This fresh green salad gets a pop of color and vitamins from sliced strawberries, and is mixed with creamy goat cheese and basil vinaigrette for extra flavor.
“If I actually liked the ingredients in there, that salad would look really good,” said my 9-year old son as I was photographing this recipe. Umm…thank you? Well, this might not be a hit with the under 10 crowd, but I think this strawberry and goat cheese green salad would be a welcome addition to any Easter meal. After all, we all need something healthy to offset the pounds of Easter cookies and chocolate eggs we are bound to consume. Whether you celebrate with a brunch of Heath Bar Cinnamon Rolls and Hot Cross Buns, or a more traditional meal of ham and Scalloped Potatoes with Three Cheeses, this light and easy dish boasts the flavors of spring.
The basil vinaigrette follows the basic principles outlined in How to: Make a Vinaigrette, using a ratio of vinegar and oil and an earthy flavor from fresh herbs. The bright green dressing comes together in minutes by being pureed in a blender. The rest of the salad is a simple combination of red leaf lettuce, sweet strawberries, tangy goat cheese and toasted almonds.
The recipe:
The vinaigrette:
In a blender or mini food processor, combine fresh basil leaves, white wine vinegar and olive oil. Puree until fairly smooth (small pieces of basil are okay). Season to taste with salt and pepper.
The salad:
In a small skillet set over medium heat, toast slivered almonds until light golden brown, stirring occasionally. Watch carefully so that the almonds do not burn.
In a large bowl, combine torn red leaf lettuce, sliced strawberries, almonds and crumbled goat cheese. Toss with desired amount of basil vinaigrette. You will not need all of the vinaigrette. Serve immediately.
Other green salads with fruit:
Cookin’ Canuck’s Spinach Salad with Chicken, Orange & Avocado
Cookin’ Canuck’s Spinach Salad with Fuyu Perismmon, Jicama & Avocado w/Miso Dresing
Family Fresh Cooking’s Salad with Goat Cheese Toasted Pecan Balls & Raspberry Vinaigrette
Citron et Vanille’s Grilled Sweet Potato & Spinach Salad with Blood Orange
Strawberry & Goat Cheese Green Salad with Basil Vinaigrette Recipe
Ingredients
The vinaigrette:
- 10 large fresh basil leaves thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
The Salad:
- 1/3 cup sliced almonds
- 6 cups packed torn red lettuce leaves
- 1 1/4 cups sliced fresh strawberries
- 2 ounces goat cheese crumbled
Instructions
The Vinaigrette:
- In a blender or mini food processor, combine fresh basil leaves, white wine vinegar and olive oil. Puree until fairly smooth (small pieces of basil are okay). Season to taste with salt and pepper.
The Salad:
- In a small skillet set over medium heat, toast slivered almonds until light golden brown, stirring occasionally. Watch carefully so that the almonds do not burn.
- In a large bowl, combine torn red leaf lettuce, sliced strawberries, almonds and crumbled goat cheese. Toss with desired amount of basil vinaigrette. You will not need all of the vinaigrette. Serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
Katrina says
This salad is lovely! I love the dressing – it’s so unique for a salad like this.
claudia lamascolo/aka pegasuslegend says
Another great salad.. I love to try new ones as a diet gets really boring this is just the one I needed thank you and Happy Easter to you and your family!
Sinful Southern Sweets says
Very nice! Love the colors and flavor combos!
Heather (Heather's Dish) says
i have the most incredible strawberries in my house right now and all the fixings for this salad! it looks and sounds amazing!
Drick says
love a tart salad with strawberry vinaigrette so I know I would like this one with the mild goat cheese and fresh berries too
Happy Easter and holiday cooking to you and yours Dara…
briarrose says
Wonderful mix of flavors. I am so on a strawberry kick lately so this is perfect.
brandi says
well, I think it sounds fantastic! I love strawberries on salads.
Beverly says
I love your son’s comment! I, for one, cannot wait to try this salad.
Jen @ keepitsimplefoods says
Love this salad! Light, colorful and simply gorgeous!
