Spinach Almond and Berries Salad
A Spinach Almond and Berries Salad is the perfect way to showcase the best of summer’s bounty! Plus the Spinach Salad Dressing pairs perfectly with berries.
With the crunch of nuts, the sweetness of berries plus refreshing greens, this amped-up Strawberry Spinach Salad is divine!
Why You Must Make
I spotted this recipe in a cookbook (affiliate link) I bought over a decade ago in Colorado. It featured a bed of greens with a sprinkling of colorful berries. The sweet vinaigrette paired delightfully with the fruit-laden salad. That was my inspiration for this Spinach, Almond, and Berries Salad.
- Growing up in central Iowa, my mom’s salads were pretty basic. When my aunt shared her Strawberry Spinach Salad, we were instant fans.
- All the sugar in the vinaigrette didn’t hurt!
- This version has FOUR kinds of berries, lettuce in addition to the spinach, green onions, a touch of fresh dill, and slivered almonds.
- The delicious salad dressing is a little more complex with garlic, Worcestershire, dry mustard, and onion powder in addition to a good dose of sugar, oil, and vinegar.
How to Make
Growing up, my mom would try to shake up the ordinary tossed salad. We expected tomatoes, cucumbers, and other raw ingredients. My sisters and I weren’t thrilled when she tossed in some leftover steamed green beans and were appalled if fruit was involved. But the first strawberry spinach salad recipe changed our minds. Since then, I’ve been a huge fan of berries in salads.
- To make this lovely version, spinach and bib lettuce were tossed together to form a bed for the other ingredients.
- The greens were then topped with perfectly ripe strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries.
- Next, the toasted slivered almonds, green onions, and a few delicate tendrils of fresh dill were sprinkled over and around the berries.
- PRO-Tip: Even if the fresh dill sounds a bit odd, give it a try. I typically don’t use much fresh dill, but it was another delicious nuance added to this out-of-the-ordinary berry salad.
- All the dressing ingredients except the oil were whisked together before slowly whisking in the olive oil to emulsify the dressing.
- Either toss the salad with some of the dressing right before serving or pass the dressing along with the salad. This delicious twist on a spinach salad is ideal for a picnic, barbecue, or just a weeknight dinner at home.
- This recipe is very adaptable. Omit or switch out the nuts to your favorite. Use just one berry or just two or three!
Frequently Asked Questions
Use your sense of sight and smell. They should have a sweet aroma and look plump, and vibrant with no bruises, soft or moldy spots, or areas of green. If at the supermarket, look at all sides of the plastic container during your inspection.
If it wasn’t emulsified properly, it will separate. Emulsification is the process where you slowly drizzle in the oil as you whisk. If this is not done or done too quickly, the dressing can separate. But even if this happens, just whisk the dressing again or shake the container well before serving and it will be fine.
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- Plus More of the Best Salad Recipes
Spinach, Almond and Berries Salad
A refreshing salad with fresh strawberries and spinach plus crunchy almonds.
Ingredients
Dressing:
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup sherry or red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Worchestershire sauce
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon dry mustard
- 1/8 teaspoon onion powder
Salad:
- 1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted
- 8 ounces baby spinach
- 8 ounces butter lettuce
- 4 green onions, trimmed and sliced
- 1 cup strawberries, sliced
- 1/2 cup raspberries
- 1/2 cup blackberries
- 1 cup blueberries
- 2 tablespoons fresh dill
Instructions
- Make the dressing by whisking all ingredients except oil. Slowly drizzle in oil while whisking constantly. Set aside.
- Toss all salad ingredients together in a large bowl. Before serving, add the vinaigrette and toss.
Notes
Feel free to leave out the nuts or substitute with pecans or walnuts.
Use all 4 berries, or just one or two. This recipe is very flexible!
Adapted from Colorado Colore.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 413Total Fat: 25gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 21gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 162mgCarbohydrates: 46gFiber: 8gSugar: 34gProtein: 6g
60 Comments on “Spinach Almond and Berries Salad”
I love spinach salads but I never would have thought to add berries! Yum!
I’m not a cooked spinach fan so this salad definitely works for me. It’s so pretty and looks like each piece has been perfectly placed.
The dill is such a unique addition — sounds good! And that dressing!
Excellent salad; it’s simply the best epitome to summer. I usually go even without any dressing (Just a few drizzles of oil or lemon juice), but this dressing is lovely, too. The salad is so well-balanced to my taste that I wouldn’t skip / add anything – maybe just a little of parmesan or crumbled feta.
Thank you for sharing the recipe! It’s a beautiful salad and I bet that it tastes amazing too!
Really beautiful. But mostly I’m intrigued about this dressing. W sauce in a salad dressing?!! I’m excited to try it!
Looks delicious! Beautiful and bright. So quick and easy too.. Yum!
This really is an unusual salad. I love to throw the occasional piece of fruit into a salad, but this is truly the mid-ground between a fruit salad, and a vegetable salad! My husband can’t go a week without “needing” spinach (no, I didn’t marry Popeye) so I definitely see this salad making an appearance in my kitchen sometime soon.
This is a lovely take on the ordinary spinach salad, the use of berries add some beautiful pops of colour. A cool little trivia: spinach needs to be paired with something that has vitamin C for its vitamin D to be absorbed by the body, hence the usual mandarin orange in a typical spinach salad!
