Strawberry Spinach Salad with Chicken (for one)

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.

Other good salad recipes

• Warm kale salad
• Avocado grapefruit salad
• Shaved zucchini salad with corn and feta

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.

Want time saving tips to make recipes like this strawberry spinach salad with chicken delivered to your inbox? Click here to download my Cooking for One Time Saving Tips.

Recipes are great, but you’ll need a simple 3 step process to create a meal plan that make cooking easy & helps you stop wasting food. Check out this expertly developed meal planning guide to get started.