Looking for a quick and easy summer salad recipe? Get ready for your newest salad obsession! This Strawberry Walnut Salad is light, sweet, and so fresh. It is made with your favorite greens, fresh strawberries, walnuts, pickled red onion, dried cherries, basil, and topped with the best strawberry balsamic dressing. It is perfect for summer dinner parties, holidays, lunches, or light dinners!

Looking for more salad ideas? Be sure to check out our favorite Farro Salad and Roasted Vegetable Salad!

All About This Strawberry Walnut Salad

Flavor: Fresh, sweet, and tangy are the words I would use to describe the flavor of this salad. Earthy greens topped with juicy strawberries and fresh sweet basil... That is a flavor pairing! Especially for the summer season. All complemented by a sweet Strawberry Balsamic Dressing and slight tang of pickled red onion. Mmmm, time to take advantage of strawberry season!
Texture: This substantial salad has the perfect mix of crunch and chew! The crunch of the greens and walnuts paired with the chew of the dried cherries and strawberries is so very satisfying.
Ease: Salads are usually an easy dish to make, but sometimes we may feel like we don't know where to start. That's why posts like this one that tell you exactly how much of everything to throw together help so much! A beginner can easily master this recipe by following my detailed instructions below. It is so quick and easy. Grab a big salad bowl and just start throwing all the ingredients in!

Strawberry walnut salad on navy plate on white counter.

Ingredients

To make this salad, you will need the following ingredients. See the full recipe card at the end of this post for detailed amounts and instructions!

Greens - I used baby spinach and arugula as pictured, but you can use any of your favorite greens. Try kale, spinach, butter lettuce, romaine, or a mix. I promise you, whatever you have on hand will work!
Strawberries - You'll only need about 1 cup of strawberries for the recipe below, but feel free to add as many as you like!
Walnuts - I love using a mix of chopped and whole raw walnuts for this salad, but use any kind you prefer. Pecans, pistachios, or slivered almonds would all be equally delicious in this salad.
Pickled red onion - These add such an amazing flavor to anything you put them on, including salads! Try my easy quick pickled onions or buy them pre-made at the store.
Dried cherries - I love this sweet and chewy addition! You only need a handful to make a chewy impact.
Basil - Fresh basil leaves all the way. I wouldn't skip these if I were you. Anytime I get a bite of this salad with a basil leaf in it I'm in flavor heaven!
Strawberry balsamic dressing - Homemade is always the cleaner option so I've listed the easiest homemade version in the recipe card below, but store bought will work if you prefer. See the full post here for further details.

Strawberry balsamic dressing in glass jar on white counter top.

How to Make Strawberry Walnut Salad

To make this recipe, simply:

Prep.
Wash and dry your greens and basil leaves. Slice the strawberries.
Assemble.
Add the greens and basil leaves to a plate and gently toss. Top with the sliced strawberries, walnuts, pickled onion, and dried cherries. Sprinkle with a pinch of sea salt and black pepper.
Make the strawberry balsamic.
Add the strawberries, white balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt, and maple syrup to a blender. Blend until fully combined. Serve on the side.

To store: If you have leftovers, store the dressing and salad in separate air-tight containers. It will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Strawberry balsamic dressing on a strawberry walnut salad on navy plate.

Variations

Change up the greens. I used baby spinach and arugula as pictured, but you can use any of your favorite greens. Try kale, spinach, butter lettuce, romaine, or a mix.
Change up the fruit. You could easily make this salad with blueberries, raspberries, peaches, or the like!
Swap out the toppings. If you aren't into certain ingredients here, make this salad your own with your favorite toppings!
Add a cheese. This salad really doesn't need a cheese, but if you can't imagine a salad without it go for a feta or goat cheese. Feta would be my pick!
Make it even faster. To make this salad even faster, use a store bought dressing.

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