I declare this strawberry number the Official Salad of Summer 2018! It’s fully loaded with colorful strawberries, radishes, red onion, basil, jalapeño, toasty sunflower seeds, and fresh arugula.
Creamy goat cheese and a simple homemade balsamic vinaigrette round out the sweet-and-slightly-spicy flavor profile. It’s an unexpected combination of flavors, perhaps, but they’re truly irresistible together.
This is a hearty summertime garden salad that you can serve as a light dinner, or as a side salad for a crowd. I think it would go well with smoky flavors from your grill.
I should mention that this is a big salad. I could barely manage to toss it all together on my largest serving platter. You could divide all of the ingredients in half—or better yet, store leftover salad and dressing separately and enjoy leftovers for a few days.
I hope you love this salad as much as I do. It would definitely make a statement on the table at your next summer get-together.
Check my recipe notes for ideas on how to change it up to suit your preferences, and please let me know how you like this strawberry stunner in the comments!
Craving more giant green salads to make this summer?
Colorful Strawberry Arugula Salad
This large strawberry salad is colorful and delicious! It’s made with arugula, strawberries, goat cheese, sunflower seeds and balsamic vinaigrette. Recipe yields 4 large or 8 side salads.
Strawberry salad
Balsamic vinaigrette
- To assemble the salad: On a large serving platter or in a large serving bowl, layer the ingredients as listed.
- To prepare the vinaigrette: In a liquid measuring cup or small bowl, combine all of the ingredients and whisk until fully blended. Taste, and add more salt or pepper if needed. The dressing should be nice and tangy, but you can add more maple syrup for balance if desired.
- When you’re ready to serve the salad, drizzle vinaigrette on top, and toss to combine. Serve promptly. (If you’re planning to have leftovers, store the salad and dressing separately and toss before serving.) Stored separately, leftovers will keep well for 3 to 4 days.
Notes
Make it dairy free/vegan: Substitute diced avocado for the goat cheese. Vegans, be sure to use maple syrup in the dressing.
Change it up: This salad is versatile. If you don’t have basil, or you don’t love jalapeño or radish, simply omit them. If you don’t like arugula, use spring greens instead.
Nutrition
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