This strawberry spinach salad with maple glazed pecans is so good you’ll wonder… is this even a salad?
Chock full of flavor, creaminess, and tangy not to mention vitamins. Easy to prep. My kind of salad.
Healthy, yummy, easy. Boom.
Maple Glazed Pecans
You may have seen or tried this salad with candied pecans. It’s good. But maple glazed pecans make this well-loved strawberry salad, next-level. Like best salad ever status.
The pecans come out smooth, creamy and sweet. Melt-in-your mouth delicious. In fact, you may want to make extra. They’re excellent just by themselves as a snack.
Homemade Maple Vinaigrette or Poppy Seed Dressing
Your choice here. Both are great options. If you want to go the shortcut route, a bottled poppy seed dressing is excellent with this salad. However, the homemade dressing recipe you’ll find below is simple and easy to make.
Optional Add-ins
There are several thing you can add to this strawberry spinach salad or you can keep it simple. Up to you! Somethings that would taste great are:
- Mandarin oranges go great right along with the strawberries
- Don’t have pecans? Try using slivered almonds, sesame seeds, or walnuts!
- Don’t have feta? Try goat cheese!
- Bacon – bacon makes everything better, go for it!
- Quinoa – this is a great option if you’re serving this as a side dish for a potluck
- Poppy seeds – Add these to the homemade dressing for extra crunch
You can also add chicken to this salad!
If you want to add some more protein to this salad and turn it into a full meal, chicken is a great option here. You may just want to make and add a little extra dressing. Grilled chicken or crispy chicken are both great options.
What pairs well with this strawberry spinach salad?
If you’re serving this salad as a side dish, then here are some ideas and recipes for the main course:
- Crab Cakes
- Salmon Patties
- French Dip Sliders
- Barbecue pork and cornbread
- Seriously, almost anything!
Want more easy recipe ideas?
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Strawberry Spinach Salad with Maple Glazed Pecans
Ingredients
- 2 cups fresh spinach leaves
- 8 fresh strawberries sliced
- 2 tbsp thinly sliced red onion
- ½ cup crumbled feta cheese
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- ½ cup pecans
DRESSING
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Divide spinach, strawberries, red onion and feta into two serving bowl.
- In a medium-sized microwaveable bowl, add brown sugar, butter and maple syrup. Microwave for about 1 minute or just until bubbling. Carefully remove from microwave and stir until sugar is dissolved.
- Dunk pecans into maple-butter mixture to coat and then set aside on a plate to cool and harden. You can speed up the cooling process by putting them in the fridge.
- While pecans are cooling, prepare dressing by adding ingredients to a small mason jar with a lid and shake.
- Place cooled pecans on top of each salad, drizzle with dressing and serve.