Description
A vibrant and refreshing Everything Spring Green Salad featuring a medley of fresh greens, crisp vegetables, and tangy pickled onions, all tossed with a zesty lemon basil vinaigrette. Perfect for a light lunch or a healthy side dish, this salad combines textures and flavors from creamy avocado, salty feta, crunchy pistachios, and sunflower seeds for a delightful springtime meal.
Ingredients
Salad Ingredients
- 6 cups organic spinach
- ½ head red or green cabbage, shredded
- 1 cup microgreens (or alfalfa sprouts)
- ¾ cup frozen peas, thawed
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered
- 2 Persian cucumbers, sliced or roughly chopped
- 3 radishes, trimmed and chopped or sliced
- ¼ cup pickled red onions OR very thinly sliced raw red onion
- ½ cup pitted Castelvetrano green olives, halved
- 1 medium ripe avocado, sliced or chopped
- 4 ounces crumbled feta or crumbled goat cheese
- ¼ cup roasted and salted pistachios
- ¼ cup roasted sunflower seeds
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Lemon Basil Vinaigrette
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon honey or sugar
- 4 basil leaves, finely chopped
- Freshly ground salt and black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Prepare the Lemon Basil Vinaigrette: In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, minced garlic, Dijon mustard, honey or sugar, and finely chopped basil leaves until the ingredients are well combined and the vinaigrette is emulsified. Alternatively, blend all these ingredients in a high-speed blender until smooth. Taste and season with freshly ground salt and black pepper as needed.
- Toss Spinach with Dressing: Place the organic spinach in a large bowl and drizzle with half of the prepared vinaigrette. Gently toss the spinach until evenly coated with the dressing.
- Assemble the Salad: Transfer the dressed spinach to a serving platter or leave it in the large bowl. Arrange and layer the shredded cabbage, microgreens or alfalfa sprouts, thawed peas, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, radishes, pickled red onions (or raw onions), green olives, avocado slices, crumbled feta or goat cheese on top of the greens.
- Add Nuts and Seasoning: Sprinkle the roasted and salted pistachios and roasted sunflower seeds evenly over the salad. Garnish with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
- Serve: Serve the salad immediately with the remaining lemon basil vinaigrette on the side so guests can add more if desired.
Notes
- Store the salad ingredients separately from the dressing for up to 4-5 days to keep the spinach fresh and prevent sogginess.
- Dress the salad just before serving to maintain crisp textures.
- Customize your salad by swapping in different fresh greens, nuts, or cheeses based on preference or seasonality.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Category: Salad
- Method: No-Cook
- Cuisine: American
