Strawberry Salad with Goat Cheese
This summer-filled salad is loaded with strawberries, avocados, and goat cheese, topped with tender chicken, and tossed in a delicious homemade healthy poppy seed dressing. It's easy to make and great for a party! Your summer just isn't complete without a strawberry goat cheese salad.
Jump to:
- What makes this Summer Strawberry Salad so delicious?
- Strawberry Goat Cheese Salad ingredients
- How to Make a Goat Cheese Strawberry Salad
- Tips For Making Strawberry and Goat Cheese Salad
- How to serve this Strawberry Summer Salad
- Storing Goat Cheese Strawberry Salad
- More like this Strawberry Summer Salad
- Strawberry Goat Cheese Salad FAQs
- Recipe
- Reviews
What makes this Summer Strawberry Salad so delicious?
If I could only eat one salad every day for the rest of my life, it would be this one. It’s light and refreshing and loaded with strawberries, avocados, and goat cheese, topped with tender chicken, and tossed in a delicious homemade poppy seed dressing. It's easy to make and great for a party!
Strawberry Goat Cheese Salad ingredients
You don't need much to make this summer salad, just a few simple and wholesome ingredients! Just make sure they are FRESH 😉
- Spring Mix
- Fresh Strawberries
- Avocado
- Red Onion
- Goat Cheese
- Chicken Breast
- Olive Oil
- Italian Seasonings
Healthy Poppy Seed Dressing Ingredients
- Oil of Choice (olive, avocado, almond, etc.)
- Lemon
- Honey
- Mustard
- Poppy Seeds
- Garlic
- Apple Cider Vinegar
Strawberry Goat Cheese Salad Dressing
Now let's talk about this dressing. It's absolutely incredible. With a touch of citrus from fresh squeezed lemon, a little sweetness from honey, and an added crunch from poppy seeds, I could drizzle this dressing over truly anything. This healthy poppy seed dressing is the ultimate counterpart to this salad as it only elevates the natural flavors of the fresh fruit and creamy avocado and goat cheese. Even better, all you have to do is add the ingredients to a jar and shake shake shake! You'll even have some left over to add to whatever you wish throughout the week.
How to Make a Goat Cheese Strawberry Salad
Step 1 : Make the dressing. Mix all the dressing ingredients in a jar or bowl until well combined.
Step 2 : Cook the chicken (if using). If you haven’t already, slice the chicken in half width ways so you are left with 2 cuts of chicken about ½ inch thick. Heat some olive oil in a skillet and season with salt and pepper. Cook the chicken in the skillet until cooked through. Transfer to a plate and set aside to cool.
Step 3: Assemble the salad. Cut the chicken into strips. Place the lettuce, strawberries, avocado, red onion, and goat cheese in a bowl along with the chicken strips. Add the dressing and toss well to distribute.
Tips For Making Strawberry and Goat Cheese Salad
Here are a few simple tips to ensure your salad is the absolute best it can be!
- Use fresh ingredients. This is the key to a great salad. Make sure the lettuce is fresh and crispy, the strawberries plump and juicy, and the avocado nice and ripe.
- Assemble the salad right before you serve it. This salad is best served right after it is assembled so the lettuce stays as crunchy as possible and the avocados look fresh. If you'd like to prep it ahead of time, I recommend keeping the salad mix separate and adding the strawberries, red onion, and goat cheese in a separate bowl. Slice up the avocado when ready to serve.
- Top with dressing last. Similar to above, wait to drizzle the salad with dressing until you're ready to eat. This has to do with the type of salad mix we are using. Spring mix, along with most lettuces, may begin to get soft and wilt if they sit in a liquid for too long. To prevent this, wait until the salad is fully prepared to drizzle the dressing on top.
How to serve this Strawberry Summer Salad
Serve the salad in a bowl or on a plate with extra goat cheese crumbles on top, if desired. If the chicken are larger strips, it’s best to provide a knife too.
Storing Goat Cheese Strawberry Salad
The dressing can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a month. Shake well before using.
If you plan on having leftovers, I recommend waiting to toss the salad with the dressing. You can store the mixed salad for up to 2 days in the ridge in an airtight container. When ready to enjoy, drizzle the dressing over top, toss, and enjoy!
More like this Strawberry Summer Salad
Strawberry Goat Cheese Salad FAQs
As always, this depends on your definition of healthy. This salad is full of vitamins and minerals along with healthy protein and fat.
Goat cheese has less fat and lactose in it which can make it easier to digest than cow’s cheese.
Recipe
Goat Cheese Strawberry Salad
Ingredients
For the Dressing
- ⅔ cup avocado oil
- ⅓ cup lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon poppy seed
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoon honey
- ½ tablespoon brown mustard
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
For the Salad
- 1 large chicken breast
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasonings
- 3 - 4 cups spring mix
- 1 cup fresh strawberries - chopped
- 1 avocado - sliced
- ¼ cup red onion - chopped
- ⅓ cup goat cheese crumbles
Instructions
For the Dressing
- Add all dressing ingredients to a mason jar. Screw top on tight and shake generously until the honey is evenly distributed in the dressing. Set aside to prepare the salad.⅔ cup avocado oil, ⅓ cup lemon juice, 1 tablespoon poppy seed, 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar, 2 tablespoon honey, ½ tablespoon brown mustard, ¼ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon pepper
For the Salad
- Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium-low heat. Sprinkle Italian seasonings on chicken and place in skillet. Cook until thoroughly cooked, about 5 minutes on each side. Set aside.1 large chicken breast, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 teaspoon Italian seasonings
- In a large bowl, add the spring mix. Sprinkle the strawberries, avocado slices, red onion, and goat cheese crumbles over top. Cut chicken into strips and add to salad bowl.3 - 4 cups spring mix, 1 cup fresh strawberries, 1 avocado, ¼ cup red onion, ⅓ cup goat cheese crumbles
- Drizzle the lemon poppy seed dressing over top of salad. Toss together and serve
I love the vibrant colors, they make this healthy salad look so yummy.