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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.
This was a yummy salad! Definitely making it again.
This salad was amazing ! I love avocado and strawberries so this was right up my alley. I must confess – I added extra sliced strawberries to the salad. The apple added a nice crunch.
Salad was great. Especially the bites with the green apples. The dressing could have been a little sweeter, but still very good.
Family approved! The dressing is absolutely delicious! I substituted diced strawberries on the salad for those who don’t like cucumbers.
This salad was so good, I was actually shocked that I made it myself. I did way my greens even though they were pre-washed triple washed. I made it as directed so now I can play with it a bit. Off to a great start.
I really liked the dressing after it sat for an hour in the fridge. It smelled interesting right after I made it, but after melding…smelled yummy. This was a very bright and refreshing salad. I’m looking forward to having it often. Next time I’m adding some chicken.
Liked this one -very fresh tasting and like the mixed greens! I often make a salad very similar to this, except use toasted walnuts and oranges and if time is short, I use coconut aminos as dressing. Thanks for a new idea.
I have never made dressing using strawberry or any fruit for that matter (except lemon and lime).
This was fun to make and delicious to eat. I think I will definitely make this a dressing that I pre-make and store for few days.
Thank you.
We liked the apple and avocado combo but either the tartness of the strawberries or the basil threw off the dressing for us.
This is a great salad. I enjoyed the crunchiness and the dressing was amazing. It was easy and quick to make.
It was fun to make up this strawberry dressing! Something I’ve always wanted to do was try different dressing recipes, but never have. I can’t quite decide how much I really like it. I will have to try more another time.
It’s always a good day when you have fun in the kitchen!
Great salad. The dressing was wonderful with the strawberries. The apples added a great flavor to it.
This is a delicious spring and summer salad. A great mixture of tastes and textures. The dressing is the perfect mix of sweet and tangy to complement the salad. So good!