This spinach salad recipe is good as an entrée or appetizer. Tossed with tangy honey mustard dressing it works like a charm every time.
Easy spinach salad for all celebrations! It serves 1 to 2 for dinner as a main dish or 4 side dishes, so it fits right on a holiday table with my healthy Thanksgiving side dishes or a list of 20 best green salad recipes.
Quick Look
- 🕒 Prep Time: 15 minutes
- 🔥 Cook Time: none
- ⏳ Total Time: 15 minutes
- 🍽️ Servings: 4 side salads, or 1 to 2 main dish salads
- ⚡ Calories: 410kcal per serving with the dressing, per the recipe card
- 🥣 Ingredients: baby spinach, blackberries, raspberries, radicchio, green onion, microgreen sprouts, Chinese broccoli, chickpea or pea sprouts, mint, olive oil, white wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, honey, salt and pepper
- 🌶️ Flavor Profile: Sweet berries, tangy honey mustard and fresh crunchy sprouts
- ✋ Difficulty: Easy, no cooking
Quick Answer
Whisk together ¼ cup white wine vinegar, 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard, 1 teaspoon honey, ¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper. Toss 4 cups baby spinach with ½ cup chopped radicchio, 2 diced green onions and ½ cup Chinese broccoli, then divide onto 4 plates. Top each with sprouts, microgreens, ½ cup blackberries and ½ cup raspberries, drizzle with the dressing and garnish with mint.
Jump to:
- Quick Look
- Quick Answer
- How to Make the Perfect Salad
- Why You'll Love This Spinach Salad
- Spinach Salad Ingredients
- Our Farmers Market Spinach Salad
- How to Make This Spinach Salad
- Spinach Salad Tips
- More Salads to Enjoy
- Spinach Salad FAQs
- More Fresh Salad Recipes
- Spinach Salad Recipe with Honey Mustard Dressing
Fresh delicious vegetables are one thing, bland tasteless ones are another. Whenever I think about salads I think about rich hearty flavors and textures complementing each other. If I was to describe a salad when I was a kid, it's a totally different ballgame.
Mom forgive me here... salads as a kid were bland. And pale. Drowning in ranch dressing only to be discarded to the trash. Do you recall a similar memory? Lots of iceberg lettuce surviving on our plates. Not frequently enough did I see a gorgeous spinach salad recipe like this. But mom, you worked so hard to try to get us, as kids, to eat vegetables. Thank you for loving us so much.
How to Make the Perfect Salad
Click to see why it works
- Sweet. Blackberries and raspberries, or strawberries in season.
- Tart. White wine vinegar and Dijon in the dressing.
- Savory. Green onion, radicchio and Chinese broccoli.
- Crunch. Raw sprouts, microgreens or a few crunchy nuts.
- A little creaminess from the honey mustard dressing, purely for pleasure.
Why You'll Love This Spinach Salad
- Ready in 15 minutes with no cooking.
- A main or a side. 1 to 2 dinner salads or 4 side salads.
- Tender baby spinach, slightly sweeter than mature spinach.
- An easy honey mustard dressing whisked in one bowl.
- Pretty for celebrations with berries, sprouts and mint.
Spinach Salad Ingredients
- Baby spinach leaves - the base.
- Blackberries and raspberries - or strawberries when it's strawberry season.
- Radicchio - finely chopped, for color.
- Green onion and Chinese broccoli (with flowers).
- Sprouts - raw lentil, garbanzo bean and pea sprouts, or basic microgreen sprouts with a few crunchy nuts.
- Mint leaves - optional.
- Honey mustard dressing - extra-virgin olive oil, white wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, honey, salt and pepper.
See recipe card for quantities.
Our Farmers Market Spinach Salad
And then came the spinach. Boiled in water and flavored with salt. Not my most favorite way to get greens into my diet as a kid, or now. But fresh and tossed with sweet berries and dressing? Yes please!
When I moved to California in 2001, it was then I tasted the pure joy of freshly grown vegetables. The comparison of an organic farm grown tomato that goes straight from the farm to your kitchen is incomparable. So sweet and savory. The same goes for spinach and all vegetables. Especially if you can get them from local farms.
