Big summer salads are a delicious option on hot days, especially if you feel like eating something with a lot of volume that won’t weigh you down. I love a giant salad packed with garden vegetables throughout summer.
This strawberry salad is a good lunch or light dinner, with lentils, some avocado, and plenty of greens. Fresh berries and a strawberry vinaigrette make it all the more interesting.
I’ve used pea shoots and edible flowers to add extra texture and flavour variations, but switch this up based on what you’re growing or have on hand. Herbs, different types of greens, snap peas – all delicious.
Ingredients
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Lettuce: a mix of green and red if you have it – any kinds of you like. I prefer ‘salad bowl’ and that’s primarily what we grow.
- Lentils: brown or French lentils are great, as are black. I don’t recommend red lentils. Chickpeas and white beans are good substitutions for lentils.
- Pea shoots: or sunflower shoots, or sprouts, whatever kind of sprout or shoot you like. These can be omitted.
- Pepitas: another seed or nut can replace the pepitas (pumpkin seeds). Sunflower seeds and walnuts are both delicious.
- Edible flowers and herbs: pictured are garden pansies – nasturtiums are a favourite. Here’s a helpful post on edible flowers.
- Strawberry vinaigrette: basic instructions are included in the recipe card – visit the post for more information.
Recipe Notes
Harvest your salad greens from the outer layers, rather than harvesting full heads, and they’ll last much longer. We have lettuce that lasts for months, even in hot weather, using this method. Salad bowl is a good bolt-resistant variety.
Leftovers, as with any salad, don’t keep well if the vinaigrette has been added. If you want to make it ahead of time (maximum 24 hours in advance), assemble everything but the avocado, and add it and the vinaigrette immediately before serving.
Expert Tips
- Season to taste: taste the vinaigrette before adding (dip a piece of lettuce into it) and add salt or vinegar if needed.
- Use ripe berries: choose the sweetest strawberries you can find. Typically the smallest and reddest will be the best tasting.
- Only use edible flowers: either grow them yourself or buy flowers specifically marked as edible from the grocer. Pansies in pots from the garden shop, for example, should not be eaten.
More Summery Salads
End of Summer Greek Chickpea Salad
Vegan Cucumber Salad with Dill and Chives
Mexican Lentil Salad with Lime Vinaigrette
Roasted New Potato Salad
If you make this Strawberry Salad or any other vegetarian summer recipes on Occasionally Eggs, please take a moment to rate the recipe and leave a comment below. It’s such a help to others who want to try the recipe. For more OE, follow along on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest, purchase the Occasionally Eggs cookbook, or subscribe for new posts via email.
Summer Salad with Strawberry Vinaigrette
Description
Ingredients
- 80 grams (~3 cups) leaf lettuce, washed and dried
- 150 grams (1 cup) cooked brown or black lentils
- 1 ripe avocado quartered and sliced
- 100 grams (~¾ cup) strawberries, halved
- 80 grams (½ cup) raw pepitas
- Small bunch pea shoots
- Edible flowers and herbs optional
Strawberry Vinaigrette
- 150 grams (1 cup) strawberries
- 60 ml (¼ cup) extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- ½ teaspoon dijon mustard
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon sea salt to taste
Instructions
- Add the lettuce, lentils, avocado, strawberries, pepitas, and pea shoots to a large bowl or platter.80 grams (~3 cups) leaf lettuce, washed and dried, 150 grams (1 cup) cooked brown or black lentils, 1 ripe avocado, 100 grams (~¾ cup) strawberries, halved, 80 grams (½ cup) raw pepitas, Small bunch pea shoots
- Top with the strawberry vinaigrette and mix to combine.
- Top with the flowers and herbs if using, and serve immediately. Once the vinaigrette is added, the salad cannot be stored.Edible flowers and herbs
Strawberry Vinaigrette
- Add all of the ingredients to a mixing container or small blender. Mix on high speed until fully blended.150 grams (1 cup) strawberries, 60 ml (¼ cup) extra virgin olive oil, 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, ½ teaspoon dijon mustard, ½ teaspoon black pepper, ½ teaspoon sea salt
Nutrition
Nutrition is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate. If this information is important to you, please have it verified independently.
This post was originally published in July 2016. It has been updated with some slight changes to the recipe as of June 2021.
Goodness, thank you so much! I'm working on it 🙂 I hope you can find some strawberries soon!
Haha I was starving by the end of this shoot, I demolished that salad! It's a wonderful time of year, isn't it? We have such a short growing season out here. Thanks Cassie 🙂
Thank you! I was thinking it'd be perfect for people who have a farm share, since sometimes it can be a bit tricky to figure out how to use everything.
Thanks Melissa, I hope you like it!
Yours might be the best food photography I've ever seen. Can't wait to try this salad when I get my hands on some strawberries (I haven't seen them at the farmers' market this year).
So lovely! That first photo is just too pretty, I couldn't bear to eat a salad that beautiful. 😉 I love how you and your friend got to pick the strawberries in this dish, and that all the ingredients are locally sourced. Right now is prime time for fruits and veggies and I'm blown away by the embarrassment of riches at the local farmer's market. Maybe I should put this salad on my weekly meal list. 🙂
This salad is absolutely breathtaking. Also, I absolutely love how your ingredients are all in season at the moment, in fact most of what you listed is included in my weekly CSA basket 🙂 Will have to try out that wonderful strawberry vinaigrette! 🙂
This looks INCREDIBLE!!! So fresh and colourful! I cannot wait to try that vinaigrette!