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Fresh Spring Salad With Berries

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strawberry salad with baby greens
Wellness Mama » Blog » Recipes » Fresh Spring Salad With Berries

I love the time of year when gardens are starting to produce and farmer’s markets have fresh greens for salads. Big salads are my go-to lunch and often my go-to dinner with a glass of kombucha or iced herbal tea on the side.

And guess what… adding berries is a sure way to get my kids excited about salad!

How to Make the Perfect Spring Salad

This salad was inspired by the freshness of the greens and strawberries of spring and early summer. Here’s how we make it:

First: Baby Greens, Strawberries, and Goat Cheese

For the base of this salad I like to use mixed baby greens, but I’ll also use spinach, romaine, or other lettuces if it’s what I have on hand. Then, I toss in some toasted pecans and dried cranberries. Next, I slice some strawberries to put on top and dot the salad with goat cheese. You could also use blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, or a mix of berries that are in season.

Yup, that’s right. Goat cheese. It seems to be a very polarizing cheese. Some love it and others won’t touch it with a ten-foot pole! If you like, omit the cheese or use one that you like in its place. Feta, gorgonzola, and bleu cheese are all great.

Sometimes I make this salad ahead of time (sans dressing) and then stick it in the fridge until dinner.

Second: Honey Mustard Dressing (or Dressing of Choice)

I use a honey mustard dressing for the spring salad. The sweet tanginess goes perfectly with the fruit and creamy goat cheese and the homemade chicken strips that go on top.

I prefer to avoid a lot of the ingredients in store-bought honey mustard dressing, so I just make my own. I use simple identifiable ingredients and use it as a dressing or dipping sauce. It’s my kids’ favorite condiment for dipping.

The dressing can also be made in advance and refrigerated. Usually, I already have some in the fridge that’s leftover from another meal, which makes making this salad even simpler.

Last Step (Optional): Almond Flour Breaded Chicken Strips

If I’m serving this as a meal, the last thing I do is to make my almond flour breaded chicken strips to top the salad. They’re delicious, grain-free, and everyone in the family loves them. I usually pan fry them on the stove, but you can also drizzle them with oil and bake in the oven.

This berry salad also works great as a side salad without chicken.

Mix It Up!

I serve this salad often, so I change up the dressings or ingredients to keep it interesting. Here are some substitutions we love:

Cheese

Goat cheese is our favorite, but try these variations:

  • Feta
  • Bleu Cheese
  • Gorgonzola
  • Smoked Gouda
  • Dairy-free option – sub avocado

Berries

Any seasonal berries will work!

  • Raspberries
  • Blackberries
  • Blueberries
  • Diced apples
  • Chopped dates or figs

Nuts/Toppings

  • Sliced almonds (drizzle with maple syrup and a pinch of salt before toasting)
  • Pine nuts
  • Sunflower seeds
  • Hemp hearts

Dressings

All of these dressings are delicious on this salad! When I don’t make them from scratch, I buy them from Primal Kitchen.

strawberry salad with baby greens

Spring Salad With Berries

A flavorful and fresh salad for spring with fresh strawberries (or berries of choice), creamy goat cheese, crunchy toasted pecans, and dried cranberries on a bed of lettuce.
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Calories 725kcal
Author Katie Wells

Servings

4

Ingredients

  • ½ cup  honey mustard dressing (or dressing of choice)
  • 1 cup pecans toasted
  • 12 cups salad greens
  • 4 oz goat cheese crumbled
  • ½ cup dried cranberries (or raisins)
  • 1 cup strawberries (sliced)
  • 1 batch homemade chicken strips (optional)

Instructions

  • Cook the chicken strips according to the recipe instructions and set aside.
  • Prepare the honey mustard dressing according to the recipe instructions and set aside.
  • Preheat a small skillet over medium heat on the stove.
  • Add the pecans and toast, tossing occasionally, until they have just started to brown and smell amazing.
  • Set the pecans aside until cooled. 
  • Put two big handfuls of lettuce/greens on each plate.
  • Chop the chicken and top each salad with equal amounts of goat cheese, toasted pecans, cranberries, sliced strawberries, and dressing.
  • Enjoy!

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts
Spring Salad With Berries
Amount Per Serving (1 salad)
Calories 725 Calories from Fat 508
% Daily Value*
Fat 56.4g87%
Saturated Fat 16.5g103%
Cholesterol 150mg50%
Sodium 820mg36%
Carbohydrates 29.3g10%
Fiber 6.4g27%
Sugar 18.1g20%
Protein 27.7g55%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Notes

Feel free to use any type of leftover pre-cooked chicken in this recipe. And have fun switching up the types of fruit, cheese, and dressing that you use. 

More Spring Recipes to Try!

Like this recipe? Check out my new cookbook, or get all my recipes (over 500!) in a personalized weekly meal planner here!

What is your favorite salad? Do you have a variation of this one? Let me know below!

Katie Wells Avatar

About Katie Wells

Katie Wells, CTNC, MCHC, Founder of Wellness Mama and Co-founder of Wellnesse, has a background in research, journalism, and nutrition. As a mom of six, she turned to research and took health into her own hands to find answers to her health problems. WellnessMama.com is the culmination of her thousands of hours of research and all posts are medically reviewed and verified by the Wellness Mama research team. Katie is also the author of the bestselling books The Wellness Mama Cookbook and The Wellness Mama 5-Step Lifestyle Detox.

Comments

8 responses to “Fresh Spring Salad With Berries”

  1. Nancy pagan Avatar
    Nancy pagan

    Hi am trying to do the salad with fresh strawberry dry cranberries can someone help me I can’t remembered the other ingredients

    1. Suzanne Avatar

      Salad greens, goat cheese, cooked chicken, pecans, and honey mustard dressing. It’s called Fresh Spring Salad with Berries. You should be able to see it if you just scroll up.

  2. Radha Avatar

    I haven’t tried this berries salad ,thank you for sharing this yummy recipe.

  3. Bethany Avatar
    Bethany

    5 stars
    Hi Katie – I made this salad for dinner last night, and O.M.G. – this might be the very best meal I have ever had in my LIFE! Seriously!! I just ate some leftovers for lunch and it was just amazing. Thank you for this recipe! I’d love to see more main-dish salads on your blog.

    BTW – I used a rotisserie chicken that I de-skinned and chopped up. I also used garlic-and-herb goat cheese and it was fantastic. I found the whole batch of honey-mustard dressing to be more than we needed, so I might use 1/2 or 3/4 the recipe next time. Thank you!!

  4. Kara Myers Avatar
    Kara Myers

    Love this recipe! I like salads but I’m terribly un – inventive when it comes to the ingredients. I never knows what goes well together. This sounds delicious!

    1. Wellness Mama Avatar
      Wellness Mama

      I just toss them in a skillet that has pre-heated on the burner for about a minute…

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