A fresh and delicious strawberry spinach salad with bacon, pecans, red peppers and balsamic, is just like the La Madeleine version, but you can make it at home! (gluten-free, dairy-free)
As the weather warms up, it’s time for fresh, delicious, seasonal salads! During the colder months, cold salads just don’t sound as good, but as soon as it gets warm out, nothing goes better with hot sunny days than a fresh salad!
One of my favorite salads is spinach with strawberries. I love the La Madeleine spinach salad with bacon, pecans, red peppers, mushrooms, and balsamic vinaigrette, so I decided to make my own version. Somewhere along the way La Madeleine stoped putting mushrooms in theirs, but I love them, so I kept them in my version. Not only is this strawberry spinach salad so delicious, but it’s also full of nutritional benefits!
This strawberry spinach salad packs tons of nutrition, but what’s even better is that all of the ingredients work together to help your body absorb more of the nutrients! Spinach is full of iron, but your body doesn’t absorb iron from foods very efficiently. Vitamin C, found in strawberries and red bell peppers, helps your body absorb fatigue-fighting iron much better.
The fat found in the nuts and vinaigrette also helps you reap the full nutritional benefits from this strawberry spinach salad. Vitamins A, D, E and K are fat-soluble, which means they are carried through the body by fat. Healthy sources of fat from nuts and oil-based dressing help you get all of those good vitamins.
Beyond the powerful nutrition punch in this strawberry spinach salad, it’s just so tasty. It’s a little bit sweet, a little bit savory, crunchy, juicy and fresh all at the same time. What more could you want? It would be a great addition to your summer menu or perfect for packing for lunch.
If you need to switch-up your salad routine, or just need a yummy new recipe, try this spinach strawberry salad. You won’t be disappointed!
La Madeleine Copycat Strawberry Spinach Salad
A fresh and delicious strawberry spinach salad with bacon, pecans, red peppers and balsamic, is just like the La Madeleine version, but you can make it at home! (gluten-free, dairy-free)
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 6-8 servings 1x
- Category: Salad
Ingredients
- 5 oz baby spinach
- 1 cup strawberries, sliced
- 1/2 medium red bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup mushrooms, very thinly sliced
- 2 sliced bacon, cooked and crumbled
- 1/4 cup pecan halves, toasted
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinaigrette (I like Brianna’s)
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients except for dressing in a large bowl. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
- Just before serving, add dressing and toss to coat.
Keywords: spinach, salad, strawberry
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This is my kind of loaded salad! I am all about packing on the fixings!