Strawberry Salad

This Strawberry Salad recipe has become THE salad to make when our entire family gathers. Made with fresh, super simple ingredients, it just makes EVERYBODY happy!

“This is on our menu tonight – one of our family’s favorite recipes!”

Cheryl

What You’ll Need

Here’s what you’ll need to make this strawberry salad. Scroll down to the printable recipe card to find the exact ingredient quantities and recipe instructions.

• Lettuce – Use romaine lettuce for a crisper option or baby spinach for more tender greens.
• Strawberries – This salad is especially wonderful to make when local berries are in season. Those small, juicy, deeply red, and fragrant berries are such a treat!
• Cheese – Monterey Jack, often referred to as Jack, is an American white, creamy, semi-hard cheese made from cow’s milk. It has a mild buttery flavor, with a slight sweetness and nuttiness. This cheese reminds me of a good whole milk mozzarella because of its creamy, full body texture — but with more flavor.
• Red onion – Onion was not in the original recipe, but I like to add in just a bit! It provides a nice contrast to the berries.
• Candied Pecans – My friend Leanne uses candied walnuts, but you can’t go wrong either way. My Candied Pecans are always a hit, as they are ridiculously crunchy, with a craveable ratio of sweet to salty, plus just a hint of heat. I also really like Trader Joe’s candied pecans.
• Red Wine Vinaigrette – This easy homemade salad dressing uses just a few common pantry items and takes only 5 minutes to make. It’s more sweet than savory, absolute perfection with all the flavors in this salad.

How to Make Strawberry Salad

If you’re looking for an easy strawberry salad recipe that pleases the masses, believe me when I say that practically EVERYONE asks for a second helping of this one! Here’s how to make it.

• Prep the greens. If using romaine, chop it into “large bite-size” pieces that are easy to get from fork to mouth. If using baby spinach, just leave it whole-leaf (do not chop).
• Cut the strawberries. If you have small to medium sized strawberries, just slice them in half. If berries are larger, quarter them.
• Shred the cheese. This recipe calls for Monterey Jack cheese, and it’s the PERFECT cheese for the salad. I’m not always able to find it in shredded form – so then I just buy a block and shred it on my own. I really don’t ever use a different variety of cheese since I think this makes the best overall pairing!
• Slice the onion. I like to add a little bit of thinly sliced red onion.
• Place ingredients in serving bowl. Toss together all of the lettuce, plus about three-fourths of the strawberries, cheese, and onion. Then scatter the remaining strawberries, cheese, and onion over the top.
• Serve. Just before serving, sprinkle the candied pecans over the top. I prefer to serve the dressing on the side, so people can add as little or as much as they like. Plus, if there is leftover salad, it will keep longer if it hasn’t already been dressed with the vinaigrette.

A Tip + a Few Variations

Let’s make this strawberry salad the very best it can be! Here’s a helpful hint and some ways to make the recipe your own.

• Use a mandoline slicer. When it comes to slicing onions for salads and my famous Pickled Red Onions, I am SO GRATEFUL for my mandoline. This small kitchen gadget gives me uniform slices in a range of thicknesses. For this strawberry salad, I like to slice the onion as thin as possible while still keeping a bit of a toothsome bite. If you prefer less bite and a milder onion flavor, you can slice the onion paper-thin.
• Or just omit the onion. I know that many people prefer no onions. So when I’m serving this salad to a larger group, I’m sure to slice the onion nice and thin, and leave it in larger pieces so people can pick them out if they want…or I simply offer the onions on the side.
• Swap out the greens. My photos show this salad with romaine. But so many people love a great strawberry spinach salad! I’m also a big fan of arugula, for its peppery, substantial bite. A mix of tender spring greens would also be nice.
• Use other sweet seasonal fruit. Summer’s best blueberries, blackberries, peaches, and nectarines come to mind first. Slices of plum or mango would also be lovely.
• Include a different cheese. Like I’ve already said, I do think Monterey Jack is the perfect cheese for this salad. However, mozzarella, Parmesan, or a nice Havarti or Gouda would also be great choices.
• Replace the candied pecans. Maybe you don’t like pecans? Then use that same candied pecans recipe to make candied walnuts or almonds. Or toss in some (non-candied) roasted whole cashews or sliced almonds.
• Use a different dressing. If you’re not a fan of red wine vinegar, my grandma’s recipe for Fresh Ginger Dressing would be delicious.

Serving Suggestions

Serve this salad as a larger main course portion or as a smaller side. Either way, a steaming hot popover is an excellent way to round out the meal. Try my original/regular Popovers recipe, or these delicious Sourdough Popovers. And for a super duper fabulous treat, whip up some fluffy Cinnamon Honey Butter to spread on them!

• To serve as a main course, grill a couple chicken breasts seasoned simply with kosher salt and ground black pepper. Then slice the cooked chicken into thin strips and serve over individual plates of salad. Sliced steak would be great, too. Or add shrimp or pieces of salmon — delish!
• To serve as a side salad, this recipe goes with so many entrees. Think Beer Can Chicken, easy Grilled Pork Chops, or these eye-catching Sugar Grilled Beef & Asparagus Kabobs.

Can This Salad Be Made in Advance?

I appreciate recipes that let me prepare (at least some of) it advance. Especially when it comes to entertaining, so our kitchen isn’t a mess when guests arrive.

Here’s how I prep this salad in advance:

• Prep the fresh ingredients. Up to a few hours prior to serving the salad, you can wash, dry, and chop the lettuce. Also clean the strawberries, remove their stems, and slice them. And slice the red onion. Place each ingredient in separate airtight containers and refrigerate.
• Prep the cheese. If you need to shred a block of Monterey Jack, that can be done up to a couple days in advance. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
• Make the candied pecans. A day or two in advance, go ahead and make the candied nuts. Then store them in an airtight container at cool room temperature. I like to make a batch of candied pecans and then freeze small containers of them, to use whenever we want. They keep very well in the freezer for at least a couple months.
• Make the dressing. You can make the red wine vinaigrette up to two days in advance. Just be sure to let it sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes prior to serving, to let the oil come to room temperature.

And when it’s time to serve the salad, all you need to do is grab a large salad bowl and assemble. Easy peasy!

How to Store Leftovers

If you think you’ll have any leftover salad, I will always recommend that you offer the vinaigrette on the side. Because dressed salad greens simply never keep as well as bare salad greens.

To store any leftover salad, place it in an airtight container and refrigerate. The different textures of the salad ingredients will not be as vibrant after the initial serving, but will still make for an excellent, happy lunch the following day.

Where This Recipe Comes From

It was the spring of 2020, and our oldest daughter Hatti’s junior prom dinner. The parents of one of Hatti’s girlfriends hosted the dinner at their home, and I and a few other moms helped them pull it all off. It was a blast to help prepare and serve the meal to that group of awesome, spiffed-up young adults!

The meal was delicious from start to finish, but the one recipe that I couldn’t go home without was this strawberry salad. It’s on our menu a LOT!

This recipe comes from the recipe box of friend and prom dinner hostess Leanne Dorff-Rogers. The recipe is originally from her sister-in-law, Lori Dorff, and is shared in her honor. Lori passed away from breast cancer in 2016.