Fresh Strawberry Spinach Salad

My neighbor knocked on my kitchen door one June afternoon with a basket of strawberries so ripe they stained her fingers red, and suddenly I understood why people get excited about farmers markets. She stayed for lunch, and I threw together whatever looked good—spinach, those perfect berries, some crumbled feta I had on hand. That casual salad became the thing she asked me to bring to every gathering after that. Now I make it without thinking, but I still remember how surprised we both were at how simple it felt to make something so vibrant.

I made this salad for my sister's book club once, worried it seemed too simple alongside everyone else's elaborate dishes. She ate three servings and then asked me the next day how I made it taste like both spring and summer at the same time. That's when I realized simple isn't the opposite of impressive—sometimes it's exactly what people needed to taste.

Ingredients

• Baby spinach (150 g): Fresh and dried spinach makes all the difference—wet leaves will make your salad soggy and bitter, so take the extra minute to dry yours properly with a kitchen towel or spinner.
• Fresh strawberries (250 g): Hull them just before you slice so they don't weep juice everywhere; if they're really ripe and soft, slice them thicker so they hold their shape.
• Feta cheese (100 g): Crumble it with your fingers rather than a knife so you get irregular pieces that catch the dressing better than uniform cubes.
• Sliced almonds (50 g): Toasting them in a dry skillet wakes up their flavor completely—raw almonds taste like nothing, but toasted ones are nutty and alive.
• Red onion (1 small, optional): The sharpness cuts through the sweetness, but slice it paper-thin or soak it in cold water for five minutes if you're sensitive to raw onion bite.
• Extra-virgin olive oil (3 tbsp): Use something you actually enjoy tasting, not the cheapest bottle—you can taste the difference in a simple vinaigrette.
• Balsamic vinegar (1 tbsp): The sweetness matters here; cheap balsamic tastes thin and acidic, while good balsamic has a subtle depth that plays beautifully with strawberries.
• Honey (1 tbsp): This balances the vinegar's tang and adds just enough sweetness to complement the berries without making it feel like dessert.
• Dijon mustard (1 tsp): The emulsifier that helps your dressing stick to the leaves instead of pooling at the bottom of the bowl.
• Salt and black pepper: Taste as you go—the feta is already salty, so you might need less than you'd normally use.

Instructions

Toast your almonds first:

Grab a dry skillet and set it over medium heat, then add your sliced almonds and stir them almost constantly for 3 to 5 minutes until they turn golden and smell absolutely amazing. The moment they smell toasty and fragrant, move them to a plate immediately because they'll keep cooking on the hot pan and can go from perfect to burned in about 30 seconds.

Build your dressing:

Whisk together the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, honey, and mustard in a small bowl until it looks emulsified and glossy. Taste it, adjust the salt and pepper, and remember that dressing always tastes a bit stronger on its own than it will on the salad.

Combine your salad base:

Toss the dried spinach, sliced strawberries, crumbled feta, and thinly sliced red onion together in your largest bowl—this is where you can add fresh herbs like basil or mint if you want an extra flavor layer. Don't worry about it looking a bit crowded; once you dress it, everything relaxes together.

Dress gently and taste:

Drizzle your dressing over the salad and toss it with tongs or your hands, turning everything together until every leaf looks wet and glossy. Taste a bite and adjust salt or vinegar if needed—this is your chance to fix it before it goes to the table.

Top with almonds right before serving:

Scatter those toasted almonds over the top just as you're about to eat or serve, so they stay crunchy and don't soak up moisture from the dressing and spinach. This is the secret to texture—timing is everything.

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My friend admitted one day that she'd been intimidated by salads her whole life—she thought they were something you had to overthink or buy from fancy places. I made her watch me put this together, and she realized how much fun it is to taste things as you go, adjust flavors, and actually create something instead of just assembling it. She made it for her kids the next week, and one of them asked for it again unprompted, which her partner said never happens with vegetables.

The Science of Sweetness and Savory

The magic here isn't the individual ingredients—it's that strawberries and feta are fighting each other just enough to make both taste better. The sweetness of the berries brings out the saltiness of the cheese, and the cheese's funk makes the strawberries taste even more like themselves. Add honey and balsamic to that equation, and you've got a flavor triangle where nothing dominates but everything matters.

When to Make This Salad

I've learned that this salad has seasons beyond just spring and summer—it's perfect whenever you need something that feels bright and light but still feels intentional. Lunchtime when you're tired of sandwiches, a side dish when you've made something heavy, or the main course when it's too hot to cook anything that involves heat.

Variations That Work

The beauty of this salad is that it's a blueprint more than a prescription—I've made it with goat cheese instead of feta when I wanted something creamier, added fresh mint when I had it growing on my porch, and even tossed in grilled chicken on nights when I needed more protein. The dressing is forgiving enough that you can swap the balsamic for red wine vinegar or adjust the honey depending on what berries you're using and how sweet they are.

• Try adding fresh basil or mint leaves for brightness you didn't know you needed.
• Goat cheese works beautifully if you want something a bit creamier and less sharp than feta.
• Grilled chicken or quinoa transforms this into a complete meal without losing any of the freshness.

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This salad tastes like the moment when you stop fighting what's in your kitchen and start playing with it instead. It's become one of those recipes I don't think about anymore because my hands just know what to do, but every time someone eats it, they seem genuinely surprised something this simple can taste like care.

Recipe FAQs

→ How do I toast almonds properly?

Toast sliced almonds in a dry skillet over medium heat for 3-5 minutes, stirring frequently until golden and fragrant. Remove promptly to avoid burning.

→ Can I substitute feta cheese with another cheese?

Goat cheese works well as a creamy alternative to feta, providing a similar tangy flavor and texture contrast.

→ What dressing complements the strawberry and spinach combination?

A dressing made with extra-virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, honey, Dijon mustard, salt, and pepper balances sweetness and acidity excellently.

→ Is it necessary to add red onion?

Red onion is optional but adds a mild pungent crunch that enhances the salad’s overall flavor complexity.

→ How can I make the dish more filling?

Add grilled chicken or quinoa to increase protein content and make it more substantial for a main course.