Summer Strawberry Salad

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.

This post was originally published in July 2016. It has been updated with some slight changes to the recipe as of June 2021.

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by Alexandra Daum

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