Spinach Salad with Fresh Blueberries and Strawberries

It’s no secret I’m a salad girl, with a capital S. I’ve written 3 best-selling plant-based cookbooks, so I’ve definitely got opinions on what makes a good salad. It’s got to be flavourful – no boring salads here! It should be colourful. And have plenty of texture. 

Salads aren’t an afterthought in my world…I like salads with main character energy (for not a lot of effort) like my restaurant-worthy chopped asparagus salad and this unbelievably good blueberry spinach salad. It’s tossed with fresh blueberries and strawberries, a little cucumber and mint freshness, just a bit of shallot for zip, and some crunchy pecans or almonds. 

It’s the perfect summer salad when you’re wanting something nourishing and easy because it comes together in just 15 minutes, with 7 ingredients and the DRESSING!! If you haven’t tried it yet, my creamy balsamic vinaigrette is all-of-the-things: sweet, tart, savoury and utterly drinkable. So, exactly what a good salad dressing should be.

Before we get into though, there is something I need to get off my chest: baby spinach is FAR better when it’s chopped up. It’s a hot take, but I think that tearing or roughly chopping the leaves makes a far better spinach salad that you can actually fit on your fork.

Enjoy this as a side dish salad – it will serve 4 – or make it a meal for two with some grilled or baked tofu or roasted chickpeas for added protein.

I know you’ll fall in love with this easy berry spinach salad…all you have to do is toss the ingredients in your serving bowl and dress right before serving! Yep, that’s it. No further instructions necessary!

And it’s easy to customize with whatever you have on hand. Swap in arugula for spinach, go all blueberries if you don’t have strawberries, try sunflower seeds to make it nut free. No rules….live your life!!

Serving Instructions: I like to dress and toss the salad right before serving for the best texture. Or, you can simply serve the dressing on the side.

If you think you’ll have leftovers, leave the salad undressed and it keeps quite well for a couple of days because there are no delicate ingredients like raspberries or avocados. The creamy balsamic vinaigrette makes a LOT, and it keeps for ages so you can use it for a couple of weeks. 

I have to admit that as a dietitian, I tend to eat a lot more salad with kale, arugula and spinach than lettuce because it’s such an easy swap to boost some serious nutrition (they’re more flavourful too!).

Spinach is a great source of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compounds like beta-carotene, lutein and zeaxanthin. It’s got plenty of vitamins and minerals too, such as folate, magnesium, potassium, iron and calcium. 

As a higher oxalate green, the minerals are less well absorbed…but the natural vitamin C from the berries helps with absorption! The berries also offer plenty of antioxidants to support skin health. Many plant-based compounds are better absorbed with a bit of healthy fat, and the olive oil in the vinaigrette is a perfect match.