporated and zest has broken down. Add oil in a slow, steady stream and pulse until just combined and emulsified. Avoid blending the oil for an extended time as it can make the oil taste metallic.
• Right before enjoying, add the dressing (add to taste—you may not need/want it all), pistachios, and feta cheese. Do not add pistachios, cheese, or dressing to any salad you’ll have leftover; It doesn’t sit/store well together. Toss and enjoy immediately.

Recipe Notes

Note 1: With all salads, adjust the amount of fixings and how much dressing you use to your personal preference!

Storage: Once dressed, this salad doesn't store well. Keep the dressing in a mason jar for up to a week.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 482kcal | Carbohydrates: 52g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 30g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 17mg | Sodium: 462mg | Potassium: 863mg | Fiber: 9g | Sugar: 38g | Vitamin A: 4932IU | Vitamin C: 150mg | Calcium: 237mg | Iron: 3mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Like this? Leave a comment below!