Every Saturday or Sunday the boys and I visit the Santa Barbara Farmers Market to get our produce for the week. This delicious spinach salad recipe is made of the seasonal vegetables in February (and some year round). Spinach is pretty tough to eat and works well for smoothie recipes. Baby spinach, on the other hand has been harvested for only about 15-35 days. They are more tender than mature spinach because of their smaller leaves. Baby spinach is also slightly sweeter.
How to Make This Spinach Salad
1Whisk the dressing. In a small bowl whisk together white wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, honey, olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper. Set the dressing aside.
2Toss the greens. In a large bowl toss together baby spinach leaves, radicchio, green onion slices and Chinese broccoli.
3Plate and top. Set out 4 plates and divide evenly. Sprinkle evenly on top of each salad the sprouts, microgreens and berries.
4Dress and garnish. Drizzle with the honey mustard dressing and garnish with mint leaves.
As always, be sure to check out the full recipe details in the recipe card below.
Spinach Salad Tips
- Use baby spinach. It is more tender than mature spinach because of its smaller leaves, and slightly sweeter.
- Swap the berries. The berries are out-of-this world divine, so blackberries and raspberries complement the tender leaves. When it's strawberry season, substitute strawberries for them.
- No sprouts? Basic microgreen sprouts will do with a few crunchy nuts. I would recommend pistachios, almond slivers, pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds.
- Other dressings. There are a few dressings that work for this spinach salad recipe but my favorite is my super easy honey mustard dressing. A champagne vinaigrette, homemade Italian dressing or green goddess dressing also works.
- Make it a special night. Paired with the sweet floral aroma (acai berry, dried blueberries, pomegranate, pitaya fruit, kiwi berry and white grapefruit) of a Grenache Rosé, it makes for a special weeknight or weekend affair!
More Salads to Enjoy
Try my Healthy Pomegranate Salad, Chickpea Salad or Skinny Vegetable Quinoa Salad.
For the holidays: Winter Salad With Kiwi, Persimmon, Walnuts and Cranberry, Kale Salad With Chickpeas and Cranberry, Pomegranate Brussels Sprouts Salad and Roasted Beet Salad. Love spinach? Try this Spinach Quiche.
Spinach Salad FAQs
Baby spinach, blackberries, raspberries, radicchio, green onion, Chinese broccoli, sprouts or microgreens and mint, tossed with honey mustard dressing.
Whisk together white wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, honey, olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper.
Yes. Baby spinach is more tender than mature spinach because of its smaller leaves, and it is slightly sweeter.
Basic microgreen sprouts with a few crunchy nuts like pistachios, almond slivers, pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds.
It serves 1 to 2 for dinner as a main dish or 4 side dishes.
Yes. When it's strawberry season, substitute strawberries for the raspberries and blackberries.
Spinach Salad Recipe with Honey Mustard Dressing
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Ingredients
Honey Mustard Dressing
- ¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup white wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon honey
- pinch salt and pepper to taste
Spinach Salad
- 4 cups baby spinach leaves
- ½ cup blackberries
- ½ cup raspberries
- ½ cup radicchio finely chopped
- 2 green onion diced
- 1 handful of microgreen sprouts
- ½ cup Chinese broccoli with flowers
- ½ cup chickpea sprouts pea sprouts or pistachio nuts
- Mint leaves optional
Instructions
- In a small bowl whisk together white wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, honey, olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper. Set the dressing aside.
- In a large bowl toss together baby spinach leaves, radicchio, green onion slices and Chinese broccoli. Set out 4 plates and divide evenly. Sprinkle evenly on top of each salad the raw garbanzo bean sprouts and pea sprouts, microgreens and berries. Drizzle with the honey mustard dressing and garnish with mint leaves.
Allie | In This Kitchen says
This looks absolutely beautiful and has me totally ready for all the summer berries to come!
Danielle @ Delightful Mom Food says
Thank you Allie, Summer fruit is so delicious. No comparison to the out of season version!