Strawberry Goat Cheese Salad with Walnuts and Avocado

Platter with large salad with strawberries, goat cheese, walnuts, avocado and pickled onions.

5 from 1 vote

Strawberry Goat Cheese Salad with Walnuts and Avocado

This Strawberry Goat Cheese Salad is one of my absolute faves! It is the perfect balanced salad, with sweet strawberries, crunchy cucumber, fresh herbs, sweet and sharp pickled onions, tangy goat cheese, and a creamy balsamic dressing. You will be eating this one all summer long.

Prep Time30

Total Time30

Course: Salad, Side Dish

Cuisine: American, Mediterranean

Servings: people

Calories: 137kcal

Author: Amanda McGillicuddy

Equipment

Mixing bowl
Whisk
Small skillet
Rubber Spatula
Knife
Cutting board
Large serving platter

Ingredients

Creamy Balsamic Dressing

¾ cup Avocado oil mayo or your favorite mayo
3 tablespoon Balsamic vinegar high-quality Italian balsamic vinegar has such great flavor
2 tablespoon Maple syrup
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
½ teaspoon Sea salt
½ teaspoon Garlic powder
¼ teaspoon Black pepper
¼ tsp Dried oregano

Candied Walnuts

1 teaspoon Olive oil
½ cup Raw walnuts
1 tablespoon Maple syrup
Sea salt to taste (use ¼ teaspoon or less unless you want them extra salty)

Strawberry Goat Cheese Salad

8 cups Chopped greens (I like crunchy greens like romaine in this salad, but you can use arugula, spring mix or even baby kale)
1 cup Strawberries hulled and quartered lengthwise
1 cup Diced English cucumber about ½ large English cucumber
1 Large ripe avocado diced
½ cup Candied walnuts chopped (regular walnuts work too!)
2-3 oz Plain goat cheese crumbled
¼ cup Pickled red onions or 1 small shallot or ¼ cup sliced red onion
¼ cup Finely chopped mint
¼ cup Finely chopped basil

Instructions

Creamy Balsamic Dressing

Add all ingredients for the dressing into a small mixing bowl and whisk together until smooth with no visible lumps of mayo. Place in the fridge until ready to use.

Candied Walnuts

Add 1 teaspoon of olive oil to a small skillet and heat over medium heat.
Add walnuts to the skillet and toast for about 1 minute, stirring occasionally with a rubber spatula.
Add the maple syrup and salt to the nuts. Stir to coat. Continue to cook, stirring continuously. The maple syrup will begin to bubble and start sticking to the nuts as you stir. Keep the heat at a low-medium to prevent burning. As it cooks, you will notice less maple syrup in the pan and more sticking to the walnuts. Once the syrup becomes extremely viscous and most is adhered to the nuts, remove from the heat. Set aside to cool.
As the nuts cool, toss several more times to ensure that they are fully coated in the maple syrup.
Once cooled, coarsely chop the nuts and set aside.

Strawberry Goat Cheese Salad

Prepare the ingredients. If using romaine, chop the lettuce into small bite-sized pieces (this is not necessary for spring mix or baby greens). Hull and quarter the strawberries lengthwise. Chop the cucumber into ¼-inch squares. Peel and dice or slice the avocado. Chop the pickled onions to about 1-inch slices. Finely chop the mint and basil.
Plate the greens on a large serving dish (I don't generally toss this salad as most the good stuff will sink to the bottom in a bowl). Sprinkle over the fresh herbs and diced cucumber. Evenly distribute the pickled onions. Top with strawberries and diced avocado. Crumble the goat cheese and crushed walnuts over the top. Dress the salad (you won't need all the dressing, but it saves well in the fridge) or serve with the dressing on the side.

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