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Strawberry Spinach Salad with Toasted Quinoa

This Strawberry Spinach Salad has toasted quinoa and chopped almonds for crunch and is topped with a fresh honey-lime dressing. It's the perfect healthy salad for summer. 

This salad is pure summer. Just like this Blueberry Quinoa Salad with Lemon-Basil Vinaigrette, it has natural sweetness, vitamins and color from seasonal berries.

And tell me a better match for strawberries in salad than spinach and almonds? I wanted to elevate this classic combo with toasted quinoa and a totally delicious minty honey-lime dressing.

Fresh herbs, leafy greens, juicy fruit and my favorite grain: is there a better summer lunch?

 

collage of the steps and ingredients to make strawberry salad with spinachAdding Protein

It may be a surprise, but each serving of this vegan salad actually has 10 grams of protein!

Of course, if you like something even more substantial, you can easily add an extra serving your favorite protein. I like to add:

Honey-Mint Salad Dressing

The homemade dressing really makes this salad shine. It reminds me of a mojito, but not too sweet. Rather, this basil dressing is tart, light, and refreshing.

That way, the strawberry's natural sweetness gets to shine.

I make the salad dressing in my blender. However, you can make it by hand by just chopping the mint up nice and fine. It will have a bit more taste this way, but it still tastes great.

two plates of strawberry avocado and spinach salad with a fork

What to Serve With Strawberry Spinach Salad

In the summer, I love to serve this salad with a light entree. It's fairly satisfying all on its own, thanks to the almonds and quinoa.

Try these summery entrees alongside your strawberry spinach salad:

close up on a plate of strawberry spinach and quinoa salad

More Quinoa Salads To Try

If you make this Strawberry Spinach Salad with Toasted Quinoa, be sure to let me know what you think with a review below!

Strawberry Spinach Salad with Toasted Quinoa

4.8 from 5 votes
This summery strawberry spinach salad has almonds, toasted quinoa and minty-honey salad dressing for a healthy and light lunch or dinner.
author: Alyssa
yield: 4 servings
close up on strawberry salad with quinoa and spinach
Prep: 5 minutes
Total: 5 minutes

Ingredients
  

  • 5 oz container fresh spinach about 6 cups
  • 1 pint fresh strawberries about 2 cups, quartered
  • 1 cup chopped almonds
  • 1/4 cup toasted quinoa cooled (check out this post for a tutorial)

for the dressing:

  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • Juice of 1 lime
  • 1/2 teaspoon honey
  • 1/4 cup fresh mint
  • Salt + pepper to taste

Instructions
 

  • Place all dressing ingredients into a blender and blend on high until smooth. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
  • In a large bowl, add spinach and top with strawberries, almonds and quinoa. Pour dressing over salad and toss to coat.
  • Serve immediately or store in the fridge for up to two hours before serving.

Nutrition

Calories: 391kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 31g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Sodium: 104mg | Potassium: 666mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 3455IU | Vitamin C: 82.7mg | Calcium: 155mg | Iron: 3.2mg
cuisine: American
course: Salad

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16 comments on “Strawberry Spinach Salad with Toasted Quinoa”

  1. This recipe says” The homemade dressing really makes this salad shine. It reminds me of a mojito, but not too sweet. Rather, this basil dressing is tart, light, and refreshing. ”but basil is not in the ingredients list? .Also, the photos seem to have avacado in the salad but there is no avacado in the ingredients either ? Please could you clarify – thank you

    1. Avatar photo
      Teagan Mosenthal

      The basil is in this salad: https://www.simplyquinoa.com/blueberry-quinoa-power-salad/. I love to add avocado but not necessary! 🙂

  2. Avatar photo
    Barbara Butler

    You mention a basil dressing in the beginning…but the recipe has no basil. Did I miss something?

    1. Avatar photo
      Teagan Mosenthal

      You might be thinking of my Blueberry Quinoa Salad with Lemon-Basil Vinaigrette (it’s mentioned in this recipe too!). Both are amazing!!

  3. Made this for dinner tonight and it was out of this world! I made extra toasted quinoa to use in the Totally Addicting Vegetarian Kale Salad tomorrow night!

    1. Yes! I’m seriously obsessed too. I’m adding it to everything 🙂 Let me know how you like the kale salad – it’s one of my faves!! xo

  4. Avatar photo
    Dani @ Dani California Cooks

    Love the idea of toasted quinoa on a salad! Bet it adds really nice texture and crunch.

    1. Oh it totally does! It’s almost like adding sunflower seeds or something but with a heartier flavor 🙂

  5. I’m going to Trader Joe’s on my way back from picking up new puppy supplies! Sounds wonderful! Toast quinoa in dry skillet, right? And watch it like mad!

    1. Ahh puppies <3 And yes! Toast it in a dry skillet, tossing it around constantly until it's fragrant and popping. (and keeping a close eye on it is a must!)

    1. You simply add dry, uncooked quinoa to a pan and keep the pan over medium heat, tossing/stirring constantly until the quinoa begins to pop and is fragrant. You want to watch it carefully because it’s easy to burn! I suggest doing batches of 1/4 cup of dry quinoa at at time. Let me know how it goes!