Strawberry Goat Cheese Salad
This Strawberry Goat Cheese Salad is a light and delicious recipe, perfect for warm summer days. The crunchy walnuts, creamy goat cheese, and toasted croutons make this tasty salad irresistible!
If you love salads with lots of flavors and textures, this salad is definitely a winner! I love how the sweet fruit and salty goat cheese come together to create a tasty salad that is healthy and delicious!
The Best Goat Cheese for Salad
I like to use plain goat cheese for this salad but you can also use herbed goat cheese if you prefer. I like to buy goat cheese in a log and crumble it myself because I find it’s a little creamier than the pre-crumbled goat cheese. But feel free to use whatever you have on hand! In terms of brands, I like the Laura Chenel brand, which I can usually find at Kroger, or the plain goat cheese from Aldi.
How to Make Homemade Croutons
This salad also features homemade croutons which are easy to make on the stovetop! All you need is a french baguette. Slice into 1″ slices, then cut each slice into 1″ cubes.
Toss the cubes with olive oil and add to a large non-stick skillet. Toast for 5 minutes then flip and continue to toast until lightly browned. I love the saltiness these croutons add to this salad. If you want a gluten-free crouton option, try these tasty polenta croutons! They’re so crispy and delicious!
Substitution Suggestions
- Do not try to substitute frozen berries in a salad like this. But if you don’t have strawberries, you can make this with fresh blueberries or fresh blackberries. Any type of fresh, sweet berry will be delicious! Raspberries may be a bit tart, but feel free to play around with it!
- I like to use a tender green like spinach or mixed greens but you could also use baby kale or arugula.
- I used walnuts in this recipe but you could also make it with roasted pecans or even candied pecans if you want a sweeter crunch. Or try it with pistachios for a unique, salty flavor.
Give this goat cheese salad a try and let me know what you think!
PrintStrawberry Goat Cheese Salad
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 8 cups 1x
- Category: Salad
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Salad
Description
This Strawberry Goat Cheese Salad is a light and delicious recipe, perfect for warm summer days. The crunchy walnuts, creamy goat cheese, and toasted croutons make this tasty salad irresistible!
Ingredients
For the salad
- 6” french baguette, sliced into 1” slices then cubed
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 6 cups spinach or mixed greens
- 1/2 cup grapes, halved
- 1 cup strawberries, halved
- 1/2 cup crumbled goat cheese
- 1/4 cup walnuts, chopped
For the dressing
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1/8 teaspoon of salt
- Pinch of pepper
Instructions
- Toss the cubed bread with 1 tablespoon olive oil.
- Add to a non-stick skillet and toast for 5 minutes over medium heat.
- Use a spatula to flip the bread cubes and continue to toast for 4-5 minutes until evenly browned.
- In a large bowl, add the spinach, grapes, strawberries, goat cheese, and walnuts.
- In a small bowl or jar, whisk together the remaining olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, salt, and pepper.
- Drizzle the dressing over the salad and toss, then add the cubed bread and toss until just combined.
If you’re looking for recipes to serve with this strawberry goat cheese salad, here are a few of my favorites
What’s your favorite summertime salad?
Did I get this right the croutons add saltiness to the salad even without us needing to sprinkle salt over them before/while toasting?
We really liked this recipe! The homemade croutons are a really nice addition to this salad.Â
Perfect time of year for this salad, strawberries are so deliciously sweet at the moment!