Strawberry, Quinoa, Spinach and Cashew Salad

Strawberry, quinoa, spinach and cashew salad with a homemade honey-mustard balsamic vinegar dressing. It’s a delicious Summer salad, made with healthy and clean ingredients!

When it’s Summer, I love to combine strawberries and spinach in a salad. I did it in this strawberry spinach salad with bacon, feta cheese, and toasted almonds, I also made a delicious strawberry and spinach salad with mango and avocado.

This salad is vegetarian, gluten free, and dairy free!

To make the salad, combine baby spinach, sliced fresh strawberries, chopped peaches, chopped green onions, chopped bell pepper, cashews, and cooked quinoa.  Perfect combination of sweet and savory flavors in a salad.

Note: If you remove quinoa, this healthy salad becomes paleo-friendly.

If you do like quinoa however, here is another delicious recipe that combines spinach, strawberries and quinoa in a vibrant Summer salad with lots of berries and fruit: quinoa salad with spinach, strawberries, blueberries, peaches, and mandarin oranges.

The honey-mustard balsamic dressing is homemade, very basic and so delicious!  To make the dressing, in a large bowl combine 1/4 cup olive oil with 3 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar and 2 tablespoons of honey.  Then add 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon of mustard powder and 1 teaspoon of onion powder.

Whisk everything well until emulsified.  Alternatively, add all the dressing ingredients to a glass jar, close with a lid, and shake vigorously until well-emulsified.

Feel free to add more honey if you like your salad dressing on the sweeter side!

Tip:  Add the dressing to the salad only when you’re ready to serve it, otherwise the salad will wilt really fast.

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Strawberry, quinoa, spinach and cashew salad

Prep Time

20 mins

Cook Time

5 mins

Total Time

25 mins

 

Strawberry, quinoa, spinach and cashew salad with a homemade honey-mustard balsamic vinegar dressing.  Vegetarian, gluten free and dairy free recipe.

Course: Salad

Cuisine: American

Servings: 6 servings

Calories: 366 kcal

Author: Julia

Ingredients

Honey Mustard Balsamic Dressing:

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon mustard powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• salt and pepper

Salad:

• 10 oz baby spinach fresh, chopped (about 10 cups of torn leaves)
• 4 cups strawberries , sliced (cleaned and hulled)
• 1 1/2 cups quinoa , cooked
• 1 cup peaches , finely chopped
• 4 green onions , chopped
• 1 red bell pepper , chopped
• 1/3 cup cashews

Instructions

1. In a medium bowl, combine the dressing ingredients, and whisk together well. Add salt and pepper to taste. You can serve the dressing immediately or you can cover it and chill for an hour.
2. In a large bowl, combine all of the salad ingredients, except the cashew nuts. Add the dressing to the salad and toss. Sprinkle cashew nuts on top of the salad.

Nutrition Facts

Strawberry, quinoa, spinach and cashew salad

Amount Per Serving

Calories 366 Calories from Fat 135

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 15g 23%

Saturated Fat 2g 10%

Sodium 46mg 2%

Potassium 818mg 23%

Total Carbohydrates 50g 17%

Dietary Fiber 7g 28%

Sugars 15g

Protein 10g 20%

Vitamin A 104.5%

Vitamin C 119.1%

Calcium 9.3%

Iron 24.8%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.