Easy Spinach Salad
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Published Jul 16, 2024, Updated Sep 09, 2024
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This easy spinach salad is topped with dried cranberries, goat cheese, toasted walnuts and avocado all tossed in a creamy balsamic dressing. It’s perfect as a side salad or topped with protein for a full meal.
As I’m sure you all know I love my meal-sized salads, but sometimes I just want a simple and delicious side salad to serve at dinner like this kale salad, arugula salad or this easy spinach salad! It’s such a great salad recipe to have in your back pocket as it pairs with just about any main dish!
My grandma’s staple salad recipe is something very similar to this one. I switched up her recipe and used toasted walnuts in place of her candied pecans (to reduce the sugar content!) and used dried cranberries instead of fresh strawberries, because dried cranberries are always in season and one of my favorite salad toppers.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Salad
- Easy – It’s easy to make. Just whisk the dressing together, chop the veggies and toss to combine.
- Nutritious – With fresh spinach, avocado, and a variety of other wholesome ingredients, this salad is a nutritional goldmine, providing vitamins, minerals, and healthy fats.
- Versatile – Perfect as a light lunch, side dish, or a starter for dinner. It pairs wonderfully with a variety of main courses, from grilled chicken to turkey burgers.
Ingredients Needed
Here’s what you need for this easy spinach salad:
- baby spinach – I like using pre-washed baby spinach for this salad. The leaves are smaller, more tender and more flavorful. Plus, using pre-washed spinach saves time on having to wash and clean the spinach.
- mini cucumbers – a normal cucumber will work here too, but I love the mini cucumbers because they’re seedless and so flavorful.
- goat cheese – I love the creaminess that goat cheese adds to this salad.
- red onion – the perfect way to add a bit of flavor and crunch. You can use yellow onion if needed.
- dried cranberries – dried cranberries add a nice pop of sweetness and a bit of chewy texture.
- avocado – this adds some healthy fat and creaminess to the salad.
- walnuts – the toasted walnuts add a lovely crunch and nutty flavor.
- creamy balsamic dressing – a super simple dressing made of balsamic vinegar, olive oil, Greek yogurt, dijon mustard, honey, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
Recipe Substitutions
- Veggies: Don’t have cucumber or onion on hand? Feel free to use other veggies instead. Tomatoes, bell peppers or mushrooms are all great options.
- Goat cheese: I love the creaminess goat cheese adds, but if you’re not a fan you can substitute it with feta, blue cheese, or your favorite variety of cheese.
- Dried cranberries: Use dried cherries, raisins, dates or chopped dried apricots.
- Walnuts: Don’t have walnuts on hand? Swap it with toasted pecans or almonds. For a sweeter option use candied walnuts or candied pecans instead.
- Dressing: You can totally substitute this with a classic balsamic vinaigrette, simple lemon vinaigrette or white balsamic vinaigrette. Check out more of my salad dressings for more ideas.
- Make it dairy-free: Skip the cheese or use a vegan cheese instead.
- Make it nut-free: Skip the walnuts or use sunflower seeds or pepitas instead.
How to Make Spinach Salad
That salad is a breeze to whip up. Here are the four simple steps!
Step 1: Add the walnuts to a small skillet over medium heat to toast. Let cook, tossing frequently for 3-5 minutes until fragrant and starting to brown. Keep an eye on these so they don’t burn! Remove from pan and let cool.
Step 2: Make the creamy balsamic dressing by whisking together all ingredients in a small bowl until fully combined and creamy. You can also blend everything together in a blender or with an immersion blender.
Step 3: Prepare salad by adding spinach to a large bowl, top with cucumbers, goat cheese, onions, cranberries, toasted walnuts and sliced avocado.
Step 4: Drizzle dressing over salad, toss and serve.
Brittany’s Tip!
Once tossed in the dressing the salad doesn’t look as pretty so another option is to plate the salad and serve with dressing so everyone can add their own dressing.
What to Serve with Spinach Salad
This spinach salad is the perfect side salad to pair with just about any main dish! I love it for casual weeknight dinners, but it’s also fancy enough for holidays and special celebrations. Here are some pairing ideas:
- Apple Cider Vinegar Chicken
- Easy Crispy Baked Tofu
- Marinated Tempeh
- Sheet Pan Chicken Sausage and Roasted Veggies
- Roasted Root Vegetables
How to Make Ahead And Store
- To make ahead: You can prep the different components of this salad ahead of time and then assemble right before serving. You can toast the walnuts, make the dressing and chop the cucumbers and onions in advance. Just store the perishable items in the fridge with the dressing in a separate container. When it’s time to serve, simply toss the salad ingredients together with the dressing and enjoy!
