Make a strawberry spinach salad with chicken for one in just 10 minutes with cooked chicken, sweet strawberries, avocado, pistachios, and hemp hearts. It's dressed with a 4 ingredient balsamic dressing that you'll want on everything!
[This strawberry spinach salad with chicken recipe was posted in June 2018. It has been updated with new photos (5/2020), cooking instructions, expert tips, FAQ, related recipes, video and ways to repurpose/use up ingredients]
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No more boring homemade salads! You've got this easy strawberry spinach salad with chicken. It's a great one serving recipe that's easy to make, and has lots of flavor.
With a couple pantry ingredients, homemade salads are tasty and easy!
This salad is easy to chop ingredients up early, and make the dressing for meal prep. Serve this easy salad with some crusty bread or add a grain to it for an easy lunch or dinner.
Ingredients
Scroll down to the strawberry spinach salad with chicken recipe card for the amounts of each ingredient, but here's a quick description of what's in this recipe.
- Dijon mustard: Adds a nice tangy flavor and blends the oil and vinegar in dressing.
- Garlic: minced garlic is a nice, sweet addition to this salad dressing
- Balsamic vinegar: sharp, tangy balsamic vinegar pairs well with the sweet strawberries in this salad.
- Extra virgin olive oil: High quality olive oil adds great flavor to the simple balsamic dressing with this strawberry spinach salad with chicken.
- Baby spinach: either baby or regular spinach is great in this recipe. Green leaf, red leaf, romaine lettuce or arugula would be good in this salad too.
- Strawberries: Fresh, sweet strawberries are the star of this recipe.
- Avocado: Creamy avocado pairs well with the strawberries. It adds nice texture and filling abilities to this salad.
- Pistachios: Crunchy pistachios are great in this salad.
- Hemp hearts: a sprinkle of hemp hearts adds a tender crunch to this easy strawberry spinach salad with chicken.
- Grilled chicken breast: Any kind of pre-cooked chicken is great, but grilled adds a nice slightly-smoky flavor to this simple salad.
Instructions
Scroll down to the strawberry spinach salad with chicken recipe card for more detailed instructions. Here's a quick overview + photos to see how to make this recipe in general.
1. Whisk together salad dressing ingredients in a small mixing bowl. (dijon mustard, garlic, balsamic vinegar, olive oil and salt/pepper to taste).
2. Assemble salad by adding: spinach, strawberries, pistachios, hemp hearts, avocado, and grilled chicken to serving bowl. Drizzle dressing over salad right before serving. Enjoy your strawberry spinach salad with chicken.
Storage/Reheating Tips
Store leftover ingredients separately for about a week. This salad is great cold, or you can reheat the chicken to add to it. You can also quickly heat up the dressing to warm up oil so you can mix it together.
Substitutions/Tips
- Make extra dressing for more salads or to marinate chicken or steak.
- Swap chicken for steak, edamame, or tofu
- Serve with crusty bread or add a grain to the salad for a more satisfying meal. Farro, quinoa, wild rice, etc would all be good.
- Dress your spinach strawberry salad right before serving so it doesn't get soggy
- If you want to add cheese, I recommend goat cheese or feta cheese. Very sharp cheddar would be good too.
- Other great add-ins: add any additional vegetables that you have in the fridge. Celery, carrots, cucumber, etc would be good in this strawberry spinach salad with chicken.
FAQ
My favorite balsamic dressing is found in the recipe card below. It has balsamic vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, dijon mustard, garlic, and a pinch of salt & pepper in it.
It's delicious on this spinach strawberry salad with chicken and other recipes.
Crusty bread is great with strawberry spinach salad with chicken. You can also add a grain to the salad itself to make it more filling. Same with cheese like sharp cheddar, goat cheese, or feta cheese.
Other good salad recipes
What to do with leftover ingredients
When you're cooking for one, you often have leftover produce, cans of whatever ingredient, etc. Here are a couple ideas on how to use up the leftover ingredients. It'll help you save money by wasting fewer ingredients.
- Spinach: Thai Beef Bowl with Spinach, Spinach Salad with Mandarin Oranges.
- Strawberries: Sparkling Berry Lemonade, Strawberry Sauce, Dark Chocolate Waffles.
- Avocado: 3 Ingredient Guacamole, Avocado Grapefruit Salad, and Fish Tacos with White Sauce.
- Pistachios: Warm Kale Salad w/ Pomegranate Balsamic, Beet & Arugula Salad.
Did you make this strawberry spinach salad with chicken? Leave me a comment & rating to share how it turned out!
Strawberry Spinach Salad with Chicken (for one)
Equipment
- knife
- cutting board
- Measuring Spoons
- Measuring Cups
- tongs
Ingredients
- ¼ teaspoon dijon mustard for salad dressing
- ¼ teaspoon minced garlic for salad dressing
- ¼ cup balsamic vinegar for salad dressing
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil for salad dressing
- salt & pepper to taste for salad dressing
- 2 cups fresh baby spinach washed & dried
- 1 cup fresh strawberries thinly sliced
- ¼ cup pistachios
- 1 tablespoon hemp hearts
- grilled chicken breast
- ½ whole avocado
Instructions
- Add all salad dressing ingredients (¼ teaspoon dijon, ¼ teaspoon garlic, ¼ c balsamic vinegar, 1 T olive oil and salt/pepper) to mixing bowl. Whisk until well incorporated. Set aside.
- Add 2 c spinach, 1 c strawberries, ½ avocado-sliced, ¼ c pistachios, and 1 T hemp hearts to serving bowl. Add grilled chicken. Drizzle dressing over salad right before serving. Enjoy
Notes
- Buy pre-minced garlic in a jar to save time
- Make extra dressing for more salads or to marinate chicken or steak.
- Swap chicken for steak, edamame, or tofu
- Dress salad right before serving so it doesn't get soggy
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Jessica Formicola says
This is my all time favorite salad recipe! So refreshing and perfect for summer!
Rebecca says
great to hear! thanks
Alison Marras says
All my faves in one salad! Looks so fresh and flavorful.
Rebecca says
right?! the best flavors!
Andrea Metlika says
I can get in to this salad. The strawberries and the balsamic dressing sound awesome together.
Rebecca says
it's heaven for sure
Pam says
I just love that this salad has just a few, but perfect, ingredients. Hemp hearts will be a new experience for me.
Rebecca says
oh yes, they add a great flavor and crunch to the salad
Denise says
Oh my, so fresh and easy to make! I love this!
Rebecca says
thanks!
Alina | Cooking Journey Blog says
Perfect fresh salad for summer!
Rebecca says
right?! thanks
Tara Bench says
such a simple recipe but this salad looks amazing! Perfect summer choice 🙂
Rebecca says
thanks Tara
Elysia | Haute & Healthy Living says
I LOVE strawberries in salad! Such a refreshing salad for this time of year!
Rebecca says
same here! they're sooo good!
Natalie says
This salad looks absolutely perfect! So colorful, healthy and delicious. Can't wait to try this recipe, the dessing sounds yummy in any salad, that's for sure ♥
Rebecca says
thanks natalie!