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For years, I thought salads had to look a certain way—bland iceberg lettuce, salty croutons, and a thick, creamy dressing. I ate them… but I didn’t love them. That all changed when I realized how fresh, vibrant, and satisfying salads can actually be.
This strawberry mixed greens salad is one of my favorites. It’s all about the balance—crisp greens, sweet fruit, creamy avocado, and that bright strawberry basil vinaigrette that brings everything to life. This is the kind of salad you’ll actually crave. Enjoy!
Table of Contents
What is a Mixed Greens Salad?
A mixed green salad is a simple salad made with a variety of leafy greens—like spring mix, spinach, arugula, or lettuce—topped with fresh ingredients and a dressing. It’s known for being light, flexible, and easy to customize based on what you have on hand.
This recipe stands out because it’s more balanced and satisfying—with fruit, healthy fats, crunch, and a homemade strawberry basil dressing that adds fresh, vibrant flavor.
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How to Make Mixed Greens Salad
This mixed greens salad recipe is filled with these greens, plus tangy green apple, creamy avocado, and crunchy almonds. Seriously, this salad is the perfect meal when your sweet tooth comes calling and you’re trying to eat healthy.
1. Wash and dry greens
A recent study done by Consumer Reports says that we should all be washing any produce that comes into our cooking spaces, whether “pre-washed”, organic or otherwise. This is because even those mixed greens carefully washed by well meaning producers can still contain contaminants from E. coli, chemicals and more.
2. Chop apples, avocado and cucumber
I like to chop them all into bite-size pieces (the smaller, the better).
3. Make the Strawberry viniagarette
Combine dressing ingredients in a high-speed blender or food processor and puree into the best dressing you’ve ever had with mixed greens.
4. prepare the plate
Add the mixed greens first, and then toppings to the plate. Drizzle dressing on top and enjoy!
Make-Ahead Tips
If you want this salad for work, prep it all in a mason jar. It’s seriously so easy! Simply layer the ingredients in the mason jar. Keep the strawberry dressing in a separate container until time to eat. When you’re ready to eat, pour the dressing on top, give the mason jar a good shake, and enjoy!
Strawberry Mixed Greens Salad
Ingredients
- 4 cup spring mix greens loosely packed
- 1 cucumber thinly sliced
- 1 green apple diced
- 1 avocado sliced
- ¼ cup sliced almonds
Dressing
- 1 cup strawberries diced
- 6 fresh basil fresh, roughly chopped
- 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 tsp lemon juice
- 2 tsp pure maple syrup
- pinch sea salt, unrefined
- pinch black pepper, ground ground, to taste
Instructions
- Arrange salad ingredients on plates.
- Puree the dressing ingredients in a blender or food processor. Taste and add more salt and pepper, if needed.
- Drizzle some of the dressing over salad (you may not need all of it). Eat immediately.
Notes
- Swap mixed greens with the leafy greens of your choice.
- Oil-free? Omit the olive oil. It’ll still be delicious and less caloric.
- Lemon Vinaigrette would also be delicious on this recipe.
- Add the nuts or seeds of your choice for more healthy fats + protein.
Nutrition
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review for a chance to win signed copies of my cookbooks! Winners announced each season in my newsletter.Common Questions
Yes! If you have a favorite dressing, feel free to swap out my Strawberry Vinaigrette. Yet I do encourage you to make it one time like this because it’s out-of-this-world delicious!
You sure can. You can swap it for any leafy green you prefer or have on hand. You might check out our Leafy Greens Guide for more inspiration.
In all my salads, I try and use some sorta nuts, seeds or protein to help me stay full. A salad is typically a meal for me, which means it needs a variety of fiber, healthy fats, protein and carbs to keep me full until the next meal.
For a “simple” salad, it was amazing. The dressing really does change the expectations of a mixed green salad. Wondering how other fruits would taste – mango, blueberry, oranges.
There’s only one way to find out!! 😉
I love mixed greens. Could do without the avocado. The dressing was a nice addition.
Def feel free to omit the avocado in the future, if you’re not a fan! Make these recipes work for you. Way to challenge yourself though!
The strawberry salad dressing is soooo good!! I added some red wine vinegar and it was top notch!! This is a good spring/summer salad but would be a great side than a meal. I think it gets a little monotone when having it as a meal but i cleaned my plate regardless (probably because of the dressing ) I used farm strawberries and it gave me the most beautiful colour on the salad!
The dressing is ssoo yummy, best dressing I’ve had in a long time. Used my frozen strawberries for the dressing. Made the salad last Thursday and then had it again on the weekend. Delicious
Quick, simple, & satisfying. The dressing was not too sweet, like some fruity dressings can be.
So I’ve told myself FOREVER that I’m not a fan of green salads with fruit in them (oh-so-popular strawberry poppyseed salads, I’m looking at YOU!). But this salad has totally changed my mind. I was leery of the blended strawberry dressing, but I’m absolutely in love now–and it’s not even quite springtime yet where I am! I’ll look forward to making this salad throughout the season when the weather really does change 🙂
Yay!! I’m so glad that this was a pleasant experience with fruity salads for you! Way to challenge yourself! Sounds like it was a win! 🙂
I really enjoyed making the dressing (my first) – The Salad was missing my Onions / otherwise the Salad was good.
I’m not a big salad person but This was good . Mostly enjoyed the dressing!
I apologize for the 2nd post. I’m new to blogging and still don’t know how to use hashtags. This will be a little bit of a learning curve but I will get through this.
This salad was absolutely amazing. I followed the recipe but did add a little more dressing. Most berry dressings are made with balsamic vinegar. I love them but always end up with heartburn after eating them. This one I can enjoy without heartburn. I love how fresh and tasty this salad and dressing were. I can see this becoming a go to salad for me, especially during the summer months.
Yummy dressing! Perfect for spring!
Today it’s a perfect weather make my strawberry mixed salad. I loves strawberry dressing it’s very light, perfectly textures, not too sweet or bitter but I love it. It’s perfect for my breakfast/lunch/dinner!!! So delicious!!!!!
Love this recipe with the strawberry basil dressing. Will be making again as it’s easy to prepare and delicious.