Strawberry Balsamic Salad – Eat Yourself Skinny

My favorite Strawberry Salad made with leafy greens, fresh strawberries, candied walnuts, and creamy goat cheese all tossed with a rich and tangy maple balsamic dressing!

Oh how I love a good salad and this is one I hope you will add to your weekly meal rotation! There is just something so delicious about fresh, juicy strawberries and tangy balsamic vinegar, it’s like they were made for each other. While this salad is one of my favorites in the spring and summer months because it’s loaded with vibrant strawberries, this also makes a delicious fall salad thanks to all that sweet maple flavor!

Why You’ll Love this Salad

• Sweet strawberries paired with rich balsamic vinaigrette make this salad taste incredible!
• Can easily be prepared ahead of time for quick assembly.
• This maple balsamic herb dressing needs to be a staple in your kitchen this season!
• You can also easily customize this salad to your liking. See the different variations below.

Ingredients You’ll Need

• Mixed greens – I used a mixture of arugula and baby spinach leaves, but feel free to use any leafy green lettuce that you prefer
• Strawberries – the strawberries taste amazing with the balsamic dressing, but you could also use raspberries, blueberries or even chopped apples or pears
• Crumbled cheese – I used crumbled goat cheese, but feta, gorgonzola or even blue cheese all would taste great in this salad. To keep this vegan, simply omit the cheese altogether or use your favorite vegan option
• Candied walnuts – these add a nice crunch to the salad and even more maple goodness! You could also use chopped pecans, almonds or cashews
• Maple Balsamic Dressing – made with a combination of balsamic vinegar, olive oil, maple syrup, Dijon mustard and fresh herbs

Maple Balsamic Dressing (the BEST!)

I absolutely LOVE this maple balsamic dressing and it is truly what makes this salad so amazing! This dressing is rich, tangy and easily made with just 5 simple ingredients – balsamic vinegar, olive oil, maple syrup, Dijon mustard and fresh herbs. Not only does this dressing taste great on salads, but I love to drizzle it on veggies, use it as a marinade for chicken, fish or steak, toss it in pasta salads, and so much more. You can also make this right in your blender in less than 5 minutes! I always make my own salad dressings right at home because I typically already have all the ingredients on hand in my pantry or fridge, it’s budget-friendly and honestly just tastes so much better than the bottled stuff from the store.

Can this Salad be Prepped in Advance?

! In fact I love prepping everything in advance so that I can easily throw this salad together for an easy lunch or as a delicious side dish with my dinner. In order for the lettuce to stay fresh and prevent wilting, I like to store everything in separate containers until ready to assemble.

• Slice up all the strawberries and store in a sealed container in the fridge.
• Make the candied maple walnuts ahead of time and make sure they cool completely before storing.
• Blend together the ingredients for the maple balsamic dressing and store in sealed a mason jar in the fridge. Just before serving, let the dressing sit at room temp for about 10 minutes to let the oil become liquid again and give the dressing a good shake to mix everything together.

Customize this Strawberry Salad!

• Not a fan of balsamic vinegar? Try this poppy seed dressing or this lemon dijon herb dressing
• You can easily make this salad vegan by omitting the goat cheese (or using a vegan option)
• Instead of strawberries, you could try raspberries, blueberries, blackberries or even chopped apples or pears
• Make this salad more filling by adding nutritious grains like quinoa, rice or farro
• I used candied walnuts in this, but you swap that with chopped pecans, almonds or cashews
• Other additions include creamy avocado, crisp red onion,

More Salad Recipes You’ll Love

Hope you all enjoy my Favorite Detox Salad and if you love this recipe as much as we do, please leave me a five-star rating below and don’t forget to tag me on Instagram using the hashtag #eatyourselfskinny! I love seeing all your delicious recreations!