Easy Strawberry Goat Cheese Salad made with juicy strawberries, creamy goat cheese, salad greens, and a delicious homemade dressing. Perfect summer salad!
This recipe has been updated with new photos, an improved layout and salad dressing ingredients. Additionally, the recipe itself was adjusted to serve more people.
Here in Pennsylvania, strawberry season is at its peak in June. So, we try to take full advantage of it by making strawberry everything!
You'll find me making strawberry cream cheese dip, cold asparagus salad with strawberries, fresh fruit salad, and this strawberry salad, of course! And let's not forget about homemade strawberry crumble. Yum!!
While there is so much to make with fresh strawberries, this Strawberry Goat Cheese Salad is my absolute favorite! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Easy Recipe Even kids can make it.
- Simple Ingredients
- Great Side Dish This is my favorite salad to serve for the Spring and summer months. It's easy enough to make during the week and delicious enough to serve for Easter or Mother's Day brunch.
- Meal Prep The dressing can be made ahead and stored refrigerated in an airtight container. A mason jar works very well for storing salad dressing. All of the salad ingredients can be prepped ahead and stored in a separate airtight container (salad greens and goat cheese need to be refrigerated).
- 6 grams of protein Which is saying something for a simple salad!
Dietitian Tip
If your kids don't like having a lot of textures in one dish, try serving this salad 'salad bar' style, placing each ingredient in a separate small bowl.
Allowing them to assemble their own salad gives them some control over what and how much they are eating.
Recipe Variations
- Salad Dressing I decided to include the dressing ingredients for my strawberry balsamic vinaigrette when I updated this recipe because it's my absolute favorite. Still, feel free to use a basic storebought or homemade balsamic vinaigrette or poppy seed dressing.
- Nuts & Seeds Pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, or candied pecans can be added or used in place of pistachios.
- More Veggies Red onions or roasted beets taste great with this salad, too!
- Cheese Tangy goat cheese is my favorite on this salad. Still, feel free to use feta cheese or blue cheese crumbles instead.
- Complete Meal Add hard-boiled egg, grilled or roasted chicken breasts, a scoop of chicken salad, or salmon, and you've got a complete meal. In fact, the poached salmon that my salmon pasta dish calls for would taste amazing with this salad!
Ingredient Notes
- Salad greens Baby spinach, peppery arugula, spring mix, or a mixture of salad greens work well. Salad greens, especially the darker leafy greens are packed with a variety of nutrients. For instance, spinach provides a good source of iron, folate, potassium, various vitamins, and phytonutrients. Spinach also contains a small amount of protein.
- Pistachios Add a nice crunch and a touch of salt to this delicious salad! They also contribute monounsaturated fat and protein which will help you feel full longer!
- Hemp hearts (optional) Hemp hearts, shelled hemp seeds, and hulled hemp seeds are one and the same. They add a nutty flavor and soft texture. Hemp hearts are a source of Omega-3 fatty acids and protein. They also contain fiber, potassium, iron, and more.
- Strawberries These fresh berries are high in a variety of nutrients including vitamin C, antioxidants, vitamins, manganese, folate, and fiber. They add a beautiful color and a delicious texture to this salad.
- Goat Cheese A tangy cheese with a soft texture that is made from goat's milk. Use the tip of a fork to break a goat cheese log into crumbles or buy goat cheese crumbles, often found near the deli section of the grocery store.
Dressing Ingredients
How to Make This Strawberry Goat Cheese Salad Recipe
Here's a quick overview of the steps to make this kid-favorite salad. For the full list of ingredients and specific instructions, scroll down to the recipe card.
- Wash and slice strawberries.
- Make the salad dressing: blend sweet strawberries, white balsamic vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, and maple syrup together in a blender or food processor.
- Place salad greens in a large salad bowl. Top it with sliced strawberries, pistachios, hemp hearts, and crumbled goat cheese.
- Drizzle on the dressing and toss it to serve!
Helpful Tips
- Use kitchen shears to cut the salad greens into smaller pieces. This will make the salad easier to eat for kids.
- Goat cheese has a strong flavor so keep the goat cheese crumbles small.
- To get small crumbles of goat cheese, lightly scrape across the top of a log of goat cheese with the tips of a fork. Twist the fork side to side as you scrape it.
Questions You May Have
Although it's not a must, I suggest using a mixture of greens. Doing this will add a variety of colors, nutrients, and texture. Kids especially tend to enjoy salads more when a softer green is mixed in with a heartier green (like spinach and/or arugula).
Spring mix salad contains a variety of tender baby greens. The type of green can vary. Baby romaine, green and red leaf lettuces, and spinach are commonly found in spring mix salad.
Goat cheese is softer and less salty than feta cheese. This salad is sweet more than savory, so I prefer to use goat cheese.
More Side Dishes
- Green Goddess Salad with Green Goddess Dressing (Homemade)
- Green Goddess Salad Dressing (No Oil, No Mayo)
- Green Bean Casserole with Fresh Green Beans
- Top 9 Holiday Side Dishes (30 Minutes or Less!)
Did you love this Easy Strawberry Goat Cheese Salad? Please leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating and comment below. A 5-star rating is the best compliment!
Don't forget to follow me on Instagram @carrots.and.cookies for more easy recipes and nutrition tips!
📖 Recipe
Strawberry Goat Cheese Salad
Equipment
Ingredients
- 6 cups salad greens spring mix, baby spinach, arugula, washed and drained
- 1 cup strawberries sliced
- ¼ cup pistachios shelled
- 4 teaspoon hemp hearts
- 3 tablespoon goat cheese crumbled into small pieces
Strawberry Dressing
- ⅓ cup strawberries washed, stems removed
- 2½ tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 4 teaspoon white balsamic vinegar
- 2 teaspoon maple syrup
- pinch salt
- pinch black pepper
Instructions
Salad Dressing
- Add all salad dressing ingredients to a blender or small food processor and blend for about one minute.⅓ cup strawberries, 2½ tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, 4 teaspoon white balsamic vinegar, 2 teaspoon maple syrup, pinch salt, pinch black pepper
Salad
- Lay salad greens on a plate or in a bowl.6 cups salad greens
- Top with remaining ingredients.1 cup strawberries, ¼ cup pistachios, 4 teaspoon hemp hearts, 3 tablespoon goat cheese
- Drizzle on the dressing, toss, and serve!
Notes
- Using kitchen shears to cut the salad greens into smaller pieces helps to make the salad easier to eat.
- Goat cheese has a strong flavor, so try to keep the goat cheese crumbles small.
- To get small crumbles of goat cheese, lightly scrape across the top of a log of goat cheese with the tips of a fork. Twist the fork side to side as you scrape it and allow the crumbles to fall onto the salad.
- If your child is allergic to pistachios, leave them out. Roasted and lightly salted sunflower seeds make a nice substitute!
- For a complete meal, top this Strawberry Goat Cheese Salad with hard-boiled egg, grilled or roasted chicken, chicken salad, or salmon!
Jen says
This salad is the taste of summer. I used fresh picked strawberries from a local farm. Sooo good! Happy summer!
Kristi Ruth RD says
Aww, thank you! I couldn't agree more!