This Strawberry Spinach Salad with chicken and goat cheese is a deliciously protein-packed meal with a 4-ingredient dressing!
How to make this salad
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Season chicken with salt & pepper, then saute on a pan with olive oil for 6-7 minutes per side. If grilling, grill for 5 minutes per side. Remove from heat and set aside.
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Mix together ingredients under the dressing heading and set aside for later.
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Once the chicken has rested, slice the chicken up against the grain. Then slice the strawberries and red onions and keep aside.
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Add spinach to a large bowl, along with strawberries, red onion and almonds.
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When salad is ready to serve, toss with dressing, then divide among 4 salad bowls.
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Top with sliced chicken and goat cheese. Serve and enjoy!
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Ingredients and substitutions
- Olive oil – any neutral oil like safflower, sunflower or avocado oil will work in place of olive oil.
- Chicken cutlets – you can also use chicken breast cut thinly in half
- Salt & pepper (to taste)
- Baby spinach – romaine lettuce, baby kale or mixed greens will also work in this recipe
- Strawberries – if you’re looking to opt in a different fruit for strawberries, blackberries, figs and mandarin oranges will also work well for this recipe.
- Red onion – if you’re not a fan of red onions, feel free to use shallots or leave them out entirely.
- Feta – if you don’t have crumbled feta, goat cheese is a great alternative.
- Almonds – walnuts, pecans, sunflower seeds, pine nuts, roasted chickpeas or popped lentils can also be used in place of almonds.
Dressing
- Olive oil
- Red wine vinegar – balsamic or apple cider vinegar can be used in place of red wine vinegar
- Honey – agave syrup or maple syrup will also work in this dressing
- Dijon mustard
- Salt & pepper (to taste)
What other dressings can be used?
Summer salads like this strawberry spinach salad pairs so well with vinaigrettes. Vinaigrette dressings are a combination of oils, vinegars, herbs and other flavours and are known to be a lighter dressing option. Vinaigrettes can be used for as marinades but are most commonly used for salads. The acidic palette of vinaigrettes pair really well with the greens used in salads and are a lighter dressing option compared to creamy dressings. If you're looking for more dressing options for this salad besides the red wine vinaigrette dressing suggested, try one of these options:
- balsamic vinaigrette
- poppyseed vinaigrette
- raspberry vinaigrette
- honey mustard vinaigrette
Storing and serving
If you've tried out any of my other salad recipes, you already know that my favourite way to store salads is in a mason jar. Storing your salads in a mason jar allows you to fully assemble the ingredients, dressing included, in advance while the ingredients remain fresh and crispy for up to five days in the fridge! Trust me once you start storing your salads in mason jars, you won't go back!
When you're ready to enjoy your salad, shake up the mason jar so all of the ingredients are combined and then serve it into a bowl to enjoy. You will want to add it to a bowl before eating because it may be a little difficult to enjoy out of the mason jar. But, if you're on the move, you can probably make eating directly out of the mason jar work!
Freezing the chicken
If you're looking to keep the chicken on hand for future salads, you can freeze the chicken after it's been cooked. Make sure you've allowed the chicken to cool down, then store it in a freezer bag or glass meal prep container. Place the container of frozen chicken in your refrigerator to thaw the night before you are hoping to enjoy it.
It’s perfectly safe to eat the chicken cold on top of your salad but it does taste better warmed up. To warm up your chicken, heat it in the oven at 350 F for 20-25 minutes. You can also saute it in a pan on the stove for a few minutes or microwave it on medium power for a couple of minutes.
However you choose to reheat the chicken, make sure to sprinkle some water overtop first to prevent the chicken from drying out.
More salad recipes
- Ahi tuna salad with carrot ginger dressing
- Grilled chicken, avocado and ranch BLT salad
- Doritos taco salad
Meal prep tools for this recipe
- These are the mason jars I use to store salads and homemade dressing in the fridge
- You can get larger 32oz mason jars too!
- Grab some glass meal prep bowls if you would rather layer these salads in a different container
- I like this salad dressing shaker to make homemade dressings easier
- These colourful mason jar lids are so fun and perfect if you lose your lids
- I get all my free-range chicken from Butcher Box, conveniently delivered to me frozen.
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Strawberry Spinach Salad with Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 4 chicken cutlets or 2 chicken breasts sliced in half lengthwise
- Salt & pepper, to taste
- 5 oz container baby spinach about 6 cups
- 1/2 lb strawberries, thinly sliced
- 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup feta or goat cheese, crumbled
- 1/4 cup sliced almonds
Dressing
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar balsamic also works
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- 1 pinch each salt & pepper
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet over med-high heat. Alternatively, preheat the BBQ to 425 F. Season chicken with salt & pepper, then add to the pan, sauteeing for 6-7 minutes per side. If grilling, grill for 5 minutes per side. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Mix together ingredients under the dressing heading. Once chicken has rested for 5 minutes, slice chicken up against the grain.
- Add spinach to a large bowl, along with strawberries, red onion and almonds.
- When salad is ready to serve, toss with dressing, then divide among 4 salad bowls. Top with sliced chicken and goat cheese. Serve and enjoy!
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