This Strawberry Spinach Salad is magical! A Louisiana Chef recipe, this surprising combination of ingredients works beautifully: spinach, strawberries, candied pecans, blue cheese and a gorgeous Strawberry Balsamic Dressing.
My taste testers loved this and I am officially obsessed!
This salad is an absolute stunner. Visually and taste.
Strawberry and balsamic is a combination I discovered last year. Like tomato and basil, it just works. Sweetened balsamic, that is. Plain balsamic vinegar is too harsh.
Bringing that flavour combination into a salad is incredible. I was researching online for Cajun / Creole salads to complete my 2016 Thanksgiving Feast. I actually had to browse quite a bit, reading up on classic Cajun menus, even checking out some restaurant menus.
I really love doing this – exploring the internet’s hidden corners for treasures. As I hunted around, I chanced upon this recipe on a blog called Around Anna’s Table. Actually, I found the recipe name on a website called Gumbo Pages but couldn’t find the recipe so went hunting for one.
This is not a salad I would have come up on my own, it’s definitely a Cheff-y recipe. And that’s exactly what this is – it’s a recipe by Chef Varnedoe of Baton Rouge’s Restaurant IPO (now closed 🙁 ) which was published in [url:2]Louisiana Kitchen & Culture magazine[/url].
The Strawberry Balsamic Dressing itself is absolutely gorgeous. The sweet fragrance of strawberries, tartness of balsamic transformed into a salad dressing. It’s got that sweet-salty-tart-fresh thing happening. I really like it. I made it 3 times in the space of a fortnight and used it on many salads!
When the Strawberry Balsamic Dressing is combined with delicate baby spinach, fresh juicy strawberries, creamy salty pops of blue cheese and the sweet crunch of candied pecans, and you have a truly fabulous salad. My taste testers LOVED this!
This Strawberry Salad is part of my 2016 Thanksgiving Menu. As you may have guessed, this years’ menu is Cajun themed and the star of it is a genius reader recipe: a one roasting pan Cajun Baked Turkey Breast and Dressing / Stuffing recipe. The full menu is outlined in the Turkey recipe. 🙂
Normally I am very flexible about substitutions in recipes. This is one of the few exceptions. I made this Strawberry Salad last weekend for friends, switching the blue cheese for goats cheese and without using candied pecans. While they said they liked it, they didn’t rave about it like my Thanksgiving Menu Taste Testers.
I began to doubt myself so I made it again yesterday, exactly as the recipe is written. It is stellar. The blue cheese can’t be substituted or omitted and the sweetness of the candied pecans is essential for the complete experience!!! – Nagi x
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Louisiana Strawberry Spinach Salad with Strawberry Balsamic Dressing
Ingredients
Strawberry Balsamic Dressing (makes ~1 3/4 cups)
- 250 g / 8 oz fresh strawberries , tops cut off
- 3/4 cups balsamic vinegar
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 4 tbsp brown sugar , packed (light brown)
- 2 tbsp strawberry jam or preserves
- 1/2 tsp salt
Candied pecans:
- 1 cup pecans (mostly whole, can chop some)
- 2 tbsp brown sugar (any)
- 2 tbsp / 30 g butter
Salad
- 4 cups baby spinach , packed
- 16 (250 g / 8 oz) large strawberries , sliced
- 75 - 100 g / 2 - 3.5 oz blue cheese , crumbled (to taste)
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Whizz Dressing ingredients in a food processor or blender. Strain if desired (to remove little strawberry seeds). Keep for up to 2 weeks in the fridge.
- Pecans: Line a tray with parchment / baking paper. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add pecans, toss to coat. Add sugar and stir for 5 minutes. The sugar will melt and coat the pecans. Pour onto tray, spread out, allow to cool - it will harden.
- To serve, place the spinach and half the strawberries in a bowl and drizzle over a bit of Dressing. Toss gently, then transfer to a serving bowl. Top with remaining strawberries, then drizzle with more Dressing. Crumble over blue cheese and scatter with pecans. Serve immediately, with remaining Dressing on the side!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
LIFE OF DOZER
Seriously. This dog is interested in ANYTHING edible. (And many things that are not!)
