This Spinach Blueberry Salad is a fresh and fruity salad with quinoa and almonds. It's a great salad for warm summer weather and perfect to feed a crowd.
When the weather gets warm I LOVE eating salads. They are so refreshing. But sometimes the same old basic salad gets boring. Also, sometimes if I eat to many raw veggies, I have trouble digesting a whole big salad.
There's a solution though. Get creative with your salad. Add grains, nuts, berries! With a few extra ingredients that are a bit easier to digest and much more interesting, you've got yourself the perfect summer salad.
This Spinach Salad with Blueberries has all that. Fresh berries, filling quinoa, and a healthy dose of spinach. So good!
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Why I love this Spinach Quinoa Salad
- Dietary needs - this salad is vegan, oil-free, gluten-free, and easily made completely sugar-free. It's also very high in protein and fiber
- Quick and easy - this spinach blueberry salad is super quick! There's not much chopping and the salad only requires a few minutes of hands-on time
- Hearty, healthy lunch or dinner - with greens, grains, nuts, and fruit, you've got four of Dr. Greger's daily dozen checked off your list
- Full of summer produce - blueberries, blackberries, and cucumbers are all at their peak in the summer months. They'll taste amazing in this fresh salad
Ingredient Notes & Substitutions
- Spinach: spinach makes a great base for a salad, and it's SO nutrient-dense. If you want, you can toss some mixed greens in with your spinach to create a more mild taste
- Quinoa: a gluten-free grain, quinoa is perfect to add some bulk to this salad. You could also use amaranth or millet.
- Cucumber: use baby cucumbers for a more mild taste or you can use one large cucumber (I used a fresh garden cucumber!)
- Berries: this is a spinach blueberry salad, but I also added blackberries for more fruity flavor. Feel free to add any fruit you'd like - strawberries would be delicious!
- Sliced Almonds: you could also use whole almonds. Or another nut like walnuts or pecans.
Balsamic Dressing Ingredients
This is a simple balsamic dressing:
- Balsamic Vinegar: a good balsamic makes a great dressing, so if you can, buy a higher-quality balsamic
- Water: we can use water instead of oil for a super tasty balsamic dressing - you'll never miss the oil
- Maple or Date Syrup: a bit of sweetness curbs the bite of the balsamic. For a completely fruit-sweetened dressing, use date syrup instead
- Dijon Mustard: dijon mustard is ideal for this dressing, but you can also use regular yellow mustard
- Salt & Pepper
How to make Spinach Blueberry Salad
Step 1. Cook the quinoa. Rinse the dry quinoa, then add it to a small pot with 1 ¼ cups of water. Bring to a boil then simmer for 15 minutes.
Step 2. Make the dressing. In a small bowl, mix the balsamic vinegar, water, maple syrup, dijon mustard, salt, and pepper.
Step 3. Slice the cucumber.
Step 4. Assemble the salads. Toss the spinach with the quinoa, cucumber, blueberries, blackberries, almonds and dressing. Enjoy!
Recipe Prayer
Thank you God for this delicious salad. We are grateful for your abundance. Amen.
More summer salads
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📖 Recipe
Spinach Blueberry Salad
Ingredients
- 4 Cups Spinach
- ⅔ Cup Dry Quinoa
- 1 Medium Cucumber
- ½ Cup Blueberries
- ¼ Cup Blackberries
- ¼ Cup Sliced Almonds
Balsamic Dressing
- 3 Tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar
- 3 Tablespoons Water
- 2 Tablespoons Maple or Date Syrup
- 1 Tablespoon Dijon Mustard
- ¼ Teaspoon Salt
- ⅛ Teaspoon Pepper
Instructions
- Cook the quinoa. Rinse the dry quinoa, then add it to a small pot with 1 ¼ cups of water. Bring to a boil then simmer for 15 minutes.
- Make the dressing. In a small bowl, mix the balsamic vinegar, water, maple syrup, dijon mustard, salt, and pepper.
- Slice the cucumber.
- Assemble the salads. Toss the spinach with the quinoa, cucumber, blueberries, blackberries, almonds and dressing. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is an estimate.
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