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This Strawberry Spinach Salad takes its inspiration from a classic Cobb salad. Packed with tender chicken, bacon, avocado, and hard-boiled eggs, you’ll add juicy fresh strawberries and orange segments for summery flavor.
Why You’ll Love This Strawberry & Spinach Salad
Delicious Details
- Cuisine Inspiration: American
- Primary Cooking Method: No-cook
- Dietary Info: Gluten-free, Dairy-free option
- Skill Level: Easy
I love a fully loaded salad, especially one that has fruit for the perfect balance of sweet and savory. So this one totally fits the bill. Inspired by a classic Cobb salad, this strawberry and spinach salad is perfect for the hot weather months. You’ll top it with sliced strawberries and creamy avocado, then add salty bacon crumbles, goat cheese, hard-boiled eggs, and chicken. It’s all tied together with a bright poppyseed dressing and a few almonds for crunch. Here’s why you’ll love it:
- Make it a meal. This salad is hearty enough to make a meal! Serve it for lunch on a hot summer’s day, or enjoy it as a light dinner.
- Adaptable. Sometimes I like to add more fruit or avocado slices – this forgiving recipe can be adapted to suit your tastes and what you have on hand.
- Easy. Just assemble, toss, and serve!
Spinach Salad Ingredients and Substitutions
This filling salad is packed with protein and fresh vegetables as well as fruit. Here’s what you’ll need to make it. Check the recipe card at the bottom of this post for the full ingredient amounts.
- Baby Spinach: I like baby spinach in this recipe because it is tender and fresh. Alternatively, you could use regular spinach.
- Strawberries: Choose ripe, sweet strawberries in season for the best flavor.
- Avocado: A ripe avocado is slightly soft, but not mushy. Don’t use a hard, unripe avocado.
- Orange: Or substitute mandarin oranges.
- Chicken: You’ll need about two cups of cooked and cubed chicken. I like to use breast meat, but if you prefer dark meat, just cut up some leftover baked chicken thighs.
- Bacon: Crumbled bacon adds a crisp, salty flavor.
- Goat Cheese: If you want to try a different cheese, go right ahead! I like to mix things up with feta cheese crumbles, cubes of sharp cheddar cheese, blue cheese, or even big flakes of Parmesan instead of goat cheese. Or omit the cheese to make it dairy-free.
- Almonds: Use sliced almonds for a nice bit of crunch, or swap them for chopped almonds. Chopped pistachios or pecans are also lovely in this salad, as well as Honey Glazed Walnuts.
- Hard-Boiled Eggs – See my post on how to make the best hard boiled eggs!
- Salad Dressing: Go with a classic poppyseed dressing or make my fruity Strawberry Poppyseed Dressing. Other nice options for this strawberry and spinach salad include Blueberry Lemon Chia Seed Vinaigrette with chia instead of poppyseeds, Creamy Greek Yogurt Maple Dijon Salad Dressing, or try my Warm Maple Bacon Dressing recipe.
- Parsley: For an optional garnish.
Tips for the Best Strawberry Spinach Salad
- Use the right tools. Make quick work of your strawberries with a strawberry corer. And I really love to use this avocado tool for removing the pit, slicing, and scooping it.
- Lighten it up. If you prefer, you can make this salad a bit lighter by adding one-eighth of an avocado to each portion and/or use half of an egg per serving. You can also cut down on the dressing, or purchase or make a lighter dressing if you wish.
- Make it vegetarian. You can easily omit the chicken and bacon to make this into a vegetarian salad. If you do this, you can leave it as-is, or add half of a can of rinsed and drained chickpeas.
- Double it. If you’re serving a crowd, simply double or triple the amount of ingredients in the recipe card to accommodate how many servings you need.
How to Store Strawberry and Spinach Salad
Strawberry and spinach salad is best served as soon as it’s made. If you think you may have leftovers, leave off the dressing and place the salad in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days. When you’re ready to serve it, top it with the dressing.
What to Serve with Strawberry Spinach Salad
I like to serve this hearty salad as a complete meal – I find that the chicken and hard-boiled eggs are enough to fill me up! Or, you can add a side of bread or fruit. Here are a few ideas:
- With more fruit. Continue the summer theme and make a beautiful and refreshing Watermelon Berry Fruit Salad! You could also try my Mango Berry Crunch Fruit Salad recipe.
- Bread. Serve this salad with soft and chewy Gluten Free Focaccia, or serve a bowl of warm Gluten Free Breadsticks alongside.
- Grilled chicken. Omit the chicken in the salad and make flavorful Greek Grilled Chicken or Asian Grilled Chicken as a main dish and serve you strawberry and spinach salad as a side.
- Soup and Salad. You might not consider a steamy bowl with this summery salad, but my creamy Tomato Bisque and fresh Chicken Zoodles Soup feature seasonal produce.
Strawberry Spinach Salad
Equipment
- Salad spinner
- Avocado tool
- Knife
Ingredients
- 6-8 cups baby spinach, washed and dried
- 1 cup sliced strawberries
- 1 avocado, sliced
- 1 medium orange, cut into segments
- 8 oz. chicken breast, cooked and cubed (about two cups, or one small or two large breasts)
- 4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
- 2 oz. crumbled goat cheese (about 1/2 cup)
- 4 tablespoons sliced almonds
- 4 hard-boiled eggs, quartered or chopped
- 8 tablespoons poppyseed salad dressing, storebought or homemade
- minced parsley, optional for garnish
Instructions
- Divide the spinach between four plate or bowls.
- Top each plate of spinach with about a quarter of the strawberries, avocado, orange, and chicken, one slice of crumbled bacon, 1 oz. (about a two Tablespoons) goat cheese, one Tablespoon almonds, and one egg.
- Drizzle each salad with about two Tablespoons of dressing. Garnish with minced parsley, if desired.
- Serve as-is or toss before serving. You can also toss all of the ingredients in one large bowl and divide between individual plates or bowls.
Did you make this?
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