Enjoy a delicious combination of baby greens and fresh fruits with this simple spring mix salad recipe. One of the daintiest of specialty salads, this simple spring salad recipe has the best flavors of the season. It’s a colorful assortment of healthy vegetables and fruits, topped with a rich and tangy homemade orange vinaigrette. Surely, this melting pot of sweetness and freshness can be a refreshing salad for a dinner party! Serve this mixed green salad with some crusty artisan bread for a fancy, café-style snack.
Best Ingredients For A Spring Mix Salad
Although spring mix contains lively greens that can be obtained any time of the year, this salad recipe brings about the image of spring. That’s why it’s important to use fruits that are in season during spring, such as strawberries. We also included fresh blueberries and mandarin orange slices in the mix. These sweet and tart fruits taste delightful with the peppery greens!
Besides these classic fruits, you can also add other delicious ingredients to this spring mix salad. For some extra crunch, add in chopped nuts like walnuts or pine nuts. You may also toss everything with cherry tomatoes, candied pecans, dried cherries, or dried cranberries. And as an addition or alternative to cottage cheese, try topping your salad with either feta cheese, goat cheese, or tiny dollops of cream cheese for more creamy goodness.
Tips on Making Spring Mix Salad
This hearty spring salad mix recipe is all about combining colors, textures, and flavors in perfect harmony. Salads are customizable too, so you can easily mix and match some of your favorite ingredients or dressings for this dish. Level up your spring mix salad with these valuable tips:
- Make your own spring mix greens using different kinds of salad greens, rather than buying a ready-made pack at the store. Pick one kind of leafy vegetable that is light and crisp like romaine lettuce, one slightly sweet like baby spinach, baby lettuce, or swiss green chard, and one dark-colored and nutrient-packed variety like kale or lollo rosso. Feel free to use both red and green-colored veggies to add visual interest.
- Wash your salad greens in a basin filled with iced water. Cold water helps them stay fresh and maintain their crispiness.
- Dry your mixed salad greens, preferably with a salad spinner. Dry greens will hold on to the dressing better because they don’t have excess water that would prevent the salad dressing from sticking. Excess moisture also weighs the salad down, making it flat and limp – which isn’t ideal.
- Cut the fruits and greens into fork-friendly bite sizes, not too big or too small so they are easier to coat with the dressing. Also, the taste will be even for each forkful.
- Try using other kinds of homemade salad dressing. Besides the tasty orange vinaigrette, you can also make your own sweet and tangy strawberry vinaigrette, blueberry vinaigrette, balsamic vinaigrette, or apple cider honey dressing.
How To Make Spring Mix Salad
This spring mix salad showcases our favorite springtime ingredients in one refreshing dish. It’s a medley of fresh berries, nuts, spring greens, and creamy cottage cheese.
Ingredients
- 1 pkg spring mix
- 1 cup strawberries, sliced
- 2 kiwi, peeled and sliced
- ¼ cup almonds, sliced
- ¼ cup mushrooms, sliced
- ¼ cup snow pea pods
- ¼ cup mandarin orange slices
- 1 red onion, medium, thinly sliced
- 1 cup cottage cheese
For Dressing:
- ¼ cup orange juice
- 2 tbsp honey
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- ½ tsp poppy seeds
- salt, to taste
- pepper, to taste
- 2 tbsp olive oil
Instructions
- Toss together spring mix, strawberries, almonds, blueberries, snow peas, oranges, sunflower seas, and cottage cheese in a large bowl.
Dressing:
- Toss together spring mix, strawberries, kiwi, almonds, mushrooms, snow peas, oranges, onions, and cottage cheese in a large bowl.
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Slowly drizzle in olive oil, whisking constantly until the dressing is mixed.
- Toss dressing with the salad or serve on the side.
Recipe Notes
- Though it’s best to consume salad immediately, you can also keep this spring mix salad fresh by storing it in a sealed container or covering it with plastic wrap.
- If you’re making it ahead, it’s better to have the salad dressing in a separate container.
Nutrition
- Sugar: 20g
- :
- Calcium: 112mg
- Calories: 269kcal
- Carbohydrates: 29g
- Cholesterol: 9mg
- Fat: 14g
- Fiber: 4g
- Iron: 1mg
- Monounsaturated Fat: 8g
- Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g
- Potassium: 443mg
- Protein: 10g
- Saturated Fat: 2g
- Sodium: 192mg
- Trans Fat: 1g
- Vitamin A: 698IU
- Vitamin C: 79mg
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is spring mix?
Spring mix is a pack of washed and cut salad greens with varying textures and flavors. This usually consists of baby greens like red and green romaine, oak leaf, radicchio, baby spinach, frisee, red chard, red mustard, and others. These salad greens are harvested before they reach maturity, so they generally have a delicious, mild flavor. Additionally, spring mix salad is pretty delicate, so it’s best to toss it with light vinaigrette dressings that aren’t overpowering.
Is spring mix salad healthy?
Yes, it is! It’s a healthy, low-calorie salad mix that you can easily buy or make from scratch when you’re on a diet. The addition of a homemade dressing like our orange vinaigrette only adds even more to the wealth of benefits it will bring. You can always change up the salad greens and their accompanying fresh fruits to have a variety of nutrients and vitamins in your dish.
Conclusion
Enjoy this quick and easy spring mix salad recipe that's full of the freshest ingredients. The medley of crisp vegetables, fruits, and homemade orange-flavored vinaigrette makes for an appetizing, healthy dish.Have your own special recipe to share? Submit Your Recipe Today!
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