Strawberry Spinach Quinoa Salad – The Harvest Kitchen

This Strawberry Spinach Salad recipe is a quick toss of juicy ripe strawberries, baby spinach leaves, quinoa, apple slices, blueberries, red onion and candied almonds all tossed in a really tasty maple vinaigrette. 

I love everything about this salad! It’s one of my favorite summer salads to make to serve with grilled chicken and fish.

You’ll love how this summer Strawberry Spinach Salad puts juicy ripe strawberries to good use.  This salad is fresh, light and nutritious and it’s tossed in a delicious maple vinaigrette.  It’s one of those healthy summer salad recipes you’ll want to make all summer long!

Strawberry Spinach Quinoa Salad Recipe

• Cooked Quinoa. We use white quinoa for this recipe. This recipe for How to Cook Quinoa turns out perfectly fluffy every time.
• Leafy Greens. We use baby spinach for this salad. You could use a mix of baby spinach and arugula if you like.
• Fruit.   Choose the sweetest and juiciest strawberries you can find at the store. We also toss in apple slices (for crunch) and blueberries (because they’re healthy and look pretty tossed inn this salad).  
• Onion. A little red onion adds a nice flavor. 
• Nuts and Seeds. We toss in candied almond slices and sunflower seeds to this salad which adds a nice delicate crunch. You can toss in raw or roasted almonds and sunflower seeds if you prefer.
• Vinaigrette. We toss this salad with our delicious Maple Vinaigrette which is completely addictive and one of my favorites!

Find printable recipe with the measurements below.

Variations

• Cheese. Add Feta or goat cheese to the mix.
• Dressing. I highly recommend tossing this salad with our maple vinaigrette, but if you’d like other salad dressing options – you could try this Creamy Lemon Salad Dressing, Balsamic Vinaigrette or this Honey Lime Dressing, or check out all of our dressing recipes.
• Nuts. Use walnuts, pecans or pepitas instead of almonds and sunflower seeds, or use raw or roasted nuts and seeds instead of candied.
• Quinoa. Omit the quinoa altogether if you like.

How To Make Spinach Strawberry Salad

This is a simple salad to make and it’s a salad I make often during the warm summer months. 

1. Whisk Dressing. Add all the ingredients in a mason jar. Seal the lid and shake well to blend ingredients. Refrigerate until you’re ready to serve the salad.
2. Cook Quinoa. This is my go-to recipe for how to make quinoa. I always use 1 cup dried quinoa (rinsed) to 2 cups water. Bring to a boil, then put lid on pot and reduce heat to low simmer. Cook for 15-20 minutes then remove from heat. Set aside for 20 minutes for all of the liquid to evaporate before fluffing quinoa. This waiting for 15-20 minutes after cooking quinoa will give you light fluffy quinoa.
3. Make Candied Nuts. Make the candied almond slices separately from the sunflower seeds. Melt 1/4 cup of white or brown sugar (I like to use brown sugar) in a dry skillet. Quickly add the nuts as soon as the sugar has melted into a caramel and stir and toss using a silicon spatula. Transfer the nuts to a parchment paper lined cookie sheet to dry. Season with salt. After cooled, break apart into small clusters. You can make these candied nuts and seeds with walnuts, pepitas, sesame seeds, hemp seeds, poppy seeds, or whatever nut or seed you like. The melted sugar is very hot so be careful when you work with it.
4. Prep Ingredients. Slice the strawberries, apples and onion. If you want to mellow the onion flavor, soak the onion slices in a small bowl filled with water for about 15-20 minutes before tossing them in the salad. Pat them dry before adding them to the salad.
5. Toss Ingredients. Add the spinach, quinoa, strawberries, blueberries, sliced apple and onion to a large bowl and toss. 
6. Dress Salad . Drizzle dressing over the salad and toss to lightly coat the ingredients. Sprinkle the candied nuts over the salad and gently toss again.

Tips For Making This Salad

• Be sure to gently toss the salad so all of the ingredients are coated evenly. 
• Store the salad and dressing separately in air tight containers in the refrigerator until you’re ready to serve. 

Can I Make This Salad Ahead Of Time?

You can cook the quinoa, make the candied nuts and seeds, and whisk together the ingredients for the salad a day or two ahead of time (storing both the quinoa and dressing in air-tight containers in the refrigerator until you’re ready to toss the salad). The candied nuts and seeds should also be stored in an air-tight container. I recommend slicing the strawberries and apples just before adding them to the salad. 

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