Made with fresh strawberries, pecans, feta, red onion, baby spinach and then dressed with an essential fatty acid-rich strawberry vinaigrette, this healthy salad is bursting with tangy and naturally sweet spring flavors.
Calling all strawberry lovers! This superfood recipe for Strawberry Pecan Salad with Strawberry Vinaigrette is the perfect way to enjoy everyone’s favorite heart-shaped berries throughout the springtime when they truly shine.
Healthy and packed with nutrients, you’ll want to make this salad over and over. Not only is the dressing absolutely delicious and made with a few simple ingredients, but you can prepare it in less than five minutes. This yummy salad also contains a full serving of essential fatty acids thanks to Udo’s Oil 3•6•9 Blend from Flora.
Just pop all the vinaigrette ingredients in the blender for a delicious strawberry dressing that you’ll be sorry you haven’t made before. You can even make the dressing on its own and eat it throughout the week. Or serve it to dinner guests as a light start to their meal. Count on rave reviews.
This vegan-friendly salad may seem like it has a lot of ingredients, but believe me when I tell you it’s super easy to throw together.
Here Are The Salad Ingredients You’ll Need
Strawberries: You’ll need fresh strawberries for the salad, but you can use fresh or frozen strawberries for the dressing. The riper the better! For the most flavor, look for strawberries that are red throughout and firm to the touch with fresh green tops, and free of bruises. About 2-3 medium strawberries slices per serving is a good portion to stick with. Slice them up any way you like!
Baby Spinach: We love baby spinach for this salad. It’s high in vitamins A, C, K, and folate, as well as minerals like iron, calcium, and potassium. Butter lettuce would work well too, as would mixed greens or arugula for a more peppery bite.
Pecans: Strawberries and pecans are a perfect pair! Pecans are also high in fiber, minerals, and rich in heart-healthy monounsaturated fats. Toss them into the salad or toast them slightly to bring out their warm nutty flavor.
Feta (We used plant-based!) – The feta cheese is optional, but the rich saltiness adds another layer of texture and flavor to this salad. We found a plant-based Vegan Feta at Trader Joe’s and are now obsessed! It tastes exactly like the dairy-based feta we know well and love. It’s perfect whether you’re looking to cut back on dairy or avoid it.
Sliced Red Onion: A little crunchy and sweet with a mildly pungent bite, red onion balances nicely with the strawberries.
Red Wine Vinegar: A lovely complement to the strawberries, like red wine, red wine vinegar also has beneficial antioxidants.
Honey: Raw honey contains beneficial nutrients, like amino acids and B vitamins, including B6, thiamin, niacin, riboflavin, and pantothenic acid, which are lost during the processing of commercial honey when heated. I used Manuka Honey from Flora which is non-GMO, sustainable, and unpasteurized.
Shallot: We like to add a touch of shallot to offset the sweetness of the strawberries in the dressing. In the same family as garlic and onion, but much more delicate, the shallot will infuse into the dressing the longer it sits and will add a touch of oniony flavor. The shallot is totally optional if you’d rather go for pure strawberry flavor.
Salt + Pepper
UDO’S OIL™ 3•6•9 BLEND: Perfect in this dressing, Udo’s Oil is a healthy blend of organic flax, sesame, and sunflower seed oils with a rich, nutty, and buttery taste. It’s also super healthy and a rich source of plant-based essential fatty acids (EFAs), necessary nutrients we can only get through our diet.
Udo Erasmus, a scientist and nutrition expert, created Udo’s Oil 3•6•9 Blend after his years of research showed that a 2:1 ratio of omega-3s to 6s is ideal for optimal health. The average American diet gets at least 10 times more omega 6s than 3s!
Udo’s Oil provides the EFAs you need in the amounts you need, but won’t find in other oils.
One tablespoon of Udo’s Oil provides
- 6 grams of omega-3 fatty acids
- 3 grams of omega-6 fatty acids
- 2.5 grams of omega-9 fatty acids
Most of us are deficient in omega-3, an incredibly important, healthy fat that has a variety of beneficial roles in the body, including the production of hormones, mood, and improving our skin, hair, and nails.*
The omega-9s (oleic acid) in Udo’s Oil are nonessential but have benefits for immune health, skin, energy, and mood.*
To learn more about the benefits of Udo’s Oil read our full review here.
Udo’s Oil 3·6·9 Blend is not only delicious in this dressing, but it also provides us with the right balance of essential fatty acids in a plant-based formula.
Made with all sustainable ingredients, Udo’s Oil 3·6·9 Blend comes in 8.5, 17, and 32-ounce bottles.
➡ Shop Udo’s Oil 369 Blend
Tools You’ll Need
- Knife
- Cutting board
- Mini Chopper, food processor, or blender
How To Make The Strawberry Vinaigrette
Making this spring-inspired dressing is so easy! You don’t even have to do much chopping. Simply pop everything into your food processor or blender and blend until smooth.
If you prefer a little more texture to your dressing, you can pulse it and stop when you reach the consistency you like.
Store the strawberry vinaigrette in the refrigerator until you’re ready to serve.
GET THE RECIPE!
Strawberry Pecan Salad with Strawberry Vinaigrette
Bursting with tangy ripe strawberries, this simple but flavorful superfood salad is packed with nutrients like vitamin C and antioxidants. Using plant-based Udo’s Oil 3 6 9 Blend in the Strawberry Vinaigrette provides a boost of omega-3 fatty acids.
Ingredients
- Salad Ingredients
- baby spinach or greens of choice
- fresh strawberries sliced ( 2-3 per person)
- pecans
- sliced red onion
- feta we used plant-based
- Strawberry Vinaigrette Ingredients
- 1 cup strawberries
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon shallot minced (OPTIONAL)
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1/8 cup Udo’s Oil 3-6-9 Blend
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- ¼ tsp salt
DIRECTIONS
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Preparing the dressing: Place all the dressing ingredients in the blender or a mini food processor and process until smooth. Set aside or store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
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Plating the Salad: Divide greens between the bowls. Top with fresh sliced strawberries, pecans, and feta. Serve with the Strawberry Vinaigrette on the side.
Notes
Apple cider or Champagne vinegar can be used in place of red wine.
To intensify the flavor of the nuts, lightly toast the pecans. Simply spread the nuts out evenly in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake for 5 to 8 minutes at 350 degrees. Watch them closely so they don’t burn. Cool before adding to your salad.
Boost Your Omega 3s In The Right Balance With Udo’s Oil 369 Blend!
If you love to make your own salad dressings. Udo’s Oil is an amazingly healthy and delicious superfood oil to keep on hand, with the right ratio of essential fatty acids!
Besides dressings, use it in smoothies, pesto, drizzled over soups and hummus or you can even mix it with spices for dipping bread.
💡 Visit FloraHealth.com to try Udo’s Oil 3·6·9 Blend
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* These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.