EatLiveRun says
beautiful salad, Dara! I love the color of that basil vinegarette!
bellini says
The season of salads and grilling is just beginning!!!!
Amanda says
Gorgeous salad, LOVE the basil vinaigrette!
Parsley Sage says
Brilliant salad. I was at the grocery store yesterday and unfortunately the island is out of strawberries, apparently. Sigh. I’d love to find some before Sunday tho so we could have this lovely salad with our ham! Thanks so much for sharing.
Traci says
Just bought all these ingredients at the store today before stumbling on your post. Guess I know what I’m trying for lunch today. Thank you!!
[email protected] says
What a refreshing salad. Love it! Thanks for sharing!
Happy Easter,
Christine
Tracy says
What a light and fresh spring salad! I’m loving it!
Maris (In Good Taste) says
I half agree with your adorable son-Salad does look good but we do differ in that I would love to have that in front of me right now!
[email protected] says
Oooh I love the dressing with basil. I can’t wait to get this into my salad rotation.
Paula (Salad in a Jar) says
Fresh basil gets my attention every time. Beautiful salad.
Laurie @SimplyScratch says
I love this combonation of flavors! Delicious!
Laurie @SimplyScratch says
I meant I love this combination.. that’s what I get for late night blog commenting!! 🙂
Heather says
The perfect salad for spring!
sheila @ Elements says
How beautiful!!! I could eat this every day and not get tired of it! 🙂
Penny says
Getting youngsters to try anything is always a challenge, but once you do get them out of their “comfort zone” they discover new tastes and favorites.
I made a very similar salad just a few days ago (no goat cheese) and added some red raspberries to the vinaigrette.
Lindsey @ Gingerbread Bagels says
What a gorgeous salad! I’m always impressed by your stunning photos. I love the idea of a basil vinaigrette. I can’t wait to try it out. 🙂
Mary says
This salad looks wonderful, so refreshing. What a lovely combination of flavors.
Mary
marla says
Dara, I always love the pairing of goat cheese and berries! My kids would do the same thing as your son. They gawk over my food styling sessions and then won’t eat half of the stuff when offered. Go figure! More for us 🙂 Thanks for linking back to my raspberry goat cheese salad.
Nithu says
I love the salad, specially the dressing.
Jamie @ Wokintime says
I love this salad!!! The colors and the flavors work so well together. My daughter would eat the cheese and my son would steal all the strawberries.
Roz says
Love this salad. I’m creating a similar strawberry salad right now, but with a different dressing, but yours is tops! I wish I had this for Easter. Perfect photography too! Thanks for the inspiration! Now following cuz I just love your blog! Roz
Danni says
You have such gorgeous photos on your blog! I’m a fellow Camp Blogaway camper. I figured I’d calm my nerves by saying hello to everyone online before this weekend, though it just seems to be getting me more excited (hence the 1:45am comment!) I’m looking forward to meeting you 🙂
~Danni with LambAround
Jason Phelps says
This salad combines elements that definitely make it greater than it s parts. Here’s to spring!
Jason
Maria says
Beautiful salad!
Kristen | Pixelated Crumb says
What a beautiful salad! We made it tonight and loved it. The mellow, creamy goat cheese, the nutty crunch of the almonds, and fresh bright strawberries were just perfect for a light spring meal. Thanks for the recipe!
thepickyeater says
hey dara …i love this salad…definitely going to make it. strawberry in salad sounds good to me ! thanks for stopping by….hope you make that mousse someday – its delicious !!
– shruts
Sheri Schutte says
Just wondering if the dressing will turn black if I make it too far ahead of time. Fresh basil tends to do that. Any thoughts? I’d love to make it in the morning to take to a potluck after work.
Dara says
Hi Sheri, you’re right…fresh basil does have a tendency to do that. I’d be worried about pureeing it ahead of time. Alternatively, you could whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper, then minced some basil right before serving. It won’t be the same consistency, but should still work and give you that great basil flavor.