This is a really tasty salad. I LOVE the dressing! I had some leftover grilled chicken so I added it to the salad and we had it for lunch. Delicious! All of your recipes are so good. We love your crunchy chicken fingers – in fact I’m making them as “chicken and waffles” for our meal on our family vacation (for 30+ people). Easy and delicious. I tell everyone about you!!
Wahoo, sounds perfect Mary!! N x
This salad is so delicious!
Can I use frozen strawberries for the dressing? 😬
question-Can I sub romaine lettuce for the spinach? With the exception of the spinach, I have all of the ingredients on hand. The store is not nearby, or I would make a run.
Yes definitely Janice!! N x
I want to make this but I REALLY don’t like blue cheese! Is there another cheese that would work?
I made it with goats cheese and it was delicious. Could use feta either.
Hi I want to tell you I been cooking some of your recepites
and Family love them. Thank
you for sharing you recepites
MArnold
Usually in salad dressing, it’s two parts oil to one part acid. Are the measurements for this dressing correct?
Hi L, yes the measurements are correct – I don’t follow rules 😂
It’s hard to decide which salad I liked better, this one or Nagi’s Strawberry Salad with Avocado. Both are nice, and definitely are winners. (Today, the tiebreaker goes to the later because avocados are in season and the poppyseed dressing is nice and light with a touch sweet; perfect for a nice summer day here in the U.S.) But, I’m fond of a good blue cheese so I tried her Strawberry spinach with the strawberry balsamic dressing. Nagi is correct, there is no substitute for blue cheese. (As a test, I tried some White Stilton with Mango and Ginger from Trader Joe’s. The kick from the ginger was nice, but the mango was a little too sweet for this salad especially with the candied pecans.) To serve the salad for friends, I used a Roquefort; the sharp acidity complimented the tangy dressing perfectly. (Note, crumble blue cheese yourself by inserting a fork and giving it a little twist. Store bought crumbled blue cheese in a tub can be okay but some of them use cellulose, an anticlumping agent, and they could be powdery and dry. In any case, look for the trademark blue for its characteristic flavor.) While I had a clear preference for the sharp funky notes of Roquefort, you can soften it with drinking an Alsace or even an ice wine for a sweet balance.
Just made this for dinner and my partner and I absolutely loved it! Thanks for sharing such awesome recipes. 🙂
Terrific to hear Casey! Thanks for letting me know you enjoyed it – N x
It’s a great recipe. I love it. I found the dressing already made and it’s great also in the local grocery store. when I get home I will post the brand.
Made this for Thanksgiving, delicious as written (I didn’t strain the strawberry seeds). Next time, I would let guests pour their own dressing instead of incorporating beforehand. Also, I like a little more crunch to my lettuce, will add another type of lettuce to bump up the crunch. Another fantastic Nagi recipe. Everyone at Thanksgiving said they liked it. Thank you.
That’s so terrific to hear Nicole!!!! Thank you were sharing your feedback – N x ❤️
Hi Nagi, I’m making the salad tomorrow for Thanksgiving dinner. My problem is when I made the pecans (I’m making them ahead) the sugar didn’t coat the pecans. I melted the butter, then added the pecans and sugar and stirred over medium heat, but the sugar kind of separated from the pecans and is in its own little clumps – any idea what I might have done wrong?
Hi Marianne! If you continue to stir, the sugar will melt, same way caramel is made 🙂 It does becomes clumps at first. I will try to sneak in photos this afternoon as I am making candied nuts later today and will drop a message here if I do so you can see how mine looks. Hope that helps!
Boom! This will be one of my Christmas day salads. Perfect colours for a Christmas table spread and looks so very yummy. Will have a practice run this weekend. Thank you for all your great recipes Nagi. Every one is always inspiring for me who is such an amateur in the kitchen. Can’t wait to make the Creamy Corn Casserole.
Dozer is such a delight appearing at the end of your posts. Always makes me smile.
Oooh, I am dying to hear what you think! I know this is a pretty unique salad, but I swear, I LOVE it. So glad you enjoy seeing Dozer at the end of each post instead of being a turn off!!! 😉 N xx
Hi Nagi! This sounds delicious! Assuming I can get some good strawberries I will be making this for Thanksgiving! The tastes and textures here are perfect!
Isn’t it so pretty?? I was amazed at how it tastes. Absolutely floored!