This strawberry spinach salad makes the perfect summer lunch!
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Since we’ve been living without more than the bare minimum of kitchen supplies for over two months now, I’ve had to get a little more creative with mealtime.
Enter: this strawberry spinach salad. It’s simple to prepare, delicious to eat, and makes a dent in balancing out my new Italian diet of 90% pasta and pizza.
Side note: this is the first recipe I’ve created in Italy! Including shooting the photos on top of a dog crate draped by a towel next to the window. Traveler life, right??
This is the kind of recipe that doesn’t really need numbers. Each day I’ll chop up bits of each veggie, eyeballing what looks good for that lunch.
Poppyseed dressing feels so summery to me, and Brianna’s is my absolute favorite brand – it’s so good I haven’t bothered to attempt a homemade version! The dressing and strawberries add a sweetness that balances out with the nuttiness of the pistachios.
You can top the salad with anything, protein-wise. Eggs have always been my go-to, but you can use whatever leftover chicken you’ve got on hand (try it with my favorite marinated chicken!) or even some slices of salami.
Also, Italian cucumbers are sweeter than anything I’ve ever tried in the US! So good!
I listed ingredient amounts below to make one meal-sized salad. I’ll also eat a half-sized one as a side to whatever leftovers we have in the fridge, especially when I’m desperate to up my veggie game. For the record, the photos are of a side salad portion.
This also makes a fantastic meal prep option for a week’s worth of packed lunches. Perfect for mason jar salads!
Tools you’ll need: good knife, cutting board, and a pot for boiling eggs if you go that route.
Strawberry Spinach Salad
Ingredients
- 2 handfuls spinach
- 3-4 strawberries
- 1/4 bell pepper
- 1/3 cucumber
- 1/3 cup pistachios
- 1-2 eggs
- 1 Tbsp poppyseed dressing
Instructions
- Boil your eggs as you like them – soft boiled is my favorite, but hard boiled is easy for a week's worth of meal prep.
- Meanwhile, thinly slice cucumber and strawberries and dice the pepper.
- Assemble your salad: top the spinach with vegetables, pistachios and eggs. Finish off with poppyseed dressing and enjoy!
What’s your favorite summer lunch??
You can find more delicious recipes by following me on Pinterest! Or snag some
Adding pistachios to salad: now that’s a new & intriguing idea! I typically add almond slivers or sunflower seeds but never thought about pistachios. I’m sure this salad would be equally yummy with some baked chicken too, and it’s easy to underestimate how much fruit jazz up a salad!
Pistachios are my favorite nuts, so I’m always down to throw a few on a salad!