My strawberry spinach salad with goat cheese can be prepared in less than 10 minutes. A fresh, fruity salad packed with flavor. This is one of my FAVORITE salads to bring to a potluck or BBQ. I originally published this 10 years ago and it’s still just as fresh and delicious as the first day I made it.

When the snow finally starts to melt here in Utah, and the signs of spring start to show, I know it’s time to start making my favorite salad, this strawberry spinach salad. After months of cozy comfort food, I start to crave something fresh and flavorful.

My love for this salad goes all the way back to high school when I had this salad at a friends house. The fresh strawberries, spinach, and creamy goat cheese combination was a flavor explosion. I immediately went home to tell my mom we needed to recreate it and from then on, we make it on the regular.

This is one of my go-to salad when I need to take something to a potluck, BBQ, or family gathering. It’s always a hit!

If you want to try more fruit salads be sure to check out this watergate salad, grape salad, and old fashioned 5 cup salad.

Why you’ll love this recipe

• Fun flavor. The sweetness of the strawberries goes well with the tang of the goat cheese and dressing.
• Easily customizable. This is a wonderful base salad that you can adjust to your taste.
• Simple homemade dressing. An easy, homemade dressing adds so much amazing flavor.

Ingredients for strawberry salad with goat cheese

You can make this strawberry salad with just a few ingredients.

• Baby spinach – I like using baby spinach or a baby spinach blend.
• Strawberries – Use fresh strawberries that have been cleaned and sliced.
• Goat cheese – Crumbled goat cheese adds a nice, subtle tang.
• Pecans – Chopped pecans or walnuts add a nice crunch to the salad.
• Balsamic – Balsamic oil is a great base of the dressing.
• Extra virgin olive oil – Use this for the dressing.
• Garlic – One clove of garlic is needed.
• Dijon mustard – This adds flavor and tang to the dressing.
• Salt and pepper

How to make strawberry spinach salad

Scroll to the bottom of the post for the full, printable recipe.

Step one: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place chopped pecans on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for about 5 minutes to toast.

Step two: Place the spinach, sliced strawberries, goat cheese, and nuts in a large salad bowl. Toss to combine.

Step three: Put the balsamic vinegar, oil, Dijon mustard, garlic, salt, and pepper in a bowl or jar. Whisk or shake the jar to mix the dressing.

Step four: Drizzle the dressing over the salad. Toss to coat.

Variations and substitutions

There are several ways to add your own personal take on this strawberry and goat cheese salad.

• Vegetables: Try including other vegetables like cucumbers, red onion, or bell peppers.
• Spinach: Try adding or substituting with arugula, green leaf lettuce, or kale.
• Cheese: If you don’t like goat cheese you can substitute with feta cheese or blue cheese.
• Nuts: Pecans, walnuts, sunflower seeds, almonds, or even candied glazed pecans work great on this salad.
• Fruit: You can add more fruit like blueberries, raspberries, or even grapes.
• Dressing: Feel free to use a different dressing like poppyseed dressing or a light vinaigrette.

Serve

You can serve this salad as a main dish or a delicious side dish. Some of my favorite things to serve this strawberry salad with include:

• Protein: This salad goes well with things like shrimp, how long to cook pork tenderloin, air fryer thin chicken breasts, steak, air fryer chicken sausage, and more.
• Bread: Serve it alongside things like a fresh baguette, air fryer garlic bread, or rolls.
• Pasta: I like serving this with a simple pasta dish like this cream cheese pasta or green pasta sauce pasta.

Storage

Make-ahead: If you want to make this salad ahead of time, don’t add the dressing.

Store: If you have any leftover salad you can store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.

Frequently asked questions

More easy salad recipes

• House salad recipe
• Cucumber tomato avocado salad
• Copycat Chicken Salad Chick Broccoli Salad
• Creamy cucumber dill salad
• Pea salad