Strawberry Avocado Spinach Salad with Strawberry Vinaigrette
Strawberry Avocado Spinach Salad with Strawberry Vinaigrette is the perfect spring themed salad. Of course, we eat them anytime of year!
Why We Love This Recipe
- Natural Ingredients, good for you!
- It’s a hearty meal on it’s own, but makes a perfect side salad too!
- You can change it up (see examples below) and add or take away whatever you want!
- Homemade Strawberry Dressing that just kicks the whole salad up a notch!
We took the above salad, and make it 100% better!
Strawberry Lemon Avocado Spinach Salad Ingredients
baby spinach – if you want to substitute kale or even regular leaf lettuce, go for it.
fresh strawberries – slice them up and make them a big part of this salad!
Meyer lemon – okay so not everyone can get Meyer Lemons, but if you can – do it!
They are so much better than a regular lemon, however if you cannot get them – a regular lemon is a perfectly acceptable substitute.
You could also use limes, oranges, blood oranges – really any citrus.
avocado – this really adds to the texture of the salad, and the vinaigrette makes them taste amazing!
sliced almonds – they aren’t necessary but the crunch they add to this salad is perfect!
lemon juice – you can use regular lemon juice for this, but if you have Meyer Lemon’s go ahead and squeeze them all up instead.
cider vinegar – this is our favorite one
granulated sugar – you can adjust this amount for just the right element of sweetness, honey is also a good addition instead of the sugar.
olive oil – we use extra virgin olive oil
poppy seeds – completely optional, but they are perfect in this salad.
And I made it again. I love the pretty colors and the way the Meyer Lemon slices look in there. So pretty and the salad tasted amazing.
After we changed up the recipe a bit, we discovered we really wanted a bit of crunch too!
The Strawberry Vinaigrette in this photo was a couple of days old so it’s beginning to thicken up a little.
If you want to thin it out a little, just add a couple of drops of water or oil. Shake well.
We decided to add the sliced almonds. That crunch I like with each bite. The crunch is absolutely incredible.
But if you want to leave them out, feel free.
Or switch it up… these make great subsitutions:
Crunchy Salad Toppings
- sliced nuts, any kind
- croutons
- crispy fried onions
- seeds (sunflower/pumpkin/sesame)
- tortilla strips
- roasted chickpeas
- crispy bacon
- chow mein noodles
The best part of this recipe, is that you can whip up a batch of the dressing on Sunday and it will last all week long!
It goes well on any type of salad:
- cabbage salad
- cucumber salad
- spinach salad
- even a fruity coleslaw
While I chose this recipe to really encompass Spring originally, you can change up any part of it to fit what you love or what is seasonally available.
More Spring Recipes
- Asparagus Red Pepper Salad
- Creamy Meyer Lemon Pasta
- Raw Cucumber Sandwich with Avocado and Spinach Sauce
- Strawberry Sorbet
- Meyer Lemon Ice Cream Sandwiches
- Candied Flowers
- Lemon Citrus Cookies
- Watergate Salad
Recipe for Strawberry Lemon Avocado Spinach Salad & Strawberry Vinaigrette
Strawberry Avocado Spinach Salad with Strawberry Vinaigrette
Ingredients
For Salad:
- 4 cups of baby spinach or 2 cups baby spinach 2 cups kale
- 2 1/2 cups of fresh strawberries sliced
- 1 Meyer lemon diced
- 1 avocado sliced
- 1/2 cup of sliced almonds
For Dressing:
- 4 cups of sliced fresh strawberries
- 4 tablespoons of lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons of cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup of sugar
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon of poppy seeds
Instructions
To make the Dressing:
- In a blender, blend the strawberries until pureed. Add the lemon juice, apple cider vinegar and sugar and blend again.
- Add the olive oil in and blend until the vinaigrette has thickened. Stir in the poppy seeds and you are ready to use it.
- Stores in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
To Make the Whole Salad:
- Layer the baby spinach on a 2 small plates or 1 large plate.
