Strawberry Goat Cheese Salad

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This delicious Strawberry Goat Cheese Salad is a seasonal salad made with fresh strawberries, creamy goat cheese, crunchy pecans, cucumbers, and red onions. Top it all off with your favorite dressing. The fresh ingredients used are always a crowd-pleaser.

stunning and bright strawberry goat cheese salad with goat hceese, red onions, pecans, hemp hearts and basil.

This salad recipe is going to become your go-to during strawberry season! If you need a light lunch, this late spring and summer salad is a perfect choice.

We love drizzling it with some homemade honey lemon vinaigrette dressing or creamy balsamic dressing.

Looking for more salad recipes? Be sure to check out this arugula pear salad or this burrata prosciutto arugula salad! You may also love this cold asparagus salad or this cabbage and carrot salad.

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❤️Why we love this recipe
🍓Ingredients
✨Substitutions & variations
🔪Prep work
📋Instructions
✨Tips & tricks
💭Frequently Asked Questions
More Recipes To Consider
📖 Recipe
💬 Community

❤️Why we love this recipe

Easy to customize for different preferences or with other seasonal produce. If you have picky eaters, feel free to leave anything off that doesn't suit them. You can also add more produce like other fresh berries, or avocado.
Simple recipe. Just chop your fruits and veggies, make your dressing, and go! Quick and easy. This recipe takes less than 10 minutes to prepare.
Uses pantry staples. Lots of these ingredients are probably already hanging out in your fridge or pantry. Anything else you need can be found at nearly any grocery store.
Perfect for warm weather. Summer is everyone's favorite time of year, so why not highlight ripe strawberries in a delicious salad? The sweet strawberries combined with tangy goat cheese are the perfect combo.
Gluten free, low carb & can be made vegan. This salad is made with whole foods. It's naturally low carb, gluten free, and refined sugar free. It can easily be made dairy free and vegan as well with a few simple swaps.

🍓Ingredients

Here are the ingredients we used for this recipe. You can find more information for substitutions below.

Leafy greens - You can use any mixed greens you like for this. We prefer a mixture of baby arugula and spring mix. Other popular choices are romaine or butter lettuce, and fresh baby spinach.
Strawberries
Red onion
Cucumbers
Nuts & seeds - We used hemp hearts and pecans.
Goat cheese
Kosher salt & black pepper
Honey - Optional, to finish the salad off with a touch of sweetness.
Fresh herbs - Optional, but a very tasty and fresh addition. We love lots of basil and a few sprigs of fresh oregano.
Salad dressing of choice - We used our honey lemon vinaigrette for this, but also recommend trying our raspberry vinaigrette, or just a simple creamy balsamic dressing.

Visit the recipe card for the full quantities and nutritional information.

✨Substitutions & variations

Here are a few suggestions on additional flavors to try, or simple variations to this recipe.

Try adding a little blue cheese in addition to goat cheese if you want to pack a punch of flavor.
No salad dressing? No problem! You can always dress the salad with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, a little extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar or balsamic glaze, champagne vinegar, or a little red wine vinegar.
Swap honey for pure maple syrup. Maple syrup is a perfect swap for vegans, or just for folks who love the flavor of maple syrup!
Dairy free or vegan. As mentioned above, swap the honey for maple syrup. You can also use a vegan goat cheese substitute.
Make it the main dish. Add your favorite protein for a more filling salad, chicken breast would be our first choice!
Add more veggies. Feel free to add your favorite veggies. Avocado or tomato would make wonderful additions.
Make it totally sugar free. If you don't want any refined sugar to make this recipe suitable for the keto diet, omit the honey, or use a honey substitute, and just be sure to use a keto friendly dressing.

🔪Prep work

Prepare salad dressing in advance and store it in the fridge until time to use.
Thinly slice red onion and cucumbers.
Wash and dry strawberries very well.
Cut strawberries into your desired shape.
Allow the goat cheese to sit out at room temperature for a few minutes to make it easier to crumble by hand.

📋Instructions

Arrange greens in a large bowl or on a serving platter. Season with some salt and pepper. If you plan to eat the salad all at once, drizzle some of the salad dressing over top. (Image 1)

Add basil, followed by hemp hearts, and use tongs to toss the salad and distribute the ingredients. (Image 2)

Arugula topped with homemade honey lemon dressing.

Arugula salad topped with hemp hearts and tossed to evenly coat and distribute.

Layer on the red onions. (Image 3)

Add the strawberries. (Image 4)

Arugula salad topped with strawberry halves.

Top the salad with pecans and cucumbers. (Image 5)

Crumble on the goat cheese, then season again with more salt and pepper. Drizzle on honey. (Image 6)

Salad layered with pecans and cucumbers.

Topping salad with salt, pepper, goat cheese, and honey.

Add more basil, oregano, hemp hearts, and drizzle more of the dressing. (Image 7)

Strawberry salad topped with final dressing, basil, oregano, and hemp hearts.

Enjoy!

bright and colorful strawberry goat cheese salad with red onions, cucumbers, fresh strawberries, basil, goat cheese, and pecans.

✨Tips & tricks

Choose fresh, ripe strawberries. Choosing bright red strawberries that have no blemishes and are fresh will give you the best flavor for this recipe!
Wash and dry your strawberries thoroughly. Washing and drying your strawberries beforehand will prevent them from wilting the greens and making them mushy.
Season the greens. This is an often overlooked step, but this will help give more flavor to the entire salad!
Don't dress the salad until ready to serve. If preparing ahead of time, don't dress the salad until ready to serve. You don't want to start or serve a salad with soggy greens.
Soak the red onions in cold water. Soak the red onions for 5-10 minutes in water to reduce the sharp flavor and prevent it from overpowering the salad.

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💭Frequently Asked Questions

How to store the leftovers?

Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. We don't recommend putting dressing on the salad ahead of time. Simply add dressing when you're ready to enjoy.

Can I meal prep this salad?

For meal prep, make the salad in a mason jar, adding fresh ingredients at the bottom, the top with nuts and seeds, followed by the greens. Store the dressing separately.

More Recipes To Consider

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