This easy spinach salad recipe is ready in just a few minutes with a homemade balsamic vinaigrette. Keep it simple for a quick side dish or add your favorite veggies, protein, and toppings to make it a full meal.
When I want extra greens with minimal effort, this quick spinach salad is my secret weapon. Like our lemon arugula salad, this recipe is ready in minutes, and it's a great blank canvas: Use this ultra-simple recipe as a jumping off point, and add any veggies, cheese, or protein you have on hand to make it heartier.
We're using a homemade balsamic salad dressing here: It comes together with a few pantry staples and a small mason jar!
Ingredients Overview
Scroll to the recipe card below for a full ingredients list with exact quantities.
- Baby spinach is our go-to, but you can swap it for fresh kale, arugula, or a mix of your favorite greens. If you don't like large bites of spinach, give the leaves a rough chop before you toss the salad together.
- Our quick balsamic vinaigrette dressing just needs olive oil, balsamic vinegar, dijon mustard, and a pinch of salt.
Variations and Substitutions
This spinach balsamic salad is a great blank canvas: It's easy to customize and very forgiving! Some of our favorite riffs:
- Adjust the dressing. Use lemon juice or apple cider vinegar instead of balsamic. For a sweeter dressing, add a splash of honey or maple syrup.
- Add protein. Add cooked chicken (try our dutch oven shredded chicken breasts), shrimp, salmon, bacon, or steak to this salad. Hard boiled eggs or cannellini beans are also good in this recipe.
- Add fruit. Blueberries, strawberries (à la our strawberry spinach salad), blackberries, peaches (cut into thin slices), or dried cranberries are good here.
- Extra mix-ins. Sliced shallot or red onion, avocado, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, roasted sweet potato, and roasted red pepper are all tasty additions.
- Cheese! Try adding shaved parmesan, crumbled blue cheese, feta cheese, or gorgonzola.
- Add crunch and texture with croutons, toasted bread crumbs, or toasted nuts (almonds, walnuts, pine nuts, pecans, etc.).
Step by Step Instructions
Add olive oil, balsamic vinegar, dijon mustard, and a pinch of kosher salt to a small mason jar with a tight-fitting lid (Image 1, above). Screw the lid on (2), then shake the jar well (3) to bring the dressing together (4).
If you don't have a mason jar, you can whisk the dressing together in a small bowl or measuring cup.
Pro Tip: If you like more dressing on your salads, or if you add a lot of extra elements, we recommend doubling the dressing here.
Drizzle dressing over spinach in a large bowl (5), then use two large forks or a pair of tongs to toss everything together until the salad is evenly coated in the dressing (6).
If you're adding extra ingredients, add them to the bowl with the spinach before tossing with dressing, or use them as toppings after the greens are dressed. In the photo below, we finished this salad with shaved parmesan and toasted garlic breadcrumbs.
FAQs
Yes! Mix the dressing and store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. You can also double or triple this vinaigrette recipe and keep it on hand for salads all week long.
This spinach balsamic salad makes a great, quick side dish as written (as do any of our spinach salad recipes!).
Pair it with protein - like honey glazed steelhead trout or our Roasted Maple Dijon Chicken - or serve it as a light side for heavier entrees like an Apple, Bacon, and Brie Grilled Cheese, Smoked Gouda Mac and Cheese, or Red Wine Mushroom Risotto. This salad also works perfectly with our fan-favorite balsamic glazed salmon with strawberry salsa!
We frequently add extra protein, veggies, and toppings to this salad to turn it into a hearty meal for two people. Try it with slow cooker shredded chicken or grilled chicken (à la our chicken arugula salad) or a quick lemon steelhead, and add any beans, veggies, grains, or other toppings you have on hand.
For more meal inspo, check out our full collection of main dish recipes!
We recommend eating this salad as soon as it's ready! If it sits too long, the spinach will get soggy, so eating it fresh is best.
As written, this recipe makes enough salad for 3-4 side salad portions. If you add protein (we love adding slow cooker maple dijon chicken or mustard baked salmon) and a side dish (like crusty bread), you can easily make this salad hearty enough for 2-3 main dish portions.
Like most spinach salad recipes, this dish is also VERY forgiving: You can eyeball the exact amount of spinach here and adjust it to fit your family's preferences!
Absolutely! We love a classic balsamic vinaigrette, but you can toss baby spinach with just about any dressing you like. Try our cilantro yogurt sauce (or the avocado dressing from our our cilantro chicken salad!), grab your favorite lemon vinaigrette, a maple dijon dressing (à la our sweet potato spinach salad) or try a dressing with lots of herbs (we love the fresh basil vinaigrette in this spinach prosciutto salad).
📖 Recipe
5 Minute Spinach Balsamic Salad
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: Serves 4
- Category: Salad
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
This quick spinach salad uses a homemade balsamic vinaigrette. Serve it as-is for a simple side dish or add your favorite toppings, protein, and veggies to make it a full meal.
Ingredients
For the Dressing (Makes ¼ cup):
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- kosher salt, to taste
For the Salad:
- 5 ounces baby spinach (4-5 packed cups)
Optional toppings and extras:
- Shaved parmesan cheese
- Garlic toasted breadcrumbs
- Toasted nuts (almonds, walnuts, pistachios, pecans)
- Cooked protein (chicken, salmon, shrimp)
- Fresh berries
- Extra veggies
Instructions
- Make the dressing. Add dijon mustard, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and a pinch of salt to a small mason jar with a tight-fitting lid. Attach the lid; shake the jar vigorously until the dressing is smooth and emulsified. Set aside. Note: if you don’t have a jar, whisk the dressing together in a small bowl.
- Assemble the salad. Place spinach in a large mixing bowl. Pour dressing over spinach; toss to combine. Add additional toppings if you like and serve immediately.
Notes
Additions and Substitutions. Swap the spinach for fresh arugula, kale, or mixed greens. Add fruit (blackberries, blueberries, peaches, pears, strawberries, apples), toasted nuts (walnuts, pecans, pistachios, almonds), cooked protein (chicken, salmon, shrimp, beans) or cheese (blue cheese, gorgonzola, feta, goat cheese, parmesan). Extra veggies are also good here: Try adding tomatoes, cucumber, sliced red onion, corn, or roasted sweet potato. In the photos above, we topped this salad with shaved parmesan cheese and toasted breadcrumbs.
Adjust the dressing. Swap the balsamic vinegar for lemon juice, red wine vinegar, or apple cider vinegar. Add a dash of maple syrup or honey for more sweetness; adjust the amount of balsamic and dijon to suit your tastes. If you’d like more dressing, or if you add a significant amount of extra ingredients to this salad, you may want to double the dressing recipe.
Serving sizes. This recipe serves 4 as a side salad; if you add extra veggies or protein, it serves 2 as a main dish. We have calculated the nutrition information based on 4 servings of the salad as written, with no additional toppings or ingredients.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 103
- Sugar: 0.7 g
- Sodium: 138.9 mg
- Fat: 10.6 g
- Carbohydrates: 2 g
- Protein: 1 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Comments
No Comments