- Add the strawberries and avocado.
- Divide the Meyer lemons among the two plates (or all on one).
- Add the sliced almonds and drizzle with the wonderfully delicious Strawberry Vinaigrette you just made.
- Enjoy!
Living in Florida, I have access to great strawberries, and this recipe will be on a plate in my house very soon! Really beautiful!
Such a refreshing salad Nicole! Spinach and strawberries are so great together. And avocado I can eat all the time. Our end of the summer strawberries appeared again here, so this is the perfect salad for fall too! Have a wonderful day!
Yumm ! Making this when I get mt hand on some strawberries 🙂
I’m making this dressing soon,hopefully this afternoon if I get a chance! Strawberries are my favorite.
I’m a strawberry fiend. I make a salad similar to yours with spinach, strawberries and chicken. Love your additions of Meyer lemon and avocado. Great idea to put strawberries in the dressing too!
I actually gasped when I saw this. Here, I’ll do it again…*gasp*
Thinking of you girlie.
Yum! I am obsessed with avocados at the moment but that strawberry vinaigrette screams spring to me. I can’t wait for strawberry season.
This sounds like an amazing salad, Nicole. Yes, in every version….I have yet to give Meyer lemons a try and I cannot wait to give your salad a try. Perfect!!!
your salad looks delicious – I made a similar vinaigrette last year – thanks for reminding me about it! Lovely pictures, as always!
You’ve taken one of my favorite salads to another level! Love the addition of avocados and your twist on the vinaigrette. YUM!
Absolutely must try this! Love the recipe…it’s looks great!
I love that you shared the story behind the salad…. too much fun! I would love this beautiful salad!
This looks SO GOOD! And I love that you were keeping it real – mistakes and all! 🙂
This is BEAUTIFUL! And avocado and strawberries with the rest of some of my favorite ingredients sounds amazing! Yum! 😉
I never thought I would be so excited to see a salad! I don’t like dressing and always eat my salad dry, which admittedly I do like, but this strawberry dressing just might be my first ever dressing that I love because it sounds AMAZING!!!! Pinning this now
Lol, Nicole, you’re hilarious! Maybe your subconscious was purposely sabotaging each salad so that you could make it again and again 😉 This is truly springtime in salad form – deeeee-licious!
So vibrant and I love all the flavors going on in the ALL the variations! So happy to see strawberries again!
I don’t know which is prettier – the salad or the dressing. I can see why you would want to make this over and over again. Switching out ingredients is even more fun. I enjoyed seeing how the salad and dressing developed over time.
I’ve never had strawberries in a savory salad, but this sounds really wonderful. I do love raspberry vinaigrette, so why wouldn’t strawberry work as well? Time to give it a whirl!
The color on this salad is so incredible Nicole, it just pops and makes you want to dig in. You gotta love natures natural beauty.
This salad definitely screams spring! Can’t wait until strawberries are back in season so I can try out the vinaigrette.
Too much fruit for me (I hate fruit / savoury combos lol) but my mom on the other hand? This is her manna!
Your salad looks absolutely gorgeous!!I love sweet savory combo and the dressing sounds fab!!Have to try this soon 🙂
I love strawberry and spinach salads, but I’ve never thought to add avocado. Love the dressing too! This is a must try once we get strawberries!
That strawberry vinaigrette looks fabulous, yum!
I love a good strawberry spinach salad. It is obvious we eat this a lot because Mo, my anti green eater, claims that spinach is her favorite. She will eat it plain, no toppings or dressing. We have never added avocado to ours, good thought!
aww haha, but best thing about this dressing is that is looks so good that I don’t think it would matter what was on the salad haha. Beautiful color!
Oh wow, doesn’t that look delish, I love a sweeter dressing like this. Thanks for sharing!!
Strawberries and spinach are classic. Your add-ons Nicole sound great!
Wow, the color just pops off the screen in that salad. Looks delicious!