- To store: To store leftovers of the dressed salad, store in an airtight container in the fridge for 1-2 days. The spinach will wilt and loose its crispness as it sits, but it’ll still taste delicious.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! Spinach is a powerhouse of a green and is loaded with a ton of health benefits. It’s low in carbs, high in fiber, vitamins and minerals and is packed with vitamin C, K, folic acid, iron and calcium!
You know I’m all about having a good source of protein so if I were serving this as a meal, I’d add some grilled chicken breast, grilled shrimp or even chickpeas.
More Salad Recipes
- Roasted Vegetable Salad
- Kale Caesar Salad
- Easy Cucumber Salad
- Sonoma Chicken Salad
- Kale Crunch Salad
- Buffalo Chicken Salad
If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider leaving a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below.
Easy Spinach Salad
Ingredients
- 10 oz baby spinach
- 1 cup sliced mini cucumbers
- ⅔ cup crumbled goat cheese
- ½ cup sliced red onions
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- ½ cup raw walnuts
- 1 avocado, sliced
- fresh cracked pepper, for serving
Creamy Balsamic Dressing
- ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup full fat Greek yogurt
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon honey
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Add walnuts to a small skillet over medium heat to toast. Let cook, tossing frequently for 3-5 minutes until fragrant and starting to brown. Remove from pan and let cool.
- Prepare dressing by whisking together all ingredients in a small bowl until fully combined and creamy. You can also blend everything together in a blender or with an immersion blender.
- Prepare salad by adding spinach to a large bowl, top with cucumbers, goat cheese, onions, cranberries, toasted walnuts and sliced avocado. Top with fresh cracked pepper.
- Drizzle dressing over salad, toss and serve. Once tossed in the dressing the salad doesn’t look as pretty so another option is to plate the salad and serve with dressing on the side so everyone can add their own dressing.
Notes
- Veggies: Don’t have cucumber or onion on hand? Feel free to use other veggies instead. Tomatoes, bell peppers or mushrooms are all great options.
- Goat cheese: I love the creaminess goat cheese adds, but if you’re not a fan you can substitute it with feta, blue cheese, or your favorite variety of cheese.
- Dried cranberries: Use dried cherries, raisins, dates or chopped dried apricots.
- Walnuts: Don’t have walnuts on hand? Swap it with toasted pecans or almonds. For a sweeter option use candied walnuts or candied pecans instead.
- Dressing: You can totally substitute this with a classic balsamic vinaigrette, simple lemon vinaigrette or white balsamic vinaigrette. Check out more of my salad dressings for more ideas.
- Make it dairy-free: Skip the cheese or use a vegan cheese instead.
- Make it nut-free: Skip the walnuts or use sunflower seeds or pepitas instead.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This is the best salad I’ve ever made! Substituted walnuts for sunflower seeds and goat’s cheese for feta due to allergies. Originally, this was supposed to be a side for salmon pasta, but I can honestly see this just becoming a meal on its own. Thank you for this great recipe!!
Amazing! I am so glad you gave this salad a try and it turned out amazing for you. Thank you for sharing your review + star rating, it means so much to me!
I was looking for a balsamic dressing recipe and came across your page. It is sooooo delicious!!!!! I used this dressing on my spinach salad that just consists of pecans, red onion, tangerines and baby spinach. It goes so well! This dressing will be used very often!
Ah yay! I am SO glad you are loving this salad recipe, Sonia. Thank you so much for sharing your review + star rating, I truly appreciate it!
This salad is so easy to pull together and delicious! I added plant based protein and pickled beets to mine. I’ll be adding this to my meal prep rotation. Thanks Brittany!
Ah this is so perfect, Annie. I am so glad you found this salad and it came out delicious for you. Thank you for your review & star rating, it means so much to me!
This is my favorite salad ever! I don’t usually like berries in my salad but it works perfectly here. Dressing is to die for!
WOO! I am so excited to hear that you are loving this salad, Tracy. Thank you for coming back and sharing your review & star rating, I appreciate it!
This is one of my go to salads. I get rave reviews every time I serve it, sharing the recipe. I do, however, only use 0 fat Greek yogurt and it works fine.
YUM! Sounds delicious, Margaret. I am so excited to hear that this recipe is a hit. Thank you for your review & star rating, I appreciate it!
Hi Brittany. This salad sounds wonderful. I’m thinking, maybe for Mothers Day. I’d like to use another lettuce, along with the baby spinach. Do you have any suggestions?
Thank you.
Hi Pattie – You could use a spring mix salad, that typically includes baby spinach. Hope you enjoy this salad!
Yummy salad! This recipe will definitely be a regular go to for me! Thanks!!
YUM! I am glad you are loving this recipe, Jan. Thank you for your review + star rating, I appreciate it!