Spinach Berry Salad Bowl (Printable)

Fresh spinach and mixed berries topped with goat cheese, toasted nuts, and homemade balsamic dressing.

# What Goes In:

→ Salad

01 - 5 oz fresh baby spinach
02 - 3.5 oz mixed fresh berries (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries)
03 - 2 oz goat cheese, crumbled
04 - 1.75 oz toasted walnuts or pecans, roughly chopped
05 - 1 small red onion, thinly sliced (optional)

→ Vinaigrette

06 - 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
07 - 1.5 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
08 - 1 teaspoon honey or maple syrup
09 - 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
10 - Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

# How to Make It:

01 - Wash and dry the spinach leaves and berries thoroughly.
02 - In a large salad bowl, combine the spinach, berries, goat cheese, nuts, and red onion if using.
03 - In a small bowl or jar, whisk together olive oil, balsamic vinegar, honey, Dijon mustard, salt, and pepper until emulsified.
04 - Drizzle the vinaigrette over the salad just before serving, toss gently to combine, and serve immediately.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • It's ready in 15 minutes, which means you can make lunch without disrupting your whole day.
  • The contrast between peppery spinach, tart berries, creamy cheese, and crunchy nuts feels indulgent even though it's completely guilt-free.
  • You can build it with whatever berries you find at the market, so it never gets boring.
02 -
  • Washing your greens is non-negotiable, but over-salting the salad right at assembly is the mistake that ruins it every single time—always season the vinaigrette instead.
  • The temperature of your ingredients matters more than most recipes admit: cold spinach and berries against a room-temperature vinaigrette creates this perfect textural tension that warm salad just doesn't have.
03 -
  • If your vinaigrette looks broken and separated no matter how much you whisk, add another small teaspoon of mustard or a splash of water and whisk again—this almost always fixes it.
  • Chill your salad bowl in the freezer for five minutes before assembling if your kitchen is warm, because cold is half the point of this dish and warm spinach is nobody's friend.
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