Plum Spinach Salad with Feta Cheese, Pecans, and Honey-Lemon Dressing is a healthy recipe that balances sweet and savory flavors. Made with vibrant and colorful fresh plums, this fruit and spinach salad is perfect for weeknights or entertaining. It's gluten-free and high in fiber. To make it dairy-free, use vegan Feta cheese.
Plum spinach salad
The recipe features only 4 basic ingredients (spinach, plums, feta cheese, and pecans), a 4-ingredient homemade dressing (honey, lemon juice, olive oil, and Dijon mustard), and takes only 15 minutes of your time! Spinach salad with fresh plums, feta, and pecans is simple enough for a weekday meal yet elegant for a special occasion. Serve it as a side, or turn it into a complete meal by adding your favorite protein. It's a healthy, easy, and delicious option whether you're making it for dinner, lunch, or a snack.
Salad ingredients
- Spinach is high in fiber and a good source of many vitamins and minerals, including vitamins A and C, folic acid, iron, and calcium. I used baby spinach, but a mix of baby spinach and arugula works great too.
- Plums. I used 2 medium fresh purple plums, thinly sliced. You can also use dried plums (prunes).
- Pecans add crunch and texture to any salad. They are packed with fiber and rich in many nutrients, including zinc and Vitamin B1. I like to lightly toast them in the preheated oven at 350 F for about 5 or 10 minutes to freshen them up and make them crunchy.
- Feta cheese is quite nutritious, as well, and is a great source of calcium. This delicious cheese has a soft texture and briny flavor.
How to make a plum spinach salad
- Prepare the salad ingredients. Combine spinach, sliced plums, crumbled feta cheese, and chopped pecans in a large bowl (or distribute all salad ingredients equally among 4 individual salad bowls).
- Make the salad dressing. You will need only 4 ingredients: honey, extra virgin olive oil, Dijon mustard, and lemon juice. Add these to a small mason jar and stir with a fork for 1 minute until emulsified! You can use either maple syrup or honey; fresh lemon or lime.
- Assembly. Add the salad dressing to the bowl(s) with the plum spinach salad and toss to combine. Serve!
- Note: This is the overview of the recipe instructions. The details (with amounts) are below, in the recipe card (scroll down).
Can you make it ahead of time?
Yes! All you have to do is slice the plums and crumble the feta cheese (if you use a block of cheese). Make the salad dressing. Keep all salad ingredients in the fridge in separate containers, and toss everything together when ready!
How to serve it
- Light meal. Plum spinach salad makes a great lunch, midday snack, or even dinner for when you want to keep things light.
- Add protein, such as grilled, baked, or cooked chicken, steak, shrimp, or salmon, to make it a complete meal! I recommend simple garlic butter shrimp or juicy, pan-seared chicken thighs.
Variations, substitutions, and recipe notes
This easy fruit spinach salad features really simple and easily accessible ingredients, and it can also be easily adjusted depending on what you have available.
- Greens. Use your favorites: spinach, arugula, mixed greens, garden greens, lettuce, or butter lettuce.
- Fresh fruit. You don't have to limit yourself to plums. You can use fresh peaches, apples, oranges, mangoes, and any other fruit you like!
- Nuts. Dress it up with your favorite nuts: pecans, walnuts, cashews, or almonds. If using raw nuts, toast them briefly in the oven to make them crunchy. You can also purchase roasted nuts or use candied nuts.
- Add seeds. Add toasted sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds in addition to or instead of the pecans.
- Add dried fruit. I recommend Craisins (dried cranberries), dried figs, blueberries, or cherries.
- Cheese. I recommend using goat cheese, feta, or gorgonzola.
- Lemon juice in a salad dressing can be replaced with lime juice.
- Honey can be replaced with maple syrup or agave nectar.
Storage Tips
- It's best to serve plum spinach salad right away, so I recommend making just enough so you have no leftovers.
- If you have leftovers, the salad can be refrigerated for 2 days. It's best to refrigerate the salad and the dressing separately.
Other fruit and spinach salads you might like
- Pear Spinach Salad
- Strawberry Spinach Salad with Blueberries, Feta, and Pecans
- Spinach Salad with Peaches and Blueberries
- Apple Spinach Salad
- Strawberry Orange Salad with Spinach and Arugula
Plum Spinach Salad
Ingredients
Salad dressing
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 3 tablespoon honey
- 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
Salad ingredients
- 5 oz fresh baby spinach
- 2 medium plums cored and sliced
- 4 oz Feta cheese crumbled
- ⅓ cup pecans chopped
Instructions
Make salad dressing
- Combine olive oil, Dijon mustard, lemon juice, and honey in a mason jar. Whisk well with a fork for a minute or 2 until emulsified. Add more honey or mustard, to taste.
Assembly
- Combine spinach, sliced plums, crumbled feta cheese, and chopped pecans in a large bowl (or in 4 individual salad bowls).
- Add salad dressing and toss to combine.
Notes
- You can roast the pecans in the preheated oven at 350 F for about 5 or 10 minutes to freshen them up and add crunch!
- You can use dried plums (prunes) instead of fresh.
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer:
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed. It should not be used as a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Easy and phenomenal recipe. I added large grilled shrimp. I didn’t have any plums so I substituted sliced apples. Surprisingly, the salad was filling.
Thank you, Nicki, for your rave review! 🙂 This is so good with apples, I agree! 🙂
I really appreciate the added details regarding nutrients. Also, the ideas about what can be a side and what can be main. Substitutions are helpful too!!
Love getting this in my inbox.
Thanks!!
Thank you, Gillian! So glad you find my tips and my emails useful and helpful! 🙂