Strawberry Goat Cheese Salad

This spinach salad is loaded with fresh strawberries, mandarin oranges, goat cheese, candied pecans, and a homemade creamy strawberry dressing. It’s an incredible summery side salad or entree!

Update: This recipe was originally published in 2020 and has been republished with all new photos.

I’ve been making this Strawberry Goat Cheese Salad for years and it is far and away my very favorite salad recipe! The base for the ahhhmazing salad is fresh spinach leaves, strawberries, mandarin oranges, and creamy goat cheese. You like how this is starting, right? Don’t stop there. As good as those ingredients are (so good), it’s the homemade strawberry basil dressing and candied pecans that make people remember this salad.

My Strawberry Basil Dressing is the very best salad dressing in all of the world. It’s lightly sweetened with juicy strawberries and a splash of orange juice. Just toss a few simple ingredients into your blender and you’re done! You’ll have a creamy, luscious dressing that wows in minimal time.

Every salad needs some crunch and this salad’s crunch is courtesy of my Sticky Candied Pecans. They’re far less expensive than the kind you’ll find in the store. Plus you’ll only need 4 ingredients. No sugar. No weird sugar substitutes. The pecans give this spinach strawberry salad so much texture and they feel like such a treat.

All these different flavors work together to create the perfect summer salad. I can’t imagine a better light lunch than this. It’s also a great side dish or fun entree any time of year. This is my go-to salad when I have guests over. I’m telling you, offer this beautiful salad to guests when entertaining. They will be impressed!

Strawberry Goat Cheese Salad Ingredients

• Spinach leaves: Baby spinach is the base for this salad. You can also use baby greens, mixed greens, spring mix, or any leafy greens you enjoy.
• Strawberries: We want sweet strawberries so make sure the strawberries you select are ripe. This will give you a better tasting salad and dressing.
• Mandarin oranges in 100% juice: While I’m typically a big proponent of all the fresh veggies and fruits, we’re not using fresh oranges here. What is that about, huh? I prefer those 4 oz cups of mandarin oranges in 100% juice here because they are perfectly soft and sweet all year round! You can find them by the canned fruit in your grocery store.
• Goat cheese: Goat cheese crumbles add a creaminess to our salad. The cheese breaks apart some and coats the leaves so every boat has plenty of that tangy goat cheese flavor. If you’re looking to use a different cheese I recommend blue cheese, gorgonzola, or feta cheese.
• Pecan halves: The pecans add a nice crunch to this salad. We’ll roast them with honey to make them extra special!
• Butter or ghee: Butter or ghee (clarified butter) helps candy our pecans.
• Honey: Honey is the sweetener of choice for the candied pecans.
• Cinnamon: Candied nuts are always better with cinnamon.
• Light olive oil: While I love extra virgin olive oil and use it in tons of recipes, do not use it here. Extra virgin olive oil has a strong flavor and an oily texture that really comes through in the finished dressing. We don’t want that! Light olive oil has a much milder flavor and blends beautifully so the strawberries and basil can shine. Trust me, the light olive oil makes a huge difference here!
• White wine vinegar: White wine vinegar has a mild flavor that blends well with the other ingredients. You can use champagne vinegar if you need a swap.
• Orange juice: This dressing is lightly sweet thanks to the strawberries and orange juice.
• Basil: Fresh basil pairs so well with strawberries.
• Salt: A little salt amps up the flavor of our salad dressing.

How to Make Strawberry Goat Cheese Salad

We’ll start by making the candied pecans. First melt the butter and stir in honey and cinnamon. Toss the pecans in that sweet mixture and place in the oven.

While the pecans are roasting, let’s create the strawberry dressing. Add all the dressing ingredients (strawberries, light olive oil, white wine vinegar, orange juice, basil, and salt) to a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth.

Chop your finished candied pecans once they come out of the oven.

Now let’s build our delicious salad. Assemble salads by layering spinach, strawberry slices, and mandarin oranges into small bowls or one large salad bowl. Crumble the goat cheese on top. Add chopped candied pecans. Drizzle the strawberry basil dressing on top.

How to Serve this Strawberry Goat Cheese Salad

This is a great side salad or a light entree. You can make it a more substantial meal by adding a protein. Add grilled chicken breasts! My Lemon Herb Grilled Chicken is perfection. To quickly add chicken, shred up a store-bought rotisserie chicken (easily the greatest cooking life hack for any recipe ever) or use leftover chicken from your dinner the night before. Steak would also be amazing with this strawberry goat cheese salad recipe.

Can you make strawberry goat cheese salad ahead of time?

If you’d like to enjoy this strawberry spinach salad later I recommend not adding the goat cheese or the dressing to the other ingredients until you’re ready to enjoy. Store the salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator to up to one day. It’s best to store the homemade dressing in a separate airtight container. Give it a shake or stir before using as it will separate some.

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