This salad looks beautiful!! I love the fresh berries in the salad. Absolutely delicious!
This is gorgeous, Liz! I love adding berries to salad greens, and the dressing sounds fabulous!
What a beautiful salad Liz – so delicious and healthy! The berries up here are gorgeous and will make a lovely addition to our salad course!
I’m especially fond of fruits in salad; I no longer even try using tomatoes out of season…I know I would love this mixture and it’s pretty to boot!
This is a gorgeous salad with all of the color. Love your childhood story too.
Dear Lizzy this salad looks beautiful.and delicious !
Send you hugs and love
Gloria
This salad has a perfect mix of flavors and textures. The dressing really takes it to the next level, I am in love!
Yes please! This is one of my favorite salads! My husband and I love this! Can’t wait to make this again!
Yummy in my tummy!
Love this salad! The idea of all of those berries in a salad is just irresistible. I was surprised to see such a large amount of Worchestershire sauce in the dressing. That’s an ingredient that I use in moderation because it’s so strong, but when I think about it – it’s not as powerful as balsamic. I can definitely see how it could work with all those berries. This is a keeper!
Beautiful and colorful salad. I have never tried strawberries in savory style salad, but you are tempting me. 🙂
Ahh.. is looking fabulous.. I would love to try it. Love the fact you used berries in the salad.. it’s quite new to me.
One of our favorite salads!! So fun and summery!
It’s a gorgeous salad! I love the use of three berries in the salad!
I adore strawberries and really, ANY berry aded to salads for that sweet and savory marriage of flavors! Your salad looks fantastic Liz! Thanks for leading me to Wendy’s new monthly salad round-up where I added another Strawberry & Romaine salad. What a wonderful, wonderful blog get-together theme!
xo
Roz
I love a spinach salad with almonds and berries. The first time I had one was years ago in Gettysburg, PA! I was hooked. Your salad looks great!
Yay! I’m all for the Salad Bar:) Wonderful roundup of berry salads!
I am loving this berry theme! Berrylicious!
Your salad is so pretty with the berries!
Very pretty salad and unique dressing. Sounds like a winning combo to me!
Oh my–you have outdone yourself with this salad, Liz. All those beautiful berries! I’m so glad that I got to meet you in Indiana. One of the best benefits of this blogging business is meeting such fabulous people! 🙂
Seriously woman, this is spectacular.
A very colourful and healthy summer salad, Liz.
Perfect summer salad. Looks perfect.
What a fantastic collection of salads! I always enjoy eating something fresh and delicious! Your salad with the spinach and strawberries would be so refreshing.
Love those beautiful berries on your salad!
I love salad with berries in it…especially with some gorgonzola cheese thrown in! This looks so perfect for summer:)
I love putting fruit in my tossed salads
That is a very pretty looking salad. I don’t think I’ve ever had a berry salad before. Sadly, I’ll have to put this on hold as it’s just too expensive now to be doing anything with fresh berries. They’re out of season! xx
I love that you added dill to the berries and didn’t use all spinach. Sounds perfect to me!
This looks great Liz! I love the look of your dressing with Worch sauce and dry mustard. I’m thinking this would be a great salad to add flank steak slices to for my husband. Love!
The greens in this are simply gorgeous 🙂
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Oh yum that salad dressing sounds so amazing!
You are so pretty, Lizzy – and skinny! How you do it – I have absolutely no idea! You do so much baking. Your salad looks so colorful. I love salad with fruit in it – that’s the best kind of salad!
Such a beautiful salad, full of delicious flavors. Perfect weeknight meal when you don’t want to heat up the kitchen.
Beautiful salad, Liz. I love the combination of strawberries and almonds. Yum.
Beautiful! The dressing sounds wonderful!
Mmm. Wish I could dig in to that lovely bowl of greens and berries right now! The dressing with the nuts and fruits looks pretty darn good, too =)
This salad looks so beautifully vibrant! I really love all the mixed berries in this salad and the dressing sounds wonderful Liz!
I’m still jealous that you got to meet Wendy… well, and I’m jealous that Wendy go to meet you too!! Someday I hope to sit down with you both.
But in the meantime, I’m loving what you put together. I keep forgetting about dill, but it’s actually one of my mom’s favorite herbs. I have a packet of seeds that I meant to plant, and your salad has reminded me AND inspired me to go plant them this morning. Thanks Liz!
Beautiful berry salad! Oh yeah, that Worcestershire is going to add lots of umami to the dressing!
Liz – I love this salad, packed with different berries and almonds. Delicious!!!!
I love strawberries in salad! This looks delicious Liz! Pinned it for later! Have a wonderful weekend!
Perfect berry salad, pinned!!
YUMMmmy,
Liz, you are adorable. I love your hair cut! Swwweeet. X
Sherry vinaigrette pairs so perfectly with berries. And so do almonds – delicious salad Liz!
I want a big plate of this bursting-with-blueberries salad now…and to be sharing it in person with you, sweet Lizzy! Love that pic…it was so great to meet you and Cathy that weekend!!
Beautiful and healthy salad , Lizzy ! The dressing itself sounds yummy .
Yum! What a beautiful salad. The dressing sounds perfect.
I am so curious about your dressing with some Worcestershire in it. I’ll have to try that. Salad is so pretty. Good for the Salad Bar.
Such a pretty and healthy salad! Sounds like a fun monthly meme too:@)