Spinach Fruit Salad

A salad this sweet and tasty doesn’t have any business being healthy too, but it is. The sweetness comes from fruit, which is counterbalanced by tangy feta cheese and nutty walnuts, with a couple other choice ingredients rounding everything out. Including a generous bed of baby spinach, of course.

Quick and easy to make, colorful and pleasing to behold, and of course great tasting, this spinach fruit salad is a perfect quick weeknight salad or a light lunch that hits a few of those classic food groups.

Spinach Fruit Salad Ingredients

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• Baby spinach: Make sure the baby spinach is fresh, crisp and dry, especially as there are a lot of wet ingredients in this spinach and fruit salad.
• Mandarin oranges: Use one snack-sized cup of mandarin oranges, with the liquid drained off.
• Red grapes: The seedless red grapes should be halved. You can use green grapes if that’s what you have, but red are much better, for taste and looks.
• Feta cheese: This recipe calls for 1/4 cup of feta cheese in crumbles. You can opt for a milder or a sharper feta, based on your preference.
• Walnuts: For best results, used toasted and chopped walnuts for this salad. They add an earthy and, well, nutty edge.
• Green onion: One fresh green onion, both the dark and lighter green parts, is a subtle but wonderful addition here. Chop the green onion well.
• Oil and vinegar salad dressing: The classic, oil and vinegar, is the best dressing this salad could ask for.

Directions

Step 1: Compose the salad

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In a salad bowl, combine the spinach, oranges, grapes, cheese, walnuts and green onion.

Step 2: Dress the salad and enjoy!

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Drizzle on the dressing, toss the salad to coat everything and serve it immediately.

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Spinach Fruit Salad Variations

• Use different oranges: While mandarin oranges are perfect for this recipe, other varieties are just fine too. Use naval oranges, blood oranges or even tangerines.
• Try pecans: If you like nuts that are a bit on the sweeter side, you can swap out the walnuts and use pecans instead. Or you can use both.
• Add kale or Swiss chard: For a salad with a bit more crunch, you can swap out half the baby spinach with a heartier green, like kale or chard.

How to Store Spinach Fruit Salad

This fruit salad with spinach is best served fresh. The spinach will grow wilted and damp if it’s left to sit too long, and it doesn’t keep well in the fridge. Fortunately, it is so quick and easy to prepare, you can whip up a batch anytime you want.

Spinach Fruit Salad Tips

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How do I make oil and vinegar dressing?

To make an oil and vinegar dressing, also known as a vinaigrette, you can combine oil and vinegar in a 3 parts oil to 1 part vinegar ratio. Place them in a jar, and shake to combine the ingredients.

Can I prepare this salad ahead of time?

Not really, but sort of. You can do all the chopping and measuring, and you can make the dressing, but don’t assemble the salad until it’s time to enjoy it.

What should I serve with this salad?

This is a light and sweet salad, so it pairs beautifully with savory and hearty dishes, like a cut of steak, a pork chop or roasted tofu.