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This Nuts About Berries Salad is colorful, flavorful, and refreshing in the spring and summer months when you can pick or purchase delicious, fresh berries.
Featured with this recipe
My daughter and I tried a similar Nuts About Berries Salad at one of our favorite lunch spots — Cafe Zupas (locations in Arizona, Idaho, Minnesota, Nevada, and Utah). We thought we would give it a try at home and it turned out great. I made a few changes and swapped out the almonds for pecans, added a sprinkle of feta cheese, and made a raspberry vinaigrette dressing instead of serving it with poppy seed dressing. The raspberry vinaigrette has a lighter berry taste and uses less oil. I think it really brings out the flavor of the berries. Either way, you have the makings of a delicious summer berry salad.
Ingredients in Nuts About Berries Salad
Mix and match fresh berries to create your perfect summer salad. You can also substitute candied almonds or walnuts for the cinnamon pecans, or goat cheese or blue cheese for the Feta cheese.
- Mixed greens, spring mix, or spinach leaves
- Fresh berries – For a mixed berry salad, use strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and even blackberries.
- Cinnamon pecans
- Feta cheese
Health Benefits of Eating Greens and Berries
There are many healthy benefits to eating leafy greens and fresh berries. The combination of the two in this salad tastes great, and will make you feel great too!
Benefits of eating fresh greens
- Vitamins A, C, and K1
- High in iron and calcium
- Contains antioxidants
- Reduce risk of heart disease
Benefits of eating berries
- Helps manage cholesterol
- Improves skin health
- Reduces inflammation
- Improves digestion
Where can I find fresh berries?
My sister, Elise, used to live in Alaska and could literally stop her car and pick fresh berries on the side of the road. If you are fortunate enough to live in a place where you can do this, or grow your own, you are so lucky! If not, local farmer’s markets usually carry fresh picked berries in the spring and early summer. I can also usually get good berries at Costco. If I splurge and buy them at Costco, it’s a treat because I don’t need to use them all for this salad.
Ways to use leftover berries
We have berries over ice cream, frozen yogurt or sherbet for dessert, or I use what’s left to make our Grab and Go Breakfast Parfaits. You can also use the remaining berries in our Strawberries and Cream Cake. Or, use the fruit to dip in our delicious Easy Cream Cheese Fruit Dip. So many possibilities with fresh berries!
Turn this Berry Salad Recipe into a Main Dish
Take this gorgeous side salad and turn it into a healthy and light lunch by adding grilled chicken breast, lean steak or even grilled pork chop to the top of the berry spinach salad. Or add a cup of cooked quinoa for extra bulk.
More Salads with Berries
How to Make Nuts About Berries Salad
Nuts About Berries Salad
Video
Ingredients
Salad
- 8 cups spinach and spring salad mix
- 1 cup raspberries
- 1 cup strawberries
- 1 cup blackberries
- 1 cup blueberries
- ⅛ cup feta cheese
Raspberry Vinaigrette
- ¼ cup white wine vinegar
- ½ cup raspberries
- 1 ½ tablespoons honey
- 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- dash of fresh ground pepper
Cinnamon Pecans
- ½ cup coarsely chopped pecans or almonds
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
Instructions
Salad
- Wash and dry the berries.
- Remove the green stems and slice the strawberries.
- Place salad mix in a large bowl. Toss berries, feta cheese, and cinnamon pecans over the greens.
- Top with raspberry vinaigrette.
Raspberry Vinaigrette
- Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.
Cinnamon Pecans
- Heat pecans and sugar in a skillet over medium heat.
- Stir constantly until the sugar has just melted. Sprinkle cinnamon over pecans.
- Immediately place pecans on a piece of aluminum foil to cool. The pecans will burn if they are left in the skillet.
Notes
- Candied almonds or pecans can be used in place of the cinnamon pecans.
- Goat cheese or blue cheese can be used in place of the feta cheese.
- Red onion can be added for a boost of flavor.
- Poppy seed dressing, balsamic vinegar dressing, our homemade creamy Strawberry Vinaigrette, or a store-bought raspberry vinaigrette can be used in place of the homemade dressing.
Is this recipe gluten free?
Yes, if you follow the recipe as written it is gluten free.
Love this. So yummy
Could I use frozen raspberries for the vinaigrette, if they’ve been thawed?
Yes, frozen raspberries will work just fine. Thanks for asking!
Such a delicious and refreshing salad!
This is the best summer salad! Love the raspberry vinaigrette…yum!
Love this salad! I brought it to BBQ at a friend’s house last week and it was a huge it!
OMG! All the berries in this were amazing and the pecans were the icing on the salad 🙂
This was such a light and refreshing salad; exactly what I was looking for! Delicious!
with the raspberry vinaigrette. what size container to put it in and how much does it make, how long will it last?
The raspberry vinaigrette recipe makes about 1 cup. I usually put it in a glass dressing bottle. It will last up to a week in the refrigerator.