Strawberry Fields Salad with Candied Pecans (15 mins)

Recipe Key:

No ratings yet

This strawberry fields salad is everything I want in a spring and summer side - fresh, a little sweet, and on the table in minutes. Thin-sliced strawberries, crumbled feta, and homemade candied pecans all piled on top of butter lettuce with hints of basil. Then everything is tossed in a savory balsamic vinaigrette. It's vegetarian, naturally gluten-free, and the candied pecans are the only thing that touches a stove. Make it for a cookout, a porch lunch, or alongside anything off the grill.

A wooden bowl filled with fresh salad featuring leafy greens, sliced strawberries, red onions, nuts, and chunks of cheese, tossed together with a wooden serving spoon.

Candied pecans 🤝 salad

I know they look like the optional step you'd skip but don't? They're SO easy to make at home with some coconut sugar, a splash of water, a skillet, done. And they honestly take this salad to a whole new level. Most strawberry salads get their sweetness from a sugary dressing. This one gets it from the pecans instead, so the sweet shows up as little caramelized pops you bite into, not a sticky coating on every leaf.

A woman with long red hair, wearing a brown sweater and jeans, smiles while standing in a modern kitchen beside a counter with fresh lettuce and hibachi steak bowls. Marble backsplash and gold kitchen accents are visible in the background.

A lot of strawberry salads lean on a poppyseed dressing, and for a fruit salad like this, it's just too sweet. I went with balsamic instead so there's a sharp note of vinegar cutting through. The candied pecans bring the sweetness; the dressing brings the edge. (If you love the creamy, poppyseed route, that's exactly what my strawberry salad with goat cheese is - lemon poppyseed dressing and avocado. Same fruit, totally different mood.)

A person sits cross-legged in a meditation pose with their hands resting on their knees, peacefully imagining delicious hibachi steak bowls. The simple black outline contrasts against a white background.

If this is your kind of fresh, fruity salad, you'll want my watermelon salad with feta and mint for high summer and my mandarin orange salad when berries are out of season. And to turn this side into dinner, it's great next to my Greek chicken sheet pan dinner.

How it comes together

This is an overview of the recipe. Full ingredients & instructions are in the recipe card below.

A close-up of glazed pecan halves in a pan, coated with a shiny, caramelized syrup. A rubber spatula is partially visible on the right side of the image.
Step 1 : Melt the coconut sugar and water and toss pecans.
A close-up of a white bowl filled with candied pecans, showing their glossy, caramelized coating and textured surfaces, sitting on a wooden surface.
Step 2 : The pecans will harden after a few minutes off the heat.
Chopped roasted pecans on a wooden cutting board with a large knife beside them.
Step 3 : Chop the candied pecans loosely.
A glass cup filled with a brown, oily liquid containing herbs and seasonings, with a metal spoon resting inside. The cup sits on a rustic wooden surface.
Step 4 : Make the balsamic dressing.
A wooden bowl filled with sliced strawberries, chopped red onions, crumbled feta cheese, leafy greens, and chopped pecans, ready to be mixed into a salad.
Step 5 : Add all salad ingredients to a large bowl.
A wooden bowl filled with a fresh salad of mixed greens, sliced strawberries, red onions, nuts, and crumbled cheese, with a wooden spoon partially visible.
Step 6 : Toss well with dressing.

Tips

Wait to toss it with the dressing until you're ready to serve. Dressed greens wilt fast, and the candied pecans soften if they sit in vinaigrette. Toss right before it hits the table and it stays crisp, bright, and exactly right.

Check out these recipes for more summer vibes


PS : If you make this recipe, be sure to leave a star review and comment below! Also be sure to follow along with me on Instagram and Pinterest to stay up to date on all tasty recipes here at The Fit Peach!


Recipe

A wooden bowl filled with fresh salad featuring leafy greens, sliced strawberries, red onions, nuts, and chunks of cheese, tossed together with a wooden serving spoon.

