Spring has sprung, and our appetites are ready to match. The freshness of this new season has us all in the mood for yummy, colorful, and healthy salads that we can make all season long. Today on the blog, we’re sharing our favorite spring salad recipes of the season with you. Be ready to whip out those mixing bowls and get to the kitchen — these delicious salads are waiting for you!
01. Lemon Blueberry Spring Salad
Image via @anaankeny
Ingredients:
•3 cups Kale chopped
•3 cup Romaine lettuce chopped
•2 Chicken breasts
•1/4 cup Pine nuts
•1 cup Blueberries
•1/8 tsp Sea salt
•2 Lemons
•2 tbsp Avocado oil
•1 tsp Apple cider vinegar
•1/4 tsp Sea salt
•1/8 tsp Black pepper
02. Shaved Asparagus & Watermelon Radish Salad with Lemon Basil Vinaigrette
Image via @crazyinspiredlife
Salad Ingredients:
- 1 Bundle of Fresh Asparagus (shaved with a vegetable peeler)
- 2–3 Watermelon Radishes (julienned)
- 1/2 C. Parmesan Cheese
- 1/3 C. Parsley
- 2/3 C. Sliced Almonds
- Handful of Golden Raisins
- Salt & Pepper to taste
- Handful of baby Kale or Arugula
Vinaigrette Ingredients:
- ½ Lemon (juiced)
- 1 t. Dijon Mustard
- ½ C. GrapeseedOil
- ¼ t. Salt
- 2 T. White Wine Vinegar
- 1 T. Basil (chopped)
- 3 t. Honey
- Fresh cracked pepper to taste
Salad Instructions:
- Shave asparagus using a vegetable peeler.
- Add to bowl.
- Add remaining ingredients.
- Toss with dressing.
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Enjoy!
Vinaigrette Instructions:
- Put all dressing ingredients in a high speed blender except oil.
- Blend until well combined.
- Slowly drizzle in oil until emulsified.
- Set aside until ready to use.
03. Cranberry Blueberry Salad With Blueberry Balsamic Dressing
Image via @Peasandcrayons
- 1 heaping cup of blueberries
- 1 4-5 oz bag spring mix salad greens
- 1/2 English cucumber, chopped
- 1/2 cup mandarin orange segments
- 1/4 cup dried cranberries
- 2-4 TBSP roasted unsalted sunflower seeds
Blueberry Balsamic Dressing:
- 1 cup blueberries
- 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
- 2 TBSP red wine vinegar
- 2 TBSP dijon mustard
- 1 TBSP honey
- 1 tsp salt I use sea salt
- 1/8 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 cup avocado oil olive oil works too
Instructions:
- First, make your dressing: Combine all dressing ingredients except for the avocado oil in a food processor or blender. Blend until blueberries are completely pureed, then use the little top cut-out to drizzle in the avocado oil at the end. Once the dressing is emulsified, you’re good to go!
- Wash + dry your greens.
- Combine with cucumber and blueberries, then toss with a drizzle or two of dressing. Add extra as desired.
- Top with mandarin orange segments, dried cranberries, and sunflower seeds, and serve!
04. Spring Salad With Lemon Vinaigrette
Image via @freshcoasteats
Ingredients:
- Asparagus: The true star of the show! Most people don’t think you can eat asparagus raw, but when you select thin stalks and use the tips, it’s quite tender and works great in salads like this.
- Peas: Another welcome sign of spring. If you are lucky to have fresh peas, blanch them quickly or use frozen peas.
- Watermelon Radish: This really makes the salad pop in color! Beautiful watermelon radish has a slightly sweeter and less bitter taste than traditional red radish.
- Red Radish: The bitter flavor and crunch texture of red radish are always welcome in my salads!
- Avocado: Creamy avocado is a welcoming contrast to the rest of the salad veggies in this spring recipe.
- Feta Cheese: Salty, briny feta cheese is probably my favorite salad topping! Or you can use Parmesan cheese shavings.
- Fresh Mint and Lemon Juice: Nothing screams bright spring flavors quite like the magic combination of mint and lemon. They marry together beautifully in this simple vinaigrette.
Recipe
- Prepare your asparagus by cutting the tips into 1-inch pieces. Be sure to use the remaining stalks for another recipe.
- Continue prepping your remaining salad ingredients by slicing the radishes, avocado, cooking your peas, and allowing them to cool.
- For your dressing, mince fresh garlic and mint and mix into lemon juice and olive oil. Then, salt and pepper your vinaigrette to taste.
- Pour dressing over the salad and toss until combined. Serve immediately.
05. Strawberry Walnut Salad
Image via @SumptiousLiving
Recipe by sumptuousliving
Candied Walnuts:
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup walnut halves
- ½ tsp. cayenne
- pinch of salt
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
Salad:
- 3 cups spring greens
- ¾ cup candied walnuts (recipe follows)
- 1 ½ cups sliced strawberries
- 8 oz. crumbled goat cheese
- ¼ cup finely sliced green onions
Dressing:
- 1 cup olive oil
- 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1 shallot, chopped
- 1 tsp. kosher salt
- ½ tsp fresh ground pepper
- 1 tbs. Dijon mustard
- juice of ½ lemon
- 1 tbs. honey
Instructions:
- Make the candied walnuts first so they cool (triple the recipe and use for future).
- Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Add the walnuts and cook, stirring, until golden brown and toasted, 3 minutes.
- Add the sugar and spices and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.
- Transfer to a piece of waxed paper to cool.
Dressing Instructions:
Place all the ingredients for the dressing into a blender or a mason jar with a tight-fitting lid and blend well. Set aside.
If these salads don’t look yummy to you, we don’t know what will. This list of spring salads are ones that we’ll be making on repeat all season long!