Strawberry Fields Salad

This strawberry fields salad is summer in a bowl! Juicy strawberries, crumbled feta, and homemade candied pecans over butter lettuce and basil, all tossed in a savory balsamic vinaigrette. It comes together in about 15 minutes and disappears even faster. Bring it to your next backyard gathering.
No ratings yet
Print Pin Rate
Prep Time: 8 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 7 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings: 6 servings
Calories: 251kcal

Ingredients
  

For the candied pecans

  • 2 tablespoon coconut sugar
  • ½ teaspoon water
  • 1 cup pecans - halves and pieces

For the balsamic dressing

  • 3 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
  • ½ teaspoon dijon mustard
  • 1 teaspoon honey
  • ½ teaspoon oregano
  • ¼ teaspoon sea salt

For the salad

  • 10 oz butter lettuce mix
  • 3 tablespoon basil - a .5 oz package
  • 12 oz strawberries - sliced thinly
  • ½ cup feta cheese - crumbled
  • cup red onion - finely chopped

Instructions

  • Candy the pecans. Add the coconut sugar and water to a skillet over medium-low heat. Stir with a rubber spatula until the sugar melts into a thick, sticky paste. Add the pecans and toss to coat. Remove from heat and set aside — the coating hardens as they cool.
    2 Tbsp coconut sugar, ½ tsp water, 1 cup pecans
  • Make the dressing. Whisk the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, honey, oregano, and sea salt together in a jar.
    3 Tbsp olive oil, 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar, 1 tsp honey, ½ tsp oregano, ¼ tsp sea salt, ½ tsp dijon mustard
  • Assemble. Loosely chop the cooled pecans. In a large bowl, combine the butter lettuce, basil, strawberries, red onion, feta, and pecans. Drizzle with the dressing, toss well, and serve right away.
    12 oz strawberries, ½ cup feta cheese, ⅓ cup red onion, 10 oz butter lettuce mix, 3 Tbsp basil

Nutrition

Calories: 251kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 12g | Cholesterol: 11mg | Sodium: 249mg | Potassium: 181mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 72IU | Vitamin C: 34mg | Calcium: 88mg | Iron: 1mg
Did You Make This Recipe?Please leave a comment or pin it to your Pinterest account!

19 Comments

  1. Hi all,

    I'm a colorblind hobbyist hobbyist, and I've been attempting to get a better understanding on color analysis tools that are actually useful for people like me who have color vision deficiencies. What I find really annoying is that a lot of apps and online quizzes assume perfect color perception, so the results end up feeling off or misleading. For example, some tools mark certain colors as "best for me" that I just can't tell apart from similar shades, which makes picking clothes or makeup pretty difficult rather than fun.

    Recently, I encountered a review of color analysis apps that highlighted some with colorblind modes or specific accessibility features designed to assist limited color vision. It seemed like a step in the good direction because those apps try to compensate for what we might face trouble with in color identification. I'm attaching the link here in case anyone else is eager: [url=https://color-type.top]color analysis test free[/url]

    What I'm still uncertain about, though, is how trustworthy these tools are in practice. Have any of you found apps or methods that genuinely make it more manageable to figure out your color palette without having to second-guess whether the results are accurate? Maybe there's a way to merge technology with other cues like lighting or undertone tests that I haven't thought of yet.

    If you have experience or guidance for accessible color analysis resources that focus on usability for colorblind users, I'd really love to hear about them. It's difficult to navigate this space when so much of the advice out there assumes normal color vision, so any tips on what works well or what to avoid would be welcome.

    Thanks for reading and for any insights you might share!

  2. Hi friends, I'm seeking to help my teenager who's genuinely curious about changing their hair color. They have cool-toned summer features—fair skin with blue eyes and naturally ash-blonde hair—and we want to avoid any damage or weird color results. We've researched hair color analysis to understand how different dyes interact with cool summer coloring, and it seems temporary dyes are less harmful since they wash out, but permanent dyes might offer a more reliable tone. I'm really troubled by harsh chemicals affecting their already delicate hair and how the dye might look off against their skin tone. I found an insightful guide comparing the pros and cons of temporary vs. permanent dyes through the lens of color theory, which helped shed some light on the topic [url=https://hairstyle-expert.top]best clothing colors for blonde hair, blue eyes fair skin[/url] . Has anyone navigated a teenager's curiosity to experiment with hair color while also protecting their hair health and remaining faithful to their cool summer coloring? Any advice on what proved effective—maybe a specific product or a dye type that was gentle yet effective—would be very welcome. Also, did you notice any unforeseen undertone problems with either type of dye? Thank you so much for any guidance!

  3. Приветствую! Я студент исторического отделения, в данный момент разрабатываю реферат по истории Яна Гуса и столкнулся с расходящейся информацией в разных источниках. Очень помогло бы, если кто-либо мог бы помочь мне конкретизировать некоторые факты и назвать достоверные исторические источники. Если есть возможность, предоставьте, пожалуйста, ссылками на признанные ресурсы по данному вопросу, например, что-то вроде [url=https://pragagid.top]какие города в чехии стоит посетить[/url] . Благодарю вас заранее за ответ!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating